The Who: Live: London
24-03-04
Encore Series ES-WH04-0324
| Musical Performance |
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| Recording Quality |
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| Overall Enjoyment |
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Encore Series ES-PG04-0512
| Musical Performance |
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| Recording Quality |
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| Overall Enjoyment |
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 Ever
attended a concert and then wished you had a recording of it? I don’t mean a grungy
old bootleg, but a really hi-rez, studio-quality recording to enjoy for years to come?
I sure have. I attended at least some of the shows recorded
for Little Feat’s Waiting for Columbus, and, as good as that record is (and
it’s only one of the best live records ever), it pales next to one special night at
Portland, Oregon’s Paramount in 1977, when the audience just wouldn’t let the
Feat leave the stage. By the time the venue threatened to cut the power, the band had been
playing for nearly three hours and the stage was full of Feat, opening act Orleans, and a
few famous friends who’d been hanging out backstage. I think it smoked Columbus,
but I’d love to have it on disc so I could make sure.
Of course, that very "it can only happen once"
gamble is part of what makes concerts so exciting. I can listen to Waiting for Columbus
repeatedly, but that night in Portland was unique. Still, wouldn’t it be nice to
be able to return to some of those special evenings?
Other people think so too -- obviously. Clear Channel has
begun recording acts and offering their CD-Rs on the day of the show. I’ve heard
Clear Channel’s radio stations, so I don’t hold out much hope for the quality of
their CDs -- and I’m not really excited about paying $20 per disc for a CD-R taken
straight off a sound-reinforcement board.
But recordings of Peter Gabriel and The Who, done by Mike
Hobson, one of the moving forces behind Classic Records? That’s completely different.
That could be really good.
Here’s the deal. Hobson got together with Pete
Townshend to release demos and archival recordings for The Scoop series, and both
seemed to like the synergy. When Hobson heard The Who were going to tour, he pitched the
band’s manager on his idea of taping each date’s show and advertising the
recordings at the event. People could go online and order the show they’d just seen,
and Hobson would take the tapes to a professional mastering house, have them mixed down to
two-channel, and press them on high-quality CDs. The resulting two-CD sets sell for about
$27 USD, and they’re great.
The Who these days consist of Roger Daltrey (vocals,
guitar), Pete Townshend (guitar, vocals), Simon Townshend (guitar, vocals), John
"Rabbit" Bundrick (keyboards), Pino Palladino (bass), and Zak Starkey (drums).
No, it’s not the powerhouse instrumental trio of Live at Leeds, but hey,
Entwistle and Moon have passed on -- are Townshend, Daltrey, and Bundrick (by now a
20-year veteran, after all) supposed to stop making music?
I think not. And based on this rocking, rowdy set, I’m
glad they haven’t. Zak Starkey and Townshend get some good, improvisatory energy
going on "Amazing Journey/Sparks," which came as a shock to me -- I thought
nobody actually jammed in concert any more.
I’m not sure I’d buy every night’s offering,
but if I were looking for a taste of The Who circa 2004, I’d sure want at least one
of these dates.
 Then
there’s Peter Gabriel. The date I have is so new, it isn’t even listed on
themusic.com’s website, but find a way to order it anyway. The sound is even better
than that of The Who discs -- it’s as good as the Secret World Live CD and has
a ton more energy and snap (the DVD is a different story: you get visuals).
Gabriel is a consummate showman, and the set list for this
date is about as good a career overview as you could ask for. The musicians are rock-solid
(actually, with Tony Levin in the band, rock-solid doesn’t begin to describe
it), and the dynamic range is immense. If there was ever a demo-quality authorized
bootleg, this (and the other 20-odd releases in the series, I’m guessing) is it.
I love The Who and I’ll listen to the 24-03-04
concert at the Forum with pleasure, but I can’t get enough of Peter Gabriel’s 05.12.04.
I expect I’ll be listening to it almost nonstop for the foreseeable future. If I
don’t list it on my to-play pile every Monday, it’s because I’m embarrassed
at how frequently I’ve been listening to it. Order it and you’ll understand.
Order Encore series discs at: www.themusic.com/encore.
...Wes Phillips
wes@onhifi.com
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