The Who - Search for Lost Recordings

Surprised the Who somehow skipped Vancouver between 68 and 80. Either way, there's 2 different guys in Vancouver that got full sets of soundboards from PNE shows from the late 60's onwards that haven't circulated including opening acts and sound checks. This is not something unique to Vancouver or that era, though some acts were very good making sure nobody patched the soundboard.

When acts let it be known they are serious about acquiring tapes then they come out of the woodwork. When they offer peanuts they get nothing.

IMO, I don't think there is much in the way of unknown Hendrix tapes that his estate hasn't tracked down. Unless the Bill Graham stuff audio/video was stolen and buried in the underground taping circuit. Tiny chance the Dallas and LA videotapes might still exist. The Who could have a jaw dropping archive available for sale if they showed any kind of real initiative.

 

for those that may not have heard the recording discussed above here 'tis

 

I don't care about video. I only care about good quality audio & preferably on vinyl. Forest Hills 1971 would be nice. An old friend was at that show & was leaving the show with Leslie West who was in total amazement.

 

I wonder if it's somehow possible that a demo session was booked and Roger had a cold and couldn't sing, thus the instrumental push? I believe there's some harmonica bits (presumably Roger) but it's been quite some time since I heard the tape. If there's no harmonica, maybe Roger missed the session altogether? Ron

 

There is a bit of harmonica, and it does sound like Roger (says the skeptic). Daltrey being unable to sing is the only viable explanation, imo.

 

I recognized "Plum Nellie," but couldn't place "Chinese Checkers. " Thanks for the song i.d.

 

You've got the tense wrong: What they should do is give 'em to the band. -E

 

Share them.

 

Don't thank me, thank the guy responsible for this site.

I can take credit though for adding that track #3 (which he hasn't identified) seems to be Garnett Mimms' "Tell Me Baby", which was part of the band's setlist at the time:

 

Something not mentioned so far regarding the "hoarding" of ultra-rare recordings/films (or if it was then I missed it), but to some people that have something "rare", that rareness is somehow central to their enjoyment of having it, that is what makes it special, not just whatever the item actually is.

To them, if anyone else had it as well, it would somehow cheapen the value of what they had, perhaps even make it worthless to them. And for no "reward" - financial (especially if they have all the money they could ever need in the first place), form of recognition, opportunity to meet/great a band, feeling that they helped out an artist or other fans etc - will they part with that thing, because then they lose something important to them, that feeling of being the only one to "have it". Even if they got it for free and are not "losing" a $$ investment per se, it would emotionally hurt them somehow to share it.

Whether this applies to any Who collectors I don't know, but I do know first hand about some other bands where there are some singular copies of very cool stuff in someone's hands that will not be let go of under any circumstances because "then I won't have the only copy" kind of thinking. I don't personally subscribe to that kind of thinking (I enjoy turning people onto stuff as much as getting turned on myself so I dig sharing something rare & spreading the "joy" as it were) but to each his own. Just a human behavioral thing, not worth judging, it just is.

Paradoxically (to me anyways), I have encountered two people who behave this way above (hoarding), but they will let people come to their house to see/hear the stuff. They get a kick out of showing it off, makes them feel special, empowered or something. If everyone had access to the recordings via an official release or even as a bootleg then they lose that "power" of showing it off. Wait, maybe that is the whole reason behind the hoarding in the first place, because it is empowering to show it off, hence that is justification, the "kick" as it were? I am no Dr. Freud, not even a Lucy Van Pelt, & not qualified to speculate on the reasons why people do this...sorry to ramble, back to The Who...

 

On a side note. When Neil Peart met Pete Townshend a couple of years ago, he told him his first concert at age fifteen had been The Who, with the Troggs and the MC5 opening. This was at the CNE Coliseum in Toronto on April 7, 1968.

 

but when the 50 years copyright of the Oval '71 and Saratoga '71 expires in 2021 items such as these will be more valuable to that individual collector.
he is free to release them himself and not only recoup his outlay but make a substantial profit for himself,only paying a small royalty fee to the songwriter.
if i was the owner on the above items,that would be my plan.
holding onto missing previously released studio multitacks from WN etc is pretty pointless,as they are reissued so often that they would never be public property.

 

Here's hoping something shows up for them that they didn't realize was there, even if it is only a copy. We (and the band) are lucky we have what do have. At the end of the day, it was enough for them to sustain their career for as long as they have, and I am sure they are as surprised as anybody to still be standing and asking the question, trying to fill in the gaps, as large as they are. Documenting things was probably far, far down the list of things to do in the moments of the day in this band's history, tumultuous and as long-lived as it is.

 

is there a half decent audience recording of the show that could be used on the footage?

 

I have the audience recording, it's quite poor, but synched with the film would still be much better than nothing at all.

 

Well, I think it's worth judging. I can understand hoarding if you paid a lot to get the item, or if you promised the person who gave it to you that you would never circulate it. But hoarding something for no reason other than to feel special by being the only one who has it is selfish, dickish behavior.

 

Even assuming no issues with copyright, just how much is something like that going to be worth in 2021? How much demand is there really going to be for something that likely won't have widespread distribution? Substantial profit? That seems unlikely.

 

why can't you have widespread distribution when people today are purchasing music media from all over the world via the internet on ebay/japan Cd etc?

the hoarder who paid $20,000 for his Saratoga '71 film advertises his upcoming release in popular Who/music websites with video samples and states that he is willing to release it,but if he doesn't recieve pre orders for 10,000 sales at $25 each [to gaurantee his substantial profit after production/ditribution costs],he won't release it and upfront deposits will be returned.
he can create/edit the dvd and artwork himself and have the pro's print it up and sell it himself through his own website/page.
roll on 2021..........

 

Maybe but for my money London Coliseum is THE definitive document of the Who live at their peak. Closest you will get to seeing the '69-'70 era Who in concert. The performance is outrageously good....far better than Woodstock, IOW, Tanglewood. I was in tears the first time I watched the concert. If quality bothers you I recommend several glasses of brandy and playing it as loud as you can stand it.

 

You are underestimating the amount of money it would cost to professionally digitally restore a film and the related audio soundtrack. I do not believe the business model you present is viable yet alone potentially profitable to an individual that is "hoarding" said recording. The value in these hoarded recordings is to be able to trade with another collector for a copy of another exclusive rare recording/film. This motive/logic/strategy was already posted here by a representative member of the who trading community.

 

no one knows what condition any unseen film may be in.
and there are many reasonably priced computer programmes that you could do the restoration work with yourself.

 

I get it, you think 2021 is gonna be a good year.

Seriously, if the film is on a reel- what individual is going to have the equipment in their home to play it back?

 

there is a shop near where i live that you can take old VHS tapes os Super8mm films or larger etc and have them converted to digital for a very reasonable price.
and even if the film was only restored to the quality of the Coliseum dvd for example,Who fans would still lap it up.

 

Is there a quality recording of the 1968 Filmore East show ?

 

I'd be interested in other 1968 shows as well, especially one that captures a complete version of the way they played Relax at that time.