The Who - Best Of (1993) - Bootleg

(U.K 1964–82, 1989, 1996–present)
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Note: Through a loophole in the law, the contents of this CD were sourced from a soundboard bootleg of the 09/29/69 Amsterdam, Netherlands, Concertgebouw concert. 

Four London Mods who smashed guitars, overturned drum kits, trashed hotels — and, at the same time created classic rock.
The Who began life in 1962 as a skiffle group known as the Detours, comprised of vocalist Roger Daltrey, bassist John Entwistle, guitarist Pete Townshend and drummer Doug Sandom. In 1964 Moon took over the drumstool and the band became the Who for a short time, before manager Peter Meaden suggested the High Numbers as a name and blatantly cultivated a Mod image. Purveying high-energy R&B, the band initially relied on covers for the bulk of their live set, which ranged from James Brown to Bo Diddley.

Written by Meaden, the High Numbers' sole single, I'm The Face' on the Fontana label, sank without trace. Film directors Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp who had been considering a documentary on the Mod phenomenon, saw the High Numbers in concert, however, and decided to manage them. They bought out Peter Meaden's interest for £500.
The image of the band destroying equipment originated at the Railway Hotel, Harrow, where the low ceiling was a constant source of impact for the top of Townshend's guitar. One night the guitar neck snapped clean off to the delight of the delirious crowd. Lambert and Stamp were quick to realize that repetition and exaggeration of this stunt would attract considerable publicity.

Lambert renamed them the Who and secured them a Tuesday night slot at London's famous Marquee Club. Townshend began writing original material as a vehicle to express his ideas on youth culture; alienation, confusion, amphetamine abuse and a disregard for authority all featured prominently in his lyrics. After some difficulty, including a rejection from EMI, they eventually secured a deal through Shel Talmy, an independent producer who negotiated a contract through Decca in the US. The band's debut 'I Can't Explain' in 1965 became a UK Top 10 hit following appearances on Ready Steady Go! and Top Of The Pops.
'Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere' resulted in a further Top 10 success, even though the mod movement was beginning to lose its impetus.

'My Generation', the anti-establishment anthem, reached Number 2 in the UK charts and featured stuttered obscene innuendo's as well as Townshend's personal philosophy in the line "Hope I die, before I get old". In addition, the band's stage show became more outrageous; Townshend's windmill guitar antics and the total trashing of equipment became commonplace, especially if media moguls were in attendance.
December 1965 saw the release of the band's debut album 'My Generation', an angst-ridden statement that highlighted teenage frustrations and took them into the UK Top 5. Further single success ensued with 'Substitute' (UK Number 5), I'm A Boy' (UK Number 2) and 'Happy Jack', (UK Number 3, US Number 24) and saw Townshend widen his lyrical horizons with comments on awakening sexuality as well as society's eccentrics. In December 1966, 'A Quick One' became the band's second Top 5 album success and included the nine-minute, mini-rock opera 'A Quick One, While He's Away7, which pre-dates the Beatles' 'Sgt Pepper' and is a blueprint for Tommy'.

The US market became primed following the band's infamous equipment-wrecking show at the Monterey Pop Festival on 25 June 1967. 'I Can See For Miles' became a Top 10 hit on both sides of the Atlantic, while The Who Sell Out (1967) which featured tracks linked by commercial radio ads was a success in the album charts reaching Number 48 in the UK charts and Number 13 in the US. Townshend began work on an ambitious rock opera in the spring of 1968, which eventually materialized two years later as Tommy' (1969).

'Pinball Wizard', the advance single, went to the Top 5 in the UK and the Top 20 in the US, with the double concept album (a UK Number 2 and US Number 4) relating the story of a deaf, dumb and blind kid, whose only talent was playing pinball machines. He eventually becomes the guru-like reader of a new quasi-religious cult, based on pinball, but is finally rejected by his disenchanted disciples.
The band only performed Tommy' in its entirety twice, but in 1972 Townshend coordinated a new recording with the London Svmphony Orchestra, featuring guest appearances from Rod Stewart, Sandy Denny, Steve Winwood and others. In 1975, Ken Russell produced a film version of Tommy starring The Who, with Daltrey in the central role, arid featuring Tina Turner as the Acid Queen' and Elton John as the 'Pinball Wizard'. Controversial and violent performances at Woodstock and the Isle of Wight festival elevated the band to legendary status.
Following the studio labours of Tommy', in 1970 the band recorded 'Live At Leeds' (UK Number 3, US Number 4), a charged set of high-energy R&B, featuring screeching feedback and explosive guitar work from Townshend. This is considered by many as one of the greatest ever live recordings. Who's Next (1971) (UK Number 1, US Number 4) saw the band utilize synthesizers for the first time and achieve a more refined sound. Won't Get Fooled Again', released as a single, went to Number 9 in the UK and Number 15 in the US. A trio of new single releases ensued over the next eighteen months, to mark time until Townshend's second rock opera was fully completed; 'Let's See Action', 'Join Together' and 'Relay1 helped to maintain a high media profile during this period.
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The Who - Idols Of Swinging London

In November 1973, the ambitious 'Quadrophenia' went to Number 2 in both the UK and US and brought the inevitable comparisons with Tommy'. Another double concept album, this time based on the story of 'Jimmy', an adolescent mod searching for the true meaning of life. Although the album was a worldwide success, singles released from the project fared relatively poorly. In 1979, a film version was produced under the direction of Franc Roddam, featuring Sting of the Police in a minor role.
Following the release of 'Odds And Sods' (1974), a compilation of unreleased leftovers from the previous decade, The Who By Numbers' (1975) suggested that Townshend's lyrical and musical cutting edge had become less sharp. With the advent of punk, Townshend had to radically reassess his approach, and against the odds the band rediscovered themselves in 1978 with the more confident and aggressive Who Are You?' (UK Number 6, US Number 2). However, tragedy struck in September 1978 when Keith Moon died from an overdose of drugs; ironically, these had been prescribed to treat his alcoholism.
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Keith Moon - played the largest drum kit at that time

 After serious contemplation, the remaining trio decided to continue and recruited former Small Faces drummer Kenney Jones. Following the release of 'The Kids Are Alright' (1979), a double album retrospective, the long-delayed 'Face Dances' (1981) represented a creative nadir reaching Number 2 in the UK and Number 4 in the US which was further confirmed by 'It's Hard' (1982) (UK Number 11, US Number 8), the band's final studio release. In December 1982, the band split up following the last gig of a North American farewell tour. The event was filmed and recorded for subsequent video and album release.
The band re-formed for live Aid in 1985 and again in 1989 for a lucrative 25th-anniversary tour, which yielded Join Together', yet another live album. Although somewhat tarnished, the legend of the Who lives on; their flamboyant, aggressive style has influenced many generations of bands over the years and their-characteristic trademarks are still copied, but rarely equaled. [extract from The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Rock, edited by Michael Heatley, Carlton Books, 1994.p216-217]
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Townsend destroys another guitar

The Who's Tour 1969
The Who Tour 1969 was a series of performances and tours by The Who, partially in support of their Tommy album. 1969 was an extremely transitional year for the band, due almost entirely to Pete Townshend's rock opera Tommy, which they had begun recording the previous autumn. By the second half of the year, the success of Tommy began to elevate the status of the band, who continued to feature it as the focal point of their act.
Starting with the show at Fairfield Halls in Croydon, London on 21 September, the band added several songs to the Tommy set to present the rock opera in more complete form, while shows generally ended with long versions of "My Generation" that included reprised themes from Tommy, along with various other instrumental sections. A live FM radio broadcast from the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam followed shortly afterwards (from which this Bootleg probably originated), and the group returned to North America for another five-week tour in early October, highlighted by six nights at the Fillmore East in New York City.[extract from wikipedia]

Daltrey & Townsend 1969

About the recording
This recording was made by a Dutch radio/TV broadcast. It's not 100% certain who did it, but it was probably done by the VPRO, who also did the Pink Floyd recording the same year at the same venue. And just like that Pink Floyd recording, this one was also bootlegged a million times from various very good to very poor sources. All of these sources were originated from radio broadcast/s. Back then, and today still, the 'Concertgebouw' in Amsterdam was not a place for rock bands but for opera's and other classic music. Mixed directly to 2-tracks, this may been one of the reasons why the mixing engineer had a hard time finding the right balance. The mix changes often, and sometimes the drums or the guitar just disappear or get buried for a while. It also must have been hard for the band to hear each other, because of the extremely reverberating acoustics.

Remember, this was 1969 and sound monitoring on stage was still a thing for the future. When comparing this one to other Who shows from this period, this one probably isn't the best. Roger Daltrey has once said that he didn't think he sang very well this night. And playing the Tommy album on stage was obviously not a routine for the band yet. But, there is more than enough to enjoy here. It is the only complete soundboard recording from this year. It is also the only one with complete lineage, and it has the best sound. Beside that, all other Who '69 board tapes are far from complete and don't have most of Tommy. Somewhere around 2000, a Pre-FM source of this show was unearthed. Funny enough, the same thing happened with the aforementioned Pink Floyd recording, but that's another story. They may have come from the same person though. Read the quote below: "My source in Amsterdam worked on a Who anniversary special, for the same radio station that broadcast the show in 1969. He suggested that the DJ use some of this show, so a technician produced the original masters. He took the chance to make a copy on their professional reel-to-reel equipment. Our CD was transferred off his 1st generation reels. Although this show has been booted repeatedly, this is the REAL source. It sounds amazing, like it was taped off the radio yesterday, perfect except for a little tape hiss in the very quiet bits.
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First Hand Account Of The Concert
Did you know that Keith fell off the stage that night in Amsterdam? When the band came on stage, Keith came running up the stairs on the right side of the stage (which was a small one) and he forgot to stop. He tried to get his balance again, but he fell into the audience and took some speakers with him in his fall. I was standing maybe three feet away from where he fell and with some other people, we lifted him up onto the stage again. He shaked his head, which was covered with blood, jumped behind his drums and the show was on. This was my 1st WHO Concert and since than they are still the best band for me. [review by Henk Hulstkamp at thewholive.net]
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This post consists of MP3's (320kps) ripped from an AMCOS CD (Australian) release and includes full album artwork (plus several other bootleg covers for same concert).  The quality of this bootleg recording is pretty good for the period in which it was recorded, but don't expect another Live at Leeds !
The track listing is quite interesting and most of their well known songs are here, including a good slab of material from their rock opera Tommy and some of their classic standards like "Shakin' All Over" and "Substitute". The only bummer is that my favourite Who track "Magic Bus" wasn't on the playlist, but I guess I've got 'Live At Leeds' to console me.  Enjoy.
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Track Listing

01 - I Can't Explain
02 - Fortune Teller
03 - Tattoo
04 - Young Man Blues
05 - Pinball Wizard
06 - Substitute
07 - Happy Jack
08 - I'm Free
09 - 1921
10 - Summertime Blues
11 - See Me, Feel Me
12 - I'm A Boy
13 - Christmas
14 - The Acid Queen
15 - Shakin' All Over
16 - My Generation.

The Who Line Up:
Pete Townshend (guitars, vocal)
Roger Daltey (vocal)
John Entwistle (bass, vocal)
Keith Moon (drums, vocal)
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The Who Link (147Mb)  New Link 02/01/2024
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