Live At Leeds

why the fuck are live albums on here

Distilled into 6 cuts (3 of which aren’t even their own songs) ‘Live At Leeds’ is 37 minutes of awesome unrestrained destructive bluesy hard rock power with not an ounce of fat or filler. While the expanded versions of this record released over the years are still great and give context to the rest of the Leeds gig, it’s still the concise original released version that represents the Who at their absolute best live.

After the last Who album (a 5 for me), of course I would like more. But a live album isn't something I need, especially when there are studio albums with these same songs available. I've looked ahead at albums on this list, and I was annoyed to see that for three legendary black artists--James Brown, Sam Cooke, and B.B. King--we only get one album each, and it's a live album. Not sure why, hopefully they really are worthy of classic status. But I don't think this one is, especially considering there are four studio albums from the Who on the list. That being said, this is still pretty good. Of course they're talented, the songs are great, but live albums just aren't my thing. Some lame banter on here that would be fine at a concert but I'm sitting at home. Inevitably I loved some performances, especially "My Generation," but as a whole, I could do without this. Maybe I'd have liked it more if I listened to just the 37 minute version originally released on vinyl. Favorite tracks: My Generation, Amazing Journey, Happy Jack. Album art: Charming simplicity. I would never buy this, but a blank cardboard cover is intriguing. A brown bagger. 3.5/5

Like The Who and the tracks in the album, but live albums are terrible.

If The Who were live, why did Keith Moon die?

Absolutely brilliant. Usually not into live albums, but The Who absolutely smashed it out of the park here. Really cohesive sound. Some of my favorites from the album included Young Man Blues, Shakin' All Over, and Heaven and Hell. I really enjoyed that you can hear during the endings and beginnings of some of the tracks. Makes you feel like you're there. I wonder if they knew they were witnessing the recording of one of the greatest live albums of all time.

Live albums shouldn't be in the list. That being said, this rocks straight out of the gate. Moon is all over the place on the kit, Townshend does his thing well. Vocals all seem a bit too clean, but not sure how much studio magic there was back then. Either way, it sounds really good. Can't hear the crowd except between songs, but that's kinda what I'd expect from a real live album, and there's a good bit of banter. I know a few tracks but also a lot of it was new to me. I enjoyed this way more than expected. Didn't realise I liked the Who this much lol. Only criticism is that the version I have on Spotify is too long. 1hr 17min is too much in one go if you're not obsessed with a band. 4/5.

I love The Who but not this live album

Listening to this album makes you wish you were in the room - and it gets you close enough to smell the burning dust inside the hiwatt amplifier stacks - the sweat flying off Daltreys tambourine and feeling Moons constant kick drum thumping right in your chest - it’s definitely one of the best live albums ever released

eh not a big fan of The Who

Who the fuck starts an extended Album with the extra songs?

I don't really like The Who. And this recording doesn't sound great either. Maybe they were one of the best live bands ever, but that's not captured here. Live albums were such a weird fad, and seem very 70s. What's the point? Shitter sound than the studio and really doesn't capture the vibe of a gig. The "funny" story about the girl guide and the pedo train driver has not aged well

When you think of great live albums, Live At Leeds is always in the conversation. Not only did the Who release excellent studio records, they were an amazing live band. I had this on cassette back in the early 80's and it got to many listens, I wore out the tape. I thought at the time, I wish the album was longer and there must have been other songs during the set. After listening to the deluxe edition that contained the whole concert, I take back my earlier concerns. The whole show which was during the "Tommy" era, contained lots of songs from that record, which is fine, but it loses some of it's energy. I can now see why the original Live At Leeds album was edited down, it's so much more powerful and dynamic with the shorter track list and it remains (to me anyways), a landmark live album. (I would give the deluxe edition 4****)

Having trouble getting my head round this, so I’ll fling fragments out instead. Seeing The Who play Live Aid on tv was my first formative rock experience, followed by watching a long-lost vhs documentary about them. I also saw them live playing what I’ve learned was a travesty, but this pre-teen’s face was slayed. This is the only record of theirs I like a lot. Albini said something along the lines that they are unique in being a great band that put out mostly crap; this performance underlined that. I would not voluntarily listen to many, maybe most of their originals on this record, but I happily blasted the whole thing at volume today. Suspect it’s something to do with Entwhistle and his deranged, almost drunk meandering. An acquaintance once described The Who as inverting the usual rhythm/lead divide: here, the drums and bass go all over the place, while Townshend holds the songs together. The Who are a weird band. The sleazy songs aren’t pleasant, but they are interesting, a very middle-class English mode of creepiness that Townshend seemed to revel in. Keith Moon’s cymbals irritated my brain for the first song and a half until I managed to mentally dial them down. Their great songs are among the best rock ever made, and the brutal panache of the band carries the rest. How else could I bear to listen to more than a minute of rock opera?

I am not a fan of Live albums so this may be rough. I love, love The Who but I just can't get down with Live albums

I have never heard any of these songs.

Nice, solid live performance from The Who. I, of course, have only listened to the original tracklist, which is relatively short. The tracks are all fire though, and this is the band in its best lineup, so it's a blast.

One of the best live albums. Would recommend the deluxe edition that had the whole show packed into it, but the original vinyl track list is still worth a shot

Better than Coldplay

I don’t really love live albums. This one was no exception. It was fine.

Live at Leeds is loud, raw, rowdy, and just a little sloppy.. exactly the way The Who should be captured. It’s pure, unfiltered energy, the kind of performance that hits you in the balls and reminds you what pure Rock is. It’s messy, it’s fierce, and it absolutely rules.

70's Math: Skip class + smoke joint + stereo at 10 + Magic Bus from Live at Leeds = Failure No Supplement on your transcript. Five star memories of a 4star or B+ album.

Always though the who is a bit overrated because although great music and musicians in my opinion (and Im a fan), I think they were a live band to see more than an album to listen to (exception of Tommy). Everytime I listen to them I am proven wrong, cause I like them more and more every year. This although short album its very powerful and heavy, you can here their live magic and the public witnessing the concert. They have to be talked in the greatest rock bands ever. Moon was a force and Pete is a bonafide genius.

I did a DNA test a few years ago. No big surprises on my genetic makeup. However, the test somehow determined that 23% of my hearing loss is directly attributable to listening to Live at Leeds through headphones at max volume between the ages of 15 and 18.

This was a really good live album. A good collection of their earlier stuff, we'll mixed, and well performed. 5/5

Live at Leeds Another band I had a period of obsession with about 15-20 years ago. I bought the deluxe edition of this on CD when it was released, and I think the CD versions with 14+ songs have become the de facto versions, rather than the original 7 track release. The deluxe version is over two hours long and includes almost the whole of Tommy, and while that’s worth a listen, the other tracks either side of that are on the standard CD release are the most essential, particularly the versions of Heaven and Hell, I Can’t Explain, Young Man Blues, Substitute and the medley strewn My Generation. And of course there are the versions of A Quick One While He’s Away and Magic Bus, which are both thrillingly, transcendently brilliant, especially that moment when Moon first comes smashing in on Magic Bus at around the 3.21 mark. In fact you probably could just listen to these two tracks and ignore the rest and you’d get the idea, and why this is always heralded as one of the best live albums of all time They do sound incredibly powerful and exciting, right at the peak of the original line-ups' live powers. Also I don’t think the audience were mic'd up, so the crowd noise is almost non-existent during the songs, so you can really hear the alchemy of their playing. Moon is relentless, I know he would have been aided by some substances and would have built up ‘match fitness’ from being on tour but it is incredible how he maintains so much energy from start to end. Entwhistle is obviously a great bassist, but you can really get a sense of their performance dynamic, as he’s somewhere between lead bassist and rhythm guitarist, while Townshend is somewhere between rhythm guitarist and lead guitarist. Townshend really is great on here, showing what an excellent, versatile and clever player he is, oscillating between different volumes and tones and anchoring the whole thing with some semblance of structure. Dan I’m sure you’ll know much more about this but from my cursory reading it seems his set up enabled him to switch between tones and sounds just using his volume knob? Sometimes on record Daltrey’s voice can be a little grating, but here he’s in his element, having to compete with the cacophony the rest of the band were making probably bought out the best in his voice, and he mixes the shouting and screaming with some more delicate tones too. As always it’s kind of tricky to rate live albums, like the Cash ones and the Jerry Lee Lewis one. The original release misses some of the best stuff, A Quick One While He’s Away most prominently, and the CD releases are pretty long, so it can feel a bit like you are being pummeled in the head by Entwhistle and Moon. Having said that, if you are going to listen to a live album, you may as well listen to this, and whichever version you listen to, the energy and visceral thrill of their live prowess is undeniable, so it would feel churlish not to give it a 5. 🚌🚌🚌🚌🚌 Playlist submission: Between Magic Bus and A Quick One, While He’s Away. I’ll go Magic Bus.

Loved this album back when I was 16 or so. Think it was the first Who cd I gave any meaningful listen to. Still fantastic. I forget how fun they were in addition to being incredible musicians. Shame Daltrey became such a miserable tit. Fav. Lyric: "Substitute you for my mum. At least I'll get my washing done".

Made me understand why people rate The Who as musicians and live performers, something that never really came across in their other albums. The songs aren't my favourites but the energy is good.

Never heard this before even though I have seen the Who live and like their studio work. This is a great album. The individual musicianship is all high but superlatives cannot describe Moon. Surely a man who was born to die young. If not from the drugs, then surely from exhaustion! perhaps the legend wouldn't have been so great had he lived, because the man surely couldn't have continued to drum with this energy into his 40s. Extraordinary

Somehow, Live At Leeds is my favorite album by The Who. I do not say this about a lot of bands/artists (in fact, i have pretty much never said it until now) but i genuinely think that The Who's live performances are better than their studio albums if the albums i have listened to in both fields are anything to go off of. I feel that The Who is not exactly the best when it comes to producing their albums so this album not really having any production at all actually sorta helps it. The songs here all generally have a fun, raw sound which i really like and the album never got tedious due to it's short length. This is one of the better live albums i have looked at for this project. Best Song: Magic Bus Worst Song: Substitute

a really good live album! Songs like the my generation medley and magic bus make it a fun listen. They take a little while to get warmed up, so songs like tattoo are not my favorite. Overall, I can thoroughly jam out to this record.

Exceptional live record capturing some of The Who’s best, pre-Who’s Next work, but I would be remiss if I failed to mention their performance of “A Quick One While He’s Away” from The Rolling Stones’ Rock and Roll Circus. It’s the definitive version of the song and outpaces the version found here on Live at Leeds. It very well may be the greatest live performance ever captured on film and you should check it out over on YouTube.

Capacity of University of Leeds Refectory: 2,100. Excellent intimate session with The Who in top form. 5/5 live album, 4/5 on-stage banter.

Who live? The Who at their Who-iest? Some good tunes here. But give me their greatest hits please.

Who da fook cares

A decent live album from a band I don’t care about that much

Don't try to reconstruct the original album release from what's currently available on streaming. Doing so adds 6+ minutes of banter that kills the original flow. Reconstructed 6 song playlist gets only 2 stars IMO. Original LP here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MmguY2Cwzk

i feel bad cuz everything i read thinks of this as one of the greatest live albums ever and it is pretty cool dont get me wrong ... i just dgaf :(

I enjoyed this much more than the last album. Live Who is much better than album Who.

Decent songs brought up by a lively performance.

ok

I like The Who, but I'm not really sure they shine as a live band.

No offense to the Who, but if I am running a best albums list, I would not include any live albums because that is duplicative. I listened to a few of my favs and they sound just as fine as the regular album. Why this is on this list makes no sense. Also that is a very bland album cover.

Klingt für mich alles ziemlich gleich. Aber nicht schlecht das ganze. Lieder mit 15min sind aber ne Frechheit. Egal von wem sie kommen. Besser als Bowie wars aber

You can die not having listened to this.

Generic rock by today's standards, lacking hits.

Sounds pretty good for a live album; it's still The Who though, so the songs aren't up to much and are pretty long without much of interest happening [edit: "I Can't Explain" rocks, fair enough. Still a 2 though]

1.5

I used to like The Who, but I listen to the lyrics now and realize that the worldview idealized in their times is today's reality, and it's total degeneracy crap, so screw that.

Wasn’t feeling this. Possibly bc the last album was cheap trick live 🤷‍♂️

Not really my style, too many guitar solos

Too noisy for me

Not really my cup of tea, a bit ploddy

Couldn't finish it

Ik hou niet zo van live albums

Ik had erbij moeten zijn.

Summer Time blues and Magic bus were catchy but not into the unknowns songs. They are talented and so impressed they stayed together as a band. But it’s not my first choice (or10th) of their music style.

Hay más discos en directo en esta lista de los que habría pensado. No soy un gran fan de los discos en directo, si has ido al concierto o uno parecido es genial. Algunas veces hacen versiones o cambios interesantes pero en general no me convencen. En este caso tampoco, prefiero sus discos normales.

just couldn't get excited about it, tuned out fairly quickly

I love the Who. I hate live albums. The sound quality is awful even though this is one of the best albums.

Live At Leeds is just a 'substitute' for another album. I like The Who but I don't feel this belongs on 1001 albums when they have plenty of fantastic studio albums already on the list and with duplicate tracks no less. Needless to say, very disappointed.

Garbage

Never liked The Who, never liked live recodsings

very unremarkable

great, I’ve now listened to Who songs other than My Generation and Baba O’Riley, and can with confidence say that I still only know those two songs.

Jeg HADER rock

So müssen sich mitt-50er beim grillen fühlen, dann sagen sie: Das ist eben noch echte Musik gewesen. Sowas gibts heutzutage einfach nichtmehr! Ja warum wohl? Weil alles gleich klingt und langweilt. Natürlich fehlt auch hier nicht eine 15minuten Bullshit Live version von irgendeinem Lied, das man auf halbem weg nicht mehr erkennt. 1* würde es nie wieder hören, ich hasse rock.

I'm finding it difficult to get through this one. I don't really like the heavy electric guitar, and I find the songs really repetitive.

So many familiar songs so good

terrible album

One of greatest live albums ever

This album is wildly good! It's not just that the songs are magnificent (some more than others, of course), but it is also such a great live album. It all sounds great. It's such a very enjoyable album that flows really well. A great one, for sure.

One of the greatest live albums of all time. I highly recommend you listen to the deluxe version with the full concert in its original order for the best experience.

The epitome of rock n roll. Yeah The Who’s studio work is amazing but it’s live where they shine — whether it’s with the all star original line up or in their current state.

nice

The raw power of the Who on this performance is stunning. Probably not for everyone given how heavy and loud it is, but man they were good live!!

Amazing

This album kicks ass so deeply. If you are not up and shaking , moving or just plain gone goofy, there is something wrong with you.

Absolute classic. A great example of what The Who had to offer. Some of their best songs, better renditions than the album versions of most songs. Fantastic Friday album.

This was awesome - love The Who. Always seems like they don’t get the props that other British bands of that era get like led zep, stones, Floyd etc. Each member ridiculously talented but the stand out for me on this one was Keith Moon - just something manic about his playing that was so unique. Glad they include live records on this list. It was awesome.

Whoever made a project by this name was just begging to be "hacked". "penis" is literally the name if anyone wants to have fun.

Listening to the expanded edition from 1995 (77 minutes). The raw energy of the band is on display straight away in Heaven And Hell, the guitar and bass keeping up with Keith Moon's incessant hammering on the drums. It's such a great live sound, the bass loud in the mix and slightly fuzzy, the guitars cutting through with precision and power. After 3 pretty hard rocking tunes, Tattoo slows it down a bit and then they play Young Man Blues - you'd think there'd be time to catch a breath, but not for Roger Daltrey who belts out some unaccompanied vocal lines. The bass and chugging guitars rumble along. This ain't your father's blues. Hell, it could be Deep Purple. Then they launch into a trio of singles from the mid 60s, and the first of two longer songs, which is...a little weird. The medley that follows gets us back on track, including an extended instrumental section with some nice guitar parts and more frenetic drumming. Two more solid rockers - I like Shakin' All Over, more great heavy stuff - and then the 15-minute medley version of My Generation. Suitably epic, with so many notable riffs and solos and some nice quieter parts. Then an extended version of Magic Bus to close, pyschedelic with some blues flair in the form of harmonica. If you weren't in Leeds in 1970, this is the next best thing.

Along with ‘get yer ya yas out’, kick started the trend of the live album. This capitalised on the success of Tommy and contains some great rock n roll covers which were updated for the rock audience. The band were one hell of a four piece - ramshackle and spectacular at the same time. A true classic of its time - heavy rock being born

Love this album. Already own it.

Listened to the original track listing via YouTube. Despite its short length, the raw energy from this album could likely power an entire city for 7 days straight (maybe longer). Loved it.

1 - good instrumental but would listen too on regular basis 2 - liked - loved bass beat line 3 - certified BANGER 4 - good..chill listen 5 - like yes 6 - LOVEED lyrics ate down 7 - solid song..drums cooked 8 - it was chill not fav or anything but good sing all around 9 - loved the intro speech.. long song but very good loved the different parts of the song 10- instrumental pretty fire loved when it broke down to build back up again 11 - was smth for sure 12 - YES YES YES PERFECTION 13 - i like it..good lyrics nice break downs and builds and solid drum line ending = fire 14 - more instrumental…sounded a lot like 13 j continued electric guitar went hard 15 - uhhhh yes please sad it was so short 16 - im a fan they cooked smth here love the story aspect 17 - HELL YA BUDDY 18 - it was a song..didn't stick out 19 - i mean j short as hell but i liked it 20 - i mean like ya fiddle that shit 21 - um okay 22 - ts all abt tommy ig not feeling it 23 - i like this it’s chill and the build to instrumental is good 24 - i need a longer version please…give me those raspy vocals rn 25 - bruh what 26 - AHHHH I LOVE IT..great chill and lyrical song. fantastic such a fav 27 - well yes another banger 28 - genuinely what’s up with tommy 29 - this all abt tommy huh…very good..long ofc but like it overal..seeing the vision 30 - OOOO HELL YA love love love it 31- yes bop 32 - HELLL FREAKING YA ABSOLUTE MASTERPIECE yes its long buts its so good i can’t again guitar. goes. hard. af. 33 - what an end to an album..it’s great overall - don’t understand what’s up with tommy or the huge amounts of time differences but thourouly enjoyed the album and will be listening to some of these bangers on repeat. great album to find and it ate down. 5/5 stars

The best live rock album ever in my opinion. The energy is off the charts. Pete is absolutely ripping his guitar shreds and Keith Moon gives a pummeling and ferocious performance on drums. Wonderful stuff. Favorite track: Young Man Blues

The Who demonstrate their sheer power and recklessness on this explosive live record, which extended is better than the original cut. This shows why they have arguably one of the best rhythm sections in rock music. Entwistle’s gnarly tone and lead bass melodicism, Moon pounding the kit with abandon, Townsend strumming with power interspersed by some feedback…but they can all pull it together and exercise restraint when needed. The Who were different than a lot of classic rock in that Townsend isn’t a typical guitar god, so they don’t rely on lengthy wanky solos - they rip together as one.

Excellent album very Zappa Influenced

This is the album i can give 5 stars and not be disapointed when I'll look back on it later. I knew The Who as the band which wrote Behind the blue eyes and never listened to them more in depth. But after this album I think I'll start listen to them. This man has beautiful voice and I loved the instruments. I like live albums especially 'cause they are interactive and it feels like they have a soul. I will play that on CD in my car because this is the vibe it's giving.

This album is why I liked The Who way back when, but the original version excludes all the weird Tommy stuff, which is why I don't like them much now. This rating is for the original vinyl:4.5

I guess I’m in the minority cause I LOVE live albums. I feel like they showcase artists at their rawest - for better or worse. The Who is one of those bands I’ve been meaning to get into for years and just never know where to start. This live album made me a fan, and now I’m probably gonna consume their discography over the next week or so and make them my hyperfixation. It’s fun, raw, and just a good old fashioned rock and roll show. As an aside, I listened to the extended album cause that seemed to be the only version available on Spotify. Definitely didn’t regret the experience.

I fucking loved this album when I was 14 and it still hits as hard today. 🎯

This album has the perfect guitar tones in my book. The deluxe version is amazing with the complete live version of Tommy. Simply incredible live band. Perhaps the best live album of all time.

Excellent record.

Again, another one from my favorites list! Awesome album. Great music recorded very well.

I have never connected with The Who the same way I have with other heavyweights of their era because of their conceptual rock operas, but the songs are massive on their own on this live album.

Grandes

Excellent live album and always worth a listen.

The best live albums should make you feel the energy of a live show and not just sound the same as the studio versions. Live at Leeds does that excellently. It’s way more energetic and aggressive than the Who normally sound