The Who Fillmore East 1968

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by whodanny, Feb 13, 2018.

  1. Hiwatt

    Hiwatt Active Member

    Location:
    United Kingdom
    I would think PTO is definitely please turn over as they comments listed only go as far as track 8(Happy jack)meaning further notes are over leaf.I could well be wrong about the percussion throughout remarks but old magnetic tape can degrade due to humidity/moisture and need "baking" to restore it.Or it could mean "audio" cleaning/removal of clicks/pops.All just speculation of course.Surely it doesn't mean to overdub percussion/re record snare etc because of the way(limitations)the drums were recorded?The recording is fairly bass drum heavy with not a great snare sound and the toms barley audible?
     
  2. aoxomoxoa

    aoxomoxoa I'm an ear sitting in the sky

    Location:
    USA
    Maybe this is referring to My Generation ?
     
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  3. jkauff

    jkauff Senior Member

    Location:
    Akron, OH
    It's probably referring to the tape box. More notes on the back of the box.
     
  4. Hiwatt

    Hiwatt Active Member

    Location:
    United Kingdom
    Exactly.
     
  5. Detroit Music Fan

    Detroit Music Fan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Detroit
    Hey, don't feel bad. We all got Iron Man's Dig and Friend Is A Friend on the '89 tour, right? Not to mention that astounding Won't Get Fooled Again with the horns replacing the power chords. Good times! Okay, back to '68...
     
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  6. lukpac

    lukpac Senior Member

    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
    Speculation, but it seems like perhaps it is saying the 4/6 recording was split over four reels, and they were able to edit together the whole show without mixing and matching versions from the two shows. And that the second night (4/6) was most salvageable.

    We'll see.
     
  7. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    Indeed, the liner notes posted right after you said this appear to confirm that: "prepared acetates."
    Agreed. It sounds like the theory of each side being from a single show was correct after all. Wonder what exactly was on the other acetate(s)?
     
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  8. lukpac

    lukpac Senior Member

    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
    Perhaps that simply meant multiple acetates were cut for different people to review.

    They only go as far as track 8 because there probably wasn’t any more on that reel. The other tracks are on other reels.

    The notes were added in 1968. The tape would not have degraded. It probably still hasn’t to any degree.

    It seems like it does refer to adding more drums/percussion, although it’s unclear how it was envisioned that would have been effected.
     
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  9. lukpac

    lukpac Senior Member

    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
    To further elaborate on this, based on the boot, it's about 18 minutes from the start of Summertime Blues to the end of Happy Jack. Including stage banter, Substitute and Pictures of Lily probably were another 6-7 minutes, bringing the total to about 25 minutes, not including any introduction or time when the tape machine was rolling but the band wasn't yet playing.

    On the boot, Relax is about 8 minutes long, from the start of the banter that precedes it to the end of the fade.

    A 10.5" reel of tape was typically 2400' long. At 15 IPS, that results in a recording time of 32 minutes, which is less than what is accounted for. Two possible scenarios:

    1) The tape started late, and/or Substitute and Pictures of Lily were quite short, so the end of 32 minutes is at the end of the incomplete Relax on boot, and Relax is listed on the other side of the tape box.

    2) The reel was changed between Happy Jack and Relax, and Relax isn't on the tape box because it isn't on that tape.

    Considering all of the facts surrounding the recording, #2 seems more likely, but...we'll see.
     
  10. WhoTapes1

    WhoTapes1 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Greensboro, NC
    I had to dig out my oldest Who Discography, which was an old issue of Trouser Press from 1974 and it lists the Who’s bootleg releases in chronological order - the first Fillmore East ‘68 bootleg lp (TMQ) was the 5th overall Who bootleg to come out and that would have been around 1972, as Genius Of PT came after that one and that was in 1973.
     
  11. rednoise

    rednoise Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston
    That sounds about right. That's around when I started buying live bootleg LPs (at the "swap meet" held on weekend days at the local drive-in theater) and Fillmore and Townshend were some of the earliest ones I bought.
     
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  12. Mark Snowden

    Mark Snowden Forum Resident

    Location:
    Devonshire
  13. Devotional

    Devotional Senior Member

    Location:
    Oslo, Norway
    Excellent info! Thank you so much for that.
     
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  14. scocs

    scocs Forum Resident

    Location:
    NY
    Hmmm ....25 hours without a post! C’mon, people.....
     
  15. Devotional

    Devotional Senior Member

    Location:
    Oslo, Norway
    Don't know if we've talked about the very sensible side lengths on the vinyl set. They are roughly between 14 and 17 minutes long, which bodes well for good quality. Side five is the longest. Here's how they split "My Generation":

    Side Five
    My Generation (pt 1) (17:14)

    Side Six
    My Generation (pt 2) (16:08)
     
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  16. dee

    dee Senior Member

    Location:
    ft. lauderdale, fl
    I love what they've done with song placement for all the relevant sides. That's a main reason I'm going to get the vinyl, I mean it can be a dealbreaker (for me) otherwise fwiw.

    MG is the elephant in the room. How does it end on Side 5 and start on Side 6. I assume there may be a number of 'false endings' only to resume with a new riff. I'm hoping that's where it's at if able. I hope that's the way it goes if possible. Turn the vinly over and it's like a new jam and yet a continuation of the previous one. May not work out that way. Be interesting to see how it flows.
     
  17. O Don Piano

    O Don Piano Senior Member

    Perhaps "percussion throughout" means the playing of tambourines in the audience?
    They did that back then! As a matter of fact, there's a live Jefferson Airplane release where Grace Slick demands those in the audience shaking somewhat audible tambourines should at least try to keep time!
     
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  18. Benn Kempster

    Benn Kempster Who else?

    Location:
    Tring, UK
    That's going to a be a tough one as I'm sure that, wherever they do, it won't satisfy in some quarters. And, as poor and lazy as this sounds, is one of the reasons why I find vinyl to be so cumbersome and inconvenient. The scale of it is AMAZING and far more satisfying where design and artwork is concerned, but HAVING to physically interrupt and break up something as rare as a 33 minute "My Generation" is just sacrilegious in my book.

    :hide:
     
  19. Detroit Music Fan

    Detroit Music Fan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Detroit
    At 33 minutes, My Generation is going to have everything including the kitchen sink!

    I think this is going to be a revelatory recording, due to My Generation. This will be one of those things where we'll all be talking about how screwed up it is that they sat on this in the vaults for 50 years. I also think this will jog our memories at how great Quick One in Rock'n'Roll Circus is and '69 to '71 will come to be viewed as really no greater than the band in '68. That's how fantastic this show will be and how many insights into the band's evolution and playing will be revealed.

    I'm probably bound to be disappointed, but why not get excited over this release?
     
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  20. jrice

    jrice Senior Member

    Location:
    Halifax, NS Canada
    Side Five
    My Generation (pt 1) (17:14)

    Side Six
    My Generation (pt 2) (16:08)

    I'm going to throw my prediction into the ring... Part 1= introduction and actual song. Part 2 = smashing of gear, final announcement, crowd calming down, etc.
     
  21. lukpac

    lukpac Senior Member

    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
    I can't imagine how your description of part 2 could take 16 minutes. I certainly hope that isn't what it is.
     
  22. Mark Wilson

    Mark Wilson Forum Resident

    Maybe it'll just fade out and then fade back in a'la 8-Track only without the "click-click".

    Maybe the CD will mimic the same thing to be consistent and throw the "click-click" in just for fun. :eek:

    In all seriousness I know it'll help the sound quality, but breaking it up almost borders on cutting people's heads off to fit modern wide-screen. It is just a tad too long tho I guess to fit one side.

    Mark
     
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  23. Benn Kempster

    Benn Kempster Who else?

    Location:
    Tring, UK
    If it does, then it's going back. But it won't.......
     
  24. dave-gtr

    dave-gtr Forum Resident

    OK, I'll throw my two cents worth in. Completely baseless predictions based on listening to this band (live shows galore) for over three decades.

    "My Generation" won't be a medley, it will be a stretched out jam. Riffs a-go-go. Some will work, some won't. But based on how they were playing in '68, it won't be boring! No snippets of "never played" songs. Maybe a recognizable riff (Naked Eye, Ox etc...). The "My Generation" idea didn't start until TOMMY tour.

    Whatever it ends up being, I am happy that it is getting a widespread release and that "Relax" won't fade out! :)
     
  25. mw1917

    mw1917 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Albany, NY
    fwiw, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that the whole track could fit on one side — Miles Davis’ “He Loved Him Madly” is over 32 minutes on a single side of Get UpWith It.

    That said, the 2-sided long track has been around since at least the early ‘60s (and probably earlier). Landmark records such as Ornette Coleman’s Free Jazz, John Coltrane’s Ascension, and others have faded out on one side and faded back in on another. It’s not ideal, but it’s far from unprecedented.
     

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