Re: LAL

[James L Jackson <jacksonj@battelle.org>]

          Gary Gillman,
          
          <<Why is LAL head and shoulders, not just above all other 
          live rock albums, but all  other live Who recordings?>>
          
          I have always wondered why LAL "got it right." For me, the 
          Who's best 2 live performances that I have an audio are LAL 
          and their 9-16-79 MSG show, where Roger sings happy birthday 
          to Kenney. Both of those shows have a tangible energy 
          despite their different styles. 
          
          For LAL and its energy, here's my theory--the Who wanted 
          something that reflected them in concert; all their rock 
          ballsiness. You must remember, LAL was a response to TOMMY. 
          Pete has always maintained that LEEDS served two purposes:
           
          -captured the Who live (they'd been trying to do a live 
          album at least since '68--see the SHAKIN' ALL OVER boot from 
          the Fillmore East--that was gonna be an official album until 
          they decided it had too many flaws)
          
          -provided a real rock and roll response to those who thought 
          the Who's music was simply that created for TOMMY (Pete has 
          always had a love-hate relationship with TOMMY and it goes 
          all the way back to the beginning of TOMMY).
          
          So, LAL is different from other live albums where bands try 
          to recapture their studio songs live. The Who never went 
          into Leeds U. that night with that in mind. I think that the 
          band always knew that the Who LIVE and the Who STUDIO were 
          essentially 2 different bands. What amazes me about LEEDS is 
          that I've often found that the Who are less than great when 
          they knew they were being recorded (see THE WHO ROCKS 
          AMERICA), so to have LEEDS be as free as it is is really 
          stunning.
          
          All this, plus a little luck never hurt.  I'm anxious to see 
          what others think about this.


          /Jim