The Who will mark the 50th anniversary of a pair of legendary New York concerts with the April 20 release of “Live At The Fillmore East 1968” on 2CD, 3LP and digital formats.
The project captures the UK band live during an April 6, 1968 set at the newly-opened Manhattan venue in the days that followed the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis, TN.
As the first British rock act to headline the club, The Who were originally scheduled to play four shows over a two-night run; however, because of feared social unrest in the wake of Dr King’s assassination, it was decided to compact the shows into one per night.
Due to faulty equipment or human error, only part of The Who’s April 5 performance was recorded, but the second night was fully captured and has now been restored and mixed by long time Who sound engineer Bob Pridden from the original four-track tapes.
“Live At The Fillmore East 1968” presents classic tracks by the band alongside three Eddie Cochran classics: “My Way,” “Summertime Blues”, and the never before released Who version of “C’mon Everybody.”
Also featured is a rare cover version of “Fortune Teller” written by Allen Toussaint, originally recorded by Benny Spellman but made famous by The Rolling Stones.
An epic, 30-plus-minute version of “My Generation” fills out the entire second disc as the show ends with a climax of guitar-smashing and drum-trashing.
In other Who news, singer Roger Daltrey will perform the group’s 1969 rock opera, “Tommy”, in its entirety during a summer US tour.
The 13-date series will see Daltrey accompanied by members of The Who touring band and joined by some of the most prestigious orchestras in the United States, including the Boston Pops, the New York Pops and the Nashville Symphony.
The Who
“Live At The Fillmore East 1968”
Release date: April 20
Disc One
01. "Summertime Blues"
02. "Fortune Teller"
03. "Tattoo"
04. "Little Billy"
05. "I Can’t Explain"
06. "Happy Jack"
07. "Relax"
08. "I'm A Boy"
09. "A Quick One"
10. "My Way"
11. "C'mon Everybody"
12. "Shakin' All Over"
13. "Boris The Spider"
Disc Two
14. "My Generation"
See also:
The Who: Roger Daltrey to perform Tommy on US tour
VIDEO: The Who rock Pinball Wizard on Tommy Live At The Royal Albert Hall
Roger Daltrey of The Who to publish memoir in 2018
VIDEO: Pete Townshend performs The Who classic on The Tonight Show
Search The Who at hennemusic
