Monday, December 6th 2010
News: The Who
The Who Release New Video For Tattoo, 40 Years Late
The Who‘s classic Live at Leeds album, originally released in 1970, got yet another rerelease treatment with a 40th Anniversary Super-Deluxe Collector’s Edition that includes their show at Hull the next night (Feb. 15, 1970) which, in the band’s eyes, far exceeded the legendary Leeds gig.
“Hull was a better gig than Leeds,” singer Roger Daltrey recently said in a statement. “I remember it like it was yesterday, although in retrospect, ‘Live at Hull’ doesn’t really trip off the tongue.”
The problem wasn’t the name, however, but the fact that the Hull recording was compromised. The first tape reel, containing the first four tracks, had no bass at all. Otherwise, the rest of the show was mercifully intact. Years later, with our modern space-age technology the band was able to “doctor in” the bass for the damaged tracks by lifting the lines from Leeds.
We’re not here to tell you to buy yet another Live at Leeds repackaged release, because there’s plenty enough of that to go around. To celebrate the new release, the Who commissioned a new animated video for their live version of Tattoo. Y’know, instead of actually showing themselves playing.
We’re not celebrating the video, so much as wondering when exactly it was that Ed Hardy & a depoliticized Shepard Fairey took acid and tried to beat each other out for the chance to make a “hip” commercial for Target stores. Cold, useless and not featuring one split second of the band, the video is all the reminder you need that maybe your dad’s old Live at Leeds vinyl will still do the trick after all.
And yes, it does appear that Pete is grabbing a handful of Daltreycock in the picture above, and you’ll notice that Roger seems to be enjoying the moment. You’re welcome.
