Re-released for a second time to coincide with The Who's standing in rock history being at its highest since their live peak in the early 1970s, this double set "deluxe edition" features for the first time the full concert from the band's Valentine's Day show at Leeds University in 1970.
Why this version couldn't have been released as part of Polydor's reappraisal of the band's back catalogue in the mid-1990s is open to debate but at least a great 'Tommy' era concert is now commercially available, as this performance easily clipses their more inconsistent show at the Isle Of Wight that summer.
Wisely, 'Tommy' has been placed in its entirety on CD 2, rather than sub-dividing it across the two discs as per the actual set list of the show. This means the frequently incendiary mix of originals and covers that made up the rest of the band's concert is compiled on CD 1.
The first disc - featuring the likes of John Entwistle's set-opener 'Heaven And Hell', a thundering cover of Mose Allison's 'Young Man Blues', and a 15-minute 'My Generation' that opens as per the single before taking in sections of 'Tommy' and some inspired improvisational guitar work from Pete Townshend - has The Who at the peak of their gut-wrenchingly awesome live power.
Yet that was only ever half the story, as sublime takes on Garnett Mimms' 'Fortune Teller' and the band's own 'Tattoo' demonstrate. And the humour in the lyrics of the band's mid-60s triumvirate of 'Happy Jack', 'I'm A Boy' and the "mini-opera" 'A Quick One, While He's Away' show The Who never veered too far into the realms of the pretentious.
"Pretentious" is an adjective often used when describing 'Tommy' but the band's performance here is tight and focused, with barely a pause for breath as they rattle through most of the album's songs (the complete album was not played live until 1989).
What is most apparent from listening to the live 'Tommy' is how much of a crystallisation of the band's music and Townshend's writing it was. There are the instrumental passages such as 'Overture' and the medley of 'Amazing Journey' and 'Sparks', which demonstrate what flawless musicians Townshend, Moon and Entwistle were.
The dark humour is also present in 'The Acid Queen' and Entwistle's disturbing 'Fiddle About'. There's also one of the greatest pop songs in the band's armoury in the shape of 'Pinball Wizard'. And, not least, there's Roger Daltrey, bringing the story of the "deaf, dumb and blind boy" to vivid life.
Over 30 years on, The Who live still have the power to amaze, as last year's tour proved, but 'Live At Leeds' captures them at a peak of performance and now, with the complete set restored, is even more indispensable and important that when it was first released.
by Simon Ward