My copy of The Who's "Live AT Leeds" is battered and well-played by my guess, a teenager. If one used a DNA test on the vinyl surface, my assumption that they would find body fluids as well as various meals, and traces of dope. I bought my copy at Rockaway Records in Silver Lake, and it was appropriately priced due to its condition. It also had some, not all of the inserts. For instance, the black and white photo image of The Who was missing, as well as the other photographs, including the poster. I have to presume that more likely the original owner probably placed the photos as well as the poster on their bedroom wall, but the contracts and other paper stuff is still intact.
Since the original release, it has been remastered, remixed, and more songs added to the package, but still, I prefer the old scratched version of this early live masterpiece. This is The Who stretching out as a band, and it's interesting that side two only lasts around 14 minutes, when side two's "My Generation" lasts for 14:27. And it includes a 7-minute version of "The Magic Bus." "Live At Leeds" represents not only the live Who but a very heavy sounding Who. One can imagine that the volume for one, must have been like a Jet taking off in a closed room. As you can gather, The Who consisted of a lead singer, lead guitarist, lead bassist, and of course, the lead drums. No one in the band holds back. It's full-frontal attack that only ends in quiet dynamics of a song piece, or at the end of the show.
"Live At Leeds" by no means is my favorite Who album, but still, it represents the year 1970, and what that meant in rock. Clearly an important documentation of a live album, and it's aesthetic. Songs are not intended to ape the recordings, but actually, a re-thinking of the original records or maybe the live version is the original, and the studio recordings were a softer xerox. Nevertheless, listening to my version of this album puts me in place when I was 15 years old, and I think I actually know the kid that owned and played this album - in theory at least!
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