The Who Sells out Live at Leeds

The Who underwent a lot of image changes through the years. They started as a pop band. They weren’t boy band by any stretch, but they did British Kinks-type pop. They got into their Rock Opera phase. They had a concept album phase. They were the super-loud band in the 1970s. They went back to a 1980s pop sound to nostalgia act.

These two albums are from a phase where the band shows what they could do and could be. This was somewhere in the transition from pop band to Rock Opera band.

“Live At Leeds” has its share of loud rockers. There are bits of “Tommy” and the early singles like “Substitute.” For a bit of fun, there are covers that are a surprise. “Summertime Blues” was an early 1960s garage classic that every band had to learn. Here are The Who at their biggest doing that song. They do the Rockabilly classic “Shaking All Over.” The Who knew and liked Rockabilly?

“Fortune Teller” was a bigger British hit than American. Another surprise.

“The Who Sell Out” was an album released at a time artists were discovering they could be album artists not just singles. In between each song is a fake commercial or radio jingle. “Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand” is an odd fun song. “Heinz Baked Beans” by The Who doesn’t sound like what you would expect from the Who.

Another time to forget the image and play the music.