The Who: What and When

Fans of The Who will have two good excuses to hobble down to the neighborhood tone vendor on April 20th.

Firstly, Geffen’s issuing a double CD/triple vinyl live album captured at a show at New York’s Fillmore East in April 1968. Heavily bootlegged in the early ’70s, the live recording was originally intended to be officially released by the band prior to Tommy, but those plans were scrapped. Newly remastered, the concert is noteworthy for its plethora of cover songs, including three Eddie Cochran songs and Allen Toussaint’s “Fortune Teller,” and 30 explosive minutes of “My Generation.”

The same day, an expanded 2-CD reissue of Pete Townshend’s debut solo album from 1972, Who Came First, will be made available. The original mishmash of Meher Baba tributes and demos for Lifehouse (some of which became Who songs) has been appended with 17 other chunks of debris from the era, including unreleased songs, alternate versions and live performances.