Customer Reviews
Assault and battery - By: Mr. S. Bailey, 27 Oct 2008 
Live at Leeds, with its distinctively minimalist sleeve, is that rarest of commodities: a great live album from a great rock band. Roger Daltrey is at his growling best, whilst Keith Moon, John Entwistle & Pete Townshend provide a suitably hard-hitting, hard rock accompaniment. They absolutely assault a number of rock-and-roll standards (`Young Man Blues', `Summertime Blues' & `Shakin' All Over) & batter through their own material with brio. Listening to the lean, focussed `Substitute' & lengthy `Magic Bus' you can see why the album was positioned at 170in music magazine Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time [2003].
If it ain't broke... - By: Alan Burridge, 15 Sep 2008 Fortunate enough, though we didn't realise it at the time, to see The Who at Bournemouth's Pavilion Ballroomin the mid to late '60's, the venue was packed out shoulder-to-shoulder, of course. Privileged as we were to see Keith Moon, (was he the only drummer who didn't use a Hi-Hat?), he was up to his usual antics at one of the shows by pouring vodka over the tom-tom drum skins, & thus creating great fountains as soon as he hit them when the next song began; much to his extreme amusement.
We enjoyed 2 amazing gigs there, the third showcased the 'Tommy' album, (which, other than the monumental 'Pinball Wizerd' track, didn't do a great deal for me as the balance of the songs were quite weak by Townshend's earlier standards; but hey, they went global with it, so I'm the oddball!), & Bournemouth never saw The Who grace any of their stages ever again.
Fortunately, just pre-'Tommy,' 'Live At Leeds' was recorded & released on a vinyl LP with about half the tracks this 14 track re-issue has, and, I believe, was all the better for it. The maxim always was 'If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It,' & although the extra cuts are enjoyable, they have taken the bombast & punch away from the original & seem to have watered it down greatly.
Whilst 'newer' Who fans won't be aware of the original release, perhaps, then, a re-issue such as this may well be quite joyous, & it is, but for impact, the original was the best.
As later songs like 'Won't Get Fooled Again' proved, the 'Rock Operas,' popular as they were, just seemed to take the guts & volume out of The Who, especially as a Live Attraction. Here, 'A Quick One' does just that, & the toe dipping into the 'Tommy' era with 'Amazing Journey / Sparks' also demonstrates this well. I adored The Who for their thrash, their bash & their extremely loud volume, which the Rock Operas, sadly, diluted.
the defintive Live album - By: T. Glover, 21 Jul 2008 Much legend surounds 'Live at Leeds' but it is truly the greatest live album of all time, it is match by none for sheer energy & performance, Keith moon steals the show playing brilliantly on every song & not loosing an ounce of energy. Daltrey's sining is brilliant while Entwistle bass rumbling causes my floor to rumble when 'My generation' kicks in, Townsends guitar roars during 'sparks', but he truly shinesin 'my generation' that lasts 15 mins with Townsend creating a number of improv riffs & solo's that make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
Good, but not a classic - By: metalmaz, 25 Jan 2008 
I've never really been much of a fan of The Who's rock opera stuff, I've always found it rather pseudo. The Who should stick to what they do best, rock & roll & not try & appeal to Guardian readers.
The first half of Live At Leeds is very good, with fantastic versions of I Can't Explain, Young Man Blues, Substitute, Summertime Blues & a wonderful medley of My Generation.
It's dragged down by an overlong Magic Bus & one of The Who's worst songs, Happy Jack. We also have to endure incessant yammering from Daltry & Townsend. It would have been nice for then to shut up & have an extra song instead.
Most of side 2 - the rock opera Tommy, is dreary.
It's a good live album, but not up with the greats
A great live album, but not the best... - By: Mr. J. Gould, 06 Aug 2007 
The thing i have found with The Who's music is that it ranges from the very best, to very boring. I purchased this albumin the hope it would live up to it's name as the best live album ever. Put simply, it doesn't. I don't know about you, but i like to hear the crowd on a live album, so i can get into the atmosphere, but they seem to have been filtered out of the mix on this record. When instruments aren't playing i expect to hear a crowd going absolutely crazy, for example before/during the chorus of 'Shaking All Over', but on this album you don't hear anything. I know that's not the musicians fault, I'm just making a point.
Another complaint i have is that some of the performance seems very sloppy at times. Townsend's lead playing is uninspired (however his rhythm is the bestin the business). Roger's voice also seems to crack & shriekin a cringe worthy manner. At points it's quite embarrassing & laughable.
However enough about the negatives. There's some great music to be found here. It's what you'd expect of The Who. Loud, messy hard rock with an edge. There's some good improvisation ('My Generation' lasts near enough 15 mins) & some brilliant tunes. So a must for Who & rock fansin general, but for the best live album, look for Van Morrison's 'It's Too Late To Stop Now' or Thin Lizzy's 'Live And Dangerous' - true classics.
