WHO – DEFINITIVE CHARLTON 1974: FINEST & LONGEST
$49.00
WARDOUR – 2 CD
Description
Charlton Athletic Football Club, London, UK 18th May 1974
Along with the release of “LIVE AT LEEDS: 55TH ANNIVERSARY ULTIMATE EDITION” earlier this year, one of the most important live recordings in The Who’s history has finally been released as a must-buy definitive edition after a long hiatus! Yes, it’s the Charlton performance, the most classic live recording from 1974!
The Who had few live shows in 1974 due to the start of production on the movie version of “Tommy,” but the most famous performance of that special year was when they closed the outdoor festival “Summer of ’74” at Charlton Football Stadium. The performance was filmed by the BBC and broadcast on television, and was later used in the video for “Maximum R&B,” becoming a classic image of the Who in 1974.
The paper jacket “LIVE AT CHARLTON 1974” released by the nostalgic Midas Touch label was based on the audio from an unedited video that was supposedly leaked during the editing of “MAXIMUM”. It was initially treated as a masterpiece because the entire album was a soundboard, but in fact there were songs that were not included and cuts, and the sound quality was only so-so. In contrast, “CHARLTON UNCUT”, released by the label Wholiday Music almost a year later, was an audience recording, but it was completely recorded and the sound image was surprisingly close, so much so that enthusiasts said, “This is better than SBD”.
Since then, several Charlton sound sources have appeared, but no new items using them have been made. Our shop has only released the video on DVD as “CHARLTON 1974” around 2008. Despite its high reputation as a famous live performance, no decent new titles have been released anywhere for at least the past 15 years. The reason for this is that, as will be described later, the existing sources are extremely diverse, and in addition, they are all complex sound sources with their own characteristics, so I imagine that no one could start working on them due to the difficulty of production.
However, this time I finally started working on this masterpiece. So I spent several months literally “searching” for the best sources that exist. As a result, I discovered that the following six sources can be used as good sound sources.
①Original Film Master: Good sound quality. However, it is a rough mix.
②BBC 2nd House Broadcast: The sound quality is inferior to ①. However, there are traces of an attempt to mix it properly, such as the addition of reverb.
③View From A Backstage Pass: A rare official release title, only available through the official website mail order. It is a compilation of various live recordings, including some recordings of Charlton. Since it is an official release, the sound quality is good, but only a small number of tracks are included. Also, the reverb seems a little excessive. In this production, the reverb has been slightly reduced to the extent that it was excessive.
④Broadcast On Capitol Radio: Sound quality is better than ② but less than ①. Included as a bonus track on the fan-made bootleg DVD “WHO 4 CHARLTON 75000.”
⑤FM Reel Recording: A recording of an FM broadcast by a fan at the time on reel tape. There are only a few songs, but the sound quality is excellent. It was only posted online in 2018, so many people may not know about it.
⑥Audience Recording: This audience recording was also used in the aforementioned Wholiday Music label’s “CHARLTON UNCUT”. Considering that it was recorded outdoors in 1974, the sound quality is excellent. The pitch has been thoroughly corrected for this use.
The longest recordings of the live performance are various video and audio recordings, but the only flaw is that they are incomplete. We collected thoroughly scrutinized sound sources and carried out careful editing to literally minimize the sense of incongruity of the sound sources. Specifically, we have achieved the following meticulous and precise remastering and remixing of each of the six sources mentioned above.
①Original Film Master: The sound was separated into eight tracks – snare, toms, cymbals, kick drum, bass, guitar, vocals, and audience cheers – and then remastered and mixed down.
②BBC 2nd House Broadcast: Only the sequence track for “Baba O’Riley” was separated and extracted for use. No other tracks were used.
③View From A Backstage Pass: As mentioned above, the excess reverb is removed and the sound source is used without separating the tracks.
④Broadcast on Capitol Radio: The sound was separated into eight tracks – snare, toms, cymbals, kick drum, bass, guitar, vocals, and audience cheers – and then remastered and mixed down.
⑤FM Reel Recording: The sound quality is very high and the mix is well-organized, so the source is used as is without separating the tracks or remixing.
⑥Audience Recording: The recording is separated into three tracks: vocals, audience cheers, and other instruments, and then remastered and mixed down.
As an example, for example, “I Can’t Explain” has not been recorded in various soundboard sources, and “Summertime Blues” also has poor sound quality of the soundboard source, so both use the latest remastered audience recording of source ⑥. “Young Man Blues” switches to the soundboard source, but this does not simply connect each source, but also uses multiple sound sources to improve the sound quality and mix. The best example is “Baba O’Riley”, where the main leaked video audio had a low volume of the sequence, which is the trademark of the song, and the balance was unnatural, so even with the same video audio, only the sound of the sequence was extracted from the BBC broadcast version of source ② using the latest AI technology and mixed thoroughly. Other sound sources have also been remastered and remixed to create titles with high sound quality and unified texture! AUD and FM sources have millisecond dropouts that are peculiar to cassettes, but these are also corrected with dedicated tools, and fine noise is also removed! And it is literally the longest recording content ever!
Also, despite the great performances on this day, the content was very unique. From “I’m A Boy” to “Boris The Spider”, classics that hadn’t been heard live for a long time were played one after the other, but the two songs up to “Tattoo” in particular were quite rough, and Roger’s lyrics and the harmony of the three were also questionable, which was a nice touch. Even these parts were thoroughly edited using multiple sound sources, but they were beautifully put together. The best part was “5:15”. There was no support from the horn section like in later years, and no tape like the previous year, so the band’s laid-back performance here was very cool, but this is also a valuable take that can only be heard in audience recordings. Therefore, for the audience recording parts including this song, remastering and pitch correction were thoroughly carried out to take advantage of the closeness of the sound image!
And the raging development starting with “My Generation” at the end of the live is overwhelming. In the first half of the live, they were rough, but now they are at their peak, revving up their engines and performing a spectacular performance with ease. I thought that the nostalgic Midas Touch record would become a staple of Who’s 70s live performances, but Charlton, who could not become a staple, has finally been recorded in a satisfactory form. Since the main part is the sound board, the parts have been thoroughly washed and combined with parts that can only be heard in audience recordings, making this the ultimate version! This huge stadium live performance is very famous as a famous sound source of The Who, who entered the heyday of “Who’s Next” and “Quadrophenia”, and is famous as a highlight of the 1974 tour, so it is a must-listen! This title is expected to sell out. Order early!
☆ Tracklist and source details for each song below!
●Disc 1
01.Introduction – ⑥
02.I Can’t Explain – ⑥
03.Summertime Blues – ⑥
04.Young Man Blues – ①+③
05.Baba O’Riley – ①+②
06.Behind Blue Eyes – ①+⑥
07.Substitute – ①
08.I’m A Boy – ①
09.Tattoo – ①+③ (③ from around 2:40)
10.Boris the Spider – ③+⑥+⑤ (⑥ from around 2:31, ⑤ from 2:36)
11.Drowned – ⑤+⑥+⑤ (※The complete version of the SBD is only this ⑤! ⑥ from 8:14. ⑤ again from 8:25)
12.Bell Boy – ⑤+⑥ (⑥ from 4:49)
13.Doctor Jimmy – ④+⑥ (⑥ from 7:19)
14.Won’t Get Fooled Again – ④+⑥ (⑥ from 8:30)
15.Pinball Wizard – ⑥+⑤ (⑥ makes up the first 12 seconds)
16.See Me, Feel Me – ①+⑥ (⑥ from 5:52)
01.Introduction – ⑥
02.I Can’t Explain – ⑥
03.Summertime Blues – ⑥
04.Young Man Blues – ①+③
05.Baba O’Riley – ①+②
06.Behind Blue Eyes – ①+⑥
07.Substitute – ①
08.I’m A Boy – ①
09.Tattoo – ①+③ (③ from around 2:40)
10.Boris the Spider – ③+⑥+⑤ (⑥ from around 2:31, ⑤ from 2:36)
11.Drowned – ⑤+⑥+⑤ (※The complete version of the SBD is only this ⑤! ⑥ from 8:14. ⑤ again from 8:25)
12.Bell Boy – ⑤+⑥ (⑥ from 4:49)
13.Doctor Jimmy – ④+⑥ (⑥ from 7:19)
14.Won’t Get Fooled Again – ④+⑥ (⑥ from 8:30)
15.Pinball Wizard – ⑥+⑤ (⑥ makes up the first 12 seconds)
16.See Me, Feel Me – ①+⑥ (⑥ from 5:52)
●Disc 2
17.5:15 – ⑥
18.Magic Bus – ⑥+①
19.My Generation – ①
20.Naked Eye – ①
21.Let’s See Action – ①
22.My Generation Blues – ①
17.5:15 – ⑥
18.Magic Bus – ⑥+①
19.My Generation – ①
20.Naked Eye – ①
21.Let’s See Action – ①
22.My Generation Blues – ①
Disc:1 (75:18)
01. Introduction
02. I Can’t Explain
03. Summertime Blues
04. Young Man Blues
05. Baba O’Riley
06. Behind Blue Eyes
07. Substitute
08. I’m A Boy
09. Tattoo
10. Boris the Spider
11. Drowned
12. Bell Boy
13. Doctor Jimmy
14. Won’t Get Fooled Again
15. Pinball Wizard
16. See Me, Feel Me
01. Introduction
02. I Can’t Explain
03. Summertime Blues
04. Young Man Blues
05. Baba O’Riley
06. Behind Blue Eyes
07. Substitute
08. I’m A Boy
09. Tattoo
10. Boris the Spider
11. Drowned
12. Bell Boy
13. Doctor Jimmy
14. Won’t Get Fooled Again
15. Pinball Wizard
16. See Me, Feel Me
Disc:2 (37:17)
1. 5:15
2. Magic Bus
3. My Generation
4. Naked Eye
5. Let’s See Action
6. My Generation Blues
