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<\/p>\nHowzat?! The Who\u2019s much bootlegged \u2018Goodbye Summer\u2019 concert at London cricket ground The Oval finally gets an official release.<\/p>\n
@Gijsbert Hanekroot\/Redferns<\/p>\n
The Who – Live At The Oval<\/p>\n
\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605<\/p>\n
UME<\/p>\n
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SEPTEMBER 1971 wasn\u2019t a happy time in Who world, even by their remarkably narky standards.\u00a0Pete Townshend<\/a>\u00a0had lost the battle to turn his abandoned\u00a0Lifehouse\u00a0concept album into a movie, and a filmed band meeting to discuss where The Who should go next ended testily. Mercifully, relief suddenly arrived in the form of an invitation to headline a British version of the Concert For Bangladesh,\u00a0George Harrison<\/a>\u2019s all-star fundraiser staged at Madison Square Garden the previous month. So the group stopped bickering, moved their new \u00a320,000 PA system into a Wandsworth cinema, and began rehearsing for a September 18 show at the Oval cricket ground, also set to feature\u00a0the Faces<\/a>, Atomic Rooster, Mott The Hoople, Lindisfarne and more.<\/p>\n The \u2018Goodbye Summer\u2019 Oval appearance has gone down in history as one of The Who\u2019s most memorable \u2013 a rowdy 35,000 crowd, Keith Moon hitting his drums with a cricket bat, the group parrying footballs kicked into the crowd by\u00a0Rod Stewart<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 but until now only poor-quality bootlegs have circulated. The problem was that, though the whole concert was taped by Glyn Johns on the same Pye mobile studio that gave us 1970\u2019s\u00a0Live At Leeds<\/a>, due to over-zealous security the crew were unable to re-position dislodged mikes and correct dodgy feeds. But modern technology has finally enabled the original recordings to be rescued: and, boy, what a delight they are.<\/p>\n That The Who were match-fit is without question: throughout August they\u2019d toured the US with their new, super-loud sound system, performing a setlist heavy on songs from the just-released and unimpeachable\u00a0Who\u2019s Next\u00a0(basically the best songs from\u00a0Lifehouse). Which is why fans may feel this album has the edge even over the majestic\u00a0Live At Leeds(and\u00a0Hull) and certainly the chequered\u00a0Live At The Isle Of Wight Festival 1970<\/a>; for it\u2019s the box-fresh Love Ain\u2019t For Keeping, Bargain, Behind Blue Eyes, Won\u2019t Get Fooled Again and John Entwistle\u2019s My Wife that shine most brightly here.<\/p>\n Townshend has said that, having realised in the run-up to the Oval that\u00a0Lifehouse\u00a0was now a goner (for the time being), he felt freed from its deathly grip, re-channelling his energies into The Who\u2019s live performances. The sheer aggression \u2013 and insouciant flair \u2013 of the group\u2019s playing is indeed something to behold, even when newly tethered to the sequenced keyboard parts of Won\u2019t Get Fooled Again. Something dark and powerful is unleashed in the wild attack of Pinball Wizard and the moody, seven-minute Naked Eye (then unreleased), while concise takes on I Can\u2019t Explain, My Generation and Substitute underpin a set high on song-craft and low on flab. When compere Rikki Farr informs the crowd after a thunderous Magic Bus that there\u2019ll be no encore \u2013 not least because Moon had demolished his kit \u2013 you can\u2019t imagine where else The Who could have taken this performance anyway. They had, as cricketeers might say, already truly smashed it out of the ground.<\/p>\n The Who Live At The Oval is out August 22 on UME.<\/p>\n ORDER: Amazon<\/a> | Rough Trade<\/a> | HMV<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Tracklisting:<\/p>\n 1. So Glad To See Ya
2. Summertime Blues
3. My Wife
4. Love Ain\u2019t For Keeping
5. I Can\u2019t Explain
6. Substitute
7. Bargain
8. Behind Blue Eyes
9. Won\u2019t Get Fooled Again
10. Baby Don\u2019t You Do It
11. Pinball Wizard
12. See Me, Feel Me \/ Listening To You
13. My Generation
14. Naked Eye
15. Magic Bus<\/p>\n
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