The Who
October 15, 1982
UNI-Dome
Cedar Falls, Iowa
JEMS Master Tape

Musicians:

Roger Daltrey (vocals, guitar, harmonica)
John Entwistle (bass and vocals)
Kenney Jones (drums)
Pete Townshend (guitar and vocals, tambourine)
with Tim Gorman (keyboards)

Recording gear: Teac M-100 mic > Sony D-6

JEMS 2022 Transfer: Master cassette > Nakamichi Cassette Deck 1 azimuth-adjusted playback > Sound Devices USBPre2 > Audacity 3.2.1 (24/96 capture to .wav) > iZotope RX7 and Ozone 6 mastering > iZotope MBIT+ resample to 16/44 > FLAC

01_intro
02_Substitute
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_My Generation
12_Drowned
13_Tattoo
14_Cry If You Want
15_Who Are You
16_Pinball Wizard
17_See Me, Feel Me
18_Five-Fifteen
19_Love, Reign O'er Me

Known faults:

Long Live Rock (missing)
Won't Get Fooled Again (missing)
Magic Bus (missing)
Summertime Blues (missing)
Twist and Shout (missing)

To hear Roger Daltrey tell it, Cedar Falls “seems like a good place to come after Shea Stadium.” This JEMS master tape makes Roger’s case, and then some: The Who’s 1982 appearance in Iowa was a doozie, and so is Jared Houser’s excellent recording, transferred from the master cassette tape to digital for the first time, making for truly outstanding playback from The Farewell Tour.

UNI-Dome held just under 24,000 people, the tour’s smallest “stadium” show. It followed a pair of gigs at Shea Stadium, where night two made for one of that year’s top shows, in Jared’s estimation. That excellence continues here, audible in eminently pleasing sound: this recording ranks near the top of the ’82 pile.

Alas, Jared’s master ends with “Love, Reign O’er Me.” That still leaves 18 songs to enjoy, like a best-in-class version of “My Generation,” a killer “Eminence Front,” and “Drowned” — in each, Pete Townshend’s guitar playing sounds amazing. After its break-out at Shea, “Tattoo” is in the set again, too.

I had a jones for Cedar Falls, and while I was disappointed that it’s incomplete, what exists sounds wonderful (Jared’s spreadsheet indicates that a 1st gen. copy of part two is in hand; it hasn’t materialized, but we’ll keep looking).

BK took the baton on this one, mastering, as he put it, a “superb tape and what seems like a fine show.” Removing extraneous whistles, whoops, and hoopla was a must: iZotope RX 7 did just that. And with goody correcting the pitch, it plays in time. Thanks, goody!

A down-the-line copy of Jared’s recording has torrented for some time. Now, to honor his contributions to the art of field recording and celebrate the 1982 Who tour, turn up Cedar Falls in the best-possible quality.

Jared and Stan remain with us in spirit. Rock in peace, friends.

Share it freely, and for free!

- slipkid68