Rushed out in 1970 as a way to bide time as
the Who toiled away on their follow-up to
Tommy,
Live at Leeds wasn't intended to be the definitive
Who live album, and many collectors maintain that the band had better shows available on bootlegs. But those shows weren't easily available whereas
Live at Leeds was, and even if this show may not have been the absolute best, it's so damn close to it that it would be impossible for anybody but aficionados to argue. Here,
the Who sound vicious -- as heavy as
Led Zeppelin but twice as volatile -- as they careen through early classics with the confidence of a band that had finally achieved acclaim but had yet to become preoccupied with making art. In that regard, this recording -- in its many different forms -- may have been perfectly timed in terms of capturing the band at a pivotal moment in its history.