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The Who - Live in Tanglewood (1970)

Track listing:
  1. Heaven & Hell 4:44
  2. I Can't Explain 2:24
  3. Water 9:48
  4. I Don't Even Know Myself 7:08
  5. Young Man Blues 7:58
  6. Overture 6:55
  7. It's a Boy 0:33
  8. 1921 2:25
  9. Amazing Journey 5:25
  10. Sparks 2:55
  11. Eyesight to the Blind 3:16
  12. The Acid Queen 3:34
  13. Do You Think It's Alright 0:31
  14. Fiddle About 1:07
  15. Pinball Wizard 2:49
  16. Tommy, Can You Hear Me? 1:07
  17. There's a Doctor 0:31
  18. Go to the Mirror 3:24
  19. Smash the Mirror 1:09
  20. Miracle Cure 0:17
  21. I'm Free 2:23
  22. Tommy's Holiday Camp 1:00
  23. We're Not Gonna Take It 3:37
  24. See Me, Feel Me 7:15
  25. My Generation 9:05

Notes


Sound Quality: Two sources make up almost the entire show. The first three songs come from the 30 Years of Maximum R and B video and are in perfect stereo soundboard quality; the rest is from a good-quality bootleg (Tangled Up in Who) that seems to move seamlessly from an audience to a soundboard recording here and there (possibly from audio dropouts of some sort)—one brief cut in this second source.

Song List: Heaven and Hell, Can't Explain, Water, I Don't Even Know Myself, Young Man Blues, Overture, It's a Boy, 1921, Amazing Journey, Sparks, Eyesight to the Blind (cuts), Christmas (cuts in), The Acid Queen, Pinball Wizard, Do You Think It's Alright, Fiddle About, Tommy Can You Hear Me, There's a Doctor, Go to the Mirror, Smash the Mirror, Miracle Cure, I'm Free, Tommy's Holiday Camp, We're Not Gonna Take It, My Generation.

Details: An incredible concert that only came to light in more complete form in recent years. The show is famous for the video footage filmed for a TV special that never aired, but this soundboard audio recording probably comes from the video soundtrack. 'Water' is simply amazing, possibly the greatest version of a number they played well every time—Townshend's playing is phenomenal, the rhythm section is perfect, and Daltrey's powerful voice is ideal. The crowd is delighted to hear that Tommy is still part of the stage show and some little quirks here and there make this performance somewhat more interesting than most, particularly Townshend's 'It's a Boy' guitar work. The show is surprisingly shortened (probably because of the intended TV broadcast), and 'My Generation' is played right after Tommy, but it moves into an outstanding jam. After the 'See Me, Feel Me' reprise, Townshend plays the gloomy chord progression heard in the last few shows, then leads the band into a very heavy, improvised instrumental reminiscent of Led Zeppelin. Some heavy echo and distortion lend a typically chaotic feel before the guitar is tossed into the air and the show and tour ends—the only unfortunate part is that the sound quality of the recording degenerates a bit by this point. An unbelievable performance with one of the best-ever Who show finales.