DISCOGS:

The Who ?– Live At Leeds

Label: Track Record ?– 2406 001 Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Blue Lettering 
Country: UK Released: 1970 Genre: Rock Style: Classic Rock, Blues Rock, Hard Rock

Tracklist Hide Credits

A1 Young Man Written-By – M. Alison* 4:45 A2 Substitute Written-By – Townshend* 2:50 A3 Summertime Blues Written-By – Cochran*, Capehart* 3:22 A4 Shakin' All Over Written-By – Heath* 4:15 B1 My Generation Written-By – Townshend* 14:27 B2 Magic Bus Written-By – Townshend* 7:30

Companies, etc.

• Manufactured By – Polydor Records Ltd.
• Record Company – Track Records Ltd.
• Printed By – MacNeill Press Ltd.

Credits

• Design – Graphreaks

Notes

This issue has blue lettering on cover. It is a later pressing (first press has black lettering on cover The Who - Live At Leeds)

Gatefold sleeve housing the following inserts inside a rice paper bag:

Photo of the band 
Poster for Marquee gigs 
Letter from John Burgess at EMI records 
Gig cancellation letter from Barry Perkins at Kings Agency 
Lyrics to 'My Generation' 
List of 'High Numbers' gigs and earnings 
Earnings list for Malcolm Rose (New Action Ltd.) 
Photo from behind the drums at Woodstock with writing on reverse 
Contract for the bands Woodstock performance 
Delivery note for smoke generators 
Marquee club box office sheet
County Court Notice for the outstanding the return of musical instruments

Label states 'Crackling noises O.K. Do Not correct!'

Barcode and Other Identifiers

• Matrix / Runout (Side A, stamped): 2406001 A // 1
• Matrix / Runout (Side B, stamped): 2406001 B // 1

WIKIPEDIA:
Live at Leeds is the first live album by the English rock band The Who. It was the only live album that was released while the group were still actively recording and performing with their best known line-up of Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle and Keith Moon. Initially released in the United States on 16 May 1970, by Decca and MCA and the United Kingdom on 23 May 1970, by Track and Polydor, the album has been reissued on several occasions and in several different formats. Since its initial reception, Live at Leedshas been cited by several music critics as the best live rock recording of all time.

By the end of the 1960s, particularly after releasing Tommy in May 1969, The Who had become cited by many as one of the best live rock acts in the world. According to biographer Chris Charlesworth, "a sixth sense seemed to take over", leading them to "a kind of rock nirvana that most bands can only dream about".[4] The band were rehearsing and touring regularly, and Townshend had settled on using the Gibson SG as his main touring instrument, that allowed him to play faster than other guitars.[5] He began using Hiwatt amplifiers that allowed him to get a variety of tones simply by adjusting the guitar's volume level.[6]

Realising that their live show stood in equal importance to the rock-opera format of Tommy, the group returned to England at the end of 1969 with a desire to release a live album from concerts recorded earlier in the US. However, Townshend balked at the prospect of listening to all the accumulated recordings to decide which would make the best album, and, according to Charlesworth, instructed sound engineer Bob Pridden to burn the tapes.[4] Townshend later confirmed the tapes were indeed burnt in his back garden.[7]

Two shows were consequently scheduled, one at the University of Leeds and the other in Hull, for the express purpose of recording and releasing a live album. The Leeds concert was booked and arranged by Simon Brogan, who later became an assistant manager on tour with Jethro Tull.[8] The shows were performed on 14 February 1970 at Leeds and on 15 February 1970 at Hull, but technical problems with the recordings from the Hull gig — the bass guitar had not been recorded on some of the songs — made it all the more necessary for the show from the 14th to be released as the album.

The cover was designed by Beadrall Sutcliffe and resembled that of a bootleg LP of the era, parodying the Rolling Stones' Live'r Than You'll Ever Be.[9] It contains plain brown cardboard with "The Who Live At Leeds" printed on it in plain blue or red block letters as if stamped on with ink (on the original first English pressing of 300, this stamp is black). The original cover opened out, gatefold-style, and had a pocket on either side of the interior, with the record in a paper sleeve on one side and 12 facsimiles of various memorabilia on the other, including a photo of the band from the My Generation photoshoot in March 1965,[10] handwritten lyrics to the "Listening to You" chorus from Tommy, the typewritten lyrics to "My Generation", with hand written notes, a receipt for smoke bombs, a rejection letter from EMI,[11] and the early black "Maximum R&B" poster showing Pete Townshend wind-milling his Rickenbacker. The first 500 copies included a copy of the contract for the Who to play at the Woodstock Festival.

The label was handwritten (reportedly[according to whom?] by Townshend), and included instructions to the engineers not to attempt to remove any crackling noise. This is probably a reference to the clicking and popping on the pre-remastered version (notably in "Shakin' All Over") which was from John Entwistle's bass cable. Modern digital remastering techniques allowed this to be removed, and also allowed some of the worst-affected tracks from the gig to be used; on CD releases, the label reads, "Crackling noises have been corrected!

Accolades[edit]

Blue plaque at the University of Leedscommemorating the album

Live at Leeds has been cited as the best live rock recording of all time by The Daily Telegraph,[22] The Independent,[23] the BBC,[24] Q magazine,[25] and Rolling Stone.[26] In 2003, it was ranked number 170 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[27] The venue at which it was recorded, the University Refectory, was named a national landmark, commemorated with a blue plaque. On 17 June 2006, over 36 years after the original concert, the Who returned to perform at the Refectory, at a gig organised by Andy Kershaw. Kershaw stated the gig was "among the most magnificent I have ever seen".[28] A Rolling Stone readers' poll in 2012 ranked it the best live album of all time.[29]