The Who Announces ‘Live At The Fillmore East 1968’

The Who staged a pair of concerts at the Fillmore East in New York City in April 1968. The legendary band will officially issue The Who Live At The Fillmore East 1968 which captures their performance at the renowned Lower East Side venue, via UMe on April 20.

With their concerts on April 5 and 6, The Who became the first British rock band to headline the Fillmore East, which Bill Graham had opened the month prior. The group was slated to play two shows each night, but due to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4 The Who instead held just one concert the two evenings that followed.

The band’s 1968 trip to New York City was notorious for the antics of drummer Keith Moon, whose pyrotechnics caused multiple hotel banishments. The group also posed while draped in the Union Jack for the photo that became the cover of the film The Kids Are Alright.

Here’s a bit on the background of the recording of Live At The Fillmore East 1968:

Both nights were recorded by Who manager Kit Lambert with the intention of releasing the results as The Who’s fourth album after The Who Sell Out and before Tommy. Disaster struck when it was discovered that due to faulty equipment or human error only part of the first night was captured. Thankfully the second night was recorded and has now been fully restored and mixed by long time Who sound engineer Bob Pridden (who was responsible for the band’s sound on those nights in 1968) from the original four-track tapes.

Live At The Fillmore East 1968 features several highlights, including a jammed-out, 30-minute “My Generation,” an 11-minute “A Quick One,” a rare cover of Allen Toussaint’s “Fortune Teller” and covers of Eddie Cochran’s “My Way,” “Summertime Blues” and a never-before-released version of “C’mon Everybody.”

Live At The Fillmore East 1968 Tracklist

CD

Disc One:

1. Summertime Blues
2. Fortune Teller
3. Tattoo
4. Little Billy
5. I Can’t Explain
6. Happy Jack
7. Relax
8. I’m A Boy
9. A Quick One
10. My Way
11. C’mon Everybody
12. Shakin’ All Over
13. Boris The Spider

Disc Two:

1. My Generation

VINYL

Disc One:

Side One

1. Summertime Blues
2. Fortune Teller
3. Tattoo
4. Little Billy

Side Two

1. I Can’t Explain
2. Happy Jack
3. Relax

Disc Two:

Side One

1. I’m A Boy
2. A Quick One

Side Two:

1. My Way
2. C’mon Everybody
3. Shakin’ All Over
4. Boris The Spider

Disc Three:

Side One

1. My Generation (pt 1)

Side Two

1. My Generation (pt 2)