Electric Factory (Rattle Snake RS 227)
The Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA, Sunday October 19th 1969
01. Heaven And Hell 1:46, 02. Can’t Explain 2:47, 03. Overture 4:35, 04 It’s A Boy 0:37, 05. 1921 2:27, 06. Amazing Journey 3:20, 07. Sparks 4:56, 08. The Acid Queen 2:42, 09. Summertime Blues 4:48, 10. My Generation 11.22
McDonough Gymnasium, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, Sunday November 2nd 1969
11. Heaven And Hell 3:27, 12. Can’t Explain 2:16, 13. Fortune Teller 2:48, 14. Summertime Blues 3:23, 15. Shakin’ All Over 5:44, 16. My Generation 8:51
City Hall, Hull, UK, Monday February 16th 1970
17. Young Man Blues 7:21
Total Time: 73:22
Rattle Snake has released fragments of 3 shows in outstanding soundboard quality. The 1st fragment was a previous soundboard released on NightHawk [NH-02013] as “Electric Factory 1969”. Trystar [TR0016/17/18] released “Unreleased 1969 Show” with disc 3 providing an audience feed of the entire 22 track evening show.
The 2nd fragment was released by Joker Productions [JOK-041-A] as “Live Vol. 1” featuring 13 tracks in good sound quality with 7 other miscellaneous tracks included. Dandelion [DL 112] also released “1969 Winter Time Trip” as a 13 track soundboard with 6 additional tracks from different sources. Tendolar [TDR-127] also released “Higher Education” as a 13 track soundboard source and adding 11 other demos and outtakes.
The Who’s setlist of 2-16-70 included “Heaven And Hell”, “I Can’t Explain”, “Fortune Teller”, “Tattoo” and “Young Man Blues” at City Hall, Hull, UK, of which the latter track represents the 3rd fragment on RS 227.
The 10-19-69 infamous Philadelphia fragment kicks off with the last 1:46 of “Heaven And Hell” and sounds amazing. The performance is tremendous overall with The Who brandishing their limitless energy and ferocious swagger. The instrument separation is stunning. “The Acid Queen” fades out nicely transitioning to “Summertime Blues” and ending with the last track played that evening, the explosive sounding “My Generation” which included a riveting “See Me, Feel Me” refrain. Another fine slow and deliberate fade-out closed out this first segment.
The 11-2-69 Washington performance immediately impresses with even greater fidelity featuring more enhanced and robust bass. Hard to imagine that there could be a greater margin for improvement. The Who in 1969 were completely deserving of this awesome sonic reproductive treatment which packs an absolute punch. “Shakin’ All Over” includes a short “Spoonful” refrain and “My Generation”, once again, features a “See Me, Feel Me” segment.
The 2nd fragment fades out to provide another nice transition to the 3rd and final soundboard fragment of, “Young Man Blues” which exhibits explosive raw intensity.
Rattle Snake provide their trademark packaging with gorgeous inserts, especially the usual thick front insert loaded with tasteful pictures. I found these 3 soundboard fragments to blend well together and offer a fine listen to The Who in their fertile period. Rattle Snake never disappoints and RS 227 easily merits must have status.
7 Comments
I am wondering… is it okay to review some titles that are quite antiquated, that are not reviewed here such as
Cream-Ricky Tick
Cream-Silver Horses Running Down Moonbeams
Those are a couple of examples
Thanks
This Rattlesnake title is one of the best WHO boots out there. There is nothing like The Who live . This disc just pulses with raw power and the sound quality is awesome throughout.
Another must have cd is The Spectrum 1973. Released in 2008, this 2cd set captures the band at its peak during the Quadrophenia tour.
If you want to submit some of your own reviews Pookie you’d be more than welcome.
I have a couple I could write myself and very probably will when I get the time ..
Going back into some discs i haven’t listened to in far too long, this along with the Largo,Md show in 1973 as well as Who Put The Better Boot In made me realize once again… how dynamic the Ooooooooooo were! Too bad they have nowhere near the reviews here as do Zepp,Eric and the Stones… who are all wonderful as well.
This is my first Rattlesnake release in my collection and when it arrived I immediately noticed the vibrant front booklet and back insert with excellent colors and detail. The next test for me was the sound quality which is nothing less than superb. The review above is spot on and this one needs to be played often and loud!!!
I did not have any other versions accessible for comparison purposes for the above review. This is good to know and RS 227 will not disappoint!
Both previous versions of the Electric Factory set had the channels reversed.This has been corrected on this version….