"LIVE AT THE LEEDS" has gone far beyond being The Who's masterpiece and has now established itself as one of the best live albums in rock. The original was a short live album that fit on one LP, but as the band's fame has grown year by year, the official live performance on that day has become available for a glimpse. However, it is only a "glimpse" and is by no means a "complete version." On the contrary, the official "Deluxe Edition" in 2001 and the "Collector's Edition" released in 2010 were far from satisfying the enthusiasts, and it even feels like the official release was settled there. In fact, 2020, the 50th anniversary, was the perfect time for a new release, but no new items were released. It is no exaggeration to say that it is full of dissatisfaction. 20 years after the recording, Roger overdubbed vocals, and even John Entwistle, who was alive at the time, overdubbed vocals. The MC between songs is shortened in many places. What caused even more controversy was the editing, which divided the "TOMMY" part from the other repertoire, rather than the order of the live performances on that day. In addition, different engineers were in charge of mastering DISC-1, which contained the regular repertoire, and the "TOMMY" part, resulting in an abnormal situation where the sound quality of one album was different. In addition, the mastering itself had a very intrusive texture and lacked the flavor of analog. And the part of "Spoonful" that was medleyed between "Shakin' All Over" that was able to be included in the release of the University of Hull release the next day, but still cannot be included due to issues regarding music usage fees and rights. As long as this part continues to be cut, it is impossible to officially release the complete Leeds version in the true sense. In that respect, the 1997 MIDAS TOUCH album "LIVE AT LEEDS COMPLETE", which recorded the live performance on that day as it was, was a very groundbreaking release and a masterpiece, and it is no wonder that it became such a best-seller that a shortened version containing only the "TOMMY" part was later released. However, the MIDAS TOUCH version (hereinafter referred to as the "MD version") was leaked after several analog dubbings, and there was a problem that the pitch was still high when it was made into a CD. The guitar "LIVE AT LEEDS COMPLETE: REPITCHED VERSION" was released as a pitch-corrected version with an eye on that. However, this time, the British heavyweight taper, familiar with Clapton's releases, provided us with an upper version of the same sound source. This is originally the same as the MD version, but the sound quality is obviously better than that, and there is an upper feeling that is surely close to the master. Perhaps that's why the heavyweight taper was so enthusiastic that he deliberately turned up the volume for the MC between songs, where the volume is low. In fact, when you look at the inter-songs that you can hear here, you'll be reminded that a lot of parts were shortened in the official version. The best example of this is the scene before "Young Man Blues". Here, the scene where the usually silent John makes a rare comment to Pete's MC was captured, but this was also cut from the official version. As a veteran taper, he probably raised the volume between songs to convey the fun of scenes that cannot be heard in these formulas. Recording in its original state means that the frequent noise is also recorded as it is, and the MD released in 1997 had a lot of noise at a considerable volume. The veteran taper also took on the challenge, but there were many parts that were not fully attacked. Therefore, for this CD release, thorough noise removal was carried out using the latest technology in 2024. The noise was irritating on the MD from the opening "Heaven and Hell", but this time it has been wiped out and is suddenly easier to hear. And above all, the sound quality is very natural, and if you listen to this, you will be reminded of how intrusive the current formula is in mastering. This should also be easy to listen to, and of course there is no unnaturalness in the sound quality changing in the "TOMMY" part. The currently released official version is the distribution version without format restrictions, which is inconvenient because it is recorded in the actual performance order, but this one is of course recorded with the correct song selection of the day's live performance, and it also includes "Spoonful", which was cut from the official version due to adult circumstances. The pitch is accurate, of course. And above all, the release of the true complete version of Leeds, which was longed for to be an item that surpasses the MD version, has finally been realized. This new definitive version allows you to enjoy all of Leeds' rare performances, which literally became a rare masterpiece, with the best sound quality along with the analog feel of a live recording from 1970, and the sound is much better than the official version.
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