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Stuart Ferguson's Collection

The Who   08/16/1997

Coral Sky Amphitheater, West Palm Beach, FL
Source Audience master recording by Aplay
Media CDR   2 discs
Notes DVD 2527; lineage: Aplay DAT Master Series 008 / Geetarz 234-235. Sonic DSM-6 Mics > Sony D7 (Sonic Preamp MOD2) > DAT Master > Tascam DA-20MkII > SoundForge 9.0e (trims, fades) > CDWav 1.93.3 (Tracking) > FLAC 8. No EQ, compression, normalization, or any other action was performed on the source audio.
J-Card Comment Geetarz Comments:

The final performance of the 1997 "Quadrophenia" tour.

Personally, I don't get it ... yes, "Tommy" was a groundbreaking, seminal album, and it's fair to say that it forever changed music.

However, I've never understood why "Tommy" is so popular, as compared to "Quadrophenia". "Tommy" - to me - is in comparison a sophmore effort, whereas Quad is simply perfection, from beginning to end.

With that said, it's not easy pulling off that type of work in a live stage setting, and the 1997 tour reflected those compromises.



The Who, at their core, have always been about improvisation, about taking the live performance somewhere beyond the studio recording, feeding off the energy and vibe of the audience. But, the larger the band, the less flexible it is. If you've a 3-piece jazz ensemble in a smoke-filled club, the sky is the limit, but when you've got a philharmonic orchestra, arrangements tend to be rigid by necessity. The Quad tour tried to balance those competing forces, and the end result was somewhere in the middle, with some flexibility yet doing service to the source material.

It's a fun show, and a good listen!




Recording is compliments of Aplay; all thanks should go to him.


DAT > CD Mastering / notes by Geetarz.
Folks, I'm just the messenger.


Enjoy and ... PLAY IT LOUD!

~
Geetarz, July 2010
Trades Allowed Yes
Reference / Generation 2527
Owned by Stuart Ferguson · Last Updated May 23, 2023