Live At Leeds: The Who

(Decca DL 79175)

This loud, heavy popular group taped every concert it gave in the U.S. in 1969, in anticipation of culling enough singular performances from the tapes to produce a smashing album.

When they got back to England, they had 240 hours of tape, and nobody had the patience to listen to 240 hours of tape, super album or not.

So they junked the 240 hours of tape, went to Leeds and recorded what turned out to be a very good concert, they said.

The record is dominated by a 14-minute version of “My Generation” and by a seven and one half minute version of their old standby “The Magic Bus.”

Although they suffer from sounding so much alike from one tune to the next, and live on the antics of leader Peter Townshend, The Who remain very popular in England and popular in the U.S.

This album suffers all the faults the group suffers. Most of the tunes sound precisely alike, and only “The Magic Bus” and Mose Allison’s old “Young Man” show any musical or instrumental accomplishment.

Two stars.