Oakland 1982 2nd Night (Maximum R&B W-102582)
Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, CA – October 25, 1982
Disc 1: (79:24) My Generation, I Can’t Explain, Dangerous, Sister Disco, The Quiet One, It’s Hard, Eminence Front, Behind Blue Eyes, Baba O’Riley, Tattoo, Drowned, AMan Is A Man, Cry If You Want, Who Are You, Pinball Wizard, See Me Feel Me
Disc 2: (79:48) MC, Substitute, 5:15, Love Reign O’er Me – Rehearsals at Capital Centre, Landover, MD – September 21, 1982 – Sound Check #1, Eminence Front #1, Eminence Front #2, Eminence Front #3, Eminence Front #4, Sound Check #2, It’s Hard #1, Sound Check #3, It’s Hard #2 (false start), It’s Hard #3, Sound Check #4, Cooks County, Sound Check #5, Dangerous, Sound Check #6, Cry If You Want, Sound Check #7, Won’t Get Fooled Again, Sound Check #8
Oakland 1982 2nd Night is another in the latest batch of soundboards to surface from The Who’s 1982 tour in support of It’s Hard. The Who played two nights at the Oakland Coliseum with the second night featured here. All these recent 1982 soundboards (New Jersey, Portland, Oakland, and Toronto) come from excellent sounding sources with a near perfect balance between the instruments and are very enjoyable.
The entire tour consisted of two North American legs that followed just two warm-up dates at the NEC in Birmingham, UK. The first leg ran from September 22, 1982 through October 31, 1982 while the second leg picked up on November 27, 1982 and ran until December 17, 1982. Tim Gorman was employed as keyboardist for this tour who also played on the latest record.
The recording cuts in with “My Generation” already in progress. Unfortunately, we only get the final 30 seconds or so before Pete quickly launches into “I Can’t Explain”. Entwistle’s bass lends a real heaviness to the sound of the band tonight. “From our latest album, a number called “Dangerous” Daltrey says before the Entwistle composition from It’s Hard. This was a very strong track live and perhaps one of the best from the new record.
“Sister Disco” follows without introduction. The keyboard sequence takes a back seat in the mix while the guitar and bass drives the track. “Big Johnny Twinkle…John Entwiste” Daltrey says as Townshend tunes his guitar. John introduces his own contribution to the Face Dances album, “The Quiet One”. An aggressive sounding song to contradict its lyrical content, he adds a little grit to his vocal for a nice effect. This is the only Face Dances track to survive from the previous year’s tour. They continue with more numbers from the new record first with the title track, “It’s Hard” then “Eminence Front”. Both numbers feature Roger Daltrey on rhythm guitar with the later being a great vehicle for great Townshend solos.
The massive reaction from “Behind Blue Eyes” continues into the intro for “Baba O’Riley”. Roger’s tambourine is very prominent in the mix and his vocals are very strong. A nice surprise in the set sees “Tattoo” being played. This was only played a half dozen times sporadically throughout the first leg of the North American Tour. This was a great track from the early days and The Who gives a decent solid reading of it here tonight. “Drowned” has a quick cut/fade at 4:21 that doesn’t appear to missing much time. Roger provides some nice harmonica during the Quadrophenia track while Pete delivers the lead vocal.
“A Man Is A Man” wasn’t played every night but earns a spot in tonight’s set where “Athena” usually sits (“Athena” was moved into an encore slot for this evening). “This is another one from the new album, this one’s called “Cry If You Want” Pete says. This is definitely a highly under-rated track from It’s Hard that the band would use to stretch out over. Drummer Kenney Jones’ marching pattern lays down a solid rhythm with the band playing very dynamically with Townshend extending the solo at the end. They must have enjoyed playing this new one as it was played at every show during the tour except for one.
“Who Are You” is a return to the classics. Roger does a nice job with the vocal but does sound like he might be getting a bit tired when it comes to the scream. “Pinball Wizard” and “See Me, Feel Me” make up a nice little medley but unfortunately this is all we will get from the Tommy record.
“Substitute” normally served as the show opener but was moved to later in the set when they experimented opening the show with “My Generation”. Pete shouts “Accept No Substitute!” at the conclusion. “5:15” and a very epic sounding but incomplete “Love Reign O’er Me” brings the crowds excitement to new heights but the tape sadly ends here. Missing from the show are “Long Live Rock” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again” from the main set and “Athena”, “Young Man Blues”, Twist And Shout”, “Naked Eye”, and “Summertime Blues” from the encores.
To fill out the second disc, the label provides bonus material from September 21, 1982 at the Capital Centre in Landover, MD. This features about 65 minutes from a rehearsal the day before the opening of the first North American leg. The Who would kick off their American tour with two shows at the Capital Centre the following day. Again, this comes from an excellent soundboard.
The rehearsal features a lot of noodling around with their instruments amid performances of new tracks “Eminence Front”, “It’s Hard”, “Dangerous”, and “Cry If You Want”. We are treated to an attempt at “Cook’s County”, quite interesting as they only played this track once throughout the entire tour. While not terribly exciting and sometimes fragmented, the excellent sound quality does make for a nice listening experience and is a superb addition to help fill out the second disc.
Along with the other 1982 soundboards to surface, this is another highly recommended Who title.
