GiGinJapan Artwork of Japanese CDs (mostly) Who / Pittsburgh 1979 / 2CDR / Uxbridge
Civic Arena, Pittsburgh, PA, USA 2nd December 1979
Play sample :
Introducing a superb audience that captures The Who’s stage when he was enrolled in Kenney Jones, which is often overlooked! First of all, the sound quality is outstanding. The synergistic effect of the solid power of monaural recording and the on-sound image gives it a powerful score. Please enjoy it by making a roaring sound from the speaker.
Although it is such a superb sound source, the pitch instability that occurred after “Music Must Change”, which is presumed to be the part where the cassette was replaced, was completely adjusted. Since the original sound quality is very good, it is finally ready to be heard with peace of mind.
In that “Music Must Change”, howling occurred so much that Roger stopped singing in the middle of the performance, but the performance that was completely shaken off was spectacular. In the first place, high tension from the opening “Substitute”. The tightness of Kenny’s drums also clearly conveys a different charm from Keith Moon.
Above all, Pete himself emphasized in his autobiography how much he enjoyed the stage at this time, and the best sound quality document of the time when the new Fu who started live activities from May of this year started to get on track. It has become.
Despite this, the tremendous momentum heard here will be cut off by an unexpected incident. Pete shouts “Tomorrow is Cincinnati!” At the beginning of the live, but the next day is the day when the tragic incident that the audience died, and even a valuable document that captures the pattern of the day before. It was said that there was.
In other words, the people of Fu who had no idea about the tragedy that would occur the next day, especially Pete, was pulling the band with Guigui, and “Long Live Rock”, where he took vocals, was also super high tension.
Also, in his autobiography, Pete wrote that he was addicted to singing with ad lib when the performance came on, but this day was also named “I’m London” from “Sparks” in the latter half of the live. Start singing the ad lib song.
It should be noted here that Kenny’s drums completely follow such a flow. Not limited to this scene, the fact that he captures the splendor of his drumming throughout the whole story is also a noteworthy point of this sound source.
It was a superb audience who literally caught the stage on the ride, but ironically, before the tragedy at Cincinnati the next day cast a big shadow on the activities of the new The Who, starting with Pete. It was also a document that captured the appearance of the members innocently devoting themselves to the performance with excellent sound quality.
And again, I think it’s hard to find a sound source that captures the charm of Kenny’s drums, which is different from Keith’s rampaging play. If there was no tragedy the next day, the sound would have evolved further.
A surprising first-appearing audience album that can be confidently recommended to enthusiasts who don’t like eating “Kenny era? Although it was released on CD-R, the best sound source representing The Who in the Kenny period appeared with the mirrored recording “L.A. FORUM 1980 1ST NIGHT: MIKE MILLARD MASTER TAPES”!
(Remaster memo)
★ Music Must Change Corrected the pitch that is faster after the tape change and considerably faster after My Generation.
何かと見過ごされがちなケニー・ジョーンズ在籍時のザ・フーのステージを捉えた極上オーディエンスが登場！まず何と言っても音質が抜群。モノラル録音のどっしりとした迫力とオンな音像の相乗効果で迫力満点。ぜひスピーカーから爆音で鳴らして楽しんでください。
そんな極上音源なのですが、カセットをかけ替えたパートだと推測される「Music Must Change」以降で生じていたピッチの不安定さを完璧にアジャスト。元々の音質が非常に素晴らしいだけに、いよいよ安心して聞きこめる状態と仕上げています。
その「Music Must Change」では演奏の最中でロジャーが歌うのを止めるほどハウリングが生じてしまいますが、それをものともしない振り切れまくった演奏が壮絶。そもそもオープニングの「Substitute」からしてハイテンション。ケニーのドラムのタイトさもキース・ムーンとは違う魅力をはっきり伝えてくれます。
何よりピート自身がこの時期のステージがいかに楽しかったのか…ということを自伝の中で力説しており、この年の5月からライブ活動を始めた新生フーが軌道に乗り始めた時期の極上音質ドキュメントとなっています。
にもかかわらず、ここで聞かれる凄まじい勢いは思いもよらぬ事件で削がれてしまう。ピートがライブ序盤で「明日はシンシナティだぜ！」と叫んでいますが、そう翌日があの観客が死亡するという痛ましい事件の起きた日であり、その前日の模様を捉えている貴重なドキュメントでもあったという。
つまり、翌日に起こる悲劇など知る由もないフーの面々、特にピートがバンドをグイグイと引っぱっており、自身がボーカルをとる「Long Live Rock」も超ハイテンション。
また自伝においてこの時期のピートは演奏が乗ってくるとアドリブで歌い出すことにハマっていたと書いていましたが、正にこの日もライブ後半で「Sparks」から「I’m London」と名付けられたアドリブ・ソングを歌い始めます。
ここで特筆すべきは、そうした流れをケニーのドラムが完全にフォローしてくれていること。この場面に限らず、全編を通して彼のドラミングの素晴らしさを捉えてくれている点も今回の音源の特筆すべき所かと。
文字通り乗りに乗ったステージを捉えてくれた極上オーディエンスであった訳ですが、皮肉にも翌日のシンシナティでの悲劇が新生ザ・フーの活動に大きな影を落としてしまう前、ピートを始めとしたメンバーが無邪気に演奏に打ち込んでいた姿を素晴らしい音質で捉えてくれたドキュメントでもあったのです。
そして繰り返しますが、キースの暴れまくるプレイとは違ったケニーのドラムの魅力をここまでしっかり捉えてくれた音源というのも、なかなかないのでは。もし翌日の悲劇がなければ、さらにサウンドが進化していったであろうハイテンション。
「ケニー時代？別に…」と食わず嫌いなマニアにも自信を持って推せる驚きの初登場オーディエンス・アルバム。CD-Rでのリリースではありますが、ミラード録音「L.A. FORUM 1980 1ST NIGHT: MIKE MILLARD MASTER TAPES」と共にケニー期のザ・フーを代表する極上音源が登場！
（リマスター・メモ）
★Music Must Change テープチェンジ以降はピッチが速く、My Generation以降はかなり速くなるピッチを修正。
Disc 1 (58:07)
1. Intro
2. Substitute
3. I Can’t Explain
4. Baba O’Riley
5. The Punk Meets the Godfather
6. Boris the Spider
7. My Wife
8. Sister Disco
9. Behind Blue Eyes
10. Music Must Change
11. Drowned
Disc 2 (66:53)
1. Who Are You
2. Five-Fifteen
3. Pinball Wizard
4. See Me, Feel Me
5. Long Live Rock
6. My Generation
7. I Can See For Miles
8. Sparks
9. I’m London (Pete’s improv)
10. Won’t Get Fooled Again
11. Magic Bus
12. Dancing in the Street / Dance It Away
Pete Townshend – Guitar, Vocals
Roger Daltrey – Vocals, Harmonica
John Entwistle – Bass, Vocals
Kenney Jones – Drums
John Bundrick – Piano, Keyboards
Uxbridge 1613
