The Friday Morning Listen: The Who - Live at Leeds

The following pile 'o yakin' can be blamed on Josh Hathaway. There's a post over at Confessions of a Fanboy that deals with the idea of the Top 10 Bands of All Time. Gees, what a concept! (In truth, the idea came from Noel Gallagher of Oasis, but since I don't even like to acknowledge that band's existence, Josh will have to take the heat.)

Anyway, I'm pretty sure that it'd be impossible for me to put together such a list. Sure, listmaking such as what the boys did in High Fidelity is a lot of fun until somebody loses an eye. What?! No Sex Pistols?!!! What the frick is wrong with you?!!! It's a little bit easier to create a Top 10 if the criteria leans more toward "favorite" as opposed to "best," as that avoids bands' "importance" and/or "influence," topics that always seem to set off firestorms of argumentative poo-flinging.

So it's a little easier if we're talking about "favorite." Can I reel off a quick Top 10 without hurting myself? Uh...OK. In no order: Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, The Who, Frank Zappa, Southside Johnny, The Clash, Tom Waits, Grateful Dead, The Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath, King Crimson. Hmmm...am I allowed to put Pete Townshend solo in there? Oh, Tom Waits isn't a 'band'? No Beatles? That's right, no Beatles.

Ah, forget it. Josh was right. This is impossible.

One good thing to come out of this recent Top 10 musing is that it has pushed Josh to finally reevaluate The Who, a band he's never 'gotten.' Everybody has bands like that. For whatever reason, the music just doesn't resonate.

Well, the Who fans came out of the woodwork to make some recommendations: Who's Next (perhaps the classic studio recording), and my personal favorite: Live at Leeds. This album documents The Who at their most ferocious. Roger is in great voice. Moon is a dynamo on the drums, his kit sounding like it might fly apart at any second. Entwistle's bass, as always, is far more than an anchor. And then there's Pete Townshend. The reason I recommended this album is because it's a showcase of Townshend building a giant wall of guitar. Giant, I tell you! Looking at the track listing, you might think that "My Generation" couldn't possibly be over 15 minutes long...until you hear the bits of Tommy that are visited, as well as several other instrumental segments. If the boys at Championship Vinyl were to make me put together the Top 5 Rock Medley's, this version of "My Generation" would start it off.

Article Author: Mark Saleski

Mark Saleski is a writer and music obsessive based out of the Monadnock region of New Hampshire. He is an editor and writer for Jazz.com. He also writes reviews for Blogcritics.org and produces the weekly feature The Friday Morning Listen. …

Visit Mark Saleski's author page — Mark Saleski's Blog