The Who @ St. Louis, MO 1982-12-06

 



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https://pixeldrain.com/u/JhkPHUAc

The Who
Checkerdome
St. Louis, MO
December 6, 1982
Master* tape from the ML Archive via JEMS

Recording Gear: Aiwa CM-30 stereo microphone* > Sony D6 Walkman

2020 transfer: master* cassettes > Nakamichi CR-7A azimuth-adjusted transfer > Sound Devices USBPre 2 > Audacity 2.3.2 (24/96) capture > iZotope RX MBIT+ resample 16/44.1 FLAC > Audacity 2.3.2 (tracking and finishing)

Run time: 1:56:07

Musicians:

Roger Daltrey (vocals, guitar, harmonica, tambourine)
John Entwistle (bass, vocals)
Kenney Jones (drums)
Pete Townshend (guitar, vocals)

with Tim Gorman (keyboards)

01_Intro
02_Substitute
03_I Can’t Explain
04_Dangerous
05_Sister Disco
06_The Quiet One
07_It’s Hard
08_Eminence Front
09_Behind Blue Eyes
10_Baba O’Riley
11_Dr. Jimmy
12_Boris the Spider
13_Drowned
14_Tattoo
15_Who Are You
16_Pinball Wizard
17_See Me, Feel Me
18_Five-Fifteen
19_Love Reign O’er Me
20_Long Live Rock
21_Won’t Get Fooled Again
22_encore break
23_Naked Eye
24_Squeeze Box
25_Twist and Shout

Whatever fueled The Who in 1982 — an abundance of new songs, a rejuvenated Pete Townshend, the sheer enjoyment of gigging, or even the prospect of leaving the road for an extended period — their December 6 gig in St. Louis reveals there was still plenty in the tank. With less than two weeks to go before the tour's end, they hit the stage with purpose, and threw in a couple of breakouts for good measure. It's a slightly shorter gig than usual, but a firecracker nonetheless. 

Along with the second nights at Oakland, Shea Stadium, and Landover, December 6 ranks in the upper tier of the 40 Who gigs our friend Jared saw that year. He wrote that this performance felt book-ended — that is, it started out and ended in a particularly strong fashion, but lost a bit of steam in the middle. Does that conclusion hold up today?

To answer that question, we turn to the fifth installment from the ML Archive. It joins the line-up of stereo recordings made by one of Jared’s oldest partners-in-tape, becoming another valued entry into the canon of field recordings from the '82 tour. (Previously, we shared '82 ML tapes from Orchard Park, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, and Tempe.) 

St. Louis features the first “Dr. Jimmy” since 1974; and “Boris the Spider,” its first play in three years. These breakouts were the last ones; as the band geared up for the December 17 simulcast from Toronto, the set would remain somewhat static. (Perhaps to give Roger a breather after the challenge posed a few songs earlier by “Dr. Jimmy,” they skip "Cry If You Want" for the only time.)

Pete Townshend is in great spirits and his guitar playing sounds incredible, with an abundance of fills, trills, and thrills. "Eminence Front" goes up a notch, and the way-cool arrangement of "Long Live Rock" sounds like a mash-up of Elton John and The Clash — it's one of the evening's high points. In the encore, “Squeeze Box” gets paired with another majestic “Naked Eye.” Everyone in the band carries their weight, making for a terrific gig.

* St. Louis had a couple of minor issues: they're inconsistencies more than they are flaws. While hard to detect, those instances led us to believe that something may have been flown in — in all likelihood, short patches from Jared's own masters. The vast majority of the recording, however, sounds of a piece. And as Jared said, "a tape is better than no tape" — that's why we chose to circulate, with this caveat (hence the asterisk notations). And the transfers continue! We'll continue to post the better ones. 

Between songs, you’ll hear the voices of friends. As the show unfolds, they speak of it in superlatives. On playback, now you can, too.

Thanks again to ML for the recordings, and of course to all my friends at JEMS. A hat tip to mjk5510 for remote assistance. He always answers the call. BK continues to keep all the reels spooled up and spinning, and I thank him, too.

Share it freely, and for free!

- slipkid68