I was born in 1970, and maybe that is why music of that year in particular has always had special resonance for me. No record has ever been as completely gobsmacking to me, however, as Live at Leeds. The original record was ludicrously compact (just 6 tracks, albeit with two spread out over a whole side) and hearing it had a physical impact. It is, simply, the greatest live recording of a rock band ever, and always shall be, in my opinion, since the live album as defined by LAL is dead. In 1995, I was overjoyed by the single-disc extended remix/remaster, not just for the huge number of extra tracks and superb sound, but because it proved that those 6 tunes were no fluke. February 14, 1970 at the Leeds University refectory, an unrepeatable magic was present. The Who, always ferocious live at that point, simply played the perfect show---not a note out of place, no awkward stretches of jamming, incredibly few off notes on the vocals. It was heaven for the Who fan. In 2001, a double-CD Deluxe Edition of LAL was released that added a second CD with the entire live Tommy performance from that night. This I did not buy, simply because the 1970 Isle of Wight double-CD had come out and I felt I had enough live Tommy. That reissue, however, had many detractors, because the sound this time was compromised by Jon Astley's heavy hand on the No-Noise control---I did listen to the Tommy disc checked out from a public library, and yes, it did not sound great like the 1995 single CD did--very telescoped, quiet, lacking power. Enter 2010, LAL's 40th anniversary, and mine. This "Super Deluxe Edition" (I assume in 2020, we'll get a small chip that we can insert into our brain that will be called the "Super-Duper, we-really-mean-it-this-time Edition") has been issued by Universal, with the cooperation, but not firm control, of Pete and Roger. It offers a 2CD version of the Leeds show (sure glad I did not buy the 2001 set) and also, wonder of wonders, a 2 CD set of the Hull City Hall show from the following night, which had been reported as unusable due to lack of a bass guitar track. Turns out the first 4 songs (first reel of tape) did have a fault that led to lack of bass, but the rest of the show was fine. Also included is a heavy (and it is very heavy, maybe 200 gram, though I'm no expert) vinyl pressing of the original 6-track LP, a replica Summertime Blues/Heaven and Hell 7" single in a picture sleeve, a huge (bigger than the original) Maximum R&B/Live At Leeds poster, and a full-LP-sized hardcover, coffee-table style book on very heavy paper with many gorgeous photos of the Leeds and Hull shows, liner notes from the 1995 and 2001 releases along with new notes about Hull and the reissue. There has been a LOT of whining on audiophile and Who message boards about how much the set costs, how we are being "forced" to buy Leeds yet again, about how the Leeds show will "certainly" have the same bad 2001 remaster with No-Noise, etc, etc. Of course, this was all without actually seeing or listening to a set. I was leery, but I'm a sucker and in my defense, with Amazon's pre-order lowest price guarantee, I got it shipped 2-day free with my Prime membership for only $59.51. That is certainly a bargain (though not the best I've ever had, perhaps) for all that one gets here. So, what do I think? First, Leeds: I did an A-B comparison with my 1995 single CD on the same tracks that are here, and they seem to be not exactly the same, but certainly not bad like the 2001 Deluxe Edition--sounds very good to me, and I did not detect any No-Noise. As for the Leeds Tommy tracks, as I said, I do not have the 2001 set, so I can't be sure if this is the exact same remaster. I do think it is better than what I heard from the library's copy back then, at least as I remember it. However, there is a difference between this and disc one. A bit of telescoping that almost sounds like slight phasing. But it is nice and strong, does not sound brickwalled to me, and all together I think the sound is good-to-excellent on the Super Deluxe Leeds discs. I realize the audiophiles will have their say, but it was not bad like I was worried about from their discussions. Now on to Hull. The sound is fantastic, certainly no noise reduction and everything is full, clear, and bright. The ambience in Hull is probably a bit better than at Leeds overall. However, the performance at Leeds still wins the day to me. It is smoother in some way, tighter, while the Hull show has some jarring minor mistakes, miscues, etc. The Hull audience also seems really subdued and there is almost no banter between Pete, Rog, Keith and the audience, as there is in Leeds (I don't think this is just editing, I think there really was hardly any on the night). Still, if Hull does not replace Leeds in my estimation, it is totally fascinating to hear the shows back to back, for the tiny differences between them, and just how structured some of the Who's improvisation actually was--most of Pete's riffing in the 15-minute My Generation is very similar between the two nights, going off on tangents but coming back to the same sections. This was a well-oiled, super-powered machine, and they delivered night after night. The vinyl sounds good to me and is a nice pressing, though I have a cheap turntable admittedly. For those who care, the 7" is also VERY heavy vinyl, unlike "real" 45's of the time. The book is lovely, if not revelatory. It does justice to the music and is very classy, though I would have preferred some more original text in place of just all the previous liner notes. The new essays are good but fairly brief. I think this record really is worthy of a book-length treatment of the whole interesting story, just like Ashley Kahn's "Kind of Blue" and "A Love Supreme" books. BOTTOM LINE: If Live at Leeds is as important to you as it is to me, you are going to want this. In this age of iPods and MP3 (admittedly, I primarily use my 160 GB iPod for my music listening--I need it LOUD, and with job, kids, wife around, that is only possible with headphones), this is one set that you are NOT going to want to sell back on Amazon or at your local used shop. It's worth keeping, savoring, looking at the pictures while listening. I will admit the list price is high, but this is obviously for rabid fans, not newcomers. If you want the whole Leeds/Hull story, this is the best you are going to do in my generation or probably in the next. Kudos to Amazon for the deep discounts, and for handling this big, heavy set when most brick-and-mortar stores would not be able to justify it. Avoid the wintertime blues with the Who in their prime.

This has always been the best live show of all time, and if Hull isn't now #2 it is the new number one. The band sounds fantastic and the so called flown in bass for the first 4 tracks is a non-issue. The Who are a powerhouse at Hull and if you don't believe it play the version of My Generation from The Hull set and sit back with an adult beverage and enjoy the ride. The packaging itself is very impressive. The book alone is almost worth the price. It is a fairly thick hard cover book that contains many photos and extensive linear notes. The lp of Leeds seems to be 180 gram perhaps 200 gram. The poster is the classic Maximum R&B Townshend shot Marquee. It is a very impressive set and I am not sure why people complain about the price tag as you are getting a great deal for your buck. Amazing and well worth the purchase. Greatest band of all time and this set comfirms it.

As a bona fide who FANatic,i was not surprised to find that this super deluxe edition of the famous Leeds show, plus the archived Hull show and two vinyl copies of some of the same material were an absolute bonus to my collection! The hull concert in particular was eagerly anticipated, and it didnt disapoint! there is more of the typical Moon/Townshend banter on Leeds, and as a drummer, i found the hull show,as is explained in the booklet that is in the package,has moon sometimes hitting his overhead mike in his frenzied but innovative attack,but if i didnt know that,it would have been strange to my ear.The booklet expands upon this piece of music history,and the sound quality to my ears is magic,even on my car stereo in club mode and pumped up,it is awesome! It is packaged with the famous black/white poster of Townshend in profile,which i will get framed,and really i cannot fault this release as it fulfilled my expectations entirely.I only wish i couldve been there when it all happened on those two nights in february 1970!

Many professional music critics refer to Live at Leeds as arguably the greatest live rock album ever made--that's a clue for those who aren't familiar with this legendary album. The Who were a breath-takingly explosive live band, they held nothing back and often seemed on a razor's edge between brilliance and disaster, with brilliance always winning out. In 1970 Live at Leeds captured their amazing live show and coming on top of the worldwide success of Tommy it cemented The Who's reputation at the top of the rock music pyramid.

I bought this album when it first came out on vinyl and was blown away. I bought it again on CD with more songs and more of The Who's famous stage banter as they joked with the audience and with each other and was impressed all over again. In my view the two best versions on CD are the 1995 re-issue with 14 songs (as opposed to just 6 on the original LP) and if you can find it the Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab version which sounds fantastic. Less attractive is the 2001 "deluxe" release which does provide no less than 33 songs (although not in the actual order they were played) but suffers from heavy-handed remastering that annoyed many Who fans, especially considering that the complete concert had widely circulated as a bootleg in excellent soundboard audio quality for many years.

Since the Leeds discs in this set appear to be the same as the 2001 set, that leads us to the big question: why buy yet another version of this album? In one word: Hull. The day after The Who played at Leeds they did another show at Hull which they planned to release, but technical problems (John Entwistle's bass was not recorded for half a dozen songs) made that impossible, so the band released the recording made at Leeds University instead. This super deluxe box set includes the show at Hull on two extra CDs, restored in the studio by transferring Entwistle's bass tracks from the Leeds tape to the Hull songs which were missing the bass.

For the Who fanatic who is familiar with every note of Live at Leeds it is fascinating to hear what amounts to a second version of the same concert with the same setlist but with obvious differences in the performances of the songs. So if you're that kind of fan this set is a no-brainer, you'll buy it (if you can find it). But if you aren't quite that fanatical then you can stick with any of the previous versions on CD and be quite happy--this set is not a must-have for the more casual fan.

A word on pricing--I bought this set at a local music shop for eighty dollars, and since it now seems to be out of print people are selling them on auction sites for three, four or five hundred bucks. Unless you're an especially rabid collector it simply isn't worth that kind of money. Yes, there is a nice book enclosed, and the Hull show is a great addition, but unless you had four children just so you could name them after members of The Who, then you can wait until the Hull show is released on its own which will probably happen sooner or later. It's a nice box set at the original price, but not at the highly inflated prices it apparently is bringing on the auction market.

............they've finally decided to release the hull show - another shining example of this band on fire, at it's peak.

and really, for me this is all about hull. the book is nice, but nothing really new, or mindblowing, i already have the original vinyl lp, and the original single.

the only thing that still bugs me about this, is the re-sequencing of both hull and leeds to put the tommy trax on a separate disc.

oh yeah, and i may have lost count but i think this is the 9th version of leeds that i've acquired!