Universal Music will issue The Who “Live at the Fillmore East 1968” in April, a set of unreleased recordings from the second of two nights played at Bill Graham’s legendary, but short-lived, venue in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. An oft-bootleg concert by the Who will soon gets its first official release. Live at the Fillmore East 1968, which documents the last show of a two-night stand at the New York venue.
The two-disc, three-LP set, whose track listing is below, focuses largely on material from their two previous records, The Who Sell Out and A Quick One. But there are also three Eddie Cochran covers — “Summertime Blues,” “C’mon Everybody” and “My Way” plus takes on Benny Spellman’s Allen Toussaint-penned “Fortune Teller” and Johnny Kidd and the Pirates’ “Shakin’ All Over,” and a lengthy version of “My Generation.”.
The Who’s manager Kit Lambert had recorded both the 5th and 6th of April shows of ’68 with a view to issuing as The Who’s fourth album after “The Who Sell Out”. That never happened, but 50 years later sound engineer Bob Pridden (who was there in 1968) has restored and mixed songs from the 6 April show for this new archival release.
The Who headlined the Fillmore East with Free Spirits and Buddy Guy opening.
The second night of The Who’s first run ever playing at the Fillmore East is an unbelievably great document of the band in its early prime, still full of the punk attitude that they would initially define while beginning to venture off into more artistic and experimental territory. Every minute of this performance is fascinating and much of this material has never been released, This set captures the entire band fully engaged in their music. Although many songs were still short and concise during this stage of their career, the intensity level is undeniable. Opening the show with Eddie Cochran’s “Summertime Blues,” they immediately set a bar that most other bands could never even approach.
Their second song of this set is the Stones‘ cover of the Allen Toussaint penned “Fortune Teller” which they had just performed for the first time ever the previous night.
They continue with “I Can’t Explain,” one of the few songs American audiences were familiar with at the time, but with a new level of aggression that wasn’t apparent on that early single. Next up is their current single at the time, “Happy Jack,” a tune that found them exploring new directions and beginning to experiment with dynamic changes. Extremely rare live performances of “Relax” and “My Way” follow and continue to explore and expand on the boundaries within the band’s music. “Relax” surprisingly turns out to be one of the heavier numbers on this set and the band takes flight into some inspired jamming following the verses. Unfortunately, the jam fades out and is incomplete.
John Entwistle then steps up for his defining song, “Boris The Spider,” lending his dark sense of humor to the proceedings. At this point, the band launches into “My Generation” and this version is amazing. The improvisational section following the verses is a great early example of the band letting the music propel itself. Although at times it seems like they are on the verge of being out of control, they never are, and early signs of Townshend developing themes within a jam are also surfacing. The approach to their instruments and the sound they create as a unit is utterly unique and unlike any other band at that time. The reels were changed during this jam, so a small part of it is missing on this recording.
This surely must have left the audience breathless, so while they were recovering, the band embarks on their most experimental composition yet, “A Quick One While He’s Away,” which is incomplete and begins in the middle of the song. This adventurous suite of songs, loosely tied together, is a hint at Townshend’s future aspirations that would eventually be realized in his first full-blown rock opera, Tommy. This is a fascinating performance for its entire eight minutes.
They close their set this night with another propulsive jam on “Shakin’ All Over,” again letting the music propel the band through several pulverizing jams, including spontaneous flailing of riffs familiar from other songs. Again, the raw energy is astounding. This and the previous night’s performance must have gone a long way towards cementing their reputation in New York City. This should be required listening for anyone interested in that era of rock music and especially for anyone interested in The Who this is absolutely essential.
Pete Townshend – guitar, vocals; Roger Daltrey – vocals; John Entwistle – bass; Keith Moon – drums
The Who Live at Fillmore East 1968 will be released on 20th April 2018. Amazon UK have a remarkably cheap pre-order price for the 2CD edition. Who fans should also note that an expanded 2CD deluxe edition of Pete Townshend‘s solo album “Who Came First” will be issued a week earlier on 13th April.
