« Back to Top Level | Who, The

The Who - Cry Blue Murder (Remastered) (1968)

Track listing:
  1. Substitute 3:13
  2. I Can't Explain 2:32
  3. Boris The Spider 3:50
  4. A Quick One, While He's Away 10:36
  5. Magic Bus - Shakin All Over 10:22
  6. Intro 1:33
  7. Substitute 3:46
  8. Summertime Blues 3:21
  9. Pictures Of Lily 3:11
  10. So Sad About Us 3:13
  11. Love Hurts 2:59
  12. Boris The Spider 2:41
  13. Happy Jack 2:14
  14. I'm A Boy 2:38
  15. My Generation 3:10

Notes

August 24,1968 and/or July 23, 1967 or March 19, 1968 and/or July 23, 1967 (??)

Westwood Park and/or ??
Oklahama City & Dallas, Texas

Stereo audience
B-/B+

TRANSFER/EDITING NOTES:
Given the scarcity of early live Who recordings, this well known source contains some of the best of what is available. It is comprised of two shows, at two different venues. Unfortunately, the actual show locations are debateable. The bootleg insert claims the recording was made at Westwood Park, Oklahoma City in 1968. Plus, several other dates are mentioned by various sources. It's clear that both shows were not recorded at the same location. That's about it. Regardless, both shows are still enjoyable. Each performance displays The Who running on all cylinders, powerful, chaotic power pop at its finest.
The first show is inferior in sound quality to the second, although both shows were recorded in stereo. I don't know exactly how the mic's were setup or at what proximity, nor do I know what equipment was used. Regardless, I'd call both recordings above average audience recordings for the time period, especially if the second recording, as claimed to be, is from 1967. The frequency response of the first show varies quiet a bit every few tracks, whereas the second show is a little more balanced.
The first show was definitely more of a challenge to work with. There are sections of this show where it sounds as if the taper may be moving around or adjusting settings on the recording device. This effect creates hikes and drops in level and varying frequency responses. I have attempted, as closely as possible, to match these sections with the other parts of the recording, without altering the overall sound of each part. For the most part, these changes take place in the first few tracks, although many other abmormalities do exist throughout. Most edits have been done using equalization but at times, levels had to be adjusted, and a few clips and pops were eliminated. A very miminal amount of noise reduction has been used on this recording. On some tracks, the channel balance was pretty off, so the amplitude of each channel has been changed where applicable. It was hard to boost the high end of this recording without producing a high level of hiss. I tried many different alterations until I settled somewhere in between clarity and producing too much noise. The recording now has a little more room to breathe and each instrument is more defined.
The second show does indeed sound better than the first. The drums come through very clear and take full advantage of the acoustics of the venue, creating a nice natural echo. You can tell the recording equipment used must have been pretty high end for the time, sincle the claps and audience noise comes through amazingly clear when present. The bass is also very prevalent. The guitar and vocals are a little buried in the mix, probably due to effects of the venue and the tapers distance from the stage. This show was a pleasure to master and was not a daunting task in the least bit. The overall sound was already fairly good. I merely brightened up the recording and notched the level up a bit.

To all the Whooligans out there, this is a great capture of The Who during a rare live period where very few quality recordings are available. Plus, the performances are amazing, much better than the very well known '68 Fillmore show even if the fidelity of the Fillmore boot is miles ahead of the recordings here!

The cover says "Westwood Park, Oklahoma City, 1968."

Here is what other sources have to say:

According to Baba O’Riley’s Bootlegpage: http://www.thewho.net/bootlegs/boot...bluemurder.html

"The first 5 tracks are from August 24,1968. The other tracks are from Dallas Texas, July 23, 1967. Both shows are audience recordings in stereo but not very high quality. Tracks 6-15 are of slightly better quality. Anyway, very impressive shows."

According to BootlegZone: http://www.bootlegzone.com/album.ph...1012&section=11

"According to the information on the Who Live In Concert webpage, the first 5 tracks could be from March 19, 1968. The other tracks are from another show."