The Who - View From A Backstage Pass

[bato]

What elcelc said. My original (doomed PDO pressing plant version) Rarities had the edit. My current (Japan) copy has the long/full version.

I don't recall the specifics of what was edited.

Ryan

If I recall correctly, the edit is simply a fade out. The version on View From A Backstage Pass is the full 6+ minutes.

[JWB]

I've heard that the new CD sounds good and hasn't been too Astley-ized. I'll take the plunge.

[Chris M]

My disc one review cut and pasted from SH.tv..

Got View From A Backstage Pass a few days ago. I haven't spent much time with disc two so this really only applys to the content on disc one.

A few notes about the mixing and mastering. This is not a loud disc, I haven't seen a waveform but I doubt there is much if any clipping here. I'm not the best at detecting NR but I don't here any. The mixing is similar to Leeds. John left, Pete right, vocals and drums close to center. I also don't hear any edits, vocals that are mixed out, bad notes that are fixed, etc. It's not at all bright. If anything a few tracks needed a little top end boost. It's very easy to crank without fatigue. I think you guys will have few complaints with the mastering.

Here's my .02 on the performances.

Fortune Teller - a good performance but a really odd track to use to open the set. If I had the pick of the litter from a '69 SB I wouldn't choose Fortune Teller. Still very nice to have though. This is the worst sounding track on the set but it's still quite listenable. Not sure if this is from a SB tape the venue did or one of Pridden's unused recordings from the '69 tour. I suspect the former.

Happy Jack, I’m A Boy, A Quick One - from the 8 track Hull tapes. God, these tracks sound amazing! Every bit as good as Leeds. Wow. I would do unspeakable things for the rest of the Hull show. Excellent performances.

Magic Bus - Mammoth Gardens, Denver '70 - from a 2 track SB tape. Sounds pretty good for what it is. Did we know a SB recording existed for this show? Pete is very inspired here. A nice addition to the catalog.

I Can’t Explain, Substitute, My Wife, Behind Blue Eyes, Bargain, Baby You Don’t Do It Recorded at Civic Auditorium, San Fran, 12/13/71

From the 16 track tapes. Bargain and My Wife appeared on Who's Missing and Two's Missing respectively and Baby You Don’t Do It was a b-side. I haven't done a side by side comparison but my first impression is that these mixes trump the earlier releases. The drums are more upfront (a good thing IMO) and the sound seems to be more open and alive. A may change my mind after a a/b comparison on the main rig but I doubt it.

The first 2 minutes of Behind Blue Eyes is gorgeous. The ending is as powerful as I'd hoped but it's still solid. Can't Explain and Substitute are very good as well. I don't think this show is as well recorded as Leeds or Hull. Still up to official release standards

[Chris M]

Those that have recieved their copies have reported that "Baby Don't Do It" is the same edited version that appears on the b-side single.

FWIW I don't hear any edits on Baby Don't Do It. I'm not the best at picking those things out though.

[lukpac]

A few comments from O&S:

My first <and immediate> impression was "Uck!" I heard a slight hum coming out of the speakers, followed by an OK mix of "Fortune Teller" with some "dull spots" in the mastering. When I say "OK", it's based on all live Who being measured against "Live At Leeds" (1995 version). The Young Vic was mixed in the same manner as "Leeds" and meets the "mix standard", but the mastering isn't as good on the Vic as it is on the <1995> "Leeds"... The mix was a bit weird with the drums being mixed too low and slightly muffled. Each set of tracks seem to be mix a bit differently - none great. For a bootleg it would be wonderful, but for a legit live album, substandard.

Going through the rest of the disc, I found more of the same thing. I thought the '73 material to be the most "sloppy". Moving right along to the '72 San Francisco & '76 Swansea shows - some of these tracks were released previously (including on "Two's Missing" and "The Who By Numbers") - they sound better on their original releases.

All this being said, *most* people will really like the CD. Overall, it sounds OK, but it's amateurly produced and *no* "Leeds"... For those who know the difference, like myself, they will be disappointed.

Fortune Teller on a View From a Backstage Pass (Detroit 10/12/69) is the same version on the 1969 Autumn '69 Acetates CD (track 1) currently on LLR.org.

I think the boot sounds better.

[Chris M]

Fang has no idea what he is talking about. In other news water is wet.

[lukpac]

FYI (in regards to the Wolfgang's Vault shows):

The streams confirm the version of Punk... on VFABP is from Philly. Therefore of the three tracks claimed to be from Landover only one really is.

[lukpac]

Apparently this came from SH.tv originally, but this is from O&S:

You should listen to My Wife from San Francisco 12/13/71 from Two's Missing and VFABP back to back. It's very obvious that the version on Two's Missing has overdubbed lead vocals by John. I'm not talking a line or two replaced, but the ENTIRE song's lead vocal is overdubbed start to finish.

In an odd twist the recent version on VFABP has what appears to be the original rougher sounding lead vocal. It is very obvious when you A/B them. Two's Missing sounds processed and just too perfect. There are actual differences as well. After the lines:

"I gotta rest some time so
I can get to run some more"

He screams "yeaaaa!" on the Two's Missing version. On the VFABP version there is no "yeaaaa!" after these lines. However, there is (as with Two's Missing) a "yeaaa!" after:
"Got picked up by the law
And now I ain't got time to think"

I'll cut him some slack it's hard to redo a whole song and get every single vocal bit just like it was live. I'm guessing John did the overdub while living in LA in the early 80s for MCA and Pridden and Astley thankfully didn't have access to it. They may have not even know of it's existence.

Thanks to the folks on the Hoffman board for spotting this.

Bruce

[Rspaight]

Well, IIRC Entwistle compiled Two's Missing, so that makes sense.

[lukpac]

Well, IIRC Entwistle compiled Two's Missing, so that makes sense.

Did he compile it? Or just provide notes for it? I guess I was under the impression Hoffman compiled it.

Whatever the case, it certainly wasn't uncommon for JAE to overdub new parts after the fact.

[lukpac]

Happy Jack, I’m A Boy, A Quick One - from the 8 track Hull tapes. God, these tracks sound amazing! Every bit as good as Leeds. Wow. I would do unspeakable things for the rest of the Hull show. Excellent performances.

Before I make any foolish comments, can somebody post a *brief* clip from, say, AQO?

I'm not at all impressed with what I'm (finally) hearing, but I want to make sure I'm actually listening to the real deal.

[lukpac]

I Can’t Explain, Substitute, My Wife, Behind Blue Eyes, Bargain, Baby You Don’t Do It Recorded at Civic Auditorium, San Fran, 12/13/71

From the 16 track tapes. Bargain and My Wife appeared on Who's Missing and Two's Missing respectively and Baby You Don’t Do It was a b-side. I haven't done a side by side comparison but my first impression is that these mixes trump the earlier releases. The drums are more upfront (a good thing IMO) and the sound seems to be more open and alive. A may change my mind after a a/b comparison on the main rig but I doubt it.

Baby Don't You Do It is the b-side mix.

I'd say Bargain sounds better on Who's Missing. Pete's guitar is hard right, and the mastering is more open.

The mastering in general seems really strange. Rolled off on top, maybe slightly boosted in the bass. Kind of dull and congested sounding. The approach seems to vary from "ok" to "really annoying".

The mixes seem to be all over the map. Some are the usual hard left-right Who mixes, while others have Pete's guitar moved in to some degree.

The '73 KBFH tracks sound as strange as ever. I'd love to hear those multitracks, because every version I've heard seems to be oddly recorded and/or mixed. These are no exception.

On the Hull tracks, Pete's vocal seems oddly distant.

Exciting to hear this stuff, but IMO the quality is lacking.

[lukpac]

Fortune Teller on a View From a Backstage Pass (Detroit 10/12/69) is the same version on the 1969 Autumn '69 Acetates CD (track 1) currently on LLR.org.

I think the boot sounds better.

I just grabbed what claims to be that Autumn '69 CD. For all of the problems I have with VFABP...the boot doesn't sound better. It's a *noisy* acetate, and decidedly low-fi to boot (albeit still stereo).

[Rspaight]

Looks like a lot of those tracks are coming out on a commercial CD:

http://www.amazon.com/Greatest-Hits-Liv ... 0038M61DC/

Disc: 1
1. I Can't Explain (December 1971, San Francisco)
2. Substitute (December 1971, San Francisco)
3. Happy Jack (February 1970, Hull, England)
4. I'm A Boy (February 1970, Hull, England)
5. Behind Blue Eyes December 1971, San Francisco)
6. Pinball Wizard (June 1976, Swansea, England)
7. I'm Free (June 1976, Swansea, England)
8. Squeeze Box (June 1976, Swansea, England)
9. Naked Eye/Let's See Action/My Generation (Medley) (May 1974, South London, England)
10. 5.15 (December 1973, Capital Centre, Largo)
11. Won't Get Fooled Again (December 1973, Capital Centre, Largo)
12. Magic Bus (February 1970, Leeds University, England)
13. My Generation (1965, BBC Sessions)

Disc: 2
1. I Can See For Miles (August 1989, Los Angeles, CA)
2. Join Together (August 1989, Los Angeles, CA)
3. Love Reign O'Er Me (August 1989, Los Angeles, CA)
4. Baba O'Riley (August 1989, Los Angeles, CA)
5. Who Are You (August 1989, Los Angeles, CA)
6. The Real Me (January 2002, Watford Hity Hall)
7. The Kids Are Alright (February 2002, London, England)
8. Eminence Front (March 2009, Brisbane)
9. A Man In A Purple Dress (March 2007, Uniondale, New York)

This would be intriguing if wasn't padded out with a bunch of already available stuff from Live At Leeds, BBC Sessions and the Tommy Live DVD.

Ryan

[lukpac]

Huh, I thought that was going to be an iTunes only thing. We'll see, but I'm not expecting it to sound much/any different from VFABP. Which is disappointing.