Spotting a somewhat cheap offer on Amazon, I finally succumbed to the charms of the Live at Leeds Deluxe Box Set and got it despite my inital objections. Now, listening to the Hull show it's quite interesting to notice the differences between this and the famous Leeds set.

Concentrating on the non-Tommy material on disc one, I sense a bit more ambience in the recording (different venue), a bit more high end, clarity and most of all, the drums are more prominent in the mix - Moon's really on fire here. All in all the sound is an impressive counterpart to the more compact and dry sound of Leeds. But, apart from the stormy drums it also lacks some of Leeds' guitar power, because the guitar is a little bit in the background here.

Regarding the performance as such, the Who seem to abandon most of their usual on-stage banter at Hull and concentrate first and foremost on getting the songs down. Remembering the quotes that Leeds was intitally meant to be the "dress rehearsal" only, this seems quite logical, as Leeds was "the night" then, and maybe they were a bit nervous about it (you can also tell it from Daltrey's introcuction to Fortune Teller).

Overall Hull seems to be a performance as strong as Leeds, maybe a little more uneven, sometimes surprisingly better, sometimes a little less brilliant. Speaking of individual song performances, I found Heaven and Hell, Fortune Teller or Tattoo - amongst others - even more impressive than their Leeds counterparts. Whereas Young Man Blues for example comes across as weaker, less compelling and forceful than it's Leeds cousin.

My guess is that Leeds was not only preferred due to recording issues but also because of the spirit it carries. To my ears the drier, more vicous sound of Leeds just seems to be a better fit to the intended warts 'n' all Rock album. And if I read the liner notes correctly the "bass problem" actually wasn't noticed until a much later remixing date, by John Astley - Pete Townshend had simply found them not suitable for the live album before.

That said it's really a gas to have the Hull recordings now, and to hear them as some kind of alternate approach (and different vibe) to the very same set list (except Magic Bus, of course) .



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 2010-12-17 16:11 by Greenblues.

Hi, thanks for that,now has anyone heard The Groundhogs recent live album .

I was listening to the Hull non-Tommy disc last night. The little differences, particularly in Young Man Blues, Shakin' All Over and My Generation, are remarkable. The bass tracks that are brought in from the Leeds show on six songs are a muddy rumble that lacks the clarity of Entwistle's bass parts that were actually played on that night.

What about their Luton Show?

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