Albumtober Day 14: Live at Leeds

(Prompt: An album to play loud) The Who - Live at Leeds (1970)

I mean, it was obvious from the start I was going to pick this one. Live at Leeds is the definitive live rock album, from a band that was one of the loudest in the world during their prime. This isn't an album to play loud, this is the album to play loud. This album is pure distilled rock at its absolute peak. This album is… okay, okay, I'll stop before I start sounding like someone's boomer dad. But you get the idea.

The original LP is under 40 minutes long and contains only six tracks, three of them being covers. (It also contains various posters, flyers, receipts and other oddities.) The 1995 CD version, on the other hand, contains 14 tracks, bringing the total length up to 77 minutes. This version includes some great songs like "Heaven and Hell" (a live staple, written by John Entwistle, that never appeared on a Who studio album), "A Quick One While He's Away" (a nine-minute "mini opera" that foreshadowed their later rock operas), and "Amazing Journey" (a highlight from Tommy.) Personally, I dig the CD version. (You can't play vinyl records in the car.)

The centerpiece of any version of the album is undoubtedly the fifteen-minute "My Generation" medley featuring themes from Tommy and some riffing that would later form the basis for the song "Naked Eye". If you had to choose one track to represent the Who at their best, this would be a pretty strong contender. They were on fire here. They were on fire for the whole album.

Favorite tracks: "My Generation", "Substitute", "A Quick One While He's Away". (Yes, I'm counting the expanded version. Don't @ me.)