The Who - 1982-12-16 - Toronto, ON (AUD/FLAC)

(Audience FLAC)

The Who

December 16, 1982

Maple Leaf Gardens

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

ML Archive Master via JEMS

Recording Gear:

Aiwa CM-30 microphone > Sony WM-D6

2022 Transfer: Master cassettes > Nakamichi Cassette Deck 1 azimuth-adjusted playback > Sound Devices USBPre2 > Audacity 3.2.2 (16/44 capture to .wav) > iZotope RX7 and Ozone 6 mastering > iZotope MBIT > FLAC > finishing via TLH

Roger Daltrey (vocals, guitar, harmonica)

John Entwistle (bass and vocals)

Kenney Jones (drums)

Pete Townshend (guitar and vocals, tambourine)

with Tim Gorman (keyboards)

01. Intro

02. My Generation

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. Cry if You Want

15. Who Are You

16. Pinball Wizard

17. See Me, Feel Me

18. Love Ain’t For Keeping

19. Five-Fifteen

20. Love, Reign O’er Me

21. Long Live Rock

22. Won’t Get Fooled Again

23. Naked Eye

24. Squeeze Box

25. Twist and Shout

The ML Archive Master Series returns once more to Toronto, a city Pete Townshend loves, to end its 1982 tour. This recording features the first night, December 16. The second one, of course, is well-known: it was a pay-per-view, simulcast over the FM airwaves, and later served as the basis for a live record, b-sides, and a commercial home video.

Both in spirit and in sound, night one is similar. With special lighting and later start times, it was, in effect, something of a dress rehearsal for the highly-anticipated end-of-the-tour radio and TV special.

In the end, neither show approached the greatest heights the band reached that year. Rather, the music sounded generally excellent as it touched all corners of the band’s catalog.

December 16 features superb versions of "The Quiet One," "It's Hard," “Drowned,” and “Naked Eye” — if you had to pick songs to represent how well the band played, look no further. Also included: recent revivals “Doctor Jimmy,” “Boris the Spider,” and “Love Ain’t For Keeping.” Each sounds particularly robust here.

Ironically, little of the excellence the band brought to bear that year seemed to find its way into its official catalog. “Who’s Last” didn’t include anything from the Warner Bros. records, and featured, rather curiously, perfunctory versions of songs from earlier ones. Leave it to the tapers to set the record straight.

ML made a terrific capture: its inherent clarity gains from mjk5510’s judicious adjustments, giving it more heft after mastering. Thanks to both of you, and to BK for making sure the runway stays clear and lit. A big sonic tip of the hat to Jared and Stan, who we remember fondly.

Jared had so much on this tour, and in Toronto more so than anywhere. Fans and friends gathered for what they thought was the end, and in some respects, it was. Few things compare to the excitement of being at a great Who show, but hearing top-flight recordings is surely the next best thing. Here’s another one.