Best Live Rendition of "Tommy"

[Gepapado]

Hi. I've listened to Live at Leeds, Live at Hull and Live at the Isle of Wight Festival, but can't decide on which has the best rendition of Tommy. Leeds sports arguable the best recording quality, but sounds as if it were recorded in a cave. However the mix is excellent, bringing all instruments (vocals included) to the forefront. Even the Ox can be heard effortlessly! Hull, on the other hand, also features excellent sound quality (I don't really mind the clicks), but Pete's guitar sounds a bit tinny at times, when compared to Leeds' fat-soundng and crunchy tone, the vocals sometimes disappear, and at some point at the beginning of a certain song, they forget to start singing, creating an awkward effect for the listener. And Wight's recording quality is simply terrible, but the performance is terrific. For all its sloppiness (both in recording, and in some "misfires" such as certain off-key vocals), it's still the rendition that provides a truly "cathartic" feeling at the end of the opera. Plus, the guitar tone is magnificent. However, the bass and the drums sound muffled. So, which is your favourite recording, and why?

 

[LG]

^^Live at Leeds easily for me, I can't stand poor recordings generally especially live ones. No matter how good the performance if the end result is a terrible recording I won't bother with it at all.

I never did understand why The Who bundled both Leeds and Hull in the deluxe packet,,,seems redundant to all but the most rabid Who fans to me.

 

[Gepapado]

^^Live at Leeds easily for me, I can't stand poor recordings generally especially live ones. No matter how good the performance if the end result is a terrible recording I won't bother with it at all.

I never did understand why The Who bundled both Leeds and Hull in the deluxe packet,,,seems redundant to all but the most rabid Who fans to me.

Indeed. It is pointless to bundle them together, since it's basically the same performance. Selling them separately, as it is done as of 2012, makes much more sense, especially for those "rabid Who fans" such as me who enjoy comparing all the different performances.