Who,The Who/Canada 1976 Upgrade

This time, JEMS uploaded another recording from the 1976 tour to the internet, in addition to the Seattle one. It was the Winnipeg performance on October 18th. After the short-term “Whirlwind Tour” in August, which was mentioned in the Seattle section, The Who went on their final big tour of the US in the fall. What’s interesting about the ’76 tour is that they filled the tour dates with a generous interval, just like the Stones do today. This may have been due to consideration for Keith’s health, which was beginning to become serious, but more than that, it was because the success of the movie “TOMMY” in the US had made the Who so popular that they could make a profit even if they played at stadiums with a large interval. It was an era when it was common for big artists to hold consecutive performances at stadiums. Although consecutive performances were still scheduled during the ’75 tour, this year’s schedule was surprisingly generous. It could be called a tour unique to the kingly Who. The end of such a glorious 1976 was a tour of the US and Canada in October. The Oakland performance, which was held on two consecutive days, was known to enthusiasts as a good sound source for a long time, but especially on the first day, there were some scenes where Roger’s voice seemed to be struggling, and it was obvious that he was tired as the tour came to an end. Furthermore, we must not forget the Toronto performance on October 21, which was the last public show when Keith was alive on the final day of the tour. Our shop has already released the definitive version of “KEITH’S FINAL LIVE” for this day. This Winnipeg performance was a performance in the Canadian area before Toronto, and it is the live before the last one. The sound sources that captured the October stage mentioned so far were Oakland, which has a stimulating sound quality like outdoors, and Final Toronto, which is a stereo recording with a rich sense of realism and clarity, but this Winnipeg performance is a mono recording like the Seattle performance released at the same time, and the sound quality is a solid sound that captures The Who’s incredible power-filled performance centered on Keith’s drumming. Although it was a sound source that had been widely used among traders for a long time, this time it was JEMS, and a low-generation sound source with a pedigree of “genuine first generation” was used. Still, the impression that the low-frequency hum noise and the high-frequency sound were harsh throughout the whole work could not be wiped away, and the sound image with a balance that was slightly more backward than Seattle was also a concern. For this release, equalization was applied to alleviate these negative points. As a result, the unpleasant hum noise was wiped out, while the high-frequency sound was also mitigated, and above all, the outline of the performance was floating. Furthermore, the pitch instability, which could be said to be a chronic illness of the 1976 tour sound source that JEMS uploaded this time, was thoroughly adjusted. It was reborn in a state with a clarity of a different dimension from the original sound source. As for the performance, unlike Seattle, where Keith was hyper, the charm is the stability and reliability that he supports the band in a good way. The same applies to Toronto, but the stability that seems to be at the end of the tour is a big attraction. The opening song “I Can’t Explain” starts slower than usual, which makes you excited, but after that, Keith plays a solid engine full throttle, starting with a series of bass drums, and the performance becomes intense all at once. Just like in Seattle, the charm of the solid mono recording, where Keith’s best drumming resonates, is maximized here. I would also like to praise Pete for carefully playing the shortened “TOMMY” part, which was played quite roughly on the “Whirlwind Tour” in August. Of course, Keith shows off his true colors in “Fiddle About”. Those who felt that Keith’s hyper drumming in Seattle was not enough for the song should be able to smile at him here. On the contrary, in the MC before the start of the “TOMMY” set, Keith starts with a line that sounds like the title of our release, “Original definitive version”, which is really fun (laughs). Another highlight is that the development of “My Generation” is completely different from the final Toronto performance. There, Pete played the early draft of “Who Are You” after a long jam, which is well known, but on this day, they did not go to “Who Are~”. However, it took a long time to change to the familiar blues, and Pete played an intense passage like hard rock, and Keith pounded along with it. Unfortunately, there was a cut in this song, but it was a blessing in disguise that the cut came when the intense development had calmed down. As you can see from that, it can be said that this was a day when Pete’s playing was different from Toronto. Still, Pete was playing more than usual in the last “Won’t Get Fooled Again” (he was still playing even when the performance was about to return to singing), and there was a thrilling scene where Keith responded with timpani. Listening to such a spectacular performance, you can’t help but realize how special Keith’s drumming and the original Who were, and at the same time, it seems only natural that they became so popular in the United States in 1976. In any case, even though the performance has a completely different atmosphere from Seattle, Keith’s drumming is still the highlight! And with the overwhelmingly easier-to-listen sound quality, please enjoy this masterpiece that can only be found at the end of the last tour. Live at Winnipeg Arena, Winnipeg, MB. Canada 18th October 1976 Disc 1 (44:54) 1. Intro 2. I Can’t Explain 3. Substitute 4. My Wife 5. Baba O’Riley 6. Squeeze Box 7. Behind Blue Eyes 8. Dreaming From the Waist 9. Magic Bus Disc 2 (58:27) 1. MC 2. Amazing Journey 3. Sparks 4. The Acid Queen 5. Fiddle About 6. Pinball Wizard 7. I’m Free 8. Tommy’s Holiday Camp 9. We’re Not Gonna Take It 10. See Me, Feel Me 11. Summertime Blues 12. My Generation (with Join Together, My Generation Blues) 13. Won’t Get Fooled Again ★The pitch was randomly going off by 20-40% of a semitone, but this has been corrected.