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The Who - Rome Palasport 1972 (1972)

Track listing:
  1. I Can't Explain 2:55
  2. Summertime Blues 4:49
  3. My Wife 8:27
  4. Baba O'riley 6:48
  5. Behind Blue Eyes 5:39
  6. Bargain 11:36
  7. Won't Get Fooled Again 9:35
  8. Magic Bus 15:47
  9. Relay 9:18
  10. Pinball Wizard 3:18
  11. See Me, Feel Me 5:21
  12. My Generation 3:17
  13. Naked Eye 7:12

Notes

Sound Quality: A decent recording that's practically identical to the August 30th Berlin show in terms of sound, so similar that I had to compare them before I believed they were different; the guitar is much louder and the rest of the group is difficult to hear while Townshend plays.

Song List: Can't Explain, Summertime Blues, My Wife, Baba O'Riley, Behind Blue Eyes, Bargain, Won't Get Fooled Again, Magic Bus, The Relay, Pinball Wizard, See Me Feel Me (incomplete), My Generation, Naked Eye (cuts).

Details: Another erratic, but entertaining show for the most part. Townshend conspicuously tunes during 'My Wife' and comes in way to early in 'Baba O'Riley, but later extends a monumental 'Bargain' with a long, heavy jam as he sings the synthesizer part again. Daltrey's 'Won't Get Fooled Again' scream can barely be heard in this unbalanced recording, unfortunately. 'The Relay' (never played again in the Moon era) is very long and improvised, finally finishing quietly and blending in with the beginning of 'Pinball Wizard'—Townshend carelessly gets lost in the latter just before the fast strumming prior to the last verse. The recording cuts towards the end of 'Naked Eye' yet again, but a complete setlist says they played the Free number 'Allright Now' (played in a loose arrangement here and there in the early 70s) to close the show. This was the band's last proper concert for six months and the last tour for more than a year.

Venue: The Palaeur, Rome, Italy, Thursday, September 14, 1972
Recording: Audience
Comments: The cover states "soundboard recording" - it's not! This seems to have been
recorded from PT's stage side as his guitar comes through very nicely. He also seems to
not have had such a great evening on this one. The guitar is in and out of tune, he misses
notes and the set generally seems marred by an "off" night. There is also a fair amount of
audience chatter and the recording seems to sounds like it was lifted from an old vinyl copy
which is quite audible. Where has this recording been for the past 25 years?! Interesting that
they played "Relay". "My Generation" is very short and goes straight into "Naked Eye".
The intro to "Summertime Blues" is totally botched by Pete. Take it or leave it. Recomm-
ended for die-hard WHO freaks only.