The 1960's was a fantastic time for rock and roll music and this week I am selecting some of the best live performances from this amazing decade. I'm going to start this week off right with The Who's 1968 live version of 'A Quick One While He's Away' from
The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus. The Who's show stealing live performance was rumored to be the reason why the event, which was recorded in 1968, wasn't released until the late 1990's.
The Rock and Roll Circus was a 1968 show created by The Rolling Stones for the BBC. The Stones invited John Lennon, The Who, Jethro Tull, Taj Mahal, and
Marianne Faithfull, and recording started on the afternoon of December
11, 1968. A series of technical delays caused the filming of
The Rock and Roll Circus
to be a ten to twelve hour ordeal. When The Stones closed the show,
they were exhausted and Mick Jagger decided to shelve the entire project
due to their poor performance. The film was not seen again until 1989
when someone found it in a cellar.
There are a few instances in rock and roll where a live performance of a song is light years better than the studio version. Cheap Trick's
Live at Budokan version of 'I Want You To Want Me' is much better than the slower and less memorable version on
In Color. Have you listened to a Peter Frampton song from any album other than
Frampton Comes Alive?
'A Quick One While He's Away' is another example of a song where the live version is far superior. The studio version first appeared on the 1966 album
A Quick One. Guitarist and songwriter Pete Townshend created a nine minute rock opera which is one of their best tunes. I've embedded the album version below. Just listen to two or three minutes of the original so you can compare it to the
Rock and Roll Circus version.
Here is a clip of The Who's performance of 'A Quick One for
The Rock and Roll Circus. The audio is not great, but you do have the opportunity to see The Who show the rest of the bands who was the best. In my opinion, this is an amazing liver performance and it is hands down the best live performance from The Who. The energy and power from the four lads is second to none and the video below will show you why The Who is better than The Beatles and The Stones when it comes to live shows.
For those of you looking for a better
Rock and Roll Circus audio quality then I've embedded a clip below for you to enjoy.
TonyDoug Wright is The Lost Soul of Rock and Roll and is also the head writer and owner of Champion City Comics. Follow him @TonyDougWright on Twitter.
