Customer Reviews

Live From Toronto

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

By 1982 The Who were at the top of their game and could play any song in their catalog. This fantastic set from The Who's farewell tour includes old chestnuts like "Naked Eye", "Won't Get Fooled Again" and "My Generation" along side infrequently performed songs like "Eminence Front", "Dangerous" and "Twist & Shout". This version of "Sister Disco" is perhaps the best ever.

The audio sounds like a direct dub from the laserdisc/DVD shovelware version and sound mostly mono. This release is little more than a well-packaged bootleg and is recommended for hard-core Who fans only. Get the DVD or laserdisc instead.

[DW]

The audio on this concert is horrible. It sounds as though a microphone was placed in front of a TV and recorded. I could do better with my old stereo from 1985.

If you want to compare, listen to the bonus live tracks on the remastered It's Hard CD. The tracks are from the same show. On It's Hard's version of Eminence Front, the guitar solo is piercing and you can hear each of the members of the band clearly. On Live from Toronto, it is a muddled mess.

I have to believe that Pete Townshend or Roger Daltrey did not play a role in this release, because it is third rate. This concert was on HBO in the early 1980's, and I was looking forward to its release. Now, I am disappointed I made the purchase.

Go to wal-mart and get the DVD+CD version. It has both CDs and a DVD containing the VHS version "The Who Rocks America." The three discs are housed in a digi-pack - be carfeful, the DVD is slipped in between the booklet and a cardboard slot, so pull out the DVD and put it safely in a DVD or CD jewel case for protection. Mine was less than $20 at wal-mart. It has a brown sticker saying "Limited Edition - 2 CDs plus the Entire show on DVD." Well, that's mostly true. The DVD is a transfer of the "Who Rocks America 1982" VHS video that was issued on Fox Video in 1983/84, the same concert that was seen on HBO back then. However, this version has a few different camera angles, probably from the pay-per-view version of the same concert (transmitted live in 1982). It is missing "Cry if you Want To," which was performed that night (the 1997 remaster "It's Hard" has this 1982 take of "CIYW" live as as bonus track). This DVD also is missing another song or two that was played that night, but overall, it's a great investment. Good to finally have this concert on DVD, even though is seems like a quasi-bootleg. Video quality ranges from excellent (when the band is bathed in white light, mainly the cameras from the front of the stage) to fuzzy (long-distant shots; the opening of "My Generation"). The sound is decent. It's kind of like watching a pristine VHS version on a good TV and sound system. The sound gets a B to B+. Sounds pretty much like the old videotape. Being that The Who probably won't "officially" re-release this - Daltrey hates Kenney Jones, sadly - it's good to have Immortal's version. Just expect to have what you saw and heard in the early 1980s, and not a beefed up, remastered version of this really good concert. It's cool they did so many Entwistle tunes, and so close together. And John singing "Twist and Shout" at the end is really, really incredible! Enjoy!

Scott

P.S. The artwork is actually pretty decent on this. The booklet inside and the cover feature clear, sharp pics of the 1982 show. Only one goof - the cover shot (black and white) of Daltrey, with his white shirt open and him staring off into space, is actually from the Live Aid concert in 1985. Other than that, the other pics are from the '82 tour ....

The Who's 2-CD set Live from Toronto is a must for all Who fans.
The album was previously released on VHS as "The Who Rocks America 1982" and was recorded at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in December of 1982 and was initially their farewell concert (they eventually came back).
This performance was the last performance of The Who's 1982 lineup which consisted of original members lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend and bass player John Entwistle (R.I.P. Ox) plus former Small Faces and Rod Stewart's Faces drummer Kenney Jones (who replaced the late Keith Moon in 1979) and keyboardist Tim Gorman (who only appeared with The Who for the It's Hard album and tour).
We begin with a spirited version of My Generation which was a great version. I Can't Explain is next and is a stellar version. Next is The Ox penned Dangerous (which also appears on the 1997 remastered It's Hard CD). Next is an awesome version of Sister Disco which is a killer version of this rocker from Who Are You. Next, The Ox (Entwistle) sings his great rocker The Quiet One. Next is a spirited version of the title cut to It's Hard (which also appears on the 1997 remastered It's Hard CD). We follow it with an excellent live version of Eminence Front (which also appears on the 1997 remastered It's Hard CD). Next is Baba O' Riley and what a version. Next is Entwistle's classic Boris The Spider which is a stellar version and has Townshend's demolition of Boris at the end. Next is a long version of the Quadrophenia track Drowned and has Pete on lead vocals and some extra verses at the end and stellar lead work from Pete and harmonica work from Daltrey. We end the first CD with a nice version of Love Ain't For Keeping.
Disc two begins with a spirited Pinball Wizard and we then segue into an excellent version of See Me Feel Me. Next is an excellent version of Who Are You. We follow it with an excellent version of 5:15. Next is possibly the best version of Love Reign O'er Me and gives me goosebumps each time I hear it. Long Live Rock follows and is a nice rocked up version of the classic. Next is the best version of Won't Get Fooled Again from the Jones era. We follow with the best version of Naked Eye I ever heard as it is slowed somewhat and just amazing. We follow with Squeeze Box and is a great version. We follow with a stellar Young Man Blues which was an awesome version though it's hard to rival the Isle of Wight or Kids Are Alright versions. We then end with a version of Twist and Shout which mirrored The Beatles' version before ending majestically.
There were three songs performed not on this album which were Behind Blue Eyes, Dr Jimmy and Cry If You Want (which also appears on the 1997 remastered It's Hard CD).
There is a three disc version of this available (which I found at Wal-Mart) and packaged in a digi-pack. The DVD is slipped in between the booklet and a cardboard slot, so pull out the DVD and put it safely in a DVD or CD jewel case for protection. The DVD is a transfer of "The Who Rocks America 1982" VHS video.
Excellent show and this is recommended!

I have the dvd of this particular concert and was very excited to see that the audio had come-out on cd. However, the quality of the cd is horrible. I was really hoping to have a good quality cd because I had seen them on this tour. It's as if someone had simply recorded the the dvd from their tv set onto a cd. I can't imagine that personnel from The Who endosred this poor sounding cd. I also noticed that the cd wasn't even on MCA records (The Who's label). Clearly there was no re-mixing or preparing the audio for typical cd quality. It sounds nothing better than a run-of-the-mill bootleg. I was very disappointed when I played this on my stereo. If you have the dvd, just stick with that. As much as I love The Who, this was a total waste of money. It's very unfortunate that MCA didn't record this specifically for a cd at the time (in December 1982). It was a great concert from their last great tour.

This is taken from the same concert in 1982 that long ago was called "Who Rocks America" and was dubbed their "Farewell" Tour. I used to own the VHS of this and really enjoyed it. I love this concert. The band is energetic and still sounds good. If you get the 2 CD set w/ Bonus DVD the DVD has the 22 track concert in Digital Dolby 2.0/5.1 . It is not widescreen but 4:3 Fullscreen. It also appears that the source tape was not in the best condition but that could just be the old tube cameras that were used. Well worth your money.

I'm glad they finally put this on DVD. I loved this concert. I remember watching it on HBO a long time ago. They were definately at the top of their game. This is a nice addition to my extensive Who collection.

Have always loved seeing unreleased archive performances,like this one finally be put out as a legit pressing.'Live...' took place in mid-December,1982 at the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.I should know,because I was foolish ENOUGH to attend a local,movie-like showing of this concert AS it happened via satellite for nearly the cost of an actual concert ticket.This nearly two hour CD release of this concert is good. Was fun to once again to hear Who classics,like "My Generation","I Can't Explain","Sister Disco" (I've always loved this song),"Pinball Wizard","Baba O'Riley","Long Live Rock",the FM radio/late night staple "Won't Get Fooled Again" and the surprising finale "Twist And Shout". Very good choice here. A should-have.

This is the WHO concert featured on the King Biscuit Flour Hour in 1982. This was the last show on the 1982 "farewell tour". The set list is good, because it includes some songs the Who rarely or never played again like, "It s' Hard", "Sister Disco", "The Quiet One", "Love aint for Keeping", "Dangerous", "Twist and Shout" and "Naked Eye" among others. They did a very good profesional and competent show. On some songs like "Dangerous", "Squeeze Box" and "Naked Eye" they sound great and loose. On others, they sound profesional but something is missing. This is a rare set with THE WHO playing 3 JOHN ENTWISTLE s'songs (DANGEROUS, BORIS THE SPIDER & THE QUIET ONE"). The cd does not include "CRY IF YOU WANT", a song they played and you can hear on the expanded version of "It s Hard" cd. The volume of the cd is very low and it seems someone did not do any post-production job at all.

I remember seeing The Who in St. Louis during this tour and they were great. The performance on this CD is still good, but this really does sound like a bootleg. If you're expecting "Live at Leeds" quality in the recording, you'll be disappointed.