If you were among the 17,177 who saw The Who at the Civic Arena Sept. 28, 1982, you heard everything on "Who's Last" (MCA2-8018) but you still might want it to help recall that good time.

If you weren't in that crowd, you might want it as a token of a good time that supposedly won't come again. The Who's '82 tour was billed as their farewell American trek (but given the mercurial nature of the rock world, don't bet your life savings on it).

According to sleeve notes, the band itself culled the 16 songs on these two live records from "a number of different shows." The faithfully rendered numbers touch almost all phases of their career and are, for the most part, strong, sturdy, straight-ahead rockers.

For my money, I'll take kickoff song "My Generation," "Pinball Wizard," little-heard "Long Live Rock," equally little-heard "Dr. Jimmy" (the only song Roger Daltrey introduces), "Summertime Blues," "Twist and Shout" and the 10-minute rendition of "Won't Get Fooled Again."

Of course, there are a lot of winners left undone: "The Kids Are Alright" "I Can See for Miles" (The Who's only American Top-10 hit), "Squeeze Box," "You Better You Bet." But that was true at the arena that night, too, and no two records could do justice to so rich a career as The Who's.

It would be nice to report that "Who's Last" was well-recorded, but that's not the case. Pete Townshend is in fine fettle; you can hear every power chord (and there are a ton of 'em). You can hear every one of Kenney Jones's drumbeats. But the vocals in general and Daltrey in particular are too low in the mix and hence take a clobbering.

"Who's Last" is a respectable remembrance, although it's not like being there. To borrow from two Who songs, it's an OK "Substitute" but it's not "the best I ever had."

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AUTOGRAPH often sounds like Van Halen — and why not? The quintet opened for Van Halen at the Civic Arena last March — without having a recording contract.

Now, however, Autograph has a contract with RCA. "We call our style melodic metal," says singer Steve Plunkett. "It's designed to reach not just teenagers but everyone who loves rock 'n' roll."

And "melodic metal" is as apt a description as any of the songs on "Sign in Please" (NFL 1-8040). They have plenty of muscle underneath the catchy melodies, close vocal harmony, tasty keyboard seasoning by Steven Isham and lots of excellent guitar work by Steve Lynch. He's not Edward Van Halen, but he's not terribly far behind.

Take your pick of "Send Her to Me," "Nighteen & Non-Stop," "Deep End," slam-banger "My Girlfriend's Boyfriend Isn't Me," easier-rocking "In the Night" and full-production "All I'm Gonna Take" — winners all and not mindless as so much of this ilk is.

Autograph was done in by awful sound at the area but suffers no such setback on this LP. It's a very promising debut disc.

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DOKKEN rhymes with "rockin'," and that's no accident. Neither is it an accident that the quartet dresses in leather, chains, studs, handcuffs and bandoliers.

As singer Don Dokken puts it, "This is a strange band. What makes the sound is conflict. (Guitarist) George (Lynch) and I don't get along, but I need his heaviness and he needs my melodies."

Consequently, the results on "Tooth and Nail" (Elektra 9 60376-1) blend plenty of power, Lynch's fine guitar work, good vocal harmony, strong melodies and Don's non-screech, non-scream leads vocals.

And an appealing blend it is. Take your pick of the title track, "Close Your Eyes," "Bullets to Spare" (for those concerned about such things, it's an extended sexual innuendo) and party number "Turn on the Action," shallow but effective — and ballad "Alone Again."

Best of all, the lyrics, as an accompanying biography brags, make sense. They're often about love gone wrong ("I'd like to see you in the morning light. I like to feel you when it comes to night. Now I'm here and I'm all alone. Still I know how it feels; I'm alone again").

They're also about the status of Dokken itself ("Writing on the wall crushed all our hopes and the dreams we once had ... Tearin' it up in the daytime, burning it down at night. How long does it take to break the spell?").

With any luck, it won't take much longer. Dokken is a band that deserves to make it bigger.