THE WHO
"I said a young man ain't got nothing in the world these days"
General Rating: 5
ALBUM REVIEWS:
HIT PACKAGES:
VIDEOS:
APPENDIX: SOLO PROJECTS
Disclaimer: this page is not written by from the point of view of a Who fanatic (even if the Who are one of my favourite bands) and is not generally intended for narrow-perspective Who fanatics. If you are deeply offended by criticism, non-worshipping approach to your favourite artist, or opinions that do not match your own, do not read any further. If you are not, please consult the guidelines for sending your comments before doing so.
This page also hosts comments from the following Certified Commentators: Kevin Baker, Jeff Blehar, Rich Bunnell, Nick Einhorn, Ben Greenstein, Nick Karn, David Lyons, Philip Maddox, Dan Miller, John McFerrin, Jeff Melchior, Derrick Stuart, Fredrik Tydal.
If the Beatles win gold in the Rock And Roll Race and the Stones get
the silver, then the bronze should unquestionably be sent to the Who. A
lot of people would disagree, and the reasons are obvious. Except for a
brief shining moment at the very tail end of the Sixties (1969-1970, actually),
they were almost always overshadowed by greater successes. The Beatles
in the early sixties, Hendrix and Cream in the mid-sixties, the 'comeback'
Stones and Led Zeppelin in the early seventies and punk in the late seventies
- all of these things threatened to kill off the group. But they haven't,
and even if some of their stuff was highly criticized back then, it is
becoming more and more revered nowadays.
What makes the Who such an outstanding band? Well, for one thing, they
were probably the only band, with the Beatles coming close, with
four distinct and extraordinary personalities. Every member of the group
is a living (or dead) legend: every member was astonishingly professional;
every member had his special features, ways, humour, everything that makes
up an individual celebrity. Everyone had his own role and place on the
scene. On the other hand, somehow these four distinct and very dissimilar
personalities managed to gel together in such a perfect way that one can
only wonder how could it all happen. The stage was their forte, and when
you got the windmills and mad leaps of Townshend, the fringes and microphone-swirling
of Daltrey, the furious drum assaults of Moon, and the intoxicating faster-than-lightning
dark bass of Entwistle together, rock heaven was just a step away. But
in the studio the stormy waves suddenly, as if by magic, transformed themselves
into clear, emotional and beautiful melodies, and the band was a new one
- just like the Stones, Cream and several other superacts of the Sixties.
What makes the Who such an unknown band (at least in some places - like
Russia, for instance, where it's almost impossible to find a person who
wouldn't answer 'Who?' to the corresponding question)? Two factors, I think.
One is that their famous stage performances are often regarded as pure
chaotic noise. This is nonsense. The noise is nothing but a frame to some
great music; moreover, it never spoils the music itself but rather adds
a different dimension to it. Listen closely to Live At Leeds and
you'll see the guys practically never descended into pure dissonant
musical chaos - they managed to control it and direct it rather than just
let it away. The other factor is that the Who were never commercial. Pete
Townshend often disregarded fashion and recorded whatever he wanted
- not the fans. Still, this turned out to be good in the end. Where are
those fashion-concerned groupies of the 70's-80's now? Forgotten and stinking.
Where are The Who? High on the pedestal, and I believe their major importance
for rock music in general is still underrated - on a large scale.
OK, that's enough. Let's continue discussing the problem by turning to
the lineup now.
Pete Townshend - guitar, occasional lead vocals. The only creative
genius in the band - unluckily; one could only imagine the full potential
of the band if it had one more songwriter of the same caliber. Nevertheless,
Pete's songwriting genius is a fact, and in my personal ratings he occupies
the fourth place - immediately after Lennon, McCartney, Richards and right
before Jagger and Dylan. Not only is he one of the world's most renowned
Riffmeisters, along with Keith, but he's also a skilled and expert lyricist:
the themes he covered in his early period were something few bands ever
dared to venture out to cover, and over the years he's developed a potential
for writing thoughtful and profound poetry that ranks right up there with
the best poets of the prog rock generation. Over the years he's created
tons of hits and even more tons of lesser known but not less astonishing
songs. Of course, most people only know him as that insane guitar-crasher
and windmill-maker he was on the stage. But believe me, that's only part
of the story, and definitely not the most important. Great voice, too:
the Who would have never been all that impressive without Roger's lionish
roar, but when Pete took the microphone, it was always obvious that he
was much more skilled a vocalist than Roger, just less powerful. Listen
to any of the Who's softer ballads and you'll see what I mean.
Roger Daltrey - lead vocals. Creatively Roger was a complete dork;
his few contributions to the Who catalogue should be shoved up his throat
('See My Way', anybody?). But the voice was just what was required by the
'Who sound': mighty, rip-roaring, rich and strong. Again, in my opinion,
one of the best vocalists of all time. I'll admit, though, that most of
the time he wins you over simply by the sheer crrrunch of his vocal chords:
his vocal range is quite short, and he could never master neither the really
low nor the really high notes. But man oh man, that crunch...
John Entwistle - bass guitar. Now here I'll take a gamble and proclaim
that undoubtedly, John is the best bass player on this planet of ours.
Never seen or heard anybody play even close to him. His playing has even
improved over the years: check out 'Sparks' on Join Together and
you're guaranteed to be blown away. Needless to say, he's hugely responsible
for completely revolutionizing the sound and the functions of the bass
guitar in rock, and quite often it's enough to listen to a Who song just
because of the basswork which will in most cases blow you away. He's also
written some great songs for the band ('Boris The Spider' and 'My Wife',
in particular, rank up there among the greatest Who classics); unfortunately,
his subject range is somewhat limited (he always preferred to stick to
dark humour), and his songwriting talents have disappeared completely by
the beginning of the Eighties. And let us not forget of his vocals: while
his 'normal' voice ain't really that attractive, he had the best range
in the business, and could with absolutely equal skill pull off both the
diabolic low grunt in 'Summertime Blues' and the angelic high falsetto
in 'A Quick One'.
Keith Moon - drums. The 'dead legend': I needn't tell you about
everything he's done in his not very long life. I just want to remind you
that he was a totally unique player (has anybody bothered to check the
number of times I spelt 'unique' in this intro paragraph?), combining totally
insane drum-bashing with brilliant musical sense and intuition. He was
also the 'funny one' of the band. Died in 1978 because of a drug overdose,
replaced by Kenney Jones - ex-Faces drummer: steady and self-assured,
but nothing like the former one.
PS. One further note. If you're new to the Who and haven't had the chance
to get any of their records yet, I'd strongly advise you to actively search
for the new, re-released versions and avoid the old ones which are, strange
enough, still widely available. Most of them feature bonus tracks (A
Quick One, The Who Sell Out, Who's Next and Odds And Sods are
especially valuable in that aspect), and the liner notes are usually quite
informative, too. And - if you manage to get enough of them, you
can easily avoid the stupid 30 Years Of Maximum R'n'B boxset with
its previously unreleased material: most of it gets stuck on the re-releases.
In fact, my golden rule is - never buy stupid boxsets if they don't
consist entirely of previously unavailable material. It's just a run for
your money. And I could care less that it's been called one of the best
boxsets ever; as a work of art, perhaps, but does it really have any practical
use? Nadah.
General Evaluation:
Listenability: 5/5. The
plus is denied because of some weaker later albums, but the classic stuff
is all classic.
Resonance: 5/5. Pete Townshend
could be the angriest punk on Earth and he could be the gentlest and the
most spiritual being on the planet.
Originality: 5+/5. I could write
a book about the things these guys pioneered.
Adequacy: 4/5. Okay, at times
Pete got a bit TOO religious ('Song Is Over', eh? 'Pure And Easy'?), but
that's just a minor flaw.
Overall: 4.75+ = *
* * * * on the rating scale.
What do YOU think about The 'Oo? Mail your ideas
Your worthy comments:
<Quarrymn@aol.com> (23.03.2000) 
I am sure John whatever his lasat name is, (from the Who) is a good
bass guitarist, but to actually claim him as the greatest bass player ever....hehehhaha,
not so my foe! I am afraid that goes to the worthy master sir Paul McCartney!
No one has ever been nor will there ever be anyone as creative, powerful,
energetic, graceful, and totally unpredictable as Paul. He is simply the
best. But I dont need to tell you this, just ask around, read some books,
like Rolling Stone, and other magazines whom have already voted that Paul
is the greatest bass player. By the way I could probably name five more
bass players in front of your man johnny!
Sure you might be saying"All he likes is beatles....They are the best,
but I also love others most of whom you have already denied credibilty!
Quuzlfut <quuzlfut@bellsouth.net> (01.04.2000)
The Who were without doubt one of the most influencial bands in rock
history, and credit for that has to go to Pete Townshend (along with his
supporting cast, of course). As for bass players, Entwistle is an outstanding
and innovative one, and he's certainly among the best, but I'll agree with
Quarrymn that there are many others who were (are) just as talented and
innovative, if not more so. McCartney is a great one, but let's recognize
Chris Squire and Geddy Lee, too. (Squire is probably my personal
favorite).
[Special author note: I think
you guys take this problem in a bit too shallow way. I'm not going to argue
whether Entwistle's technique superated Squire's or not (although it certainly
superated McCartney's - saying that Paul was the best bass player ever
is carrying the Fab Four worship a bit too far); but fact is that
John was there the first, and it was John who actually transformed
the rock bass guitar into an independent, respectable instrument, not just
a rusty part of a rhythm section. And at least one thing about his technique
I know - he's the fastest bass player in rock. Like I said, check
out the 1990 version of 'Sparks' and show me Chris Squire or Geddy Lee
playing those tricks.]
<TDL133@aol.com> (02.04.2000)
oh oh, major disagreement coming here! I know lots of people love the Who , but i just dont see why. You can count the number of decent tracks they did on one hand! I do agree with you that Townsend writes and plays for himself and not the fans and this is probably why i dont care for them. They are (and were in the case of Moon) good musicians but I just dont think that much of the music. They resort to conceptual albums and ' rock operas' to mask the lack of musical diversity and creative ideas ( i do not consider these as creative as i would call them tactics).oh well, thats why i like this site-you have you're opinion and are kind enough to let me voice mine! Thanks!
Fredrik Tydal <f_tydal@hotmail.com> (14.04.2000)
It's diffcult (or 'it's hard', heh) to start at the right place in The Who catalogue. If you're not careful, you might pick the wrong album and be completely turned off by the band forever. I can easily understand some of the comments here, since I shared the same opinions as them once. You know, growing up in the eighties, hearing people naming the The Who as "sell outs" and not refering to the 1967 album. One of the best places to start with The Who is probably the excellent compilation My Generation: The Very Best Of The Who. But that mostly features The Singles Who, and not The Album Who. The Album Who is an important part of the group, preferably experienced in Tommy. Tommy is a great place to start with for new-comers. First, it's much music for your money since it's a double LP remastered on one CD. Secondly, if you don't like it on first listen you eventually *have* to listen to it again, having no choice since you bought it. Soon enough, the magic will come through; Tommy just can't go wrong, with those riffs and melodies you think you've heard your whole life. Then you can proceed to Quadrophenia and so on... Who's Next is a good place to start for The Rockin' Who. Every classic rock fan will love that album. Where to not start is A Quick One, The Who Sell Out or anything after Quadrophenia. I still think that Sell Out is overrated and it will probably put off any Who novice at once. So, anyone who is prejudical or critical about The Who without really having heard them, pick up Tommy, Who's Next or the mentioned compilation. It will be worth it.
Philip Maddox <slurmsmckenzie@hotmail.com> (02.07.2000)
My Who collection isn't complete (yet), but I have most of their most
important albums. These guys are really good, of course. Roger was a great
vocalist, Pete was a really good guitarist, Keith is the best drummer ever,
and John is an amazing bass player. Listen to Live At Leeds - this
is just 3 guys making all that noise! That's impressive! They wrote great
tunes, too - as of today, I like every Who album I have (Sell Out, Tommy,
Leeds, Who's Next, Who Are You, and My Generation: The Best of the
Who). Very talented, indeed. Of course, they're certainly still touring
for the sole purpose of making money - there a concert coming to town on
7/5/2000 and the tickets cost $130 apiece! Luckily, I got some for nothing,
so I'm going, but I'd never pay $130 for a concert ticket (I only paid
$25 for the Tull concert I'm attending later this year). Their endless
pursuit of the dollar (or pound, as they're English) has tarnished their
reputation, but it hardly subtracts from all of the great music they made.
And a note about bass players - John was great, but for pure style and
flash, check out Les Claypool of Primus - that guy can jam! He's my favorite
bass player, though John certainly isn't far behind. John was more innovative
for sure, though. Just listen to 'Boris the Spider'... aw man, that bass
line rules!
P.S. After seeing the Who live, Entwistle has easily moved up to being
my favorite bass player. He just never stopped! His fingers were absolutely
flying across the bass the entire time. I might also add that the Who in
general were amazing! No backup musicians outside of a keyboard player.
Pete did windmills! Roger swung his mic and bore his chest! Great show,
probably the best I've ever seen. They actually seemed inspired for a group
that hasn't recorded together in 18 years. But like I said - never again
will I say I've seen a better bass player than John (unless I see one,
which I doubt).
Adrian <HanzDaBird@aol.com> (19.08.2000)
I had only been familiar with the Who through their hits and the few
albums I have, which I admittedly don't listen to that much. Still when
the chance arose to see them live, I went for it. They played Thursday
(Aug. 17th) here in San Diego, and I didn't know what to expect. I knew
that they had legendary live shows, but I also knew that they were in there
fifties and wasn't sure how much energy they could channel. Well, I could
go on for hours about how awesome the show was, how it was probably the
best concert I've been to, etc...etc... But I won't. I'll just stick to
comments on each bad member and how they affected the show.
Roger Daltrey- The man still has the roar and is also the youngest looking
out of the crew. Some people just age well I guess. Well, vocally he's
sounding better then ever....and that roar...we were treated to it over
and over. He also played some mean harmonica and did his signature mic
twirl. He even took up the guitar on 'The Kids Are All right'. Still an
amazing front-man.
John Entwisle- I totally agree, the BEST bass player in rock. He has this
5 minute bass solo during 'Be My Wife' I believe, and I still can't believe
how effortlessly his fingers moved across the strings. He was definitely
Mr. Cool and Professional that night, standing in one place the whole time,
playing in the shadows. He has no need to be flashy because his instrument
speaks for itself.
Pete Townshend- I could go on about him all night as well. A 56 year-old
is not supposed to have that much energy. He played every song like it
was the last, abusing his guitar, windmill arms and fast licks, running
and jumping... His stage presence was inspiring. Another thing, I've never
though of Pete as an amazing soloist...just a great rhythm player. But
at the show, he played some of the fastest and best licks I've heard in
a while. He is what a rock star should be. He is a legend.
Keith Moon- Yes, I know Mr. Moon left us long ago...actually one year before
I was born... So what can I say about their drummer that night? Well, he
channeled the spirit of Keith perfectly. Every roll was there, ever beat
and bashing snare was right-on. One could almost imagine that Keith was
still with them. This guy was one of the best drummers I've seen in a long
time. Oh yeah...his name? Zack Starkey...yep, Ringo's son!!! And to be
honest, he blows his dad away.
So for lack of a better term, the Who still kick ass. New and old bands
should take a lesson from them. For they are still the masters of the live
show. Pete is famous for his line: "Hope I die before I get old!"
Thankfully, he's still a 20-year-old punk!
Shaun Tatarka <statarka@wendt.com> (25.09.2000)
George, Where are you from? Are you from the US? If so have you seen the WHO reunioun tour. If you are from the UK, I swear on the grave of my grandparents that you will love it! It's no tlike the Who on Ice from the other tours. CHECK IT OUT! I saw them at the Gorge In Washington State and they were awesome! (Better than a Rod show, which you ARE a moron for never seeing!)
Denis <veronika@mail.saratov.ru> (26.09.2000)
Well The Who is one of my favourite groups along with The Beatles, The
Rolling Stones and others classics.
Pete Townshend is one of the greatest guitarists ever and John and Keith
also very very good instrumentalists.
I have A Quick One, Sell Out, Who's Next, Quadrophenia, Odds&Sods,
By Numbers (It's one of my favourite albums.I like 'They Are All In
Love' and 'How many friends'),Face Dances.
I Also got the first Roger Daltrey's disc.
Well The Who=great vocal+great guitar+great bass=great drums.
<RichardMelchior@aol.com> (16.11.2000)
The Who are the most divisive force in rock 'n roll. Even though they're
an extraordinarily popular band, they're as strongly disliked by their
detractors as they're loved by their fans.
Have you ever noticed that, in the case of most classic rock bands, even
people with the worst tastes in music (even people who like today's pop
crap at a point in time its reached its nadir) can appreciate at least
some of the music. Everybody likes some Zeppelin, some Beatles, some Stones
and some Doors, but they never admit to liking The Who.
To a fan, The Who's music sounds so natural - the way rock 'n roll was
meant to sound - rebellious and raw but with civilizing elements of brains
and spirituality. You can't dance to The Who but you can thrash around
and - more importantly - think to it.
The Who's instrument-smashing and Pete's windmill guitar-playing seem cartoonish
to their detractors. Who fans see these things - at least before they became
de facto parts of their musical presentation - as more than pointless destruction
and theatrism. They're representations of an attitude towards life and
society some people have. A guitar is just a material object, destroy it
- reject society's materialism and mores and think for yourself - question
everything. That's the message I've always got out of The Who's music anyway.
Derrick Stuart <MSDK84@email.msn.com> (27.11.2000)
The Who were and still are a great group. All four of them were very talented, (with their instruments). Pete was the intellectual, Roger was the though guy, Keith was the comic, and John was the quiet, romantic type dude with a sick sense of humor. In the early days they had many conflicts, (Roger's temper, Roger and Pete wanting to do 'intellectual' music while Keith and John just wanted to have fun) but they stuck together until Keith died, and long afterwards. Their 69-73 period I would say is their best, with rock operas, synth experimentation to boot but still being a hard rockin' quartet. They are one of the most intelligent and talented hard-rock bands.
<Spongemo@aol.com> (30.11.2000)
I cant agree with you more concerning your statement of John. Geddy Lee Chris Squire and Paul Mcartney all had the luxury of playing with a supporting and accomidating cast of fellows. John had to play with Moon, who if anything is probably the one most responsible for the way John plays. For those that doubt, listen to Live at Leeds turning the balance to the right. The show was recorded with the bass and drums panned to the right and Petes guitar and lead vocals on the left. You hear exactly what is taking place in what appears to be pure chaos. John accomadates Moon while staying on the heels of Pete thus keeping all of the members from losing it. His vocals on 'Heaven and Hell' are incredible as well as his back up vocals. John doesnt get the credit because people who have never played are the ones doing the critiquing.Pete was the brains Roger was the brash Moon was the bruit force but John was the musician the meat and potatoes and presence of power that allowed the rest of Who to be showman.
Dan Miller <Dan.Miller@phs.com> (15.12.2000)
No gamble here. John Entwistle is the best rock bassist. I think you
hit the nail on the head, no need to expand here. If "Sparks"
or "The Real Me" doesn't hammer this fact home, listen to his
solo on the otherwise disposable Roger Daltrey CD A Celebration: Music
of ... The Who. Even better, if you've ever seen the video (it was
on public television for a while), you'll know what I mean.
As a bass player myself, I can vouch for this. Paul McCartney certainly
is a gifted, excellent player and was largely (if not solely) responsible
for the Beatles' rhythmic foundation. While his playing makes for some
great "air bass" fun on "She's So Heavy" and "Silly
Love Songs," he must assume the backseat to Entwistle, as must Jack
Bruce, Chris Squire and Geddy Lee. Rolling Stone be damned! Damned be Rolling
Stone! Damned Stone be Rolling ... you get the drift.
Nickolay Anoschenko <anoschenko@yahoo.com> (16.12.2000)
The Who were a unique band of the 60's (together with many other bands).
What is the most important thing about them is that they could actually
handle their instruments. They could when they started but they progresed
with time and by the end of the 60's they became one of the most professional
bands, espesialy live.
They were also a band, who made many revolutionary styles (rock operas
('A quick one' was the first one? not S/F/Sorrow) and statements
(my fovorite beeing "often a bad sound is much more audience provoking,
than a good sound", and rememmber- they could outplay anyone in 65)
Townshed knew, where his strenghs lay, so he never pretended to be a solo
guitarist or anything. And still, when you listen closely to Quadrophenia
you realize, that this man could craft brilliant solos. Pretty cool stage
acting too. And he was a gifted songwriter.
Entwistle is a great bass player. Although I respect Beatles very much,
I must admit that McCartney could never compete with John.
Dalatrey was a good vocalist who he could handle his voice (not counting
the first two albums).
Moon- was fantastic drummer. And although his drumming was sometimes sloppy,
it was purely brilliant. And his greatest advantage over Bonzo and Paice
is that he was NEVER given a drum solo.
Year Of Release: 1965
Record rating = 8
Overall rating = 13
The first (and the best) punk album. Not quite like it became later,
but furious and funny...
Best song: MY GENERATION
The brilliant debut. This was the very first punk album, in fact: the
level of energy, fury and excitement is at an all-time high. (The big difference,
of course, is that it's far better than any punk album in existence - just
because of the impressive stylistic diversity and the band's superior playing
chops; and yes, I do count Bollocks and The Clash out just
as well as everything else. Now go ahead and sue me). Nobody could
play like that in 1965, not even the Stones and certainly not the Kinks,
those little dudes that had the fortune to pioneer hard rock but didn't
quite know what to do with it next. Pete Townshend did know, however. He
was still a beginning songwriter at that stage, so he leaves space for
two James Brown covers ('I Don't Mind' and 'Please Please Please'), but
even so, there are ten originals here (just for reference: The Beatles'
debut had only eight, and The Stones' debut only one), and
most of them are... how do you say it... highly recommendable.
Unfortunately, there is one problem. And that problem seems to be singer
Roger Daltrey. Everybody now knows him as the kind of louder-than-hell
bombastic singer rising to epic heights on Townshend's rock operas, but,
unbelievable as it may seem, back then in 1965 he was just a whiny little
chap who could make a good use of his fists but little use of his vocal
chords. Apparently he realized that himself, so on the James Brown covers
he tried to overdo himself - in such an annoyingly fake manner that both
of them are made almost unlistenable. A pity - they could have been good.
But when I hear that 'please... pleeeease... pleaaase' scream, it makes
me shiver and fidget my feet and wish I were somewhere else. And for a
good cover version of 'I Don't Mind', please check out the contemporary
version of the Moody Blues, where they don't try to imitate every single
James Brown howl in existence and don't fall flat on their face.
OK, screw James Brown. Like I said, the originals are terrific. Everybody
knows the great mod anthem 'My Generation' which has become a badge for
the band. A stone 'round the neck, too - imagine Pete Townshend singing
'hope I die before I get old' now. Funny, though - I remember reading
a recent interview with a 50-year old Pete which he concluded with the
statement 'And I still hope I die before I get old'. A good remark,
and a clever solution for the problem; however, it's absolutely obvious
that back in 1965 these words were, and could only be, understood in their
literal sense.
However, not everybody knows the equally great mod anthem 'The Kids Are
Alright', for instance. It borrows a little charm from the Beatles, and
the vocal harmonies are purely Beatlesque; however, the grungey guitars
and that short chaotic solo in the middle are anything but the Beatles.
The two songs, taken in their entirety, more or less constitute a brief
encyclopaedia of the Mods' entire life: going out to a reckless, desperate
party-party and not even minding if another guy has taken over your girl.
Dated? Who gives a damn? The music doesn't have anything to do with
the Mods, in any case.
And that's just the beginning. Other distinct highlights include the unbelievably
catchy divorce anthem 'A Legal Matter' which borrows a little melody from
the Stones ('The Last Time'), although the cute little riff that introduces
it and is probably the best part of it, is completely original. Pete takes
Lead Whiney Vocals on that one, and at least at that point he's clearly
able to outsing Roger, by simply paying more attention to staying in tune.
The pop originals 'La La La Lies' and 'Much Too Much' were probably envisaged
as filler, and, in a certain sense, they are - but tasty, memorable filler
at that, like the filler on any of the early Beatles records; and the dark
moody piece 'The Good's Gone', too, is something they never ever tried
to reproduce afterwards. I needn't mention that throughout the whole record
one only has to get amazed at Entwistle's swooping basslines, Pete's feedback
experiments and Keith's thrashing drums.
All these things reach a climax in the proto-punk instrumental 'The Ox'
(did Entwistle get his nickname from here or was it vice versa? Who knows?)
which is also embellished by Nicky Hopkins' vaudeville piano. Ha! Ha! Very
funny! OK, it wasn't 'vaudeville', but I guess you know Nicky's style.
The instrumental is destined to show the band at their most Rough and Gruff,
and they succeed: John bashes out the lowest possible notes of his bass,
Pete revels in feedback malevolence, and Keith plays the congos, or whatever
he's playing, until he's ready to drop dead of exhaustion. For the record,
this is probably the first chaotic, powerful hard-rock instrumental ever,
and marks the new genre's definite arrival on the scene with a crash boom
bang.
A little historical note, now: the album was produced by Shel Talmy (see
my Kinks reviews to find out more 'bout the man) who was sacked right after
the sessions (huh?), but somehow managed to retain control over this record.
And a murky thing it is, too - this is the only record which nowadays isn't
subject to remastering and adding of bonus tracks. Pity. Also, the title
is that of the American release which came out in 1966, not 1965; the original
was simply called My Generation, featured a different cover and
a different track - the American release has 'Instant Party' (a good, although
not brilliant feedbackful rocker with a nice use of brass originally used
as the B-side for 'Substitute') instead of Bo Diddley's 'I'm A Man', featured
on the British one (which I haven't even heard so far). I've retained the
original release date for conceptual reasons, though.
Please please please mail your ideas
Your worthy comments:
Jeff Blehar <jdb3@jhu.edu> (15.02.2000)
The Who Sings My Generation? "Screams" is more like
it. Everybody falls over themselves to call this a "powerful"
and "stunning" debut, but I just ain't buying it, and I *love*
these guys to death. It's suprisingly weak, especially when you consider
that the three singles which had immediately preceded it - "I Can't
Explain," "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere," and of course "My
Generation" - are all rock classics. Instead of 12 tracks of pulse-pounding
British rock on the level of those songs we instead get a mix of tepid
R&B covers, some banal originals and of course a few splendid originals
which give this album a reputation that I don't think it quite deserves.
First of all, "My Generation" is the best song on here, so there's
no point in commenting on it, except to say that I am amazed, AMAZED I
tell you, at how incredibly dirty and nasty and raw this track still sounds.
I mean, shit, this sounds like it could've been recorded by a thrash-punk
band last year! Except it was made in 1965! Those four guys really knew
how to wring the most out of their instruments (Daltrey and his voice included).
As for the other real highlights, they go by the names of "The Kids
Are Alright," "A Legal Matter," and "The Ox."
"Kids" is haunting, Beatley, and anthemic, but I'm royally pissed
about the edited version on this CD. As of now, the only place to get the
full length version is on Thirty Years Of Maximum R&B (which
I like a lot, even if I agree with George that it's largely unnecessary
with the new reissues...but where else are you gonna get to hear "Dogs?").
"A Legal Matter" has always struck me as more "cute"
than "classic," but I was listening to "The Ox" again
today (by the way George, the song WAS named after Entwistle, not the other
way around) and, like "My Generation," I was just blown away
with how it sounds to modern ears; that is, it's still compelling as hell.
I swear Townshend does things with his guitar on that track that STILL
haven't been repeated in a studio.
Unfortunately (and this is a big "unfortunately"), the rest of
the album, all 8 tracks of it, is simply mediocre. The R&B covers just
sound *wrong*, the way a that a death-metal band trying to play new-age
sounds wrong, while some pleasantly mediocre Towser tunes like "La
La Lies" and "Much Too Much" just serve as filler to be
waded through on the way to "My Generation." And please, for
the love of everything that is good and holy, will somebody shoot Shel
Talmy? We NEED this album remastered, especially because there'd be a ton
of neato bonus tracks from this era to slap on to a reissue. Anyway, it's
got those four greats, but everything else it dispensable, and since you
can find those elsewhere (like Meaty, Beaty, Big And Bouncy) I'd
only give this a 5/10.
Bob <Trfesok@aol.com> (24.06.2000)
In the wake of the Beatles Invasion, a lot of groups were recorded extremely
quickly and ineptly in order to cash in on what was thought to be another
passing pop fad. Unfortunately, none of the producers had even an ounce
of George Martin's savvy. And no one , not even the Stones, suffered more
at the hands of a hack producer than the Who. Talmy was SUCH an incompetent
-- the Who was one band who sounded far better live at this stage, and
only on the "Anyhow, Anywhere, Anyway" single did he attempt
to bring any of the power of the band to the studio. I bemoan what "The
Ox," in particular, could have sounded like if anyone else was running
the tape machines. Even if the album is remastered, it won't help much.
And I do agree that Daltrey wasn't much of a vocalist at this point, sounding
like a ragged, less tuneful John Lennon.
But, despite this, the classics here are undeniable. Entwhistle redefined
bass guitar on the "My Generation" single, becoming the forefather
of such bassists and Chris Squire (Squire more than freely admits that)
and Jon Camp. "A Legal Matter" has a rather daring theme for
a 1965 song -- a guy running away from his pregnant girlfriend who wants
to get married? Not even Mick Jagger dared something like that at this
time.
I think the recording quality prevents this album from being an all time
classic, unfortunately.
David Lyons <d.t.lyons@btinternet.com> (10.12.2000)
Can I volunteer to shoot Shel Talmy on behalf of Jeff Blehar? The man has a lot to answer for (hopefully the ricochet would hit Glyn Johns in the bit of him that tried to stop Keith Moon drumming like Keith Moon).
Year Of Release: 1966
Record rating = 6
Overall rating = 11
Maybe it wasn't such a great idea to suggest Daltrey and Moon start
writing songs...
Best song: BORIS THE SPIDER
A good chance wasted. This album came out at a period when the group
was badly out of cash (too much guitar crashing can be bad for your finances),
and the promoters advanced some of it to each member of the group
so that he write his own songs. An idiotic move, since Townshend was the
only prolific songwriter at the time. Well - half-idiotic: it pushed John
Entwistle onto the steep path of song-writing and made him produce one
of his greatest songs ever - "Boris The Spider", with humorous
and goofy lyrics, a great bass line and spooky vocals - and "Whiskey
Man", a track of somewhat lesser status, but still, its quiet and
steady rhythm, the slightly blurred vocals, the Eastern-sounding horns
and, once again, amusing lyrics do make it stand out.
Moon's contributions to the album are weaker. "I Need You" features
some great drumming, with Keith ever expanding on his instruments and seemingly
at the peak of his physical potential (he bashes the kit so hard
it's a wonder the instruments actually stood this torture), but the melody
is uninspired silly pop, the lyrics are dumb, sounding like an unexperienced
psycho love ballad, and as for the vocals - well, he's no George Harrison.
"Cobwebs And Strange" isn't a song at all - it's a silly circus
show soundtrack, and once you've assumed that, you may actually enjoy it,
especially if accompanied by video on The Kids Are Alright. Oh,
and if you ever wanted to know what a Keith Moon drum solo would look like,
you just need to check this out; the short solo drumbursts are not actually
solos, but in a certain sense, they are, as in a couple of cases Keith
is actually playing a melody with his drums, and I mean it - you
can even hum it!
Meanwhile, Daltrey's only song here (by the way: he should have written
two! Was the other one so horrid they even refused to put it on the album?)
is "See My Way", and you probably shouldn't, it's that
bad. Roger himself eagerly admitted he's no songwriter at all, and the
entire Who catalog includes, like, two or three of his compositions, most
of which I ain't never heard (hint: he never got further than an obscure
B-side).
To make matters worse, even some of Townshend's own contributions are rather
lame. The idea of the title track was suggested to Pete by his manager
Kit Lambert after the band found out it was still too short on material,
and without a doubt, 'A Quick One' is completely groundbreaking in that
it was the first true rock opera ever written (in the very sense of the
word: it's Townshend who's responsible for coining the expression 'rock
opera' in this exact case). Over the course of its nine minutes, Pete and
Roger and John tell us a hilarious story about an unfaithful wife who 'has
a nap' with a bypassing engine driver, confesses her sins to the husband
and is ultimately forgiven. The 'suite', 'opera', whatever, consists of
several parts - some slower, some faster - that ensure it never gets too
boring, and the rousing climax, with the band chanting 'you are forgi-i-ven',
is the best place to look for the Who's much underrated vocal harmonies.
Even so, these nine minutes are rather hard to endure even with the catchy
and amusing lyrics and interesting links between different parts. Later
on, the song would take on second life on stage, becoming a furious, exciting,
powerful live number - but that's later.
As for the minor contributions, "Don't Look Away" has an interesting
melody, but still - v-e-e-e-ry lightweight. It's kinda countryish, with
moments of vocal greatness (listen to Roger pleading out the line 'I've
always been true and I'm still loving you'), but somehow 'tain't the kind
of thing I'd be expecting from Pete. Okay. "Run Run Run" is fast,
furious, full of feedback and everything, but it's not a great song. Very
good, but not great. The only great composition on the album is "So
Sad About Us" - a beautiful mighty ballad with Pete bashing out the
trademark power chords and Roger singing "la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la"
as fast as he can. Can you?
Oh yeah, the best track here is arguably Martha and the Vandellas' "Heatwave"
- the only cover on record: fast, great backing vocals, great lead vocals
from Roger, but much too short. Less than two minutes, actually. Some people
hate it, but I far prefer it to the original. Sue me now.
The newly-remastered CD version features ten more bonus tracks, some of
which are just novelties (the closing medley, in which 'My Generation'
suddenly transforms itself into 'Land Of Hope And Glory', although the
way it sounds makes my heart ache; an acoustic version of 'Happy Jack'
- for those who think that the original two-minute version is much too
short, here's ample proof that it isn't), but some of which are very interesting
('Doctor Doctor' - great lyrics and singing from John, one of his best
Sixties songs; "Bucket T" and "Barbara Ann" - amusing
Beach Boys imitations; "I've Been Away" - another hilarious Entwistle
song, country-western this time - you would never guess it could have anything
to do with the Who, but it does!; "Disguises" - an interesting
psychodelic experiment with Pete's guitar sounding like a hammer on an
anvil). Most of these come either from B-sides of hit singles or from the
EP Ready Steady Who. The less interesting ones, though, were previously
unreleased. In my eyes and ears, these bonus tracks are easily the best
on any Who re-release bar Who's Next; while the Who ain't no Beach
Boys in the vocal department, it's still interesting to hear the luvly
vocal harmonies combined with Pete's guitar crunch. Oh, and John's, of
course. Watch out for that 'Batman' theme! He'll simply blow you away with
the bassline.
The rating is based on the remastered version; subtract a point for the
old one without bonus tracks.
Run run run to mail your ideas
Your worthy comments:
Jeff Blehar <jdb3@jhu.edu> (15.02.2000)
Well...at least it SOUNDS better! But A Quick One is actually
even more disturbingly unfocused than My Generation, with a remarkable
amount of filler (at least it's original filler, though). Still, for some
reason (and now with the bonus tracks, even better reason), I'd rate this
higher than the debut. I don't know exactly why, but I think it's the spirit
of the LP: this is THE definitive "Swinging London" mod/pop album,
and for better or worse, it really conjures images of its time.
About the songwriting deal, I have to say that while I agree that Roger's
"See My Way" is a rotten sardine (but his "Early Morning
Cold Taxi" ain't!), I dig Moon's "I Need You" and "Cobwebs
And Strange" for the Swinging London atmosphere described above. John's
two are excellent, of course; I really don't think "Whiskey Man"
gets the credit it deserves from fans. And sadly, Townshend only came up
with two good songs this time around, one of which wouldn't really BECOME
good until it was taken on the road. "So Sad About Us" just flat-out
rocks, like a more melodic "My Generation" with a bunch of "la
la"s and one daftly perfect line in "you can't turn off my loving
like you can't turn off the sun!" "A Quick One, While He's Away"
has a lot of potential that goes unfulfilled here - the opening and closing
sections ("Her Man's Been Gone" and "You Are Forgiven"),
which were the standout parts of the song when played live, are flaccid,
flaccid, flaccid. The best version around is probably the one from the
Thirty Years Of Maximum R&B set which grafts the opening and
closing sections of the Rock And Roll Circus version (a different,
and quite frankly VERY superior, take than the other two released on The
Kids Are Alright soundtrack and the Rock And Roll Circus video,
respectively. The Who did three performances of the song that night, and
this one is the best of them) onto the body of the studio version. But
if you don't want to plunk down $55 for the set (and who would?) go get
Live At Leeds, which has the next best attack on it.
Anyway, so the album itself is weak, but the bonus tracks are all nifty
fifties by me: the Ready Steady Who! EP is lightweight fun (with
the exception of the notably heavy "Disguises") while Entwistle's
B-sides are ALL little bundles of joy. And unlike Georgie, I really like
the acoustic version of "Happy Jack." Doesn't last too long for
me. My only complaint is that they could have thrown on more tracks here
(the CD only runs something like 55 minutes) like "The Last Time,"
"Under My Thumb," "Substitute," "Instant Party,"
and other rarities, and thus made more room for later B-sides on the Odds
And Sods reissue. That way we would have been able to have ALL of The
Who's music on reissued CD. Instead, they were either sloppy or cheap.
Take your pick. I'll give this a 6/10 (11/15) with bonus tracks, take TWO
points away for a copy without them.
Philip Maddox <slurmsmckenzie@hotmail.com> (28.07.2000)
This one's kinda hard for me to rate, because I really do enjoy listening to the whole thing, but not a lot of the songs are great. John's two are REALLY great. 'Boris The Spider' is an acknowledged classic, but the insane 'Whiskey Man' should be, too - I love the lyrics about how there wasn't room for Whiskey Man at the mental hospital. Hilarious and catchy. Plus, I really love the opening 'Run Run Run', which is a really catchy, fast, groovy rocker. The rest all kind of depends on my mood. The title track is catchy, but some of those harmnonies don't quite work. It was much better on stage. Still, it's hard to beat that 'You Are Forgiven' section at the end - one of the best moments the Who ever did. Roger's song sucks, of course. Keith's two are fun, but not really great - the drums came in so loud on 'I Need You' that it made me jump! Plus, I've never been too crazy about the remaining two Pete songs - they're decent, but nothing special. I like the bonus tracks - goofy surf music played by the Who! Swell. The Entwistle songs here are cool, as is 'Disguises'. I'd have to give this album something like a high 6, maybe a low 7 on a really good day.
Bob <Trfesok@aol.com> (14.08.2000)
Well, mad experimentation was in the air in 1996. And it's obvious with
it's multiple songwriting and attempts at varied styles, Lambert and the
Who were trying to create their version of Revolver.
But Lambert ain't no George Martin, that's for sure. Even thinner production
than Shel Talmy. The early 60's tinniness of Pete's guitar, in particular,
continues to annoy. The rhythm section is actually far clearer in the murky
mix than the guitars. The CD remastering and remixing doesn't rescue the
record.
The other reason is that Townshend and Entwistle (never mind Daltrey and
Moon) aren't exactly Lennon and McCartney in the songwriting deparment.
Pete actually, except for "A Quick One," takes a major (although
temporary) dive in writing with this collection of wimpy pop songs, albeit
dressed up in the band's instrumental attack. I actually prefer Pete's
touching little acoustic demo of "So Sad About Us" (available
on Scoop) to the rather ordinary Beatlesque rocker here. He does get an
A for effort for the title track. I think it's overstating it quite a bit
to call a 9 minute track a "rock opera." Rather, Pete does here
what the Beatles would do with the medley of Abbey Road -- attempt
to weld several song fragments into a cohesive whole. It's very tentative,
though -- the different pieces seem to fit rather awkwardly, at best, here.
The live version is where the piece really becomes seamless. And I love
where the band totally trashes the beloved English hymn "Land of Hope
and Glory" at the coda of "My Generation" -- this would
have generated as much controversy in the UK as Hendrix's version of the
American national anthem did in the U.S., if it had been released.
The covers, like most of the covers from this period, are lame, especially
"Heatwave". Forget it!! "Cobwebs and Strange" is a
fun bit of craziness, like "Yellow Submarine" gone even more
demented, but "I Need You" does not make me want to rush out
and buy Two Sides of the Moon. Roger's contribution is not worse
than most of Pete's -- but that's not saying much at all. But I love John's
contributions. Let's see -- an arachnophobe, a hallucinating alcoholic,
a hypochondriac, a framed prisoner -- did John know any NORMAL people at
this point? But his bass really carries the melodies here!
Lastly, the vocals. Major disagreement here. Roger's voice is slightly
improved, but far from what it would yet become. But they had not yet developed
a good approach to vocal harmonies. There's TOO MUCH FALSETTO -- from all
FOUR band members -- everywhere!! Someone should have told them the Beach
Boys sang in OTHER vocal ranges, too. All these squeaky voices!! Drives
me nuts. This didn't last, thank the Good Lord.
<WhoJonGalt@aol.com> (15.09.2000)
A historic album as the great one first dabbles in the Rock Opera mode. If you buy the CD it has some dynamite bonus tracks. You can keep the Motown covers, but maybe that is because here in Cleveland, the local Oldies Station drills that stuff into the ground. However it is a very good example of non-mainstream early British rock, which is truly the best music in the world!
Fredrik Tydal <f_tydal@hotmail.com> (03.12.2000)
How come no one's mentioned the awesome "In The City" on the re-issue? I'm serious; it's a complete master-piece. I mean, it sounds exactly like a, say, 1964 hit for the Beach Boys or Jan & Dean. I really admire Entwistle's ability to go into the studio and just pin down an exact surf hit replica like that. While Moon is credited on the track as well, it surely is Entwistle who is mainly responsible for the song. It's just like an early to mid Sixties surf song you've heard played to death on your local oldies station all your life. That melody really *sticks* in your head; quite infectious indeed. And couldn't that Entwistle play a mean French horn? The re-issue if just great, even if more tracks could have been included. Am I the only one who thinks that Entwistle's "Doctor, Doctor" is very reminiscent of "Mother's Little Helper"? Something about the bass lines, the dark nature of the songs and their medical themes. And there's "Bucket T" as well! It was released as a single here in Sweden back in '66 and shot directly to number one on the charts, the only one of the The Who's efforts to do so here. So, rather amusingly, "Bucket T" is the second most famous Who song here, only after "My Generation". Rather obscure Jan & Dean song; it was probably Keith's decision to cover it and he does a great job on the lead vocals. And "Barbara Ann" just *rocks* - better than both the Regents' original and the Beach Boys' party cover. And how funny isn't their hilariously disrespectful take on "Land Of Hope And Glory"? (Am I mistaken, or isn't the real title of that song "Pomp And Circumstance?) As it is now, the bonus tracks on the re-issue more or less overshadow the actual album. Sure, there's the title track but that one's much, much better live. Keith's two songs are both cool novelties, both with impressive drumming (almost ear-hurting in "I Need You"). I never really was a fan of "Boris The Spider" - it's not bad or anything, but hardly Entwistle's best song. A five to the original, but a generous seven to the re-issue.
David Lyons <d.t.lyons@btinternet.com> (10.12.2000)
Quick notes to agree with Mr. Blehar in support of Rog's second effort 'Early Morning Cold Taxi' and to point out that the song is indeed 'Land Of Hope And Glory' - Elgar wrote the original march as part of 'Pomp and Circumstance' without any words, the words were only added later, possibly at the behest of Edward VII for his coronation ode. So there you go.
Year Of Release: 1967
Record rating = 9
Overall rating = 14
The closest they ever got to a pop masterpiece.
Best song: I CAN SEE FOR MILES
A conceptual album! And a good one at that! Apparently great care was
taken of all the details here. The first side is presented as an extract
from a pirate radio station program, with fake ads and tiny commercials
(all written by the band) popping in and out and creating cute little links
between the actual songs. Funny, too. In fact, strange as it may seem,
I've grown so used to them that I cannot even picture 'Our Love Was' without
the preliminary 'RADIO LONDON REMINDS YOU - GO TO THE CHURCH OF YOUR CHOICE!!!'
or 'Tattoo' without the preliminary 'It's smooth sailing with the highly
successful sound of wonderful Radio London...' You have your hungry family
longing for 'Heinz Baked Beans' ('WHAT'S FOR TEA DAUGHTER?'),
your teenage skin problems ('Medac') and rock band equipment ('Premiere
Drums'). And some of these even have good melodies - imagine that! 'Odorono',
a pathetic story about a performing girl being left by her adorer because
she stank, features a magnificent ringing guitar line and I bet it could
have even been a hit if it featured a different set of lyrics. Plus, the
concept is carried over to the album cover, and yes! 'tis one of the funniest
album covers I've ever seen: Pete using a deodorant, Daltrey sitting in
a tub of beans, John showing off his muscles and Keith applying cream to
his face. Wow! And don't forget to read the actual ads, too! As far as
I can understand, the whole concept was a somewhat self-ridiculizing idea:
The Who were perfectly aware of the fact that their LPs never really sold
well, and the very idea of 'the Who selling out' was an obvious oxymoron
at the time. On the other hand, the album title is really a pun accentuating
both meanings of the word 'sellout': significant commercial success, on
one hand, and a 'go-for-the-average-public-taste' approach at the same
time. So it's simultaneously a self-parody and a parody on pop tastes in
general, with all the fake comic ads on here.
But just don't you go off thinking that this album's greatness lies entirely
in its concept. Nope. The concept is funny, but little more. The songs
are astonishing, though! First of all, they are extremely diverse. Some
people get annoyed at it, but I say swell! I like diversity, and I raise
my thumbs up! Nearly every song sets different moods, and that's not a
thing that just any rock band could do on a single album. Led Zep?
Certainly not Led Zep! Beatles? Yeah, the Beatles could manage it, but
apart from the Beatles, well... Oh, see for yourself: the album opens with
a psychedelic crashing feedbacky-backwards-solo-all-that-stuff rocker 'Armenia
City In The Sky' (if I recall it right, credited to one John Keene), where
Daltrey finally begins to fully display his vocal talents. Next comes the
acoustic folky 'Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand' which may seem fillerish
- for a moment, but you're sure to appreciate its melody with a couple
more listens; and yes, the lyrics are about wanking off, whatever doubts
you may hold. The beautiful ballad 'Tattoo' is actually a joke - about
two brothers sharing the idea that it's a tattoo that 'makes a man a man';
but, joke or no joke, the vocal harmonies on that one are enough to knock
you off your seat, and the pretty pretty arpeggiated chords that herald
the song are worth the price of admission alone. The next ballad is 'Our
Love Was (Is)', with a soaring chorus ('soaring' in all senses, 'cos they
sing 'our love was soaring') and a guitar line which could have easily
been stolen from The Beatles' 'Dear Prudence' were it not for the fact
that The White Album came out a whole year later. Just when you
get the impression you're gonna be routed in these pop ballads forever
(not a totally unpleasant idea, even considering that it's the Who we're
talking about), crash bang whallop comes the mighty 'I Can See For Miles'
- another psychedelic rocker, this time an original and an absolute classic.
Many people regard it as the band's finest moment, and I can easily understand
them. The combination of crunching block chords, wild drumming and extremely
complex vocal lines (just try to sing along with the sweeping chorus and
you'll know what I mean) makes it a highlight indeed.
After the storm, the calm: another ballad ('Can't Reach You', and again,
beautiful vocals from Pete). 'Relax' is the only serious stinker on here
(an acidified rocker, probably influenced by Pink Floyd), just because
it sounds somewhat weak in the company of all the other masterpieces. 'Silas
Stingy', the Entwistle contribution, is yet another childish spooky song,
and it could have been nice were it not for the constantly repeating annoying
chorus ('Money, money, moneybags'). 'Sunrise' is one of Pete's most astonishing
ballads, where it's just Pete and his guitar, and the way he sings a single
verse in three different keys constantly changing the sound effect is really
unique (not to count the complex, but brilliant melody). And the album
closes with Pete's second attempt at a mini-opera: a conceptual oeuvre
called 'Rael' ('Is-Rael'?) which is nice but borrows too much out of traditional
war marches, so I'm not that impressed. The funny thing is, it also features
the theme that would later become 'Sparks' in Tommy.
All said, this is one of the most magnificent Sergeant Pepper offshoots,
and if you are not acquainted with the Who's early period - start here.
The Who sell out! Actually, they hadn't (just as the previous ones, the
album sold miserably 'cos the stupid Brits were still fawning all over
Hendrix). But lend 'em a hand!
The new release, as usual, has some bonus tracks, but the album was so
almost perfect in the first place that they really add nothing much, unlike
the ones on A Quick One: there are some decent ballads, like Keith's
'Girl's Eyes', an unconvincing Entwistle comedy number with heavy emphasis
on a brass section overdubbed in Nashville ('Someone's Coming'), and some
plain hard-rockin' jammin' ('Jaguar'). Plus there's 'Glow Girl' which is
taken directly from Odds And Sods, so it's redundant, and an alternate,
electric version of 'Mary-Ann' which is nice but actually adds little to
the original besides some additional lyrics. The weirdest of these is a
four-minute instrumental called 'Hall Of The Mountain King', said to be
a rendition of the corresponding extract from Grieg's Peer Gynt suite;
it hardly sounds like Grieg here, anyway, and the main function of the
composition is to evoke thoughts of (naturally) King Crimson and (unnaturally)
Pink Floyd, because in parts it sounds exactly like 'Interstellar
Overdrive'. Which is not that surprising, on the other hand: Piper
had just come out, and it certainly did have an impact on Sell Out.
But if Townshend would have decided to sling 'Hall' onto the record, he'd
have been sued for sure, for both blasphemizing of classics and plagiarizing
Syd Barrett at the same time. Nevertheless, one can only imagine the Who's
state of mind at the time: psychedelia gripped them by the collar and made
them really engage in some of their most vicious and straightforward sonic
experimentation ever. Another interesting thing about the bonuses is that
they feature some more 'publicity' grooves from the boys, and the whole
coda is designed to look as the 'Lost Third Side Of The Album'. It doesn't
quite work, though, because the songs are really inferior, and I can understand
Pete for shoving them into the vaults.
Relax and mail your ideas
Your worthy comments:
Eric Feder <ejfeder@amherst.edu> (22.04.99)
I think the bonus tracks on Who Sell Out are fabulous! A lot of the songs are as good if not better than the originals. Very rocking, but in the way their early singles rocked (not the bombastic rock of Who's next and later). you should give them another listen if you haven't yet bc for me, those extra tracks make the album for me.
Fredrik Tydal <f_tydal@hotmail.com> (12.12.99)
I was actually somewhat disappointed in this album, which is supposed to be one of Great Forgotten Albums Of The Sixties. Sure, Pete came up with a pretty original concept in the "radio" feeling of the album. But that little gimmick over-shadows the actual quality of the album's songs. Sure it was the best Who album up to that point, but it's far from the Holy Trinity; Tommy, Who's Next and Quadrophenia. But "I Can See For Miles" sure rocks!
Jeff Blehar <jdb3@jhu.edu> (15.02.2000) 
Something happened. The 'Oo woke up and looked around, saw their peers
putting out some of the best albums of their careers (Beatles, Stones,
etc.) and decided that they couldn't coast on great singles and lame albums
like they had been doing up until then. Thus, The Who Sell Out,
their best album ever, bar Quadrophenia, which is really something
else altogether. That's right. Better than Who's Next. Why? Perhaps
because it takes itself a whole lot less seriously, and The Who were always
great when they were making fun of themselves. I mean, Sell Out
is more FUN than almost any other album of the decade, what with those
hilarious commercials running around in between the pop-art masterpieces
("Hold your group together with Rotosound Strings!"). And pop-art
masterpieces the songs are - I'd go one step farther than George and say
that there's not a single duffer among any of these songs here (except
perhaps "Medac," but that's not a song, right?), including "Relax,"
which I always enjoyed a bit for Townshend's just-a-semitone-too-high singing.
I mean these songs are all gems, from the psychedelic ear-splitting of
"Armenia City In The Sky" to the acoustic woody warmth of "Mary
Anne With The Shaky Hand" to the wry rock of "Odorono,"
the beautiful arpeggiation of "Tattoo," the soaring churchly
ecstasy of "Our Love Was," and - hey! I've just named every damn
song on the first side! Except the prize, of course. "I Can See For
Miles." Now I'm going to commit myself here and come right out and
say that, despite many later challenges, THIS is The 'Oo's finest-ever
moment, with Moon's stratospherically inventive drumming (listen! It's
just one long fill! The ENTIRE TIME!), Daltrey's essence-of-cool vocal,
those four-part harmonies, and of course Townshend's massed guitars, which
bust down the door like a horde of angry chainsaw-wielding maniacs and
slice their way out the back like straight razors. And that's only Side
1. Actually, everything afterwards is like a post-coital afterglow - there's
very little rock on side 2 ("Rael" is as close as it gets) but
instead we get the pretty "I Can't Reach You" and "Sunrise,"
which is so achingly beautiful it actually hurts. Really - he sounds painfully
sincere.
I buy the "lost third side" bit of the reissue wholeheartedly,
as well. Give it another listen, George - some of these tracks are *very*
strong, like Keith's charming "Girl's Eyes" or "Glittering
Girl," both of which would have happily fit on side 2. "Melancholia"
is another remarkable one, with gloomily powerful guitar work (Townshend
wrote it while depressed about "I Can See For Miles"'s chart
failure), while "Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand" is a great alternate
take, insomuch that while it fails to top the original, it's almost as
good and completely different (and it trounces the other electrified version
released as the American B-side to "I Can See For Miles," found
on Odds And Sods - although the liner notes say that this version
is the B-side, they're wrong). Finally, "Glow Girl" is a perfect
conclusion, melodic and wacky, with a quote of Tommy in its final lines.
I don't quite buy the argument that its inclusion on Odds And Sods makes
it redundant here; rather, the inclusion of many of the Odds And Sods
tracks on the reissues made THAT album of questionable value (that
is, until it was reissued). It fits too perfectly to leave it off. But
who cares? I'm splitting hairs, here; Sell Out is The Who's best
60's album, and a required purchase for any music collection worth its
salt. There aren't too many other albums I'd say that about. An easy 10/10.
Ben Greenstein <bgreenstein@nctimes.net> (02.06.2000)
This is the Who album that convinced me that Townshend was as creative a melodic composer as Andy Partridge (well, almost), and that the Who were a really great group. Although there are only two really commercial songs ("Miles" and "I Can't Reach You"), the other ones like "Tatoo" and "Our Love Was" all have really subtley beautiful hooks. It's pop, though, so anyone looking for that "My Generation" or "Baba O'Riley" rock stuff had better look elsewhere. A nine.
jpcs <jpcs@xtra.co.nz> (09.06.2000)
hmmm,you think you detect some Pink Floyd influence? Other way round,I'd say! Listen to the 'rock' tracks on Piper and who's yr. #1 sonic blueprint? This is who,that's who! (Actually, credit should be given where it should be given: Pete himself was a frequent visitor at the UFO those days and admits to have been heavily influenced by the Barrett gang - G. S.).
Bob <Trfesok@aol.com> (26.06.2000)
"I Can See for Miles," I agree, is indeed the best track. One of their greatest singles, period. However, unfortunately, Kit Lambert was only slightly less inept a producer than Shel Talmy. Which is why this album, again, falls short. Most of the other songs are decent to very good, and the idea is the most cohesive of any of this period's concept albums, but the lousy recording quality, again, undermines the album. And although Daltrey's singing is improving he does indeed have a way to go.
Philip Maddox <slurmsmckenzie@hotmail.com> (28.07.2000)
I'd probably give it something like a high 8 or a low 9. Frankly, I could care less about the concept. The songs are what makes the record. A couple of the songs that have to do with the concept are great, though - 'Odorono' never fails to crack me up. Plus, this album contains 'I Can See For Miles', which may be the best song the Who ever did (but probably not, as the Who did so many great songs - I've got 'You Better You Bet' stuck in my head now, and i think it ranks with their best stuff easily). 'Rael' is pretty cool as the guitar line turned into 'Sparks' on Tommy. I really love the opening 'Armenia City In The Sky' too. A couple of songs aren't as great - 'Relax' never really gets going, 'Silas Stingy' isn't up to John's 2 on the last album, and I have to be in the mood to enjoy tracks like 'Heinz Baked Beans'. Still, this is a fine, fine, fine record. And hey, the bonus tracks aren't perfect, but they're free at least. And I love the bonus version of 'Mary Anne' to death - what a cool organ solo! 'Melancholia' and 'Early Morning Cold Taxi' are cool, too. Actually, I'd probably give the original a high 8, and give the new one a low 9.
Year Of Release: 1969
Record rating = 9
Overall rating = 14
Forget that rock opera stuff - it's simply excellent rock music.
Best song: WE'RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT (SEE ME FEEL ME)
Yes, this is the apple of controversy. People either pray or spit on
this album, holding no middle ground. Let us hold the middle ground and
see what happens.
On the Conceptual Side. This is a rock opera about a deaf, dumb and blind
pinball messiah (?). Actually, for a long time I thought this was the first
rock opera, until the worthy reader Boris (see the comments below) quite
correctly corrected me with a correcting correction, namely, that the Pretty
Things beat the Who to it a whole two years with S. F. Sorrow. Well,
at least it's the first universally acknowledged rock opera, let's stick
with that? (And, if we really want to set the thing straight, the
first rock opera was 'A Quick One', which beat the Pretty Things by one
year). So, anyway, Pete Townshend was not only responsible for rock opera's
origins, he carried this genre high and proud to its climax.
I presume you already know the story. If you don't, you might as well look
it up in a million more interesting places - you might also go and see
the movie, which is at least vaguely entertaining, even if it does distort
the original conception in quite a few ways. Here I'll just say that this
concept is at the least interesting and entertaining, no matter what other
feelings you might experience towards the plot and the message. Also, it
was not a gimmick: Pete certainly took the idea seriously, so it probably
meant a lot to him. We'll just leave it at that; in any case, do not hurry
to dismiss the concept as a load of pretentious nonsense simply because
you feel like it at the moment. The concept does have its fair share of
truly emotional moments.
On the Musical Side. The actual music of Tommy is often neglected
when it comes to foam-at-the-mouth battles about the importance of this
rock opera and whether it makes sense or not and if it does, whether it
should make sense or not. But screw the plot - name me a record
that has more original guitar riffs and I'll call you names. Indeed, this
is Townshend's high point as a composer. The themes of 'Go To The Mirror',
'Pinball Wizard', 'Amazing Journey', 'Sparks', 'I'm Free', 'We're Not Gonna
Take It' and 'See Me Feel Me' are all quite different, but they all have
something in common. And that something is - all of them are built on short,
simple, catchy and consequently brilliant riffs. Plus - tons of them played
on acoustic guitar! How's that for musical purity? You tell me! And, since
it's an opera, these riffs keep repeating themselves, but almost always
in different arrangements and with different moods. The majestic (and not
a minute overblown, as people keep deceiving themselves: it's a prayer,
for Chrissake! Prayers cannot be overblown!) theme of 'See Me Feel Me',
for example, is reprised four times throughout the album, but that don't
make it any more boring. And if you do not shed tears over the gorgeous
ballad '1921', you must have a heart of stone - and, by the way, do you
realize that '1921' is actually a blues number? Eh? Nobody seems
to realize that!
Even the shorter tracks that were primarily needed for unfurling the plot
are OK: this is a rare thing in rock operas, since usually 'plot-related'
songs are the weak links in that genre - when you're too busy with composing
the lyrics, the music is necessarily saved for later. Not here. Ever heard
the great hit numbers 'There's A Doctor', 'Miracle Cure', 'Do You Think
It's Alright' and 'Tommy Can You Hear Me'? Well, wait, wait, of course
they weren't hits - the longest of these numbers is one and a half minutes
long, and the shortest is about twelve seconds long. They're all great,
though - melodic, catchy and a bit funny. Now that's what I call
real care for melody. And, just to add a saving touch of humor, both John
and Keith contribute little tidbitds of their own. John's 'Cousin Kevin'
and 'Do You Think It's Alright/Fiddle About' deal with poor Tommy being
mistreated by really bad dudes, while Keith's 'Tommy's Holiday Camp' is
a boyscout tune shamelessly inserted between the serious stuff. The fact
that Townshend let these bits be incorporated is very important. After
all, it's laughter that's gonna save the world, ain't it? The saving touch
of humour! How can one really complain about the bombast and bloatedness
of the opera when John comes up and growls: 'I'm your wicked Uncle Ernie/I'm
glad you can't see or hear me/As I fiddle about, fiddle about, fiddle about...'
Pete used to complain about the tune's cruelty (actually, Uncle Ernie sodomizes
poor Tommy), but that's about the same as complaining about the cruelty
of 'Boris The Spider': poor, poor Boris...
And what about the sound? The sound is great! Rumours say that Pete wanted
to push up some strings and horns and orchestras, but he just hadn't had
time for that 'cos there was little food left in the larder and the company
was pressing him on so that he could finally pay for his broken guitars.
And maybe that's good, because I shudder at the thought of the original
Tommy sounding like that movie synthesizer-itis version. As it is,
acoustic and electric guitars ring out loud and clear, the bass and drum
work are outstanding as usual, and Daltrey finally shows us that he has
mastered his voice, whether it be macho clamouring in 'Pinball Wizard'
or the gentle, loving notes of 'See Me Feel Me'. Of course, this sounded
nothing like the original Who, but all these changes were only for the
better. Of course, the sound can seem pretty monotonous after seventy-five
minutes, but in that case you'd better just split the listening process
in two parts so as not to spoil the impression. The actual tunes are all
swell.
So why only a 9? Well, unfortunately as it may seem, the 'Oo managed to
blow it even here. Prolific as he was, Pete just couldn't produce enough
material for a double album. So he decided to take the wonderful 'Rael/Sparks'
theme and have some fun with it. Unfortunately, this results in a ten-minute
bore called 'Underture' (a silly pun) which only serves to show that the
theme was so perfect it was impossible to variegate it. So he just redoes
it over and over again for what seems like ages until I find my finger
pushing the 'Forward' button. Also, a couple of 'plot' songs aren't that
good, notably the slow ballad 'Welcome' where Tommy invites people to his
holiday camp (Pete eventually realized it himself, so it was dropped from
the stage version). But apart from these little problems, there's absolutely
nothing wrong about this album.
Do you think it's alright if you don't mail your ideas
Your worthy comments:
Gustavo Rodriguez < rodblanc@webtv.net> (12.04.99)
This is one the few reviews of yours I agree with almost note for note,
George.
I would still give it a ten even though I can't stand the 'Underture' section
either.
Too damn long and boring! But 'Welcome' doesn't bother me either. In terms
of pure pop/rock songwriting this is a masterpeice and Townshend never
really topped it. Who's Next is equally great (and better produced),
but in terms of quantity as well as quality, Tommy is staggering.
I think Pete manages to fill his double album just fine. I also agree with
you about the opera/conceptual stuff. If listeners would just take this
album song by song like any other album, there's no reason why they shouldn't
be satisfied. The album's legacy as rock's first opera is a great burden
for a lot of folks. Personally, I don't care about following a plot when
listening to this album. There is a definite concept here but I've never
been able to take it seriously as an opera. Who cares when the music is
this good? There are operatic moments like the middle part ("You didn't
see it..") of "1921" but let's stop kidding ourselves: this
is just great rock music. It can be deadly once we try to give rock too
much 'respectability'. That sort of stuff leads to commercials and--er--uhh
lousy Broadway musicals!
Marco Ursi <zeppelinwho@hotmail.com> (02.05.99)
Here's my opinion on the subject of rock opera: It's a good idea and can be great if executed properly. Townsend didn't do that. I don't like it when people (not nescessarily you, George) say to just forget about the opera idea and listen to the music. It's a bloody opera for Chrissake, the story should be good! As for the music, it is glorious. I love it! This record deserves a 9 but I give it an 8 because the opera (this one, not the concept) sucks.
John McFerrin <stoo@imsa.edu> (06.05.99)
Who cares about the story? Even if Pete took this seriously, I really cannot, and as such I just think of it as a means to connect the songs. And anyways, the emphasis in this album is _definitely_ placed on 'rock' and not 'opera'. And darn it, it rocks! Great riffs, over and over. Oh, and I must confess, that besides the obvious choices, my favorite song on here is Sally Simpson. Great, great album.
Boris <Kreatore@aol.com> (25.08.99) 
I am sorry, I have a correction to make. Tommy was not the first rock opera. S.F. Sorrow by the Pretty Things was, rleased in 1967. Pete Townshend pretty much admitted to hearing that, and getting the idea for Tommy from it. I would even say that I like S.F. Sorrow more I don't want to put down your musical knowledge, but you should really have known that, if you claim to have the 60's as the music period you have most interest it.
Fredrik Tydal <f_tydal@hotmail.com> (12.12.99)
For me, this is The Who's master-piece. This is as good as they good. Neither Who's Next or Quadrophenia could top the grandeur and overall quality of this album. With the stripped down arrangements, this album hardly feels pretentious and bombastic at all. The albums connects itself so beautifully with the recurring parts; the "See me, feel me", "Listening to you...", etc. And the remastered album on one CD is a great buy.
Jeff Blehar <jdb3@jhu.edu> (15.02.2000)
Strange, George - I always held the middle ground on this album. But
then again I wasn't around back when it was first released, being -11 years
old at the time.
So The Who made Tommy and Tommy made The Who. For better
or for worse, this is the one that made them a household name Stateside.
And it was, depending on how you look at it, either A): the first full-blown
rock opera and a watershed in popular music, or B): the beginning of the
end for Western Civilization. I generally think it's much too overrated,
but there's a distressing tendency to overcompensate the other way, to
dismiss Tommy as a worthless piece of hype whose value has been
fabricated out of whole cloth simply because of that damn song about pinball.
That's also incorrect; the album's worth your money, and "Pinball
Wizard" is only the first reason for it.
First of all, this album is Riffalicious. It's practically a textbook on
how to make creative and melodic guitar hooks without bathos or oversimplicity.
And "Overture" collects almost every last one of them, god love
'em all! "Go To The Mirror!" aside, this is my favorite moment
on the album, with each important melody from the album, running from "1921"
to "We're Not Gonna Take It," "Pinball Wizard," and
"Go To The Mirror!" seamlessly. And that acoustic guitar solo
at the end? Why it's the finest instrumental moment on the entire album!
The whole thing just stomps along from there, highlights spilling out everywhere:
"1921," "Amazing Journey" "Sparks," "Christmas,"
"Cousin Kevin," "The Acid Queen," "Pinball Wizard"
(of course), "Go To Mirror," "I'm Free," etc. And frankly,
I like the "Underture," even if there really is no earthly reason
that it has to be, what is it, a HALF AN HOUR LONG? Sure seems like that.
Still, it's a great riff, Townshend just beats it into the ground. It would've
been a great 5 minute instrumental perhaps even slightly longer, but 10's
pushing far too hard.
That's one complaint, but here's the rest. There's just too much filler.
There are quite a few songs on here that did only a little for me upon
first listen, and even less after that, and annoyingly they're all stuck
near the second half of the album. Filler bits and inconsequential songs
like "Do You Think It's Alright?" "There's A Doctor,"
"Miracle Cure," "Welcome," "Tommy Can You Hear
Me?" (I HATE that one!) and "Tommy's Holiday Camp" (alright...I
kinda like that last one). There are just far too many of those for this
to get any more than an 8 out of 10. Furthermore, although I really like
"Sally Simpson," it sounds like it got lost and wandered onto
this album by mistake - it sounds NOTHING like anything else on here.
The plot's just dopey too, sad to say. I know Townshend was sincere, he
meant it, blah blah blah, but that was probably his undoing; he was so
desperately sincere that he oversteps quite a bit. And Entwistle's songs
are just MEAN. I mean, "Cousin Kevin"'s sadism is one (disconcerting,
but acceptable) thing, but "Fiddle About"'s sodomizing is quite
out of line. I'm not offended per se, just somewhat taken aback by the
nastiness of them all. And does anyone else think that the line "We'll
forsake you, gonna rape you" doesn't scan too well in retrospect?
So that's Tommy. Timeless? Tasteless? You make the call. But despite
the filler, I still think it's a mighty fine disc, maybe not as tightly
organized as Quadrophenia or Who's Next, but still entertaining
(and if you're composing on guitar, instructive). I'll give it an 8/10
and go headbang to "Go To The Mirror!"
Nick Karn <glassmoondt@yahoo.com> (24.02.2000)
This is a great album, but it's also very flawed. The concept in parts
is a bit iffy and lame, and even discounting that there are so many filler
tracks on here that disrupt the flow of the plot rather than add to it.
"Tommy's Holiday Camp", "Miracle Cure", and "Tommy
Can You Hear Me" for instance really grate on me - I'd rather hear
something pretentious and overblown than this ridiculously corny drivel.
I still say the filler in The Wall is how execution of the 'weak
links' on a concept album should be done. Plus, "Underture" is
definitely a pointless 10 minute bore (I didn't think the "Sparks"
theme was that great to begin with) and "Welcome" is totally
insignificant.
However, my complaints end there - the rest of the album is a fine piece
of work, and it does have an impressive abundance of great riffs and melodies.
Far and away my favorite here is "Go To The Mirror"... I just
LOVE the melody to it (it also works extremely well in "Overture"),
and I think that section of the album is the most emotionally powerful.
"Sally Simpson" is another personal favorite of mine - I really
enjoy the 'laid back' feel it has, and the wacky harmonies and fun atmosphere
of the beginning and end of "Christmas" contrasting the darker
sections (with the 'see me feel me...' bit thrown in) REALLY work.
"1921" is really beautiful (although I don't see how it's a blues
number... Track 6 is a blues number), "Pinball Wizard" and "Amazing
Journey" are very effective and essential to the plot. And "Cousin
Kevin"? I think I spent my high school years with someone like him
unfortunately... Oh yeah, don't even get me started on the "Fiddle
About" bit. Oh that demented John Entwistle character. Not one of
my favorite concept albums, but enough great stuff on here for me to give
it an 8.
Ben Greenstein <bgreenstein@nctimes.net> (02.06.2000)
Not overrated at all. My only complaint is that most of the songs sound sorta similar, with a those tasty accoustic and electric riffs. But it's two albums long, and it never really runs out of ideas, just repeats the good ones when it needs to. Another nine.
Bob <Trfesok@aol.com> (28.06.2000)
Lambert improves as a producer, but only a little bit. The transformation
to CD helps immeasurably -- and I have the CD version released before it
was remastered,and it still sounds great! Daltey's best singing yet, still
obscured by the production.
The storyline is somewhat incoherent because Pete kept reworking it even
as the band was recording. It does seem a bit silly in retrospect (the
Broadway play only reemphasizes this). But most of the songs are just great
and a lot of fun, except that "Underture" did not need to be
10 minutes long. And I agree the short little tracks like "Tommy,
Can you Hear Me?" have great hooks. Still, one can only wonder what
this album could have been if their next producer had been around.
Noam Klar <noamklar@yahoo.com> (02.07.2000)
I think this album would have been better off if Pete would have been
given time to add that extra orchestration and additional arrangements.
This way, it makes for a pretty monotonous affair. At the beginning, the
acoustic guitar thing is really cool and fun to listen to (especially the
end of 'Overture'). By the time of 'Underture', it begins to get really
really tiering.... By 'Welcome' I feel like going to sleep... That song
is really annoying! In any case, I feel this album would have been better
like 10 minutes shorter.
And actually the little 'plot' ditties are one of the things I like best
here.
Another thing, for a rock opera this really lacks emotion. The whole story
is pretty stupid anyway, and the whole 'Tommy' aspect is pretty boring.
The music isn't tops either, but not bad or anything. Just too long!! 1921
is really a great song - it's the peak of the album for me.
Philip Maddox <slurmsmckenzie@hotmail.com> (03.07.2000)
There's not much new that can be said about this - it's one of the most
famous rock records ever, and it deserves to be. Sure, the story can be
stupid or nonsensical, but hey, I listen to Yes, so nonsense has no more
effect on me. If you ignore the lyrics (which seems to be a focal point
of the controversy about this album's worth), the tunes are indeed top
notch. 'Overture', 'Pinball Wizard', 'Go To The Mirror', 'We're Not Gonna
Take It', '1921', and others are amazingly great tunes. The short links
aren't bad, either - they're tuneful and connect the songs well. Like you
said, 'Underture' is the low point. Pete must have REALLY needed to fill
up space, because he jams on a riff from his last record for over 10 minutes.
I don't think it's too bad, as the actual riff is nearly perfect, but I'd
rather hear it in 'Sparks' or 'Rael'. The lyrics aren't too bad, either.
At least they sound good, even when they're meaningless. A classic of rock
music. Everyone should at least hear this album at some point. It's like
Sgt. Pepper in that respect - even if you don't like it, it was
important enough to listen to at least once.
And about the orchestration, Kit wanted to orchestrate it, but Pete didn't.
He wanted the record to be simple enough to be able to reproduce on tour.
At least that's what it says in the booklet of the remastered edition CD
that I have.
mjcarney <mjcarney@netzero.net> (31.07.2000)
For some reason, it seems that within the last 5-10 years that this album is losing some of its critical acclain, but I can't understand that, this is definately the Who's high point in my eyes. Sure, they sound nothing like the old, great, maximum R&B sound of their early days, but who cares when the music is this good. Pete wrote a concept about a kid who sees his mom kill his dad, then becomes deaf dumb and blind. His parents--mom and lover--try for years taking him to different people/places to get him better (The Hawker, The Acid Queen, a Physchiatrist etc), along the way he is abused by his cousin, his uncle, and even to some degree his parents, he eventually finds a following through pinball--which is a great joke--and they find a cure for his condition. His followers then form a cult around him, until he becomes too demanding on them, and they destroy everything he owns, and Tommy is left alone. Sure, the concept is a little stupid, but what concept album doesn't have its dumb, bombastic moments. This one also has more comedy in it than others, which is interspersed amidst other more substantial statements. The best comedy part is the Pinball Wizard bit. Apparently, Pete added that part as a joke to a big time music critic that was a huge Pinball fan who always panned the Who terribly. It is a bit of an in-joke, but the song has since become a classic. Anyway, enough with the little background notes, and onto the music. It opens with a truly classic instrumental--'Overature'. This is possibly one of the most enjoyable instrumentals that I have heard, there isn't any parts where it is too overdrawn--like say Pink Floyd, there isn't too much guitar wailing--like Hendrix(although he's great), or Zeppelin, but there is left just an exciting, invigorating opener, which leads into the Captain Walker--It's a Boy bit beautifully. Other highlights include, "1921"--the three part singing at the end is exceptional, "Christmas"--masterful, and somewhat underrated among true who classics, "Pinball Wizard" everyone knows this one, "I'm a Sensation"--great, Pete sung song, unfortunately dropped from their live lineup for some odd reason, since it is Pete's best solo singing song to this point, "I'm Free"--a riff rocking, yet surprisingly rather subdued classic, and of course, possibly the Who's best song in "We're not Gonna Take it". Sure, these are the highlights, but the other tracks aren't half bad either. Roger's singing has never been--nor will it ever be--better. Instead of simply relying on power, he actually sings here and does SURPRISINGLY WELL. Sometimes you miss the power of the earlier stuff, or their next two albums, but nonetheless, this album is excellent. Well played, beautifully written, and masterful. Also, it might be nice for any fan of this band, or of popular music to check out Pete's demos from this album, they're great too. It is amazing that he basically had 75% of the album perfected before they started work on it. This album is in my top five albums ever, and it is simply brilliant. Unfortunately though, Pete would rely too much on concepts after this which mostly failed, and Roger would rely too much on his powerful screaming, which rendered many of their later songs useless, but here it all works, and this is a true masterpiece. If you don't have this one, then you surely don't have much of a musical collection--it is just that good. I would rate it a 10/10! I wouldn't change a bit of it either.
Rich Bunnell <taosterman@yahoo.com> (25.08.2000)
This album is such a ten it hurts. I think that I'll take my traditional
standpoint (and yours, this time) that it doesn't matter that this is a
"rock opera" since it's actually just a bunch of rock songs that
happen to share a common theme. No lame strings or female choruses or anything
can be found here - in fact, it was probably the best idea Townshend ever
had to create a rock opera using nothing but drums, bass and guitar, with
a bit of synth and French horn thrown in for seasoning. The most appealing
part about the album is that the guitars have this acoustic-meets-electric
chimey sound the entire way through, and the sound is REALLY good. It's
hard to name favorite songs when so many of them consist of themes that
are repeated several times over the course of the album, but "Christmas,"
"We're Not Gonna Take It"(NO! WE AIN'T GONNA TAKE IT!....err...wrong
one) and the two overtures are probably my favorites. I don't think that
the ten-minute Overture is boring at all -- to me, it's just ten more minutes
of that awesome acoustic strum sound.
It's funny how "Pinball Wizard," the album's unquestionably most
famous song, was only hastily written by Pete Townshend because he wanted
to please an influential music critic who just happened to be a huge pinball
fan. Otherwise, the pinball stuff wouldn't even have been on the album
(the pinball references in other songs were written in later). The funniest
part was that Pete considered the song one of his most sloppily-written
and awful ever at the time when he wrote it, but it's held up over the
past thirty years as almost the centerpiece of the album. The centerpiece
of an awesome album. Like I said, I don't see any reason not to give this
a ten.
Nick Einhorn <eeinhorn@home.com> (31.08.2000)
According to the liner notes, producer Kit Lambert wanted to add an orchestra to the album, but Townshend was firmly opposed. Which is a good thing.
Derrick Stuart <MSDK84@email.msn.com> (27.11.2000)
I somewhat disagree with you on the movie version, which I actually prefer in some places to the orginal. The orginal is still great though and I'll talk about the movie later anyway. The music on here is very beautiful and the story is entertaining. It is a rejection of the drugs, psychedelicness and such that was so popular at the time. Even if this was not the first rock-opera, it is most certainly the most influencial. Underture is not that boring, its simplicity, quietness and length make it a trip into the inner-psyche somewhat. This is a great album, a great story and simply great (I need a new adjective).
Year Of Release: 1970
Record rating = 10
Overall rating = 15
The best live rock'n'roll album ever.
Best song: SUMMERTIME BLUES
I realize it's a common place - calling Leeds the best live rock
album, but hey, what can I do? It's stronger than me... In case you're
not competent: The Who may have been the third best studio rock band ever,
but they were certainly the best live rock band ever. At least, at the
time when Leeds was released. The old version included only six
songs, three of them covers. The recent remastered version adds a whole
eight more, thus making it a much more efficient and finished product.
The effect you get from listening to this stuff is awesome. I mean, at
first it sounds like a horrible cacophony; but after a couple of listens,
when your ears grow used to the sound, you'll slowly come to realize that
the murky noise generated by the band is actually just a shield under which
resides some masterful riffing, fantastically fluent bass lines, steady
drumming and powerful singing. And the next stage is to recognize that
the 'murky noise' actually helps produce such a magnificent effect
on the listener; namely, if Townshend weren't drenching all of his riffs
and solos in that dirty distortion, loudness and quasi-chaos, the band
would have hardly been any more interesting on stage than, say, Iron Butterfly.
Most of the songs on here are old hits, but I assure you they are very
hard to recognize. 'Happy Jack'? It isn't a lightweight, bass-dominated
pop ditty any more - it's a powerful rock tune with a roaring guitar and
Daltrey sounding as if he was singing 'Rule, Britannia!', not 'Happy Jack
wasn't tall, but he was a man'. 'I'm A Boy'? Where are those sissy backing
vocals and soft guitar lines (not that I have anything against these in
the studio version)? They are replaced by powerful windmills!
'Sparks'? Oh, yeah, 'Sparks'? Where's that classical guitar strumming?
No, no, be prepared for a monstrous assault on your eardrums, like a thousand
wild rhinoceros! It's hardly possible to think that that thunderstorm on
stage was being created by just two guitars and a drumset, but it is so
- no overdubs.
'Magic Bus'? The former three-minute Bo Diddley-ish single has been transformed
into an 8-minute theatrical piece with Roger and Pete bartering for the
right to drive the magic dingus. And Pete's riffing at the beginning of
the track, when he duels with his own echo coming off the walls, is probably
the best example of his amazing guitar technique on the album... maybe
even in general. Meanwhile, John sticks to his simple bass riff, distorting
it so far that he almost gives the impression of steadily, calmly drilling
the stage. Listening to it intently in headphones drives you crazy.
'My Generation'? Forget it! It's a 15-minute suite, built on loads of driving
riffs, some taken from Tommy, some probably invented right on the
place! Oh, that Pete! He knows how to produce a carefully placed riff now
and then. More important, he knows how to make a 15-minute improvisation
really interesting: unlike Cream, he doesn't just stick to a monotonous,
occasionally boring solo, but instead leads the band into a set of different
grooves, all built on these captivating riffs. Some will sneer and say
that he does that only because he simply cannot solo like Clapton,
but that's all right by me. He finds the perfect substitute. Not that he
can't solo at all, mind you: the few solos he plays are no slouch, either.
The opening 'Heaven And Hell' (an apocalyptic tune written by Entwistle)
should put Jimmy Page to shame, not because it's more perfect technically,
but because it really gets your blood pumping without being too self-indulgent
and show-off-ey.
The best thing about this furious rock machine, however, are the three
covers (the re-mastered version adds a fourth one, 'Fortune Teller', but
for me it's really a letdown: it starts off slowly and boringly, and even
though it kicks off in the middle, it's too late to get interested already.
The Stones made it much more efficient, I'm forced to admit). Mose Allison's
'Young Man Blues' is my favourite live number by the band (although I prefer
the version on Kids): menacing sharp opening riffs, Roger's famous
vocal battle with Moon's drums, and then the furious middle passage with
Pete squeezing everything out of his Gibson. To me, this is what rock'n'roll
was all about: fast, angry, uncompromising and intoxicating, with a good
deal of teenage angst thrown in so that the fury and anger wouldn't seem
pointless or aimless. Eddie Cochran's 'Summertime Blues' is also reshaped
beyond recognition and also turned into a hard rock fiesta, this time with
all the band on parade: Pete beating out that famous eight-note riff, Roger
screaming out the lines about the kid who didn't go to work, Keith crashing
his cymbals as usual and John adding incredible bass runs and the deep-voiced
'boss lines'. Finally, the Pirates' 'Shakin' All Over' closes off the covers
with Roger overdoing himself (who could have thought it was the same guy
that whined James Brown's 'I Don't Mind' on their debut LP and roared the
mighty 'SHAKIN' ALL OUUUUUVEEEEEEEER!' on here?) and Pete having fun with
a chaotic guitar solo.
Oh, I forgot one more thing. Remember what I said 'bout that 'A Quick One'
mini-opera on their second LP? Well, it might have sounded feeble there,
but this concert version redeems it totally. It's been slightly shortened,
some of the most stupid bits have been thrown out, the rest has been speeded
up and tightened, and the result is eight minutes of pure fun, powerful
guitar and great harmonies. Unfortunately, the mix does not do justice
to the singing; for a truly unique live version of 'A Quick One' check
out Kids again.
There is, however, a slight sense of uncertainty and tiredness beaming
through the general excitement. You won't be able to notice it if you haven't
heard any live stuff from 1969, but if you have, you'll be able to notice
that Pete's playing is somewhat more 'generic' and less improvised than
it used to be. Considering the fact that he ought to have been trying hard
that evening (after all, they were recording it), this is even more foreboding.
And if you read the interview given on that day (included in the booklet),
you'll see that the band certainly wasn't on cloud nine at the time. Sad,
but true: Leeds was at least several months late. They were already
beginning to exhale, and playing Tommy for the billionth time wasn't
much of a consolation, too. Oh well. 'You can't always get what you want',
as fellow Mick once said. At least we got Leeds! And now, come to
think of it, we got that other one, too... just take a look forward...
Shakin' all over this album? Mail your ideas
Your worthy comments:
Gustavo Rodriguez < rodblanc@webtv.net> (12.04.99)
Let me be careful here. I know everyone loves this record to death and
I like it too but let me say a few things here.
1) I only feel that this live album has only begun to deserve its reputation
ever since the extra tracks were issued on CD. They fill out the album
well and I'll never understand why they were left off.
2) The original 7 track album--in my opinion, is much weaker in comparison.
I know I could get severly flamed for saying the following but am I the
only person who can't stand "Young Man Blues"? I just can't take
that song. It sounds like bad Led Zeppelin to me. Daltrey sounds just horrible.
And I also am not that impressed with the 15 minute "My Generation".
It just goes on and on. I rarely like tracks in rock music that go on longer
than 10 minutes (exceptions: "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands"
to name one).
3) That being said, I love the rest of it. Whether that makes me less a
true Who lover I could care less.
BTW, George I think some other contenders for best live rock album could
be:
1) Jerry Lee Lewis Live at the Star Club You gotta hear this one
if you haven't already! The best thing he ever recorded--hands down!
2) The Band Rock of Ages Don't know how you feel about them, but
if you like them like I do, you might agree.
3) Sam Cooke Live at Harlem Square If you think you're familiar
with this old master, wait till you hear him take his pop songs and transform
them into soulful workouts the way they were meant to be sung! He plays
with his audience and whips them into such a frenzy..it's like nothing
else I've heard.
4) James Brown Live at the Apollo Words need not apply.
Marco Ursi <zeppelinwho@hotmail.com> (23.08.99)
If I could choose just one album to listen to for the rest of my life, it would be this one. This would be my choice for the album to prove Keith Moon was the greatest drummer of all-time.
Valentin Katz <Valka324@home.com> (24.10.99)
George, on this one, I full heartedly agree with you. Live at Leeds is the greatest live album I've ever heard or could imagine and should be considered one of the greatest albums ever, period. However, I think the ranking you gave it was too low, whatever the perfect score is, this album should deserve a 20, its that good. Wow!
Jeff Blehar <jdb3@jhu.edu> (15.02.2000)
You know, as a general rule, I hate live albums. I find that
more often than not they're either very muddy tapes of teenagers screaming,
or myth-destroying documents of uninspired hacks churning out messy versions
of badly selected songs which lack all the dynamic power of their studio
counterparts to cheerily indifferent audiences. Actually physically being
at a concert is one thing. Listening to what went on there a year after
the fact is another. For me, it's as pleasant as watching old men die.
I've had to revise that statement these days, though. I now say, "I
hate live albums, except for Live At Leeds (and maybe Dylan Live
1966 and It's Too Late To Stop Now, depending on my mood)."
Because hoo, John-boy, this is a live album like no other. I'm referring
to the reissued, remastered version, which is more than twice as long as
the original and three times the fun. No scratches, no muddy tapes, no
annoyingly off-key harmonies (I've heard they were edited out at a later
stage), just 74 minutes of The Real Thing, gut-crunching metal. Simply
put, ALL of the songs The Who performs here are just as good as their studio
counterparts, and if we're talking about "A Quick One," "Amazing
Journey/Sparks," or "Heaven And Hell" (and why shouldn't
we be?) they blow their studio versions away. What's more, a bunch of early
singles are covered here, and in commanding performances. They also take
one track from each of their albums (bar Tommy, which is performed in its
entirety, of course) and impress everyone with them: "My Generation"
from My Generation, "A Quick One, While He's Away," from
A Quick One, and "Tattoo" from Sell Out.
But the true highlights are the covers, especially "Young Man Blues,"
which first struck me as abrasive but now fairly slaps me upside the head
with its obscene musical brilliance. Guitar, bass, drums, vocals, the whole
deal! All perfect! This isn't helping much, is it? Well another interesting
feature of the reissue of Leeds is the set of dialogues with which Roger
& Pete engage the audience. Charming (especially when Pete ruefully
recounts the chart history of The Who's early singles) and intriguing,
they're just one more reason to enjoy this budget-priced chunk of plastic.
So yes, Virginia, there IS a live album worth buying, and it's Live
At Leeds. The Who even learn to jam engagingly here (unlike on "Underture"),
on the epic 14-minute take of "My Generation," and the secret
is, of course, variety. They do some really creative things here, as Townshned
plays off the echo of his own guitar in the concert hall and they fly into
pieces of Tommy here and there. It gets a 9/10 from me. Why only a 9?
I'm deducting one point because nobody needs to hear a 7 1/2 minute version
of "Magic Bus." Please.
Eric Kline <Eric.Kline@BestBuy.com> (17.02.2000)
look george, here's one we agree on!
not only does this recording prove, beyond doubt, that keith moon was the
greatest rock drummer, it also captures the unequaled rhythm section of
moon and john entwhistle at its exhilarating peak. mike watt is reported
to have said live at leeds is closer to his heart than any other
record because upon hearing it he learned what the bass guitar was.
and, yes, it was made even greater with the recent cd re-issue with added
tracks.
and if live at leeds ain't enough to prove to you that the who were
the greatest of 'em all live, then go watch/listen to 'the rolling stones
rock and roll circus wherein the who make not only the stones but
also an assembled supergroup featuring eric clapton and john lennon look
like second-rate schoolboys.
steady on!
Nick Karn <glassmoondt@yahoo.com> (24.02.2000)
I don't even know if I'm qualified to review this one - the version I heard is the 6 song one on record, and I can totally see why people recognize The Who as the greatest live band of all time from listening to it. The energy and power that comes through is incredible, and all the songs are winners. My particular favorites are the infectious "Substitute" and the 14 minute "My Generation" medley where Pete Townshend throws all these GREAT riffs together with the rest of the band backing him up well. The version of "Magic Bus" on here reminds me of something off of Led Zeppelin I for some reason, and it closes things out very well. Phenomenal work, although I'd never play it over and over again like one of my favorite studio albums... this still could very well be the best live recordings get, so I'd give it a very high 9.
Philip Maddox <slurmsmckenzie@hotmail.com> (02.07.2000)
Live At Leeds is a really, really great live album. It does something
that a lot of live albums (like Queen's Live Killers) don't - they
make the songs sound different! All the songs here are distorted and changed
enough to almost sound like different songs, but still retaining the original
feel. I don't think this is quite as noisy and impenetrable as others think
- I've listened to a good chunk of pure noise rock. It's still hard to
deny how great this sounds, though - those heavy riffs add something to
these songs. My favorites on here are 'A Quick One', 'My Generation', 'Heaven
And Hell', and 'Young Man's Blues', but they're all great. The only flaws
are that:
(A) 'Fortune Teller' starts out really slow
(B) 'I Can't Explain' doesn't sound as good as the original and...
(C) 'Magic Bus' is too long
Indeed, the best live album I've ever heard (there may be better, but if
there are, I haven't heard 'em yet. Bursting Out is great too, though).
It's one of the few live records that are every bit as good as the studio
ones, and every bit as essential.
Rich Bunnell <taosterman@yahoo.com> (20.09.2000)
This album rocks large parts of my world. It doesn't even matter if the band hadn't gotten to its "arena-rock" period yet - they make the strummy early-period stuff rock harder than anything that came since! They even make the 14-minute "My Generation" not suck by making...well...only about 3 minutes of it "My Generation," and the rest of it a whole bunch of awesome mini-songs! The covers rock mightily too, especially "Summertime Blues." There isn't really much else to say, except that I'm impressed. Really impressed. I give it a ten and say it is easily the best live album I've heard, far ahead of "live" albums like TMBG's Severe Tire Damage. I haven't heard Ya-Ya's yet, so I can't offer my two cents on that debate.
Derrick Stuart <MSDK84@email.msn.com> (27.11.2000)
Leeds is a superb live album, though I seriously prefer the expanded version. I don't really care for the blues numbers, I guess I'm not that good of a real rock'n'roll fan. However, the reworked versions of the 60s classics and all the the Who orginals are excellent. Mixing talent, heaviness, theatrics and intelligince. This CD should also prove to everyone out there that the Who can put on a great show without ever smashing an instrument, an ignorant ritual shared by everyone but John that I'm very glad they grew out of.
Ben Greenstein <bgreenstein@nctimes.net> (15.12.2000)
I actually think that the covers are the weak part of this album - or at least they look weak next to all of the stunning originals. "Heaven And Hell" is Entwhistle's best, and "Magic Bus," "A Quick One," "Sparks" and the rest all sound great live. Another ten from Ben.
Kevin Baker <bakerspread@computron.net> (16.12.2000)
I can't crown a "greatest live album" just yet since I still have yet to hear Get Yer Ya Yas Out, but Live At Leeds does succeed in grabbing all the other live albums I've ever heard, pciking them, twirling them about, and tossing them out the window like yesterday's garbage. My absolute favorite track is "Young Man Blues", but thats mainly because, well, I am a young man who has nothing in the world these days, or so it seems. "A Quick One", and also the stage chatter before it about fornication and stations and whatnot, is hilarious and tightly performed. Matter of fact, every track on here is simply great, with the exception of "My Generation". WAAAAAAAAAY too long for my liking. Not that its bad, just overly long for a song that originally lasted under 4 minutes. Oh, and "Tattoo" is hilarious! All-in-all, a very gratifying hard rock listening experience.
Year Of Release: 1996
Record rating = 10
Overall rating = 15
'SMILE, YOU BUGGERS! Pretend it's Christmas.'
Best song: YOUNG MAN BLUES
This is actually an archive release: certainly, it would be quite stupid
to release this stuff as soon as it was recorded, what with Live At
Leeds having just come out and all. Recently, though, there's been
a lot of uproar concerning the lack of officially released early Who-candy,
so some tweaky record company hastily reconstructed this totally embarrassing
piece of shitty sounding old crap and....
No, no! What am I talking about? The Beatles Live At The Hollywood Bowl?
This is a great archive document! Believe me, even if you have already
emptied your purse on the Leeds hotcake, you won't regret indulging
yourself once more. Pete Townshend himself said that this was one of their
best nights, and there may be a grain of truth in this saying. What distinguishes
this album from Leeds is primarily the fact that it's longer (more
expensive, too, though), and particularly impressive is the inclusion of
the entire Tommy chestnut (except for 'Welcome', which was practically
never played live, and 'Sally Simpson', 'Sensation', and 'Cousin Kevin',
which were probably not played on that particular gig), instead of the
short 'Amazing Journey/Sparks' bit on Leeds. Besides that, we have
an interesting cover selection (an unedited version of the 'Shakin' All
Over' medley, including a magnificent 'Spoonful' and - believe it or not
- a 'Twist And Shout'!!), and two cuts from the already beginning to develop
Lifehouse project.
Oh, yeah. The sound. The sound is completely different from the Leeds
sound. Leeds was somewhat, err, 'restrained', if the word 'restrained'
is appliable to The Who. This is perfectly understandable: the hall was
small, the audience was intelligent and polite, and moreover, they were
recording it for the official release, and Pete was feeling slightly depressed,
which is always a serious influence on his playing. The Isle of Wight gathering,
if you're not too familiar with the environment, was a gang of bloodthirsty,
stone-heavy, braindead motherfuckers inherited directly from Woodstock
and numbering in hundreds of thousands. And good old Pete always felt somewhat
enraged about such massive swarms of idiots, which results in his using
the guitar more like a machine-gun than a musical instrument. In fact,
if I might be permitted to use this metaphor, he practically executes the
audience with his playing. Which, by the way, is often sloppy and out of
tune. But hey, play a couple of windmills on your guitar and I'll be damned
if it don't go out of tune forever...
Seriously, now, this sloppiness and Pete's frequent abandon of diligent
melody in favour of making more noise is what turns a lot of people away
from this album. I know this because I originally shared the same feeling:
there was a bit too much noise even for me, who's a rabid Who freak. But
put yourself in the background, picture the excitement generated by this
kind of sound, the romanticism and sincerity of the performance, turn up
the volume and you're bound to be carried away with the very first notes
of 'Heaven And Hell'. And on 'Young Man Blues' Pete practically goes out
of control totally, crashing and bashing around with ten times more zest
than Jagger could ever muster on stage. (He had to change guitar after
the song, as pictured in the video). Hey, did you know Pete has got more
than a hundred seams on his right hand? I didn't! You might think a windmill
is something easy and stupid - it's not, I assure you. Just go ahead and
try.
So I just suppose you forgive Pete his multiple mistakes on this album
(I'm the first to admit there are many of these), because his peak energy
more than makes up for it. The best way is to listen to this album in headphones
with the volume turned up as loud as possible - you'll know what I mean.
But there's not just Pete's frustration on this album. Keith is in great
form as usual, and John - well, John is always good. You can't go wrong
with John. What surprises me most of all, though, is Roger's voice - I
have never heard him sing better than on here. Tommy goes off like
a hydrogen bomb, and not in the least due to his humble efforts; however,
the cover versions are what distinguish him most of all (oh, that 'LIIIES
ABOUT IT!' line on 'Spoonful'), plus Pete's 'Water' on which Robert
Plant is put to shame. Shame on you, Robert Plant! Go sulk in the corner.
So I'm really not at all bothered with the overlaps with Leeds.
Who cares? Good old Pete always had enough improvisation power in him to
make a single song sound in several entirely different ways. 'Summertime
Blues' is probably inferior to the Leeds version, since the solo
is a bit shabby (it almost sounds as if Pete was caught off-guard when
he started throwing out the lead lines), and he misses that tremendous
power chord that ends the song and segues immediately into 'Shakin' All
Over'. But that one is far more impressive than the Leeds version,
on the other hand - Roger yells like a demon, and the energy is tremendous.
As for the 'newer' cuts, 'Water' is an incredible song. At about nine minutes
long, it slowly unfurls itself into a bombastic, unprecedented epic where
'water' stands as a metaphor for life energy and artistic inspiration,
and Roger's screams of 'WE NEED WATER!' coming from the very depths of
the band's collective soul. Along the way, Pete creates a couple more thunderstorms,
cleverly alternating passages of utter chaos with crystal clear lead lines
and catchy riffs created simply out of nowhere, before bringing it down
with a bang on the hilarious accapella ending. And 'I Don't Know Myself'
is a beautiful, confessional song featuring Keith happily tapping away
on his favourite little wooden block (you should have watched his face
on the accompanying video). Oh yeah, the band also does a short excerpt
of 'Naked Eye' in the medley section... which is excellent.
Buy this album, now. And try to get the accompanying video, too: it has
its flaws (see my review at the bottom of the page), but it's an absolutely
essential purchase for all Who fans, young and old. This is a ten, a damn
solid ten, and a solid fifteen on the overall rating scale. Thanks Goodness
the band isn't planning on any more official releases of live shows from
that era - I probably wouldn't have any other choice but to award tens
to all of them. Whew. Judging by their form on Woodstock and at the London
Coliseum in 1969, for instance, these two potential albums would also be
worthy candidates for tens.
Twist and shout! And don't forget to mail your ideas
Your worthy comments:
Marco Ursi <zeppelinwho@hotmail.com> (10.09.99)
This ain't no Live at Leeds. But it's good. Not a 10, but damn good. The main problem I have is with the playing. Moon's drumming is a little off, espescially at the beginning, where his bashing seems to have no purpose. Pete gets a little sloppy at times but than again, he was probably more worried about his windmills and jumps than hitting the right note. John's playing is fine and all but he kinda gets tied down filling in for the missing brass parts during Tommy. Roger kinda seems to lose his voice near the end and his voice actually cracks a couple of times. Now this is not to say the playing is bad. It's just not as good as on Leeds.
Fredrik Tydal <f_tydal@hotmail.com> (14.04.2000)
My Who collection have been dormant for a while, so I recently revived it with this album. I thought I'd listen to it while writing an essay; I can tell you I didn't get much of that essay done. This is just awesome. The Tommy performance is simply incredible. When Daltrey went "listening to you..." for the seventh time in "We're Not Gonna Take It", I was sitting with my jaw dropped. And he just keeps going! How much can a vocalist take? His voice cracks a few times, but that's understandable; after such a performance. Hit the road, Plant. If there exists better Who performances than this, count me and my wallet in. Haven't got Live At Leeds yet, but I doubt it's better than this - could be up to par, though. Woodstock could be a contender, but I doubt it - the "We're Not Gonna Take" from Wight is, like, fifteen times better than the Woodstock one. And Townshend was just killing at Wight - unbelievable. Keith is good on the first part of the concert, but seems to get tired later on - can't blame him, though. Ah, well; can't wait to get my hands on Leeds.
mjcarney <mjcarney@netzero.net> (31.07.2000)
I couldn't agree with your review more here. This set is brilliant, and although not all the playing is as good as in Leeds, I am starting to rank them equally as 10's. I bought this one when it came out a few years ago, and was initially dissapointed--what with the classic/best live album ever Live at Leeds having better versions of several of the songs. I returned to it a few times over the years, and I for some odd reason never really got that whole--not quite as good as Leeds bias out of my head. But, then I tried again, for the third strong listening time, and it clicked. There is enough of new, non Leeds classics to make this album more than worthwhile, and the reused Leeds songs aren't half bad either. First I will talk about the non-highlights (it is the best word I could say because they still aren't bad at all, everything besides "Water" is actually really good but not as good as the others") "Heaven and Hell" is inferior, but still good, powerful, and mindboggling as its Leeds counterpart. "Summertime Blues" is the same, although I have grown tired of hearing the Who's version of this song on either disc, since I really like the rockabilly original. "Substitute" and "Magic Bus"are the same, better on Leeds. "Shaking All Over" is better on the BBC(where it can't be beat by anyone) but I like the medley here too. Finally, I really hate the song "Water" and hearing it here doesn't help, its not that they performed it badly, I just really dislike the song--too much pedestrian noise for noise sake. However, the rest of the album is sheer brilliant. "I Don't Even Know Myself", and "Naked Eye" are here, and they are brilliant Lifehouse rejects--although both I believe became B-Sides and are available on the remastered Who's Next, they just sound a million times better here. Also, "My Generation" has all the power--and then some--of Leeds, with just enough improvisation. Although Leeds' version is awesome, I prefer this one, and it is the best spot to hear this classic. Finally, the inclusion of Tommy Live, which is really why myself and tons of others did/will buy this album, make it even more worthwhile. Tommy is performed almost better on this disc than on its masterful studio release. Although, I can't quite say it is better because a few of my favorite songs from that disc are missing ("Sensation" being the biggest, tragic omission). This version is much more powerful, concise, and well perfect. Highlights here from Tommy are "Go To The Mirror" "Christmas", "Sparks", "We're Not Gonna Take it"--heck their all great. This album is worth everything you pay for it and then some. I believe this is the greatest live rock recording ever, simply because you get twice as much as you do with Leeds. It is indispensable a perfect 10/10!, 15/15 etc.
Philip Maddox <slurmsmckenzie@hotmail.com> (09.09.2000)
9 from me. I don't like it as much as Leeds for a few reasons - mainly, a lot of these songs are way too similar to their Leeds counterparts - I don't need another 'Heaven And Hell' or 'Summertime Blues'. And while these performances rule, they're not quite perfect like they were on Leeds. 'Naked Eye' has never been one of my favorites, either. It's good, but not great. That being said, this album is still great. It's nice to have a hard rockin' version of Tommy. This album definately has the definitive 'We're Not Gonna Take It', with Roger doing the best screaming of his career on the "Listening To You" part. On the whole, it's interesting to see just how Tommy would have sounded if the Who had just strapped on their gear in the studio and did it in one take. I'd prefer this to the original if not for the unfortunate exclusion of some great songs (even 'Underture' would have sounded great here). 'Water' rocks hard. I like this extended version a lot more than the 6 minute one on the new Who's Next. And, well, everything else is good too. It isn't Leeds, but I'm still glad I bought it. A very solid listen.
Year Of Release: 1971
Record rating = 9
Overall rating = 14
A great album, but, like all great albums, it's been overrated.
Best song: WON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN
This is a very controversial album - for me. It's often regarded as
The Who's best and one of the best rock albums ever. Me, I concede there
is something about that statement. But then again, let us stay away
from the hype and be cool-headed. Let's just pretend we've never heard
anything about this album. Like, say, there's been a nuclear war or something
and somebody's found a half-broken dirty old LP among the ruins of an ancient
music shop and managed to recover its sound. What would that poor guy discover?
Well, first of all he'd discover nine prime songs, all of them flawlessly
performed and produced. He'd find out that Mr Big Nose has been busy with
synthesizers lately, and for that reason his beloved guitar had had to
hand some of its functions to tons and tons of keyboards. He'd find out
that Mr Fringed Mike-Swirler had finally developed a fantastic singing
voice (or, should we say, 'roar') that would eventually let him down in
about twenty-five years due to overexposure and abuse, but back then it
was just swell. He'd find out that Mr Ox's base lines are as fluent as
ever, and Mr Nutsdrum had acquired an absolutely new drum sound (I still
don't know what it is but it sounds completely unlike your average sound
produced by your average drum. It has a kind of 'flat' sound probably designed
to increase its outstanding position. What is it? A production device or
is he pounding it with a dried piece of hamburger?)
What's still more important, Pete's Melody Maker is still running perfectly.
At least five of these bummers are among my favourite rock songs of all
time. The opening 'Baba O'Riley' has a fantastic build-up: opening with
a synthesizer loop, it eventually augments the sound with mighty piano,
drums, Roger's roar and (later) guitar. The main riff is simple as a doornail,
but none the less majestic because of that, and the entire song goes off
splendidly with its story of (as far as I can tell) post-Woodstock disillusionment
(c'mon now - did Pete ever have any illusions about Woodstock?),
finishing in a hilarious fiddle-driven jig (saving touch of humour goes
again?) 'Bargain' is Pete's prayer to the above-mentioned 'Baba' (Meher
Baba, a kind of Indian guru freak who Pete unexpectedly fell in love with),
with highlights such as Roger's 'the best I ever HAAAD' line and inventive
synth parts. 'Going Mobile' is a funny home-made travelogue-rock sung by
Pete, and it's the most modest song on this album, highlighted by a real
weird guitar solo; for some reason many people seem to hate the song, but
I simply don't know why - I think it has one of the most interesting acoustic
rhythm tracks recorded by the band, for instance.
And, of course, no classic rock radio station can get away without paying
its dues to the two closing tracks. 'Behind Blue Eyes' is The Who's 'Yesterday'
('nuff said); it is a wee wee bit spoiled for me by the bombastic mid-section
which brings it dangerously close to arena-rock level, but everything here
is so painfully sincere and heartfelt that I simply don't have any rights
to doubt the song's artistic merits. As for the closing 'Won't Get Fooled
Again' (which you probably know as 'Ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta
ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta BO-BOOM!'), it is
a gruff rocker obviously set as a counterpoint for the opening 'Baba' -
with more reflections on the post-hippie disillusionment ('meet the new
boss, same as the old boss'). Plus you have your mighty 'YEAAAAH!' by Roger
at the end - arguably the most powerful roar ever captured on a rock record.
Fine! Perfect!
So why not a 10? Well, it's because of the other four songs. (Oh, wait,
three songs: 'My Wife' is The Ox's groovy contribution about his
family problems, and even though the lyrics are hard to distinguish 'cos
John is buried deep under the drums and guitars, there was enough drive
in this song to make it a stage favouirite).
See, the whole bunch was originally planned as yet another rock opera/musical/movie
called Lifehouse, whose plot was too complicated and bombastic to
be described here. Suffice it to say that it was about a little boy called
Bobby (eh? what's that, an obsession? Tommy? Bobby? Jimmy?) who set himself
to finding the Lost Chord and flinging the world into Rock Nirvana in order
to save it from the bad guys. A concept the likes of which I'd probably
be able to reproduce in my 7th grade. Thanks God the idea had never happened...
Along the way, Pete tried out several groovy ideas - like, for instance,
the idea that at a certain point the band was to become one with the audience;
it was reflected in the song 'Join Together' that never made it to the
album but appeared as a single (and a fun one at that). Not to mention
Pete's 'person-programming' when he used to encode people's personal data
with synthesizer patterns ('Baba O'Riley's nagging loop, for instance,
reflects either Meher Baba's or Pete's own personal data, I've forgotten
which); later on he would join them all in one and bring out the 'ultimate
chord' that woulsd be the salvation of mankind... you see now, this was
undoubtedly the most Gargantuan project ever undertaken in rock music,
maybe in art as a whole, and it couldn't but burst, as Pete himself humbly
acknowledges in the liner notes. It's actually quite funny - disillusioned
by hippes and Woodstock and witnessing the crumble of Flower Power, Pete
preferred to surround himself with personally crafted illusions instead.
What was he really thinking? It's obvious, then, that Lifehouse
must have left him completely exhausted - and it's all the more amazing
how he could still have forces left for Quadrophenia...
But as you might guess, lots of tunes intended for the bubble of Lifehouse
were overblown and bombastic because of that, so bombastic that I even
feel impossible to sing along with them without blushing. One of these
('Pure And Easy') was released only later, but, unfortunately, two of these
tracks found their way onto Who's Next. These are the terrible 'Song
Is Over' which starts as a beautiful Pete ballad before turning itself
into a macho stupid anthem resembling the worst excesses of Russian rock
(I hate Roger screaming 'I'll sing my song out to the infinite spaces'),
and the somewhat more pretty 'Getting In Tune' is still spoiled by the
same kind of machinery. Also, the cute short musical link 'Love Ain't For
Keeping' just can't be taken seriously, even though it is rather pretty
(an extended electric version can be found on the re-issue of Odds And
Sods: many people actually prefer it to the original).
But it's not just these three songs that spoil the picture. There are some
unnecessary instrumental passages in other songs, and damn it, the songs
are too long! Nine songs on a greatest Who album? Two of them suck? One
of them is too short? Nope, doesn't cut it for me. The idiocy resides in
the fact that they could have easily cut most of these songs' lengths and
included more original material - like 'Water' or 'Naked Eye', hell, maybe
if this was a double album, it would help. A solid 9, though. But
the best was still ahead...
Note also that the re-issued version is well worth having. Besides featuring
amusing and self-mocking liner notes by Pete in person, it also adds a
half dozen tracks of the 1970-71 epoch, thus attempting to re-create the
atmosphere of Lifehouse in its germination. It's too bad that 'Too
Much Of Anything' coincides with the version on Odds And Sods; however,
the version of 'Pure And Easy' is an alternate one, and the version of
'Naked Eye' is a live one, and a great live one at that. There's also a
ferocious recording of the old classic 'Baby Don't You Do It' with good
old Mountain hero Leslie West on lead guitar, a six-minute live 'Water'
(good version, but inferior to the Isle Of Wight one; maybe it's
just because it is too short - 'Water' has to be endured throughout
all of its nine/ten minutes in order to get the desired effect), and a
lovely B-side called 'I Don't Know Myself' which you can also hear live
on Isle Of Wight. Whatever the odds, all of this material is prime
stuff... and now that I think of it, a weak ten is not out of the question,
either.
Song is over? Now mail your ideas
Your worthy comments:
Gustavo Rodriguez < rodblanc@webtv.net> (12.04.99)
I still give it a ten, even though I agree with your comment on "Song is Over". Starts out great then becomes insipidly bloated. The album is great otherwise. "Getting in Tune" is great and so are "My Wife" and "Love Ain't for Keeping". I am able to appreciate "Baba O'Riley" but sometimes the opening synth part and that "Fiddler on the Roof" sounding ending can get on my nerves if I'm in the wrong mood.
<Joshsf@aol.com> (17.05.99)
This is a definetly over-hyped album, (but are all of their albums)
but this one really turned me on to The Who. "Baba O' Reilly"
and "Won't Get Fooled Again" are practically identical twins,
with a synthesizer opening, and serious guitar jamming. The often forgot
about "My Wife" is really my favorite track on the album. I'm
also a fan of "Behind Blue Eyes", "Going Mobile", and
"Bargain", but the only song I really don't care for too much
is "Getting In Tune". And "The Song Is Over" is too
dramatic for my tastes. Still a great listen
My rating-9
Marco Ursi <zeppelinwho@hotmail.com> (13.06.99)
9 is the perfect rating for this album although what you hate here is quite different from what I hate. First off, I know of only one other person, who goes by the name Mark Prindle, who hates 'Goin' Mobile' as much as I do. Blah! I'm also not a big fan of the version of 'Love Ain't For Keeping' on here. The Odds And Sods version with Pete on lead vocals is far superior. Finally, although they are horribly overblown, I really like 'Song Is Over' and espescially 'Gettin' In Tune'. Everything else is top notch. Fabulous record.
pwywiesike <pwywiesike@prodigy.net> (24.07.99)
Who's Next is an absoloute masterpiece. Not quite wild about the concept either, but look at the songs.....'Wont Get Fooled Again' and 'Baba O Riley' are two of the best rock songs, and the rest of the album is worthy of exceptional praise as well. 'Behind Blue Eyes' is a an excellent song, and I disagree on 'The Song is Over'... The rest of the songs are incredible as well. I think it deserves a 10 for originality as well. It was really ther first album of importance to use synthesizers, and the fusion of Nicky Hopkin's piano with The Who's master instrumentals is both groundbreaking and breathtaking My favorite Who album, and my favorite album period.
Jeff <Jkh1392@aol.com> (17.08.99)
Just wonderered if anyone saw the previews to the Spike Lee mov....er..."joint"
Summer of Sam. They made great use of "Won't Get Fooled Again,"
especially in the full-length theatrical trailers. I believe the song was
on the soundtrack as well. Of course, why you would buy that and not Who's
Next if you only wanted that particular song is beyond me. How could
you pass up "Baba O'Reily" or "Behind Blue Eyes"? I'd
give the original album an 8, because even though I like all of the songs
(yes, even "Song Is Over"), it doesn't quite add up to a 9. On
the other hand, the remastered edition easily does. Listen to those bonus
tracks!!! "Water"? "Naked Eye"? "Baby Don't You
Do It"? Incredible stuff, and it overcomes any "only nine songs"
complaints you may have. So the final verdict would be.....
Who's Next= 8
REMASTERED Who's Next= 9
Glenn Wiener <glennjwiener@hotmail.com> (30.09.99)
A very worthwhile purchase. I agree with you about 'The Song Is Over'. It just sounds way too overblown and lacks a focus in its seven minute plus length. 'Getting In Tune' is a much better effort as this tune sticks more to a structure. 'Going Mobile' is the second weakest piece on here inspite of its wonderful spirit. However, a weak tune on this album would be beyond what most mere mortal bands could every dream of. Throw in the seven or so bonus tracks on the CD version and you have a collection that can please almost anyone.
Fredrik Tydal <f_tydal@hotmail.com> (12.12.99)
Slightly overrated. This album's good reputation doesn't match with actual number of good songs. The beginning ("Baba O'Riley", "Bargain", "My Wife" - Entwistle's best song with The Who) and the end ("Won't Get Fooled Again") of the album rocks as good as anything the boys did, but the middle really drags. I'm sorry, but I just don't care much for "Behind Blue Eyes". Oh, and Who's Next is my vote for best Who album cover.
Tony Souza <avsouza@webtv.net> (20.02.2000)
In the biography MOON, Glyn Johns, who was the producer, was responsible
for the sound of the drums. He reduced the number of cymbals on Moon's
drum kit and forced Moon to not rely on them as much. He didn't like the
way Moon would hit everything in sight on his kit in previous songs and
he wanted him to streamline his approach for the songs on this album. As
for the sound of the drums itself, Johns was responsible for this also.
I agree with your assessment of this album. I like "Goin' Mobile",
hate "Behind Blue Eyes" and, although I like "Love Ain't
for Keeping" here, I like the Odds and Sods version better.
All the rest of the tracks are great.
Stephen N Chipkin <diannasteve@juno.com> (29.02.2000)
Come on man, don't carp. Who's Next is the greatest album of all time, bar none. I can tolerate the one or two mediocre songs. I have not yet read your review of Live at Leeds, but to rate it higher than Who's Next? I don't know. I bought Leeds as an LP years ago and, aside from 'Summertime Blues', have always thought it way to crude and raw. However, I intend to read your review and listen to the album again(if my turntable dosen't seize up).
<Alibooda@aol.com> (29.05.2000)
What constitutes a great album... I say staying true to your ideals and still being able to sell those 50 billion records. This album was groundbreaking in the sense of it being the first album to use synthesizers as it's main instrument. Replacing guitar solo's with syntesizer solo's ... truly brilliant. The band is sharper than ever: daltrey identified with these songs particularly well ('Behind Blue Eyes'), moon was in rare form, the ox is always on key and townsend was at a creative zenith both spiritually and musically. This album feeds off it's opening and closing song, everything in between fits perfectly. An album of this calibur can withstand the musical changes over the years. I highly recommend buying the video/dvd "classic albums" in which the band and gynn johns re-live the making of this classic acoustic/hard rock masterpiece. And yes it would be playing at a maximum volume on my desert island.
Ben Greenstein <bgreenstein@nctimes.net> (02.06.2000)
Kind of overrated. I just don't go as much for the bombastic, heavy Who sound as I do the clever pop stuff. It does sound really mature compared to the old stuff, though, and "Baba O'Riley" is one of the best songs ever. A high seven.
Bob <Trfesok@aol.com> (07.07.2000)
Glyn Johns is a hero! Finally, the Who gets the producer they need.
The sonic quality of the album is incredible, especially for 1971 -- no
one came up with as clear and as beautiful a record, sonically, before
the CD dawned. And the remastered CD only adds to the glory. And again,
Johns deserves a huge amount of credit. By comparing the Johns versions
of "Behind Blue Eyes," "Pure and Easy" and "Love
Ain't for Keeping" with the earlier Lambert versions, this becomes
apparent.
But, of course, production means nothing if the songs and performances
aren't good. Everyone in the band shines, far surpassing any previous studio
work. ALL the songs are great, even if they still get too much airplay.
Pete reaches his peak here and with the several singles and outtakes recorded
with Johns over the following year. And this just proves that rock operas
or concept albums aren't needed for good rock music.
Philip Maddox <slurmsmckenzie@hotmail.com> (28.07.2000)
Gets a high 9 from me. Five of these tunes ('Baba', 'Bargain', 'My Wife', 'Blue Eyes', and 'Won't Get Fooled') are easily among my favorite songs of all time. Each one of them totally rules like no other. There's nothing I can even say about them, they're so famous. That leaves the other four - 'Love Ain't For Keeping' is OK, but slight, 'Going Mobile' is slight too, but it's fun and catchy. I like it, I do. That leaves the two big, overblown songs you mentioned - I actually do like them, just not as much as the others. 'Getting In Tune' starts out great, but eventually turns into a jam that never goes anywhere. And I think 'Song Is Over' is decent, but nothing more - overblown as all get out, but still nice. Still, it pales next to the big 5. I definately think that this could be a low 10, as much of this material is totally unsurpassed, but I'll have to settle on giving it a really, really high 9. It starts and ends extremely well, though, so it gives you that warm, fuzzy feeling of "Whoa!"
Rich Bunnell <taosterman@yahoo.com> (02.08.2000)
"Baba O'Reily" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" are arguably the most epic songs ever to make it onto radio playlists, and both songs are amazingly spectacular synth-based songs in every sense of the word. Otherwise, it's just a consistent album, nothing hugely special but nothing bad at all (though I'm not the biggest fan of "Getting In Tune" or "Goin' Mobile"). "Bargain" and "My Wife" are both fabulous rockers, "Behind Blue Eyes" is a great, spiteful ballad (or at least it sounds like one) and I actually like "The Song Is Over" quite a bit. The song is bombastic, granted, but it's not bombastic in a way that overshadows the melody or songwriting. I award this album an 8-- I think that Prindle hit the nail right on the head with his rating. It's a good album, but the only reason people say that it's their best is because it has more radio songs than the others.
Rich Bunnell <taosterman@yahoo.com> (27.08.2000)
Wait a minute - screw Prindle. Strike my previous comment, after some listens to the awesome remastered CD I'm convinced that this puppy is worth a 9. In fact, there isn't really a bad song ("Getting In Tune" is a LITTLE weak. A LITTLE.) - I'm still not sure why everyone hates "The Song Is Over." And "Goin' Mobile" on repeated listenings suddenly sounded much more charming and memorable than I initially thought it was. It doesn't get a 10, though, because it's not as good as Tommy. At least, in my world.
Derrick Stuart <MSDK84@email.msn.com> (27.11.2000)
Let me first tell you I found your opening story about the nuclear holocaust and such very funny. I agree that album can be overrated at times but one is not to forget that even if this album had been universally hated or never heard-of most of the music found within is very good. The songwriting is very high quality and the production is almost flawless. 'Baba O'Reily' is amazing, as is the next track. I must disagree with your opinion of 'The Song Is Over'. I find it very beautiful and moving, perhaps the best song the Who ever did. I agree with you about 'Behind Blue Eyes', which would have been very pretty and prolific if not for the mid-section. 'Won't Get Fooled Again' is an awesome synth-metal finale, even though in Lifehouse 'The Song Is Over' was the end of the story. I don't personally care for 'My Wife', it seems rather medicore. 'Love Ain't For Keeping' and 'Gettin' In Tune' I never listen to, they're pretty much filler in my honest opinion but the rest of the album is amazing.
Jeff Melchior <Jeffmoncheri@aol.com> (27.11.2000)
Actually, any album that has five of anybody's favorite rock songs of all time - no mean feat in itself - cannot possibly be overrated, even if 'The Song Is Over' kinda sucks and 'Goin' Mobile' is kinda jokey (actually, that doesn't bother me at all - why are there so many people who think The Who should never have shown a sense of humor, especially when they were so good at it?). I don't mind this album's bombast at all - bombast in the right hands is a good thing, and The Who were never just any old arena rock band even when they were the kings of bombastic arena rock.
<Ogdensgoneflake@aol.com> (12.12.2000)
Who's Next was my first album by the Who and I agree with you the original should get a 9. What disappoints me about the album is that they used 'The Song Is Over' when they had far better material to use instead like 'Relay' or 'Join Together'. The remastered CD however should get a 10 because of additions like 'Baby Don't You Do It' and 'Naked Eye'
Year Of Release: 1973
Record rating = 10
Overall rating = 15
Art-rock at its best. If you don't like it, stick to the Sex Pistols.
Best song: LOVE REIGN O'ER ME
At last. If the Who have anything which comes close to a masterpiece,
it's here. It's now. It's the great Quad. Yet another rock opera, it distinguishes
itself by having a distinct philosophical message (unlike Tommy,
whose message is too 'encoded'), it... oops. I just discovered I wrote
'distinguishes itself by having a distinct...' Poor me. OK,
let me rephrase that: what makes Quad outstanding is its easy-to-decipher
inner sense. (I guess this works better). Next, it is not as pretentious
as the aborted Lifehouse (how can a praise for love be pretentious?),
and not as self-indulgent as Tommy. I know lots of people would
probably shrug their shoulders at this remark of mine, but I say it now
and say it loud: Quad is not bombast epithomized! Quad is
just a humble prayer of an outcast, written with elaborate care and astonishingly
sincere. In fact, I could have hated the overblown pathos of songs
like 'Love Reign O'er Me' if it weren't for the fact that I know for sure
it comes straight from Townshend's romantic heart, unlike, say, something
like King Crimson's 'Epitaph' - a similar gesture of grandiosity, but,
however beautiful that one is, it's rather fake and sterile as compared
to Pete's confessional melodies.
To be more precise, Quadrophenia narrates the story of a young lad
name of Jimmy and his troubles in the modern world (Pete wasn't that imaginative
with the names of his protagonists - have you observed that? Tommy, Bobby,
Jimmy... Where's Eddy?). Jimmy is a Mod; he feeds on 'leapers' and drivers
a scooter. He's thrown out of his home by his parents for his rebellious
life, slowly gets disillusioned about... well, just about everything, including
his gal who left him, his work that never brings satisfaction, his former
pals who get sucked in by 'normal life', finally in life itself. So he
gets himself a boat and sails towards a lonely rock in the ocean, and there
he discovers that everything is all right - it's just that the sense of
life is contained in love and love alone, and nothing else. Revelation?
Perhaps. It's unclear whether he drowns himself after that or not; I believe
he does. The plot itself is quite convoluted - believe me, it's not as
blatantly simple as I just described. Jimmy's visions, his reflections
on life and its sense, his deeds and Townshend's judgements are all expressed
in a mature, perfect form, far from the interesting, but somewhat naive
and raw mysticism of Tommy.
And the music? Continuing the tradition of Who's Next and carrying
it forward, Townshend places the main accent on synths and horns, with
just a rare touch of guitar now and then - I mean, there's actually a lot
of guitarwork here, both traditional (power chords) and innovative (lyrical,
well-thoght-out solos, quite untypical for Pete), but trumpets and keyboards
do tend to overshadow the sound. However, as we know from the precedent
of Sgt Pepper, it doesn't matter what instrument you're playing.
It sure does matter how you're playing it, though, not to mention
the melodies you're creating with it. And the melodies here are first-rate!
Like in Tommy, there are several main themes in this opera: actually,
there are four of them, each corresponding to a single member of the band
- the most bizarre element of the plot. These four 'faces' are supposed
to reflect Jimmy's schizophrenic, split personality, hence the name 'Quadrophenia'
which literally translates as 'four-appearance-ness' from... from... err...
Greek-Latin ('Tetraphenia' would be a better name, actually, but can we
blame Pete for confusing Greek and Latin? Guess he was not that
literate).
The themes crop up from time to time, quite normally repeating themselves
several times according to opera laws; yet this is in no way boring, as
they usually come up in different arrangements. At their worst they're
just funny and catchy: 'Helpless Dancer', Roger's theme, is built on a
nagging, a trifle irritating repetitive guitar/synth melody with a slightly
Eastern accent; it's supposed to symbolize Jimmy's helplessness in the
view of all the world's problems. And Keith's theme, 'Bell Boy', presenting
Jimmy in the guise of his 'sold-out' friend who used to be a mod but traded
his old style for a low, but quiet social position, is powerful, rhythmic
and quite riff-heavy. At their best, however, they're breathtaking. John's
theme 'Is It Me?', supposedly Jimmy's 'romantic' facet, is the most touching
and intimate moment on the album. And, of course, there's 'Love Reign O'er
Me' - Pete's theme, the beautiful, bombastic and hope-inducing climax of
the record. As it seems to me, 'Love' is Pete's most efficient try at a
sound that is both epic and personal at the same time: that's why I don't
feel turned off by the song, like I used to feel about, say, 'Song Is Over'.
It's like a gigantic, Gargantuan, yet simultaneously humble and sincere
prayer.
Quadrophenia is also Pete's attempt at a little sound-trickery:
there's quite a lot of various sound effects and gimmicks on the album.
However, the sound effects never tend to take over your attention: unlike
albums like Pink Floyd's The Wall where this kind of stuff
is always at the center of attention, here it is just a slight moment of
nice decoration (storm waves on 'I Am The Sea', train noises on '5:15',
etc.) supposed to complement the musical essence. And, speaking of musical
essence, I could never understand people complaining about the monotonousness
of this record. The songs are mostly great - diverse, entertaining, built
on solid, memorable melodies. Nobody, as far as I know, can ever resist
the unstoppable rocking beat of 'The Real Me' - the 'prologue' to the opera
where Jimmy (Roger) is furious about his personality problems. It's prime
Who at their best - Townshend churning out power chords like crazy, Entwistle
contributing some of the most mind-blowing, awesome bass lines of his career
and Keith pounding away in all the right places (I'll take the opportunity
to say that Keith's drumwork on many of the songs here should be studied
by all living drummers, beginners and professionals alike - the things
he does on '5:15' or 'Drowned' are unimaginable. The man's a genius - how
come nobody admits it?) Or, what do you think of 'The Punk And The Godfather'?
That introductory riff ain't God-like? Sure is.
For your typical 'mixed-up ballad', look up Keith's singing on 'Bell Boy',
which alternates Roger's scornful verses with Keith's gentle impersonation
of the 'bell boy': 'Bell Boy! I got to keep running now. Bell Boy! Keep
my lip buttoned down. Bell Boy! Carry this baggage out. Bell Boy! Always
running at someone's heel. You know how I feel, always running at someone's
heel'...
For something more complex and 'artsy', look up the 'overture' and, well,
'underture' (they aren't dubbed that, but it's kinda obvious) - the title
track and 'The Rock'. 'Quadrophenia' is perhaps the most brilliant art-rock
composition that Pete ever got out of himself: the four themes are beautifully
arranged and manage to hold you in a state of never-ending catharsis for
a complete five or six minutes. The bleeding guitarwork in the 'Is It Me?'
part and the desperate, but solemn and majestic 'thump - thump - thump
- thump' of the 'Love Reign O'er Me' part really make your life worthwhile
- if only to hear this kind of stuff and die... eh, sorry, a little carried
away, are we?
For something simpler - if you're a simplistic kind of guy - look up the
sensible, acoustic-dominated 'I'm One', or Jimmy's melancholic complaint
about his home problems in 'Cut My Hair'. Or, if ballads do not suit you,
how about 'Drowned'? That's a plain old rocker in the plain old style.
I used to treat it as filler until I had the chance to see the live version
of it as recorded on the 30 Years Of Maximum R'n'B video where they
really made this blues-rocker fire up and get smokin' all over, and this
love for the live version has slowly crept over the initial feeling of
disgust for the studio one.
For more brass, check out '5:15', a tune that's supposed to take part on
a train and reflects Jimmy's hallucinogenous visions after the usual 'leapers'
treat. The brass helps the song roll along smoothly, and, like I mentioned
above, Keith's drumming is immaculate - check out the train-imitating patterns
at the end.
Yeah, of course, every rock opera has its fillers - which is simply inevitable.
For me, the fillers here are mostly on Side 2 of the first LP: the synth-driven
'The Dirty Jobs' sounds Broadwayish, the stiff ballad 'Is It In My Head'
sounds Hollywoodish, and the closing 'I've Had Enough' just sounds slightly
fake, especially since it consists of three entirely different parts (one
of them being a reprise of 'Love Reign O'er Me') that do not seem to fit
in; that is, they do fit in thematically, but musically the seams are a
bit too rough. But once again, even the filler can be enjoyable - at times.
Nothing particularly nasty about it. And even if this is not a 100 percent
masterpiece (then again, nothing is), it's still a shattering listen. And
it doesn't wear thin on me! Not yet! I don't suppose it ever will...
In any case, the fact that this extensive double album was completely
made by ONE person - Mr Peter Townshend, who wrote all the melodies, all
the lyrics, played all the guitars and all the synths, and mostly produced
the album himself, without a doubt, makes Mr Peter Townshend one of the
greatest persons in the world rock'n'roll music. This Album Alone - not
counting everything else he'd done. Therefore, I can fully forgive him
for everything that came out after - he was so drained and exhausted by
this mastodontic effort that he would never be able to come up with something
even vaguely reminiscent of the glory and brilliance of the album. Think
about it - whenever you condemn It's Hard, do not forget that you're
condemning the very man who wrote Quadrophenia....
The booklet for the album is horrendous, though. All of these black-and-white
photos just don't turn me on, you know... I would rather prefer some informative
liner notes, like, you know, like the ones that came with all the other
reissues.
I've had enough! Now mail your ideas yourself!
Your worthy comments:
John McFerrin <stoo@imsa.edu> (05.05.99)
10 is right. However, I must slightly differ on which tracks constitue
filler. For me, these are the aforementioned 'Dirty Jobs', which is kinda
boring, 'Drowned', which doesn't do anything for me, and to a lesser extent,
'I'm One', which doesn't quite resonate with me.
You'll notice I left out 'I've Had Enough'. I do not consider it filler
in the least bit. Yes, the melodies aren't perfectly complementary, but
think of the song in terms of Jimmy's little mental problem. In the "YOU
were under the impression" part, his pissed off side shines through,
but as it's ready to overcome him, his 'Love Reign O'er Me' side shines
through to straighten him out. He then goes into a very vulnerable, sad
state, and then his anger begins to shine through, starting the cycle again,
until his sad, dejected side closes out the first act. For me, it's perfect.
Also, I used to consider '5:15' to be filler. Then I realized that under
the excessive trumpets is a track that really COOKS. So now I like it.
Marco Ursi <zeppelinwho@hotmail.com> (13.06.99)
A masterpiece. For me, the ultimate teenager's album. Great melodies, great lyrics, drumming, brilliant bass, and Roger's best singing ever. The synths, horns and pianos ADD to the sound. I hate when people call the album overblown just cause of the orchestration. P.S. How could you call 'I've Had Enough' fake? It's one of the best songs the Who ever did!
Josh Fitzgerald <breezesf85@email.com> (03.09.99)
WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?!?!?! A...A 15!!! Somebody hand me the tranqulizers!
I think I'm going to explode!!!
Sorry, but I needed to get that out of my system. I hate Quadrophenia.
It's extremely difficult to listen to in one sitting. The only songs I
can truly say that I enjoy are "5.15", "The Punk And The
Godfather", and "Love Reign O'er Me". It's even more overblown
than Tommy!!! My rating-6
Ben Greenstein <bgreenstein@nctimes.net> (02.06.2000)
I'm surprised that there aren't more people who hold the middle ground on this record - they all seem to either love or hate it. I think it's great, of course - the horns and piano really don't subtract from that great Who sound, and the melodies are first rate, as well. "5:15" may be the best song they ever did. This is a ten.
Bob <Trfesok@aol.com> (09.07.2000)
Interesting, George. Yours is the only review I've ever seen which rates
this, not Next, as the band's best album. I agree that it's got lots of
great songs and I do play it quite a bit, but there are three major problems
with the record:
1. Unlike the more universal themes Pete explored in Lifehouse/Who's
Next, it's awfully difficult, especially for a non-Brit, to relate
to this mod subculture stuff. I mean, who really cares about the mods-vs.-rockers,
what "leapers" are, etc. It gets a little confusing.
2. The "quadrophenia" idea, with each member of the Who representing
one of Jimmy's multiple personalities, does not really come across. The
exception is Keith's absolutely maniacal "Bell Boy" track. But
what the hell is "Helpless Dancer" even ABOUT, never mind why
is it "Roger's Theme?" What does Pete have to do with "Love
Reign O'er Me", etc. Are we supposed to just guess all this?
3. And, most importantly, the album is the most overproduced one the Who
ever did. There are just too many overdubs of keyboards, guitars and horns
-- they, unlike the perfect arrangements on Who's Next, overwhelm the songs
at times. More like movie soundtrack music. On the other hand, they don't
go for the layered harmonies like they did on Tommy and Next
-- most of the vocals are solos. And Roger is in great voice, once again.
But even though the record is jam-packed with great stuff, it was mistake
for Pete to think that the concept could blow away Tommy or Lifehouse.
mjcarney <mjcarney@netzero.net> (31.07.2000)
I vehemently disagree with your review here, and I definately take the middle ground on this album. By this point, Pete was way too caught up in the whole rock/concept idea. He wanted to make at least one more classic one since Lifehouse failed, but Quadrophenia is not it. Sure, there are some great songs, which all Who fans should enjoy, namely "The Punk Meets the Godfather"--which is another riff oriented rocker, that perfectly matches the sound the who produce live in the studio. "I've Had Enough" is also a highlight, it is complex, and works really well. "5:15" is brilliant, the horn addition actually works well to the Who sound which is very rare in many rock records, and it doesn't sound a bit dated, like many other horn lovers of the 70's (for instance Lennon with his Walls and Bridges and Rock and Roll Albums); "Sea and Sand" is a true who classic, "Bell Boy" is the humor highlight of the album--Keith's singing is great here too, and Love Reign O'er Me" rounds up the highlights of the disc. The Who probably could've added the more filler oriented "Helpless Dancer" and "Drowned" to make this disc another 10/10, but instead they filled it with overproduced, bombastic rockers, and duds too. "The Real Me" is an alright song, but it was produced horrendously, Entwistle's bass is brought up to the front, and it sounds too light here. He plays a brilliant bass line, don't get me wrong, but it is produced so terribly that it wrecks the entire song. "Dr. Jimmy" is too overdone for me, and it is drawn out way too far. The instrumentals are alright, but nothing special/memorable--although Quadrophenia has a tremendous guitar solo by Pete, still it just doesn't go anywhere to me and the rest is mostly forgettable. Again, this album would be terrific if it was only one disc, the concept is again pretty stupid--but so was Tommy, yet by here it just doesn't work well. Still though, I would rate the album a 7/10--the extra point comes from seeing it done live in 1996, which was incredible, even though I am not the biggest fan of the album, it brings back that memory. Pretty much, if you like the Who, then you might want to check this one out. I think it is best to find it used though, It is a huge letdown after their last brilliant 4 albums, and compilation (Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy), and it shows, but it isn't quite awful either and it is probably the best album of their post Who's Next career.
David Albert <dj.albert@t-online.de> (08.08.2000)
You are definitely right, George, this record is damn great, the Who`s best offering, far better than Tommy. The whole thing is very atmospheric with a good concept and music as well, I actually think there`s no filler, maybe the instrumental "The Rock". A very powerful album with clear messages... simply the Who`s masterpiece. About an outcast and his thoughts, sometimes pessimistic but also encouraging... I like the booklet, it illustrates the story well. People, believe George, and listen to that record !
Nick Karn <glassmoondt@yahoo.com> (01.09.2000)
Oh my God.
Words can't begin to describe how utterly amazing this album is - in terms
of construction, sincerity, and depth, this makes just about EVERY other
huge rock opera, concept album, whatever that I've heard look rather silly
in comparison, including the band's own Tommy and others like The
Kinks' Arthur, Dream Theater's Scenes From A Memory, and
Pink Floyd's The Wall, as much as I love those albums. Not only
does it all flow effortlessly (with the most breathtaking melodic themes
showing up frequently), but every song (not including "I Am The Sea"
of course) holds up on its' own perfectly as a SONG - played separately,
I'm not sure you'd be able to tell there's a concept going on (though I
think "Love Reign O'er Me" has even more power once the rest
of the album has already been experienced), but together, it's one continuous
story. Anyway, the first disc of this album is just about the closest thing
I can think of to sheer musical perfection. The melodies and powerful instrumentation
to all those songs completely blow me away, but the standouts for me would
be "The Punk And The Godfather" (currently my favorite Who song,
and that's saying something) with its' punishing riff and energy, phenomenal
bassline, great mellow verse breaks and of course, exceptional lyrics,
the stunning instrumental title track, which is almost the equivalent of
placing four of the most famous riffs/instrumental parts in music history
into one song and making them flow perfectly, the astonishingly biting,
stripped down "Helpless Dancer", and the horribly underrated
sleeper tune "The Dirty Jobs", which I can't see how anyone can
call boring filler - yes, it's overblown and Hollywoodish, but passionate
and freakin' CATCHY. And finally, the flow of the different parts in "I've
Had Enough" may not be perfect, but those are amazing sections nonetheless.
Disc two is just a slight step down, but that's no big thing, considering
how shattering the other songs are. "Sea And Sand" and "Drowned"
are the only two tracks I'd even remotely consider filler, but both have
something cool going for them, with the former's gorgeous acoustic sections
and riffs popping out of the waves and the latter's groovy piano line -
pleasurable songs that aren't fantastic, but don't drag the album down
much, what with the gripping finale of side four that can hardly be beaten
(the powerful "Is It Me?" theme from the just as worthy "Dr.
Jimmy", another unique approach to the four themes and nice bluesy
melodic soloing in "The Rock", and I won't even go into "Love
Reign O'er Me" - the song speaks for itself), as well as the cool,
catchy horn led "5:15" and the hilarious Keith vocals of "Bell
Boy" and quite unexpected yells of the title song in the chorus. That's
about all I can say for this - I totally agree with your 15 rating... I'm
pretty confident that this will be my favorite Who album, and probably
makes it quite easily into my top 5 of all time. Prindle should be shot
for giving this a 6... :P
Derrick Stuart <MSDK84@email.msn.com> (27.11.2000)
Strange that though the story of Quadrophenia and its message are simplier than that of the orginal Tommy, the music is much more complex. You're right, this does have its share of filler but who cares? Just skip those tracks and go on to the other excellent ones, right? Repeating the four-themes throughout the album is brilliant and binds all of the piece together. I like 'The Dirty Jobs', even if it does sound Broadway-ish it has a nice melody and rhythm. 'I've Had Enough' is, like you said, three different parts. A speedy rock thing, the synth-dominated 'Love Reign O'er Me', and the country-ish mantra, I do feel that it is blends together. Side 3 has the most filler and it is the part of the album I listen to the least. The final tracks, however, are my favourites. From 'Bell Boy' on to 'Love Reign O'er Me', the music is very symphonic and introspective into the mind of the Jimmy character. You can really feel the pain in it as his mind slowly dies. Great stuff, I've never seen the movie but my mom says it's terrible and so do you so I think I'll avoid it.
<Ogdensgoneflake@aol.com> (12.12.2000)
I probably listen to Quadrophenia more than any other album and it never gets old. Every thing is absolutely genius, the plot, the melodies and the lyrics. And to Bob who said it was hard to relate for non Brits to relate I say no way. The albums about isolation and everyone can relate to that. One mistake though George, 'The Real Me' and 'Dr. Jimmy' are the best songs here
Year Of Release: 1974
Record rating = 8
Overall rating = 13
Just what its title suggests. Some good stuff messed with bizarre
crap. The reissue's well worth your money, though.
Best song: NAKED EYE
A slightly more obscure album of outtakes selected and cleaned up by
John while the other band members were following their own fortunes. The
good Ox thus lent a hand to the band in that (a) 1974 did not pass out
without a Who album and (b) some of the real good stuff has been given
out instead of dusting on the shelves. Still, one should always approach
an outtake album with caution since, well, outtakes are usually something
the band does not like from the start, and if even the band itself does
not like 'em, why should we? In fact, the only great outtakes album I know
seems to be Tattoo You, but most of them were reworked, so it's
not a clear-cut case... Oh, never mind. This stuff mostly falls in three
categories, one of which is Lifehouse outtakes, the other one is
tunes written somewhere around 1972-73 but not directly related to any
conceptual project, and the most precious part is earlier stuff which for
the most part rules. Funny enough, they decided to include even their first
single which was yet recorded under the High Numbers moniker ('I'm The
Face', a dorky mod anthem set to the melody of Slim Harpo's 'Got Love If
You Want It' and lyrics of early mod guru Pete Meaden). It's nothing special,
but it is funny, and especially weird-looking in this context. The early
stuff also includes the anti-smoke groove 'Little Billy' which was originally
made for a cancer society or something like that but rejected because the
company thought it was too scary (ha-ha! little Billy didn't mind!), and
the gorgeous ballad 'Faith In Something Bigger' with some unsurpassed vocal
harmonies and an excellent, soaring guitar solo (modestly hailed in the
liner notes by Pete as "the worst I've heard"). Apparently it
could have easily fit in on Sell Out. Plus, the shorty 'Glow Girl'
provides some insights into the beginnings of Tommy - and did you
know that 'Tommy' was supposed to be a girl in the first place? All these
songs are very far from being classics, but that's no big reason to dismiss
'em none.
Unfortunately, the 70's stuff is not that good. Sure, it has 'Naked Eye',
one of their most fascinating rockers with some of Townshend's most hard-hitting,
socially biting, pessimistic lyrics (check out an early, abbreviated, one-verse
version on Isle Of Wight, as well as a live version as a bonus track
to the re-issue of Who's Next). It's even a bit theatrical, with
Roger impersonating the "power guy" and Pete playing the "bitter
cynic", thus leading to their more famous vocal interplay on 'Punk
And Godfather'. A classic track by all means. But then this stuff also
includes 'Pure And Easy', which is the kind of real bombastic stuff
I dislike about the Who; it's in the same vein as 'Song Is Over', with
even more of that smelly 'universalist' flair, and even its good melody
and brilliant, understated, economic guitar solo don't save it from ultimately
getting my pukes. And the two songs of lesser cult status - 'Put The Money
Down' and 'Too Much Of Anything' - are pretty average: no wonder they were
left off of Who's Next. Too slow, plodding and long; can't say that
the former lacks power (Roger screams his head off just fine), or that
the latter lacks prettiness, but they cause way too little emotional resonance
to justify the length and pomp.
The real dreck, though, comes with the even later stuff: Entwistle's bleak
travelogue 'Postcard', which unexplicably is used as the album opener,
just doesn't bother to be melodious (sadly, somewhere around this time
Entwistle's talents at songwriting slowly began to sink down the drain.
Maybe that was because he ceased to incorporate black humour? Who can tell?),
and 'Now I'm A Farmer' is one of Pete's least convincing grooves. I do
like Keith's hilarious impersonation of a gardener at the end of the track,
though - pretty much saves the whole experience for me. Oh well, at least
they bothered to have 'Long Live Rock' here. In case you haven't heard
it, it's a brilliant anthem to rock music as a genre, and far surpasses
the Stones' 'It's Only Rock'n'Roll' in that respect. Might seem a little
dumb, but hey, it is meant to seem a little dumb - anthem or not,
it's obviously supposed to be taken in an ironic key, and that's the way
I take it. Don't know about anybody else. Still, an album that has at least
one duffer for every gem is not that big of an achievement, I guess, and
my original rating here was a weak seven - which is still pretty good by
anybody's standards, and pretty good considered that these are outtakes,
but...
PS. Hey, but wait! The new re-release of the album is greatly improved!
It has almost twice as many tracks as the original, bringing the album's
running time to 77 minutes, and some of them are good. And what's
more, it's not just that they are good: actually, none of the bonus tracks
are great, but the way they added 'em and rearranged the running order,
you get a fascinating "discobiography" of the Who - from their
earliest stunts like 'I'm The Face' and 'Leaving Here', through the poppy
period, the rocky period, and the mature philosophic period. Kinda like
the Beatles' Anthology popped into one seventy-minute discs, only
most of the stuff are not raw demo versions, but real accomplished songs
you ain't never heard before.
Among the general "additional" goodies you'll find such groovy
novelties as studio recordings of 'Summertime Blues' and 'Young Man Blues'
(both inferior to the live recordings, quite naturally, but still fun to
listen to, especially since these are practically the only pieces of ferocious
feedbacky, distorted rock'n'roll they recorded in the 1967-69 pop art era);
more Lifehouse outtakes (a 'heavy' version of 'Love Ain't For Keepin''
with Pete on vocals, the gorgeous, not-a-bit-overblown ballad 'Time Is
Passing'; the studio version of 'Water' - again, inferior to the live takes,
because hey, 'Water' is supposed to be ten minutes long, not four,
goddammit, but, surprisingly, the distorted solo at the end is truly excellent),
and some early bits of amusement (an old acetate of 'Leaving Here'/'Baby
Don't You Do It'). Missed anything? Oh sure! What about the hilarious cover
of Eddie Cochran's 'My Way'? The pleasant organ version of 'Mary Anne With
The Shaky Hand' with Al Kooper on said instrument? The pathetic bluesy
"introduction" to 'Cousin Kevin'? The "save-the-Stones"
cover of 'Under My Thumb'? The... wait, there's just too much of that stuff
here. Hell, it ain't exactly the greatest music these guys ever recorded,
but it's all so diverse, intriguing, well-performed and involving that
it's no problem for me to upgrade the overall rating one point. Get the
reissue, not the original, and screw all you pessimists.
Pure and easy, just mail your ideas
Your worthy comments:
Glenn Wiener <glennjwiener@hotmail.com> (30.09.99)
The Dark Horse of Who albums. These songs incoporate all sorts of styles and seem to merely be thrown together. However, I just like almost everyone of them. Even 'Postcard' is pretty likeable with the horn section and the spunky special effects. 'Little Billy', 'Too Much Of Anything', and 'Pure And Easy' are classics in my book. Guess I just like things that are a little bit different from what is overplayed and overrated.
Jeff Blehar <jdb3@jhu.edu> (23.02.2000)
The original was a ton o' fun, but the reissue is a disappointment. Why, when they gave us all these new tracks? 'Cause none of 'em are any good, that's why! I mean, they removed the best part of "Under My Thumb" on this remix (the bass part, which held the marimba line originally played by Brian Jones on the Stones version), and that was the only addition I would've liked! The outtakes from Tommy, Who's Next, and Quad...well I can see WHY they're outtakes. Wouldn't have missed 'em either. The version of "Mary Anne" that was the US B-side of "I Can See For Miles?" Leaden and draggy. (Ignore the liner notes here - they're in error, as they also are when they say "Now I'm A Farmer" was made in 1972; rather, it was 1969.) The studio takes on the Leeds tracks are merely historical in interest. The original tracks (especially "Glow Girl," "Long Live Rock," and "Now I'm A Farmer") are loads of fun, but too many of them are now located on other, more essential reissues (The Who Sell Out, Who's Next) in either original or improved versions (like "Pure And Easy" and the live "Naked Eye") to make this CD anything more than an investment for completists. Furthermore, where are the B-sides? The wonderful Entwistle song "When I Was A Boy?" "Waspman?" "Here For More?" Dammit, I'd rather have had those song than these outtakes. Before the reissues I'd have given this a 7/10. Now it's a 6, because most of the best stuff can (and should) be picked up elsewhere.
Bob <Trfesok@aol.com> (11.07.2000)
I just got the CD reissue. It's worth it for the Lifehouse stuff,
period. "Time Is Passing" is one incredible song! Just beautiful,
even if Lambert did produce it and the recording quality is subpar. Same
with the first version of "Love Ain't for Keeping" -- although
is not as intimate or harmonious as the Who's Next version, the rocked
up arrangement is just as hard hitting in its own way.(I think this was
closer to the way they played it live). And most of the Glyn Johns produced
tracks -- "Put the Money Down," "Too much of Anything"
and especially "Pure and Easy" -- are just awesome. The one exception
is "Long Live Rock," which is amusing at first hearing but just
gets tiring after a while -- most radio programmers missed the irony in
the lyrics.
I agree with Jeff when he says that the compilers messed up on some of
the recording dates. I believe that "Naked Eye," "Now I'm
a Farmer," "Water" and "Postcard" date from the
1970 sessions that also produced "The Seeker," "Here for
More," and "I Don't Even Know Myself,"," Which makes
sense - -the production quality drops significantly from the Lifehouse
and Quadrophenia tracks, so it doesn't stand to reason that that
they would have been recorded in 1973. But, aside from the silly "Now
I'm a Farmer," these are great songs, and show rapid progress in Pete's
songwriting maturation post-Tommy.
As for the early stuff, the Lambert/Talmy/Meaden curse strikes. I agree,
the peaks are the hilarious "Little Billy," the spiritual "Faith"
and the interesting "Glow Girl." But the rest were not necessary.
I never really cared for The Who's covers, anyway, even on Leeds,
and these studio prototypes don't change my opinion.
Fredrik Tydal <f_tydal@hotmail.com> (27.07.2000)
Where's the bizarre crap? John's "Postcard" is great! "Those self-biographical lyrics combined with the wacky brass parts and sound effects - pure Entwistle, I love it. Might as well have been called "The Ballad Of John And The Who". The Quadrophenia outtake "We Close Tonight" is interesting (who would have guessed that Jimmy had such sophisticated music taste?) and "Little Billy" is just hilarious, with a great refrain. "I'm The Face" is so blatantly commercial that it's ridiculous, just an obvious attempt to cash in on the mod movement. I'm glad it flopped back then. The studio versions of live favourites is interesting, to say the least. "Summertime Blues" holds up quite well on it's own, while "Young Man Blues" almost seems pathetic compared to the vigorous live versions. "Under My Thumb" is lacking that distictive bass-line, which made the original memorable in the first place. And why couldn't they have squeezed in its flip-side "The Last Time"? Ah, well; the Lifehouse outtakes is all you could hope for. "Pure And Easy" is a tad pretentious, but wonderful tracks like "Time Is Passing" and "Faith In Something Bigger" makes up for it more than well. All in all, this is in my opinion probably one of the best outtakes albums there is.
mjcarney <mjcarney@netzero.net> (17.08.2000)
First of all I am reviewing the remastered disc for this album. All I can say is that it is quite enjoyable. It showcases all sides of the who, from their early mod sound, to their pyschedelic sound, to their humourish/operatic sound, to their hard rock legends sound, to thier overblown sound of the mid 70's. All sides of this band are present on one great disc. But, still it cannot help but be weaker than their classics. It opens with their great historical first single, and mod ripoff "I'm the Face" which is a good piece of forgotten British invasion music. "Leaving Here" would have been a great cover song to add to either of their first albums, and it is a hit. "Under My Thumb" is definately interesting although I really would've prefered to hear the Who's version of "The Last Time" both should be here, but instead yet another outtake of "Mary Anne..." which is interesting but nothing special, and I've simply heard too much "Summertime Blues" by this point which pales considereably to the live version, although I would have bitched if that wasn't on here I'm sure so its a minor argument. "Too Much of Anything" is a great lost who gem. It would have fit well on Who's Next, and is a shame it was passed for something like the catchy "Going Mobile". Entwistle's "Postcard" is also a highlight here, and that coupled with "Long Live Rock" are great rock n roll anthems--one about a member of a band, and the other about Rock itself. But the greatest tracks on here are the humourous "Little Billy" and "Faith In Something Bigger". "Little Billy" makes the album worthwhile alone, the ha ha ha ha bits crack me up, and its funny that Pete would write a song so condemming smoking when he still smoked heavily at this time. Still a major highlight, it would've fit great on Who Sell Out. "Faith In Something Bigger" is also hilarious, this is probably due to Pete's hilarious liner note on how he reached an all time low here, but their are some intricate harmonies, and if it wasn't for the stupid chorus it might have been a great song. But I can't help but laugh when I here that song--although i can't listen to it too often either. "Naked Eye" and "Cousin Kevin Model Child" fill up all the highlights of this disc, which really make it enjoyable. However, horrendous songs like "Now I'm a Farmer"-- which features possibly the dumbest chorus they ever wrote--it should have never seen the light of day. "Water" which is just a stupid song--although I much prefer the studio over the live versions that I've heard for some reason. There are a bunch of repeats (considering their other remastered additions, although all these songs were new originally, nonetheless they should have been switched upon the rerelease) and some "eh" songs, bring the rating down. What can you expect from a B Sides collection though? Still I much prefer this to thier regular albums post Quadrophenia. I would rate it a 6/10. Definately worth checking out, but be prepared it's no classic.
Jeff Melchior <Jeffmoncheri@aol.com> (27.11.2000)
Well, I guess I like this album a lot more than you do, George. In fact, I'd dare say it's among my favorite Who albums at the moment. That could be, however, because I've only heard the version with the new tracks and the sheer number of songs masks the weaker numbers. Personally, I love 'Pure and Easy' and 'Too Much of Anything', but I've always liked The Who's "universalist" anthems. I think I actually like the version of 'Mary-Anne With The Shake Hand' better than the Sell Out version. 'We Close Tonight' is simply one of my favorite Who songs ever. How did this song remain in the vaults for 25 years? It really does belong on Quadrophenia - too bad that fact wasn't considered in the reissue process.
Year Of Release: 1975
Record rating = 6
Overall rating = 11
Depressing, and, unfortunately, not very satisfying musically. Where
are the melodies?
Best song: DREAMING FROM THE WAIST
The worst problem with The Who were certainly Pete's constant nervous
breakdowns and midlife crises. And even if all of these things always seemed
to emphasize his utmost sincerity and romantic belief in the supernatural
powers of music, while fellow colleagues like Mick J went on splendidly
and delivered high quality, but far too often fake 'product', all of these
fits and downs had no good impact on the music. Basically, Pete was just
too keen on laying bare his soul, and forgetting about pure musical quality
in the process - something which John Lennon, for instance, never did.
The Who By Numbers is probably the most obvious example.
Approximately half of this album is very good, though not particularly
breathtaking, and approximately half of it is annoying to the extreme.
Take a song like 'How Many Friends', for example. It includes a heap of
sad, bitter lyrics about Pete being surrounded by sycophants and braindead
fans, but the melody is at its best rudimentary. Same goes for the unexpectedly
jolly 'However Much I Booze' sung by Pete himself which drags on for about
five minutes, based on the same monotonous plodding riff, and achieves
practically nothing. See, I just corrected that rating from 7 to 6, because
I feel a 7 is too good for this album. The closing 'In A Hand Or A Face'
is all built up along a single line ('I'm going round and round'), and
it's really bad. Dull and boring. Listenable, that is, but an incredible
letdown after the relentless climaxes of Quadrophenia.
But are there any good news? Well, Pete shows that he has managed to preserve
at least some creative instincts despite the poor state of mind,
'cos he didn't forget to add at least a couple of prime songs that redeem
the failures. Among these I'd first of all include 'Dreaming From The Waist',
a beautiful introspective epic with the best melody on here (and great
bass swoops from John, too). This one would prove to be a great live highlight
as well, and while some might deem it far too personal and rambling, just
like most of the other numbers on here, it really has a very smooth and
natural flow to it, with a catchy Roger-sung melody and great vocalizing
on the chorus. To top it all, Pete squeezes out some particularly dreamy
'weeping' guitar notes, and did I mention the great bass swoops from John?
Don't forget the great bass swoops from John, they deserve it fully. Especially
the particularly great bass swoops on the coda - these are not just swoops,
they're ZOOPS. True, patented ZOOPs from John's bass that any bass player
would kill for.
Pete also mellows out (in a good way) on the gorgeous ballad 'Blue Red
And Grey', which is an approximate equivalent of 'Song Is Over' without
the overblown middle part. A pure Townshend solo number, it is still a
classic. What makes it any worse than Lennon's 'Imagine', for instance?
That's a question I'd be hard pressed to come up with an answer for. And
what's that instrument he's playing? An ukulele? Wow. He really
proves himself to be a true multi-instrumentalist on this album, man.
But the other ballads, unfortunately, are just OK ('Imagine A Man'; 'They
Are All In Love'), and I don't quite dig Daltrey's tone on this album.
Maybe he put a bit too much onto Who's Next and Quadrophenia,
or maybe he'd been drinking, but somehow his voice just isn't that energetic
any more. Lacks that kind of spark, you see. I suppose Roger was intentionally
trying to get himself into the mood that Pete was in when he wrote these
songs, because it would be really strange if you tried to sing a depressing
or ultra-soft ballad in the patented Dr. Jimmy intonation. Nevertheless,
Daltrey just isn't that suited to those intonations, and I miss
the lionine roar of yore. Oh, well.
John contributes the decent 'Success Story' about his becoming a rock star,
but that's about it. The video accompanying the song (a part of which you
can see in the Kids Are Alright movie) was far more intriguing than
the song itself, a rather pedestrian rocker with tired and bitter lyrics.
And the saving touch of humor? The saving touch of humor is relegated to
the jovial album cover where the band are depicted by numbers, indeed,
and to the absolutely unexpected country excourse on 'Squeeze Box'. I love
it, though, just 'cos it's probably the last funny song on a Who album.
For some reason, it's one of the most hated songs in the band's catalog
- many people somehow take it for a gross and banal offense when it should
have been taken for what it is, a silly, funny, catchy throwaway with Pete
proving himself to be a master of accordeon and banjo. That said, the song's
selection as the main single from the album and subsequent apparition on
hit packages is a rather weird phenomenon, I'll agree.
Overall though, The Who By Numbers is a serious letdown, marking
the Who's transformation from a gritty, cutting edge ensemble brimming
with innovation and creativity to a stagnated and unhappy unit. Of course,
such things can't help but happen sooner or later, and the Who should be
proud of themselves to have had nine years of cutting edge (not
even the Beatles had as much - the Who are only second to the Stones in
that respect), but still, whenever tragedy strucks, it's still a tragedy.
Hey, don't you think guys with personal problems should be prohibited to
write music? Oh, forget it. See, I'm writing this review in the middle
of the night and I'm painfully searching for a bon mot to finish it. I
just can't find anything, so let me just put a lot of dots and pretend
I said something real significant ..........................................................................................
...................... There! Hope you get my drift!
P. S. Speaking about dots, have you ever tried connecting the dots on the
front cover? This stuff actually works!
How many friends are there out there? Mail your ideas, friends
Your worthy comments:
Gustavo Rodriguez < rodblanc@webtv.net> (12.04.99)
After this album, I stop liking the Who pretty much. And you are right,
George.
This album is half good. "Slip Kid" is another standout. Too
much whining and self pity.
This is still better than Who Are You.
Just the title song makes me nauseous. Ughh!
Marco Ursi <zeppelinwho@hotmail.com> (23.08.99)
I must disagree. When I bought this CD, I wasn't expecting much. Not many internet guru's seemed to think much of it. But as I listened through, I couldn't understand why this album got such a bad reputation. Apart from "Squeeze Box", I like every song on here; "Imagine A Man" being my favourite. "Dreaming From the Waist" sounds like classic Who (with standout bass playing from John), "Slip Kid" is a very catchy tune that should have been a hit single, "Blue, Red and Grey" is simple but pretty, and John's "Success Story" is a cool heavy metal tune where Keith and John do some of there best work. My rating-8.
Glenn Wiener <Glenn.Wiener@Entex.com> (03.05.2000)
In between some of the mesmerizing guitar and drum choogling songs(Geez, am I mixing my CCR with the Who?! An interesting combination.), the Who contribute some excellent softer toned songs. 'Imagine A Man' is performed with utter brilliance. And 'Squeezebox' is just a fun light hearted ditty. No, this is not the best quality stuff from these guys. However, a few little changes without over relying on synthesizers and cheezy pop structures can't hurt you.
Bob <Trfesok@aol.com> (14.07.2000)
Glyn Johns, as good as he is, can't save the band from mediocre songwriting.
"Dreaning from the Waist" the BEST song? That one and "However
Much I Booze" really ramble on too long and to unnecessarily, especially
lyrically. That's when Pete's angst really gets overbearing. And "Blue,
Red and Grey" is sort of cute, but quite eccentric -- Pete said that
it was inspired by the Beach Boys' Smiley Smile, and it shows. Weird.
Still, this album is far from horrible, overall. "Imagine a Man,"
"How Many Friends?" and "They Are All in Love," despite
rather depressing lyrics, really have gorgeous melodies and great vocals
from Roger. And a big disagreement over "In a Hand and a Face"
-- that riff is killer! "Success Story" reveals that John's sense
of humor hasn't deserted him, nor has Pete's, thanks to "Squeeze Box"
-- quite a contrast. And "Slip Kid" has fascinating lyrics --
sort of a snapshot of different heroic characters in time is my interpretation.
The stripped down sound (no synthesizers -- I wonder what got into Pete?)
makes the record rather dry sounding, but good. This is what the first
three albums might have sounded like if they were recorded in the mid-70's
rather than the mid-60's.
mjcarney <mjcarney@netzero.net> (17.08.2000)
Well, the Who have finally wore out everything they had here. I am not saying that the rest of their material is horrible, but it is no longer in the same league as their earlier material--up to Who's Next. Here is Pete Townshend's singer-songwriter Who album. That is precisely why this album does not work. A band with such power as the Who--Roger's tremendously powerful voice, Keith's brilliant drum bashing, and Entwistle's thunderous bass are just not suitable for Pete's mellowdramatic/toned down songs over an entire album. There are some good songs however. "Slip Kid" opens up the album with a great start--not quite as powerful as old, but sounds like many of the good tracks off of Quadrophenia did. "Imagine a Man" is the one ballad here that really works. It is weird because I could easily see like a James Taylor or someone singing this song, yet Roger does a tremendous job on it. "The Blue Red and Grey" is also a highlight, but it is just too light to be much of a Who classic. "However Much I Booze" would have definately fit well onto a Pete Townshend solo disc, it has a lot of promise--just has one or two extra verses, and an average bridge which doesn't fit well to the song. Nonetheless, it is still a highlight of the disc--which should tell you something. But to argue my point, the guitar riff here is so upbeat and enchanting and this coupled with real "downer" lyrics really make for a stark contrast which makes the song memorable (if that made any sense). Finally, the much hated "Squeeze Box" rounds out the highlights. Why might you ask? Well, it is catchy, fun, and somehow fits well on the disc. The rest of the album ranges from slight to horrible. "Dreaming From the Waist" is just too mellow for the Who on a song that probably could have been beefed up a little. "Success Story" is just one of those horrible Entwistle songs in the vein of "Silas Stingy"--sure its catchy, but the riff is so simple, and repetitive that it just gets old quick. "They're All In Love" showcases for one of the earliest times a mismatch between Roger's voice and Pete's songs--hell, 80% of the album is that way, but it STICKS out here to me. They are going different ways, well Pete is writing different types of songs, and it doesn't work here, and it doesn't work on the album closer "In A Hand or A Face Either"--well I don't think anything could have helped that song. So now that I have analysed all the songs, I must point out that even the highlights have defects, there really isn't a true classic on here "Slip Kid" is the best of the lot though. That said, I would rate this album a 5/10. It is enjoyable, but there isn't a classic song among it making the album very inessential--for completists only.
Year Of Release: 1978
Record rating = 8
Overall rating = 13
An experimental album, but it shows a renewed interest in music-making.
Best song: WHO ARE YOU
Wow! Better! And how! Anyway, this album shows that guys can
have personal problems and write great music all in one time! Pete has
returned to his beloved synths, and maybe they said something nice to him,
so he suddenly came up with a patch of beautiful musical ideas just when
nobody was probably expecting anything else out of him. It's not that this
album is good from head to toe. A couple of tracks still seem incredibly
dull ('Love Is Coming Down', a rather unconvincing ballad which suggests
that love was not the only thing coming down at the time) or dumb ('905',
an Entwistle sci-fi tale of a robot which was intended for a soundtrack
and it should have stayed right there, 'cos it sounds like belonging to
a fantasy movie and not to a Who album), or both (the Gilbert and Sullivan
parody 'Guitar And Pen', even though it does feature Daltrey quite prominently).
But the rest is a definite upgrade (update? upstate?) from By Numbers.
The title track is an absolute Who classic which is not that banal considering
they didn't have no classics since Quad, and that was already five
years ago! And don't forget 'Sister Disco' which isn't an epithete for
Donna Summer but is rather a rude name for braindead fans. And what about
'Music Must Change' - a creepy little jazzy tune on which Keith couldn't
play drums because it had too unusual a tempo, so they had to record Pete's
footsteps instead? (Note, though, that Kenney Jones mastered it quite well
in concert; be sure to check out the live version on 30 Years of Maximum
R'n'B). And Entwistle's two other contributions are probably the last
good songs he ever wrote, and I do mean both the overorchestrated 'Had
Enough' and the overmetallized 'Trick Of The Light'. Where's that black
humour, though? Instead of these jolly spiders and old misers and whiskey
people and pervert uncles we get a robot and a guy trying to find out how
good he is in bed. Berk! The only master of black humour in rock, and he
threw it all away. Come to think of it, I don't think black humour is that
prominent in rock music. It's either bright humour or no humour at all.
Maybe they should start to put limericks to rock music? Why not? Oh, well,
sorry for digressing, I just wanted to finish this little review of mine
by saying that this was the last album they ever did with Moon. SPECIAL NOTE FOR ALL THE FREEDOM-LOVING PEOPLE:
Keith Moon died of an overdose of sleeping pills, whether intentional or
accidental, nobody is sure (just like nobody is sure about Hendrix or Morrison).
Please don't spread the rumour that he choked on his vomit or drowned
in a swimming-pool. You might get arrested for slander. And don't say I
didn't warn ya!
Oh, yes. I forgot to tell you, actually, why this album is better than
the previous one. It's because Pete bothered to write some melodies and
managed to stay away from at least some of his personal problems. But then
again, where would we be without Pete's personal problems? We wouldn't
have no It's Hard, that's for sure!
Who are you? Mail your ideas and we'll find out
Your worthy comments:
pwywiesike <pwywiesike@prodigy.net> (24.07.99)
Glad to see someone out here who actually appreciates this album. I'll agree not up with Quad, but definitely The Who's last great album. I'll agree, 'Love Is Coming Down' is the worst on the album, and I get too tired of 'New Song'. Moon's drumming is clearly hindered, but all the Entwistle's songs are nice, and Daltrey does one of his best jobs on vocals
Marco Ursi <zeppelinwho@hotmail.com> (23.08.99)
No matter how times I listen and try to enjoy this album, I can't seem to get past those annoying synths. On Who's Next and Quad, Pete used the synths to help accent the sound. Here they are overused and abused. And Keith isn't Keith anymore. He's just another drummer. Oh well, he was dying.
Daniel Madden <dmadden@dmi.net> (01.02.2000)
Actually, Keith died of an overdose of a drug called Heminevrin, a drug designed to curb the effects of alchoholism. It was only supposed to be administered under supervision of a doctor.
Bob Josef <Trfesok@aol.com> (17.07.2000)
I would rate this as #2, right behind Who's Next. A major return
to form -- too bad Keith died just after this was released. Roger's voice
is sounding a little ragged here, but still powerful. The synth work by
Pete is also a welcome return, with the title track benefiting the most
-- this really is yet another innovative use of the instrument. And huge
disagreement on Entwhistle -- these are 3 great songs. I remember reading
an interview where he complained about being pigeonholed as the "black
humor" guy, and why shouldn't he have the right to write about other
topics? A good point -- Roger especially delivers a great vocal on "Trick
of the Light," and the guiatr/bass attack is awesome. "905"
is really eerie, and it's John's last decent lead vocal. As for Pete, his
various takes on the philosophy of making music on the other songs is a
little tough for ordinary mortals to relate to on occasion, but Roger's
passionate vocals convince us.
The album proves that the Who were back on track, at least in the studio.
Too bad the train derailed so quickly.
mjcarney <mjcarney@netzero.net> (17.08.2000)
Well, the synthesizer mixed with Pete's rapid hearing loss ruined the Who, and on this album it is blatantly obvious. There are two irreplaceable songs on the disc though which I must mention before completely panning it. "Who Are You" is definately the Who's best song since Quadrophenia, and the best song they would release post-Quad ("Emminence Front" is a close number 2). It has everything the hard rocking mid-Who had, great synthesizers which were done well, awesome playing, and Roger's best vocal performance in years!!! "Sister Disco" is another terrific highlight, again the synthesizers work well, and it is a strong track, albeit no classic. The rest though is horrid. "New Song"--who cares, and I am even more upset that I have to hear another version of this song on Pete's recent Lifehouse Elements disc (I forgot about this song and thought it was a lost classic when I bought that disc). Terrible, Terrible, Terrible. But it gets worse! "Guitar and Pen" "Trick of the Light" and too much Entwistle make for a horrible album. It is a shame that Keith died right after this album, but really the Who should have disbanded after thier weak Who By Numbers. They are just a corporate rock golliath by this point, and nothing near the same band that produced Who Sell Out, Tommy, Who's Next, and even Quadrophenia. It's just a horrible shame. I would give this a 4/10. The synthesizers destroy any enjoyment of this album for me, but I was only 2 at the time of its release so I am looking at it from a different perspective. Still though if it weren't for those 2 highlights, the Who would have been long forgotten by this point.
Year Of Release: 1979
Record rating = 9
Overall rating = 14
A poorly conceived soundtrack album, but the previously unavailable
live stuff more than makes up for it.
Best song: YOUNG MAN BLUES
Not exactly a greatest hits compilation - rather a movie soundtrack,
but what with a lot of performances never released previously, this can
count as an independent album. The song selection is somewhat peculiar,
though. The movie (reviewed below) contained tracks not on the soundtrack,
and vice versa. And the recent CD version bugs me because they decided
to cut out the splendid medley of 'Join Together/Roadrunner/My Generation
Blues' played on an exceptionally good night in 1975. Ever heard 'My Generation'
performed as a slow menacing blues number gradually picking up steam? Totally
fascinating! And with this stupid remaster, all that remains to you is
grab the video. So grab it anyway!!!
Some tracks are also annoying 'cos they were all previously available.
Well, I guess they decided to put 'Magic Bus' on 'cos it wasn't on any
original LP except hits collections, and 'Long Live Rock' because it was
on Odds And Sods which nobody was ever buying, but why put on the
regular version of 'I Can See For Miles'? And, moreover, why leave these
songs on CD and keep 'My Generation Blues' off? Whatever for??? I'm stumped.
And the version of 'Happy Jack' here comes directly from Leeds...
well, I admit it wasn't available in 1979, but for Chrissake it is now!!
Bastards! Gimme my 'Roadrunner' right now! And why the hell did
they decide to give us dismissable dung like that 1977 version of 'My Wife'
from Kilburn, where both John and Pete were drunk beyond hope and Keith
missed everything that was possible to miss? I'd bet you anything this
was the worst performance they ever gave. 'My Wife' is often said
to be a great stage favourite, with the crowds roaring in support of the
trusty bass player, but you really couldn't tell it judging by this performance:
it's a wonder they didn't just fall apart in the middle of the performance,
because there are quite a few moments when the song transforms into virtually
uncontrolled chaos. Then again, maybe it's wise to have something like
that lying around just for comparison - to see for yourself what is really
chaos and what is just an illusion of chaos.
Phew. That was hard. But these are only five songs. In compensation, though,
you get a bunch of absolutely indispensable stuff that's so incredible
I have no choice but to give the album a nine (remember what I said about
all live Who albums as potential candidates for endless rows of tens?)
The early stuff, though often in crappy sound quality (well what could
you expect?), shows that the Who were really developed as immaculate stage
machines at a pretty early stage in their career. Thus, the Shindig show
version of 'I Can't Explain', even if you hardly hear anything but the
girls' screams and Keith's tremendous machine-gunnery, is notably faster
and more fluent than the regular live version of the song as played around
1970 and witnessed on Leeds and Wight; 'Anyway Anyhow Anywhere'
sounds even muddier, but I'm really impressed at how efficiently Pete was
using feedback and playing all these sadistic tricks on guitar strings
outside the studio; and the short, faithful-to-the-studio version of 'My
Generation' is still fun - especially the bits of dialogue that precede
it (taken from the Tommy Smothers show; you can see all that stuff in the
movie).
The 'classic live years' contribute some stuff from Woodstock, which makes
me all the more lament the fact that the performance is not yet officially
available. The version of 'Sparks', in particular, is one of the most astonishing
live Who tracks I've ever heard - this time, it is literally hard
to believe there's only one guitar playing, because somewhere in one of
the climactic moments in the mid-section Pete manages to have a feedback
chaotic background AND play soaring lead guitar notes at the same time.
Or was it John providing the background? Awesome. 'See Me Feel Me' is particularly
impressive, too; you probably know that performance if you ever saw Woodstock
the movie. Another little delicacy is an ear-splintering 'Young Man Blues'
from the London Coliseum with Pete adopting a very bizarre, 'poisonous'
tone for his guitar and playing some of the greatest blues solos I've ever
heard. It's another definite highlight of both the album and the movie;
if you haven't heard this version, well, you haven't lived. Sorry for the
cliche. The song does demonstrate Pete's terrific abilities as a 'mad soloist',
though - if you ever doubted it, his frantic lead work in between Roger's
primal screams will shatter any doubt.
And, finally, two of the performances are quite 'recent': 'Baba O'Riley'
and 'Won't Get Fooled Again' were filmed specially for the movie, in the
summer of 1978, and the band made everything to be sure this would work.
The performances are blistering - it's almost as if they knew it was going
to be the last time they played together, and decided to give it their
all: Pete adds flashy leads even to 'Baba', a song that never featured
much soloing in the first place, and Roger's roaring on 'Fooled' is not
less powerful than on the studio version. I'd bet you anything this was
quite unlike the stuff they were... oh, wait. They hadn't toured since
1975 by then! (Except for that Kilburn horror, of course). One can only
guess at how Pete kept all these block chords and jumps alive for three
years when apparently the only thing he'd been doing was pouring booze
into himself. Well, however much he boozed, there was no way out.
One last thing: if you're skint on money, skip this and buy the movie instead.
This stuff is powerful enough to work without the video accompaniment,
but when you get around to actually seeing this, Rock Nirvana is
somewhere around the threshold.
Long live rock! Mail your ideas
Your worthy comments:
Jeff Blehar <jdb3@jhu.edu> (27.02.2000)
This gets a 4 out of 10. If you consider yourself to be a hardcore fan
of The Who, then please go ahead and add 6 points to that rating and write
me off as an idiot. For the serious fan, The Kids Are Alright is
utterly indispensable, a collection of live Who performances spanning 1965
to 1978, including two cuts from Keith's last concert.
For everyone else, though, there's nothing here that a trusty copy of Live
At Leeds won't supplant any day. The version of "Happy Jack"
on here was actually taken from that concert, and the version of "A
Quick One, While He's Away" performed at The Rolling Stones' Rock
And Roll Circus in 1968 is inferior to the Thirty Years Of Maximum R&B
hybrid or the Leeds attempt. The performances of "I Can't Explain,"
"My Generation," and "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" are
really only historical in interest, and the Woodstock Tommy material, while
powerful, cannot alone justify dropping $12.00.
Even more troublesom is the CD transfer of The Kids Are Alright
from the original vinyl. Released as a double LP, they hacked off the "Join
Together/Road Runner/My Generation" medley to cram it onto on CD.
This is bad enough, but there is more. This is the only album, along with
My Generation, that has yet to be remastered and reissued, and it
doesn't look as it will be, so the sound quality is noticeably (very noticeably)
inferior to the other CDs. Also, "I Can See For Miles," originally
performed on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour with new vocals (it could
never be performed completely live because it used two guitars), has been
replaced with the regular studio version, a bit of carelessness that really
pisses me of. There are almost no alternate versions of this song - maybe
The Who's best - available, and now there's one less. The recording details
present on the original album (such important information as when and where
the performance was recorded) have been omitted from the CD, along with
the excellent and thorough liner notes, so you're left guessing by the
general style of the playing what era the song is from. For the more experience
Who fanatics among us, this isn't so hard - 1969 vintage Who does sound
different from 1971 or 1976 vintage Who - but for most people it will just
be frustrating. One final complaint. The live performance of "Baba
O'Riley" taken from Moon's last performance is actually disturbing
in its sloppiness. Gone is the drumming dexterity that this song always
showcased, replaced by a leaden 4/4 THUD-THUD. It's quite saddening to
hear Moon drumming this shabbily; the end was certainly near.
Bob Josef <Trfesok@aol.com> (18.07.2000)
A fun collection, in its original LP form. Although I like the "Join
Together" medley, it's hot Live Who, but the first part does NOT bear
any lyrical or musical resemblance to the great "Join Together"
studio single. An annoying nitpick for me!
By the way, a correction: nothing is repeated in its previous studio form.
" I Can See for Miles," "Happy Jack," "Magic Bus"
and "My Generation" are actually rerecorded for the band to mime
or sing live to on TV shows. And "Long Live Rock" is an alternate
mix from the Odds and Sods version. Not that that all matters --
the differences between these versions and the original are indeed minor.
And I don't think "My Wife" is so bad here, either. The album
as a whole, though, is a lot more amusing if you've seen the film.
Ben Greenstein <bgreenstein@nctimes.net> (15.12.2000)
Funny - I think that "My Wife" is one of the better performances on here. That's just me, though - the rest of these songs are all classics, even if the recording quality leaves a little to be desired sometimes. I don't know what score I'd give this, because it's kind of unessescary in the big picture..... a high seven, maybe.
Year Of Release: 1981
Record rating = 6
Overall rating = 11
A rather lame attempt at re-whoing the Who, but at least it's not
as bad as it is often considered to be.
Best song: YOU BETTER YOU BET
Without Keith, The Who foolishly decided to carry on with ex-Faces drum
machine by the name of Kenney Jones and even managed to deliver some decent
stage performances. However, the same cannot be said about most of their
further studio output. Still, having read a ton of reviews that treated
Face Dances as something worse than Puff Daddy (yeah, yeah, with
all due respect, too), I was really very much amazed to see it ain't that
bad. The biggest problem with this album is that it doesn't sound like
The 'Oo at all. This seems to be your average keyboard pop - not the mighty
synth delirium found on Quadrophenia, and not your guitar parade
on Tommy. Pete rarely delivers a heavy rocker, leaving this prerogative
to Entwistle. Unfortunately, that seems to be small compensation, since
by that time The Ox's songwriting skill had atrophied with no hope for
the better: 'The Quiet One' is just a hurried metal monster with no decent
melody at all, and 'You' follows closely in its footsteps. Hey, maybe it's
no coincidence that somewhere around this time he also ceased generating
solo albums. The bass lines are still killer, though. Can't really argue
with that one.
Pete's own compositions are little better. The album kicks off with the
classic 'You Better You Bet' which is probably the last true Who classic
(and as so, it duly closes off the recent greatest hits compilation. Or
should I say - greatest hits copulation? Ha ha). Besides presenting
us with an original melody and funny catchy singing by Roger, it has also
some genuine sincere romantic moments somewhat capturing the old Who bandwagon.
And 'Another Tricky Day' which ends the album in a pessimistic way borrows
its main riff from 'I Can See For Miles', so it just can't fail.
The rest is pathetic - sure, there's at least a pair of interesting moments
in every song, but the effect is really miserable. Daltrey adopts that
Gilbert-Sullivan wimpy tone which he was already starting to display on
'Guitar And Pen', and this makes such otherwise good songs as 'Daily Records',
'Cache Cache' and 'Did You Steal My Money' sound totally insipid. Still,
the latter at least has a decent refrain; 'Don't Let Go The Coat' is gentle
fun; 'How Can You Do It Alone' is a half-successful attempt at a post-Moon
epic song; and overall, like I said, these songs don't sound nasty.
They're just... OK. Don't be afraid to go out and buy this album, anyway.
How can you do it alone? I sure cannot. Mail your ideas
Your worthy comments:
Glenn Wiener <glennjwiener@hotmail.com> (22.01.2000)
This one belongs in the same category as Its Hard. There are three excellent songs on here. 'You Better You Bet' is a very spirited rocker with some creative arrangments and good vocals by Roger. John Entwhistle's conributions, 'The Quiet One' and 'You' also rank as quality material as they display some needed emotion. Much of the remaining material is way to reliant on synthesizers. There's just too little oomph. My recommendation is to save this when you see it in the Dollar bin. Thats all it is really worth.
Bob <Trfesok@aol.com> (21.07.2000)
I was really quite surprised when the Who immediately decided to carry
on without Keith. And that turned out, of course, to be a mistake. Keith
was a totally unique drummer -- impossible to replace him. The musical
chemistry of the Who was (and is -- no more tours, please!) absolutely
dependent on all four members, even more so than the Beatles (granted,
the Beatles wouldn't have been quite as much fun without Ringo, but musically,
they would have been just fine, thank you).
However, even given that, Face Dances could have been better. I
think this one is by far the worst post-Tommy studio album, not the next
one. Why? For one, producer Bill Szcymyk seriously emasculated the group's
sound. Entwistle's amazing bass and Roger's great voice are still intact,
but Pete's guitar is totally eviscerated and his synth parts are really
simplistic -- his touch with the instrument seemed to have temporarily
left him. And Szcymyk is probably as much to blame for the wimpy drum sound
as Jones -- turning him down in the mix was not going to hide the fact
that the guy is simply not Keith.
And the other reason is Pete's songs. They are so maddeningly oblique.
Empty Glass had a few tracks that were somewhat similar, but here
it's far worse. In songs like "Cache Cache," "Daily Records,"
"Don't Let Go the Coat" and "Another Tricky Day," you
get the feeling that Pete is writing about something important, but he's
deliberately obscuring what he means like he doesn't really want the listener
to know what it is. It drives me crazy. It's the other extreme from the
all-out soul bearing of By Numbers. Although I admit I might be
taking "You Better You Bet" too seriously -- perhaps Pete is
just being funny, but even so, I prefer him when his humor is more straightforward,
like "Squeeze Box." But I think John's songs are good, and really
funny. "The Quiet One" is an amusing jab at those who would stereotype
him (although his voice has really deteriorated since Who are You),
and "You" seems to be John exasperated at another impossible
woman, a la "My Wife." Roger does a great delivery on this one.
Perhaps, commerce (they had just signed a big mega-deal with Warner Bros.
in the USA) took precedence over musical wisdom, but Warners hardly got
a lot out of their end with this release.
Philip Maddox <slurmsmckenzie@hotmail.com> (14.12.2000)
I like this album somewhat, actually. It isn't bad at all. It's just
not particularly good, either - it's generic keyboard pop. There is one
big exception to this - "You Better You Bet", with its cool lyrics,
funny intonations, and upbeat, uplifting chorus, is fantastic. Not only
is it fantastic, I consider it to be one of the Who's absolute best. The
closing "Another Tricky Day" is really good too, though it certainly
isn't a classic - keyboard pop to be sure, but catchy, well written keyboard
pop. The seven other tuns, though, aren't bad, and are even kind of nice,
but I absolutely never need to hear them again. The Entwistle 2, "You"
and "The Quiet One" aren't keyboard pop - they're hard rockers
- but they're still too generic to really be considered "good".
And the other tunes are just kind of there - nothing really stands out,
except for the fact that I want to smack Roger for the way he sings "There
ain't no bears in there" on Cache Cache, which has to be the dumbest
chorus of all time, even beating out the endlessly stupid "Chug-A-Lug"
by the Beach Boys. Ah well. The bonus tracks are pretty nice, though -
"Somebody Saved Me" is quite pretty in particular, and the live
"How Can You Do It Alone" is far superior to the album version,
boasting a rawer, harder sound. I'd give the original album a high five,
but the bonus tracks are enough for me to give it a low six. Not a bad
purchase, but it's no classic.
And there's one thing I'd like to say here - lots of people try to blame
this somewhat lackluster album on Kenney Jones. I don't think it's his
fault - he's actually a pretty damn good drummer, though it's obvious that
he's not Moon. Pete was going through a hard time when he made this - he
was still upset that Moon had died, and he was battling drug addiction,
in addition to the fact that he now had to write for both himself and the
Who at the same time. I'd blame this albums "OK-ness" on Pete
spreading himself too thin in addition to facing personal problems.
Year Of Release: 1982
Record rating = 4
Overall rating = 9
Tiredness and boredom all over this album. What happened to the mighty?
Best song: EMINENCE FRONT
By this time it seemed obvious that The Who have totally lost it: the stage performance had degenerated, Pete got into tons of nervous and drug breakdowns, and Roger and John finally let him go after cutting this bastard of an album. This time it's even worse. There are no Who classics here, and the best song, which is 'Eminence Front', isn't related to the Who sound at all: it's pure solo Townshend. It's nice, though: a good synth part originating from the likes of 'Baba O'Riley' interweaves with a cute little riff to carry along a message of... absolute boredom and being sick of the world. Sick of music, too, probably - the other cuts mostly aren't worth listening to. Entwistle hits an all-time low with three songs which sound exactly the same and that same is 'messy'. Degeneration at its most obvious. Where is the funny little monster doing 'Boris The Spider'? Ah, never mind. As for Townshend, he comes up with yet another nice synth line on the interminable 'I've Known No War', a banal rocker on 'It's Hard', a clumsy comedy number on 'Athena', and a so-so rip-off of his earlier ballads 'A Man Is A Man'. The rest are even not worth mentioning, ranging from banal lifeless opera arias ('One Life Is Enough') to dull war marches ('Cry If You Want'). As far as I know, the case wasn't a burnout: he was saving his better material for solo albums while leaving the scraps for the band. Whether he was intentionally pushing The Who's reputation into the toilet or it just came out by itself, I really don't know. You tell me. I overpaid for this album. Yet I'm not sorry - at least I'm able to present my humble opinion to all you cyberstriders out there so that you do not repeat my mistake. It's not the worst piece of music I've ever heard, but I've heard a lot, and I don't give a damn...
Cry if you want, but mail your ideas
Your worthy comments:
Glenn Wiener <glennjwiener@hotmail.com> (22.01.2000)
Its really really hard.....to listen to this record in its entirety knowing that these guys have come up with so much better material in the past. Peter Townsend was excessively imbibing in alcohol and was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. This was not helping his other band mates and the result was this schlock. 'Eminence Front' is without a doubt the standout piece on this collection as the synthesizer works well here setting a very eeirie mood. A few other songs and parts of songs are pretty good as well. However, there are way too many filler pieces here (at least five) to make this a memorable record. For Diehards only!
Bob Josef <Trfesok@aol.com> (23.07.2000)
As I said, this one sounds closer to classic Who because of the presence
of Glyn Johns' production. He brings the drums more forward in the mix,
so the album sounds a lot more aggressive in than the last. And another
disagreement on the songwriting -- although "Cook's County" and
"Why Did I Fall for That?" retain the annoying lyrical style
of Face Dances, on the whole the rest of Pete's songs are more straightforward
and accessible. And they really rock! Unfortunately, "It's Your Turn"
and "Dangerous" also sound like John was trying to copy Pete's
Face Dances songs! Grrr! But I love "One at a Time" --
more funny stuff about John's frustrations with women, and that multittracked
horn intro is really cool (even if his lead vocal sucks).
To me, the album had enough energy and spark to suggest that maybe the
group could carry on. But that energy seemed to had totally dissipated
by tour time -- as the next album proved.
mjcarney <mjcarney@netzero.net> (17.08.2000)
Well this album, is not worth purchasing at all. I feel bad saying this about one of my favorite bands, but they should have quit a long time earlier. There is one classic on here, "Emminence Front", is really the song that made me keep this album for such a long time. I can never nor will never tire of that one, the guitar riff works well here and it is probably thier best late period song--even if the poppy come on join the party bit is obnoxious, with a riff that good, who cares, it is very enjoyable and would rank as a "lesser" classic of the Who. The rest of the album though is very poor. "Athena" is upbeat, catchy, but stupid. Still it is a highlight. "Cooks County" acts as a highlight, but of course a song which tries to make a serious statement yet is so blatantly poppy rarely works--and this is no exception. Still though it is miles ahead of some of the other songs on this disc. "I've Known No War" at least features a good vocal by Roger that fits the tone of the song--something rare in the later Who, but still the song was just poor. Finally, Entwistle's songs are again terrible here. He was able to right 4-5 good songs throughout the career of the Who but these don't come close. If it wasn't for "Emminence Front" this disc would surely get a 1/10, but with that song on here, I would rate it a 3/10. All I can say is don't bother. The who should have quit years ago, and thankfully (which is a shame that I have to say this) this is their last album.
Year Of Release: 1984
Record rating = 5
Overall rating = 10
An unfortunate live album, it's clear that the band didn't have anything
to do with it.
Best song: none. All are mediocre
What do you usually say when you have to pay for two CDs if their contents
can be easily dumped together on only one? What do you say when instead
of getting an adequate picture of The Who's farewell tour you get a 'Greatest
Hits Live' package? What do you say when you are presented with a singer
who can't make good use of his voice worth a crap? A drummer and a base
player who are only in it for the money? A guitar player who wishes he'd
be anywhere in the world but there? And, finally, a booklet praising this
load of half-baked noise-making as being played on a fantastic tour? What
would you say?
I guess... same as me. DAMN THE RECORD COMPANY!
Indeed, I doubt whether Pete or anybody else even listened to the mastertapes
before releasing them. Like Chris Charlesworth said, Keith must have had
rolled over in his grave. First of all, it does painfully sound like a
second-rate 'Greatest Hits Live': the track listing practically defines
the word 'predictable'. 'My Generation', 'I Can't Explain', 'Substitute',
'Behind Blue Eyes'... and these are only the first four tracks. It's easy
for any Who novice to figure out the rest. The only big surprise is 'Twist
And Shout' with Entwistle taking on lead vocals with a rather lame effect,
and anyway the version on Isle Of Wight is better even if it is
shorter. 'Doctor Jimmy' is a surprise, too, though it is hardly a highlight.
The rest is hit singles played on the radio.
What's even more annoying, the quality of the performance really could
be better. Daltrey's singing is purely atrocious! The guys who were selecting
the material were probably descended from Quasimodo, because 'Love Reign
O'er Me' is not just a shame - it's an unprecedented embarrasment, with
Daltrey spluttering out the words as if he was dying from laryngitis. 'See
Me Feel Me' and 'Baba O'Riley' also get ruined. It's not that he doesn't
hit the right notes - he just doesn't manage to pull it off with enough
force. And hey, I don't want to say he lost his voice for ever -
as Join Together demonstrates, he still had enough zest left in
him even after all those years. But take the lamest performance ever and
make it an official release? Good God but these record people are frickin'
idiots! Who in this stupid world of ours advised them to include 'Long
Live Rock' which is such an overwhelming fuck-up that it's hard to believe
Pete wasn't just pissing off his fans, like Dylan used to do? And if THIS
was the best material they could find, I can't even think about how the
worst one looked. Brrr!
Well, of course there are some things that redeem this crazy collection.
The playing itself is not that bad: Pete even manages to come up with a
couple of good solos (especially on 'Can't Explain'), Kenney is no Keith,
of course, but at least he's professional and it's curious to hear Who
classics played to a steady beat instead of that wild thumping; and John
is John. 'Summertime Blues' is pulled off decently, too. And at least none
of the songs are bad - they're all classics. See ya.
Who's last to mail one's ideas?
Your worthy comments:
Tony Souza <avsouza@webtv.net> (19.02.2000)
A horrendous live album. Daltry's voice cracks on a number of songs (most notably 'Love Reign O'er Me') and the band sounds like a shell of their former selves. "Mediocre" is a good word for this although for a band of the Who's stature it's certainly not acceptable. The performances seem bland and although they tried in some places, they couldn't pull it off. In the years '68-75 Townshend used to play a Gibson SG and later a Les Paul and that created a thick, warm sound that epitomized their live sound. On this one, he uses a Fender which produces a thinner sound from his guitar and results in a lack of power that the Who's songs need. Compare this album to Live at Leeds and Live at the Isle of Wight and it's sad how it pales in comparison.
Bob Josef <Trfesok@aol.com> (25.07.2000)
My guess is that, despite the fact that the band was signed to Warners', the band owed some product to MCA. I actually haven't heard the album, but I did hear a live radio broadcast from Toronto from which, I believe, MCA created the album. Stuff like "Love Ain't For Keeping" (a really rocking version) and "The Quiet One" were actually pulled off decently but left off the album in favor other tracks which were given rather perfunctory performances, at best. On the other hand, the songs from It's Hard actually came off worse than the stuff on the album -- "Dangerous" was lousy, and "Cry if You Want," one of their best latter day songs, was slowed down so much that it was totally ruined. What a waste of time to release anything from this concert. The "1st Farewell Tour" should never have happened, never mine the follow-ups.
Year Of Release: 1990
Record rating = 7
Overall rating = 12
An effective reunion tour album. Buy it if you can't get enough of
The Who - it's not bad.
Best song: LOVE REIGN O'ER ME
Ooh! Much better. After about seven or eight years the remaining members
of the band thought it might be nice to make some easy money and offered
the faithful this reunion tour. Its purely financial aim was obvious to
everybody, and good ol' Pete even had the courage to openly declare it
on stage. By that time he was already half deaf, played mostly acoustic
guitar and relegated electric playing to one Steve Boltz who was a cool
guy looking like a punk and playing like a heavy metal musician. The result
is painfully predictable: lots of old Who classics are transformed into
heavy metal fiestas, while Pete's guitar is hardly heard at all - which
is a shame, since when he does get a chance to play some chords in silence,
his skill with the acoustic, nurtured for years, becomes obvious. Besides
that, the band is augmented by lots of cool dudes, like an enormous brass
section giving the music a mainstream pop effect, three backing vocalists
to relieve Pete of the necessity to make more efforts, piano wiz "Rabbit"
Bundrick to take the place of the tape recorder, and two drummers as a
tribute to Keith's abilities. This should have been as horrible as one
can ever imagine.
But it isn't, strange enough, and I still don't know why. For a certain
bunch of reasons I still prefer it over Who's Last. First of all,
it has a nice package, and that's something: this time each of the two
CDs is over sixty minutes long, so it's at least worth the money. Next:
this isn't a "Greatest Hits Live" any more. The first disc is
a complete performance of Tommy which you might laugh at, but you'd
keep it in mind that it was still six years before the Isle Of Wight
release and no live Tommy was available, so it should have been
quite a reasonable move. The second CD digs heavily in the backlog, but
you only get two or three evergreens, which are the closing 'Behind Blue
Eyes' and 'Fooled Again', plus we have 'Love Reign O'er Me' once again,
this time certainly to correct the mistake made on the previous live album
- here Daltrey soars high like he's supposed to be doing, and even the
banal brass section does not sound out of place. And the others? '5:15',
'I Can See For Miles', 'Join Together', 'You Better You Bet' - super! And
Entwistle gets to sing 'Trick Of The Light' instead of the everpresent
'Boris The Spider'. Plus, we have some Townshend solo stuff - starting
with 'Eminence Front' (well, I know it is a Who song, but it sounds solo
to me), and continuing with some of his big hits like 'Face The Face',
'Rough Boys', and 'A Little Is Enough'. Great selection!
Finally, the performances are excellent (technically, I mean - like I said,
lots of them sound nothing like The Who, and some sound rather like Metallica).
Too excellent, in fact - sounding like a machine going on, but blame it
on the backing musicians. Entwistle plays his fluent lines better than
ever (check out the bass work on 'Sparks' and 'Trick Of The Light'), Pete
even conjures a couple old tricks on 'Fooled Again' where he agrees to
pick up the electric, and this time Daltrey made sure not to have any more
problems with his voice: Tommy goes off splendidly, and the rest
is even better. This is an enjoyable album, believe it or not. It's just
that there is absolutely no reason to buy it if you haven't heard everything
else. But it's really entertaining to hear these versions - for a change.
And I like the symbolic album cover!
A little is enough! Don't
forget to mail your ideas
HIT PACKAGES
THE
WHO'S GREATEST HITS
Year Of Release: 1983
A bizarre compilation. There's been a lot of better ones, and I'm primarily keeping it because it has 'The Relay' - a 1973 single featuring yet another Lifehouse outtake. It's a nice wah-wah driven rocker, though probably not one of Pete's better contributions to the project. However, calling it a 'hit' would be too much of an honour, since it flopped. The other cuts are quite predictable, yet there are horrible gaps here which make this collection seem absolutely miserable. There's no 'I Can't Explain', no 'I Can See For Miles', no 'Pictures Of Lily', no 'I'm A Boy', no 'Baba O'Riley', no 'See Me Feel Me' and nothing from the last two albums, not even 'You Better You Bet'. Simply horrible! What did MCA have in mind? And they didn't even use up all the space on the disc! Some fine 'Greatest Hits' these are! Don't, don't get it even if you're offered it for free. Instead, be sure to grab...
Your worthy comments:
Ben Greenstein <bgreenstein@nctimes.net> (29.08.99)
Like you said - horrible. After I first heard this, I thought I hated the band for two years. It wasn't until I changed radio stations, and started hearing "Baba O'Riley" and "I Can See For Miles" everywhere I went, that I realized what a good group they are. And, of course, "5:15," "My Generation," "Pinball Wizard," and "Love Reighn O'er Me" are all great songs, but they sound weak on here among gunk like "Happy Jack," "Squeezebox," "My Wife," and "Magic Bus," which are certainly above average, but not the group's best songs. My Generation is a good compilation, this isn't.
Jeff Blehar <jdb3@jhu.edu> (27.02.2000)
The Who's Greatest Hits? Like hell it is! This is a ridiculously
selected compilation of some of The Who's songs that, for reasons unknown,
is still available on the market on CD. Notice I don't say that it's a
compilation of their "greatest hits." That's because it seems
like they let a howler monkey loose in a room of The Who's tapes and let
him choose a random sprinkling of The Who's songs. Sure, there are SOME
songs here that could conceivably be placed among The Who's "greatest
hits," but folks, let me tell you that "My Wife" isn't among
them. Not that it's a bad song - it's actually wonderful, but there's no
logic to the choice. Why put in songs like "My Wife" and "The
Relay" while you exclude "I Can See For Miles," The Who's
best single and their biggest American hit, or "Baba O'Riley,"
a much more deserving album track from the same LP that "My Wife"
was lifted, Who's Next. And sure, you can find "Substitute,"
"Happy Jack," "Pinball Wizard," and "Won't Get
Fooled Again" here, but why blow $11 on this 45 minute CD when you
can get My Generation - The Very Best Of The Who, which contains
all of those songs, plus 16 others, for $3 more? Oh yeah, and the sound
quality is repulsive, to top it off.
There's one reason why this album remains interesting to collectors, and
that's the hilariously hamfisted "single" edit of "Love
Reign O'er Me" that can be found only on this CD. Originally released
as the US single for Quadrophenia, the edits performed on the song
(originally 5:48 in duration) are cringe-inducing. Not only is the piano
into utterly eviscerated, but the verses are REARRANGED, and not even in
a subtle fashion! And worst of all, the song fades out before the apocalyptic
ending that defines the song on the album! Good for a laugh, good for the
collector, not good for much else.
Philip Maddox <slurmsmckenzie@hotmail.com> (03.07.2000)
It's good, as all of the songs included are good. The selection is terrible,
though! Lots of songs are edited, the sound quality sucks, and lots of
hits are left off. You're telling me that 'My Wife' was a bigger hit than
'Baba O'Riley'? 'Squeeze Box' better than 'I Can See For Miles'? Whatever.
The only reason to get this is 'The Relay', and you can get a version of
it on the new BBC Sessions disc. get the My Generation compilation
instead. It costs a couple of bucks more, but:
(A) It's got a much better track selection
(B) It's longer
(C) It's got better sound quality
(D) It's got songs that never made an actual album
(E) It's got better packaging...
(F) Etc.
Anyway, like I said, it sounds good, but don't buy it.
Year Of Release: 1997
...this fantastic collection! God, they couldn't have made a
better selection in a hundred years! Well, I was somewhat disappointed
by the lack of 'Love Reign O'er Me', but I just cannot think of any more
corrections! Of course, such a great band as The Who cannot be adequately
represented on one CD, but if you're a novice or just an amateur, don't
even think about not getting this. Twenty songs which highlight every
significant period in the band's career. Here you will find the bunch of
early singles that made them so revered among punks ('I Can't Explain',
the earliest block chord festival; 'My Generation'; the cock-rock hymn
'Anyway Anyhow Anywhere' with Daltrey actually sounding good and Pete celebrating
feedback), the classic mid-Sixties art rock ditties (the pretty 'I'm A
Boy' is the first ever attempt at a mini-rock-opera clocking in at about
2:40; 'Pictures Of Lily' combines beautiful falsetto vocal harmonies with
grungy guitarwork while depicting Pete's early experiences with masturbation;
'Happy Jack' is the most ingenious childish tune I've ever heard, outmatching
even McCartney's efforts at a similar effect; 'Substitute' is, well, one
of the greatest songs ever written); the weird psychedelic stuff
from the late Sixties ('I Can See For Miles'; the classic Bo-Diddley influenced
bus trade epic 'Magic Bus'; 'Pinball Wizard'; the desperate 'Seeker' set
to a wonderful heavy riff the likes of which can be found on live 'My Generation'
medleys played around 1969-70); the Lifehouse stuff (besides the
obligatory 'Baba O'Riley' and 'Won't Get Fooled Again' you also have two
later singles - 'Let's See Action', a so-so rocker with Daltrey at his
best, and the unification hymn 'Join Together' which is a trillion times
better than the somewhat similar mid-section on 'Song Is Over'); Quad
is decently represented by '5:15', and the later stuff includes 'Squeeze
Box' (not bad), 'Who Are You' (even better) and 'You Better You Bet' (thank
God they didn't forget it!) Entwistle is represented by 'Boris The Spider';
I lament the absence of 'My Wife', but, like I said, you can't dump everything
onto one CD. An incredibly shattering experience, and it totally eliminates
the need for the early classic singles collection Meaty, Beaty, Big,
And Bouncy. By the way, I've always wondered about the title. Does
it refer to the four members of the band? In which case, Pete is probably
Bouncy, Keith is certainly Beaty, John is probably Meaty (he always seemed
to me the fattest of all before Keith started gaining weight as well),
and Roger is Big - for no particular reason at all.
Anyway, like I said, I cannot actually imagine a better song selection.
'Let's See Action' is one of the weaker numbers, with Mr Bouncy adding
stupid vocal anti-hooks at the end, but then again, it is otherwise only
available on rarities compilations. 'Squeeze Box' could have been replaced
by 'Dreaming From The Waist', but at least it was a hit single, which 'DFTW'
wasn't. Otherwise - rock on, buddy!
Your worthy comments:
Gustavo Rodriguez < rodblanc@webtv.net> (12.04.99)
They could do much better!
The Who have so many greatest hits, best ofs and box sets, etc. but they
all tend to disapoint. This one has glaring omissions: "See Me Feel
Me", "Behind Blue Eyes", and "The Real Me.".
And not even one live track? C'mon!!
Instead we get shitty Who songs like "Who Are You", "You
Better You Bet", and "Join Together", and the mediocre "Let's
See Action." I own this one because I got it dirt cheap and couldn't
find Meaty Beaty.. anywhere. I'll admit this comp does cover the
early period reasonably well.
Joshua Fiero <jfiero1@lsu.edu> (11.01.2000)
Hey now . . . Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy is awesome! It's a fourteen-song
high! Pure greatness! It's sequenced incredibly effectively: the fact that
everything flows so well highlights the energy of the performances wonderfully.
Plus, My Generation is missing "The Kids Are Alright"
and "A Legal Matter."
[Special author note: yeah,
but they're present on the Who Sings My Generation album.]
Year Of Release: 1975
A movie. Not a very good one, but worth taking a look. Roger is starring
as the kid himself, and his acting is quite fine. Keith is impersonating
Uncle Ernie, and nobody could probably beat him at it. Other band members
appear only sporadically. I won't give away the whole cast here, especially
since I've forgot a lot of names. Suffice it to say that Pete has completely
rearranged all the songs, expanding the sound with the synthesizers, and
for the most part the arrangements are crappy - but this is probably not
very significant for a soundtrack. The singing is mostly done by actors,
and it's even more horrible. Ann-Margaret (Mother) and Oliver Reed (Lover)
sound particularly out of tune. Only Roger, as usual, does a great job.
The story is re-written, too: thus, 1921 is replaced by 1951 (with World
War I substituted by II), the Lover kills the Father (and not vice versa),
etc. Some annoying new songs and sequences are added. The highlights are
'Pinball Wizard' (Elton John is acting and singing this one), 'The Hawker'
with a great Eric Clapton and the closing 'See Me Feel Me'. You might want
to get this film either if you're a hardcore fan or even if you just like
Broadway musicals - in fact, this film is an obvious link between the original
record and Pete's nowadays Broadway version.
Your worthy comments:
Philip Maddox <slurmsmckenzie@hotmail.com> (03.07.2000)
It's OK, I guess. The story is rewritten significantly, as parts of the album were ambiguous and needed to be clarified. It's worth watching it at least once if you like the Who, or especially if you like the actual Tommy album a whole lot. I like it better than Pink Floyd's stupid movie based on The Wall, but I still wouldn't plunk down money to purchase this - rent it or see it on TV (it comes on cable constantly). You're right about the arrangements - they pretty much blow. Still, it has highlights, like Elton John as the Pinball Wizard and Eric Clapton's guitar solo. Really, I find it hard to recommend this to anyone outside of hardcore fans, though. Anyone else will hate it.
Bob Josef <Trfesok@aol.com> (28.07.2000)
I saw this one in its theatrical run, the night before I went away to
college. As a naive little 18-year-old, I was blown away with how bizarre
it is! The movie is really more Ken Russell's vision more than Townshend's,
which is why a lot of the Who's fans consider it a travesty. It really
is over the top. The most disgusting scene is Ann-Margret's romping around
in the baked beans (obviously inspired by the cover of Odds and Sods),
and those close-ups of Tina Turner are pretty scary. Although I love her
performance of "Acid Queen."
Musically, I don't think it's that bad. Pete actually rearranges a lot
of the music in interesting ways. I actually don't mind Ann-Margret's singing
-- I don't find her out of tune at all. But Oliver Reed is another matter
entirely -- didn't anyone listen to this guy SING before they cast him?!
His voice is just TERRIBLE. He's the major reason I can't bear the movie.
However, if you think this one is bad, avoid Russell's next, Lizstomania,
starring Roger Daltrey as Franz Lizst (!) and Rick Wakeman. The 70's at
their most tacky.
Derrick Stuart <MSDK84@email.msn.com> (27.11.2000)
I must say that I disagree with your review. Like I said earlier, I prefer this version to the orginal. The synths give it a more 'mystical' feel and compliment the aspects of sprituality featured in the film. I also feel the changes to the story were an improvement. The movie was aimed at the Who's fans at the time of its release, whom of which were baby-boomers and would relate better to having Tommy being their own age. The acting is very good, except on Jackie N's part. Besides, Tommy's cult would have fitten in better with the Woodstock age when everyone seemed to be on some spiritual quest anyway. I guess I'm just reading too much into it. Also, the father killing the lover? If it were you, would you be more disturbed by your beloved father killing a boyfriend that you hardly even liked or vice-versa? Once again I'm reading too much into it.
Year Of Release: 1979
The best rockumentary I've ever seen. It's not just because it features the best live band in the world. It's just because it should be a model for every rock film director who wants to make something really entertaining. Practically every chosen live performance is spectacular - from the early stuff, like two 'My Generations' (from Monterey and the Smothers Brothers show), both ending with guitar crashes, through the classic years (the breathtaking 'Young Man Blues' with Pete in excellent form and the Woodstock stuff; see the review of the soundtrack above), the 1975 tour ('Roadrunner/My Generation Blues' with Pete in excellent form) and the final performance filmed specially for the occasion ('Baba O'Riley' and 'Fooled Again' with Pete in excellent form). All of these are sure to chain you to your seats, but there's much more to it - bits of hilarious interviews, important information, some lip-sync performances, some early musical videos (I especially love the promo for 'Happy Jack' and the edit piece for 'Cobwebs And Strange'), and everything is done to embrace virtually every side of the band - the ferocious rockers, the intelligent crowd-pleasers, the silly clowns, the sad intellectuals. Personally, I feel some of the more serious stuff is underrepresented (there is not even a single trace of Quad in the movie), but maybe that's just what they wanted - to have a good laugh and some mighty ass-kicking. And they succeeded admirably - the movie doesn't seem dull even for a single second. If you're ever planning on starting a rock videotheque of your own, this MUST be your FIRST buy. Run! Don't walk!
Your worthy comments:
<Josbol@aol.com> (30.01.2000)
If you can find a copy of the original release, get it!!! Nowadays, you can only get a cut version. For example, the highlight of the film for me was their performance on the "Rolling Stones RnR Circus" where they played "A Quick One". If you have ever seen the whole performance complete with the editing of shots as originally done for this film (different edits on the recently released R.S. RNR Circus), you'd simply watch in awe at this band blowing the likes of The Rolling Stones and John Lennon out of the water - clowning all the while. NOBODY could touch them. Keith was the best of the best in his heyday.
John McFerrin <stoo@imsa.edu> (16.04.2000)
Well, the local video store finally had a copy that wasn't checked out,
so I decided to rent it. I currently watching it for the third time since
checking it out, and .... wow. No, wait that's not going to do it. HOLY
SHIT THIS MOVIE IS FUCKING AWESOME. Yeah, there are far too many cuts,
but what _is_ there ... damn damn damn damn damn.
In any case, what amazes me the most watching these guys is actually _seeing_
them so effortlessly fuse pure noise and melodic beauty, all the while
making it _look_ as cool as possible (ESPECIALLY watching Pete hitting
all of those chords on key while doing fifty windmills a second).
I'm also quite fond of the little videos, especially the 'Success Story'
one where John is doing clay piegeon shooting with gold records and breaks
out the machine gun in frustration. I was on the floor rolling with laughter
afterwards for a long time.
Next step - get the (completely uncut) DVD version when it comes out. Of
course, first I'll need a DVD player, but that should take care of itself.
Bob Josef <Trfesok@aol.com> (28.07.2000)
I was one of the relatively few who saw the film in its theatrical run.
The marquee actually said "starring The Who and Ringo Starr"!!
When Ringo makes only a brief, nonmusical appearance in the thing!
The film is endlessly entertaining, funny in numerous spots (Pete's "interview"
with a German TV host, the Smothers Brothers, the "Success Story"
segment.) The moment that really blew me away was the performance of "A
Quick One," which I had never heard anywhere before. Worth the price
of the whole thing. A major travesty on the boxed set is that they try
to edit this version together with the studio version! Cretins! Since I
have the LP already, I'll have to go out and get the expanded Leeds
just to see if the version there is as awesome.
Year Of Release: 1979
Pfoooey. The bastards! I had such high hopes! The original Quadrophenia was a great conceptual album, with an inner 'message' of love and peace, using the mod backgrounds of Brighton beaches simply as a canvas, with songs like 'Dirty Jobs', 'Cut My Hair' and 'Sea And Sand' being pretty links between the real centerpieces such as 'Punk And The Godfather', 'Is It Me (For A Moment)?' and, of course, 'Love Reign O'er Me'. The movie forgets about this entirely. It is nothing but a story of a mod, taking the surface elements of Townshend's concept and totally and uncompromisingly discarding the others. OK, so they do feature excerpts from 'Love Reign O'er Me' in the movie, but it sounds completely out of place there, especially considering that the next thing that happens after they play the song is Jimmy driving his bike into the sea from the rocks. 'Dumb' is too soft a word to describe this piece of misguided shit. Even though it features Sting. I have only one question to ask: why the hell is it called Quadrophenia when the subject of 'four personalities' isn't even mentioned anywhere throughout the movie? It's like calling a film 'The Three Musketeers' and eliminating Athos and Porthos for technical reasons! Anyway, the music doesn't fit in anywhere at all, it just sounds like coming from another world. I dumped it onto the back shelves after watching it once and I'm not going to do it again. Not even for a hundred pounds! YEEEK! And it features The Who as 'executive producers'! Go figure!
Mail your ideas
WHO'S
BETTER WHO'S BEST
Year Of Release: 1988
An hour-long video destined to accompany another one in an endless line of hit packages. It adds little to Kids, cuz many tracks are just slammed off of that one, and they sound worse, too. The big news is: some interesting early footage, mostly lip-synched ('The Kids Are Alright', 'I'm A Boy', full versions of 'Substitute' and 'Pictures Of Lily' which were briefly shown in Kids), but some live ('My Generation'). Plus, there is a great live version of 'I'm Free' from the London Coliseum (this unhappy, but great performance ended up being dissected onto three videos) and a passable version of 'Magic Bus' from Amsterdam, 1972. Not essential, but highly recommendable to novices who are not used to The Who's live sound.
Mail your ideas
THE
WHO LIVE FEATURING "TOMMY"
Year Of Release: 1989
This is the video of the reunion tour shot in LA, and some of the performances here even made it to the official Join Together release (notably 'Love Reign O'er Me' and some Tommy tracks). The old Who energy still shows itself sometimes, but for the most part Townshend's leaps seem almost parodic, and overall you'll be greatly disappointed - this, for once, is a performance which is more enjoyable without the video presentation. Even worse, Pete has invited lots of 'guests' to sing on Tommy, some of which are good (Patti LaBelle on 'Acid Queen'; Elton John on 'Pinball Wizard'), but some just profanize the piece (Billy Idol as 'Cousin Kevin' - the jerk!; Phil Collins as 'Uncle Ernie'). Thanks goodness, none of these 'guests' were featured on the album. The second part includes some evergreens which are not found on Join ('Substitute', 'Boris The Spider', 'Baba O'Riley'), but they're inessential, too. Aw, skip it.
Your worthy comments:
Bob Josef <Trfesok@aol.com> (28.07.2000)
Actually, they should have titled this one Three Guys who used to be in the Who and a large backing band play songs by the Who. The band, at this point, retains virtually none of its musical identity -- Pete even says so at one point during the show. The performances aren't horrible (except, I totally agree, for Billy Idol's -- what an obnoxious asshole). But with no Keith, Entwistle muted (he can't even sing "Boris the Spider" alone) and Pete relegated, for all practical purposes, to a support guitarist role, it's obvious that's the band's musical chemistry has almost totally dissipated over time. Roger is in pretty good voice, but this could be a band backing him on a solo tour and it wouldn't sound too different. Exciting in places, but they really should have given it up long before this tour.
Derrick Stuart <MSDK84@email.msn.com> (27.11.2000)
Amusing and interesting video. The guest stars give it a nice flair, I'm impressed with Phil Collins' impersoniation of Uncle Ernie. However, the horn section and such is completely unncessary.
Year Of Release: 1995
I haven't got the box set which this video is destined to accompany, but that's no big problem. The video is great, though! Of course, it pales next to The Kids, which is no surprise since everything does, but it is still a great job. It is exceptionally long (more than 2 hours 30 min.) and, unfortunately, has its dull moments: especially near the beginning, where the performances are not that entertaining ('Anyway Anyhow Anywhere' and 'So Sad About Us' suffer from terrible quality, while the Monterey version of 'A Quick One' shows they haven't yet mastered it as a great stage number by 1967) and near the end (three numbers from the infamous reunion tour just don't seem that good after all the prime stuff, and 'Love Reign O'er Me' from Shea Stadium is little less of an embarrassment than the contemporary version on Who's Last). The rest, though, ranges from magnificent (the 1969-70 stuff: a vigorous 'Happy Jack' from the London Coliseum, three terrific performances from somewhere in Michigan in mid-1970, especially 'Water' which overshadows the Isle Of Wight version; and two numbers from the Isle of Wight itself, which you just have to see, especially Pete doing his windmills on 'Young Man Blues') to very good ('Dreaming From The Waist'; some numbers from the 1974 Charlton show) or just enjoyable (a loyal 'My Generation' from Amsterdam, even though the sound is not very great and Pete seems slightly off his head). Almost an hour is dedicated to post-Keith performances, and the 1979 Chicago numbers are very strong, showing us that they did manage to pass on without Moon after all and the problem was with Pete and not with the drummer ('Music Must Change' is especially impressive, with Pete pulling off some truly emotional solos and directing the 'musical storm' to a shattering climax). In all, if you're a Who fan, this is an absolute must for you, along with Kids. But don't get it if you're only beginning to get into The Who, cuz it might just bore you at first - after all, one hundred and fifty minutes of The Who just will not be OK for just anybody.
Mail your ideas
LISTENING
TO YOU - LIVE AT THE ISLE OF WIGHT FESTIVAL
Year Of Release: 1996
If you're in the process of comparing the freshly bought audio release
of the concert with your trusty Leeds copy and feeling rather sceptical
about it, don't hesitate to pick up a copy of this (rather rare - I was
lucky to get it in Italy) video. The only existent official recording of
an 'entire' (see my complaints below) concert in the Who's prime, it is
totally shattering. I guess it goes without saying that the Who are a band
that have not only to be heard, but to be seen just as well. If you haven't
seen the video versions of 'Young Man Blues', with Pete going totally berserk
over his guitar, or 'Shakin' All Over' with same Pete shakin' all over
with same guitar, or 'Water' with Keith juggling his sticks, or 'See Me
Feel Me' with the blue lights pursuing the audience, you won't really understand
what the phenomenon of the Who meant for the late Sixties. I mean,
the snippets and extracts found on the videos listed above are okay, but
this is the real thing. The sound quality, of course, is
inferior to the CD, but that's how it usually goes with videos: on the
other side, the listeners' noises nicely stress the 'audience participation'
element which is totally missing on the album. And the camerawork is excellent
(read: Daltrey's mane is far not the only thing that gets in the view).
In all, the video is an absolute necessity for any Who fan and far beyond
that.
Unfortunately, real Who fans will be disappointed by the edit work. The
songs' order is changed (Tommy is relegated to the end of the tape,
when in reality it was stuck in the middle of the show; 'Summertime Blues'
and 'Shakin' All Over' have unexplainably changed places), and what's even
worse, lots of the songs are cut. Tommy suffers the most, with almost
none of the songs left intact: there's only a short bit of 'Hawker', for
instance. I particularly grieve the loss of 'Amazing Journey' and 'Sparks',
the key element in the whole presentation. The framing sets are also shortened:
we're deprived of 'Substitute' and 'Naked Eye', the solos on 'My Generation'
and 'Heaven And Hell' are cut, and 'Shakin' All Over' loses an entire verse.
The bastards! Moreover, lots of screen shots are substituted, so you're
often tricked into thinking you see what they sing when in fact you see
what they sung five minutes ago. WHY? The best guess would be that the
tapes are partially spoiled; but in that case, why do I get the chance
to observe an intact version of 'Naked Eye' on the Message Of Love
video (dedicated to the entire festival, also a great buy, by the way)?
The idiots! They went and repeated the standard mistake - the tape won't
eliminate the need for bootlegs, it will only increase it. Now that the
common fan has the video, he'll be painfully searching for a bootlegged
full version - until he gets it, of course. Why are the record and video
businessmen nothing but a company of brainless jerks?
On the plus side, on the video you get a couple bits that have been (also
unexplainably) left off the album: in general, these are short extracts
from Pete's solos, like on 'Young Man Blues' and 'Water', plus an extra
verse in 'See Me Feel Me'. And there's some extra banter as well. So, with
a little hard labour and patience, you could make yourself a CDR which
will look real close to a complete version of a concert. Maybe these recording
guys weren't jerks anyway - all they were trying to do is present you with
a delightful puzzle.
As might easily be supposed, Pete Townshend had a successful and rather important solo career after disbanding the Who (actually, it started even before that /in/famous moment). I have reviewed what few albums I have by Pete on a separate page, hoping some day to bring it to completion. The funny thing is that all the other three members of the band also had solo records: Entwistle scored a few moderate successes in the Seventies, but kinda fizzled out at the beginning of the Eighties (it's no surprise that the material he recorded on the last Who albums was significantly below par: he simply ran out of gas); only in the Nineties had he somewhat reassembled his skills. Daltrey had several solo albums out, too, mostly atrocious, but I just can't resist these cheap copies... anyway, keep in mind that Roger was a next-to-none songwriter and his output is easily the most dismissable of all the band members. And finally, don't laugh at me, but Keith Moon also had a solo record out...
Year Of Release: 1975
Overall rating = 9
Probably only interesting from a historical perspective; but lovers
of Keith won't really be disappointed.
Best song: TOGETHER
Roughly speaking, this is the first and the last Keith Moon solo album.
The grim thing about it is that he actually knew it would be his last one
all the way through, and he actually says 'first and last' in the very
contemporary radio promotion spot, included here as one of the CD bonus
tracks. Another grim thing is that you can actually see Keith fading
away on this record. You'd probably expect a raunchy, debauchery, totally
loony listening experience, something along the lines of 'Cobwebs And Strange',
right? And in a certain way, this is what Keith was trying to present on
this album, chock-full of various silly things and songs of all genres
that fitted Keith's personal tastes, performed sloppily, but with enough
passion, sincerity and humour to somewhat redeem the lack of experience.
But something doesn't really feel right about the record - from the very
beginning. Just look at Keith's face in the car on the album cover: sad,
gloomy and utterly melancholic. And yeah, the back cover of the record,
where Keith sticks his naked buttocks out of the very same car, is
the typical naughty Moon, but the very contrast can't help leading me to
the thought that, at that late point in his career, Keith was merely faking
it. The album itself was recorded at the tail end of 1974, at a time when
Keith teamed up with John Lennon and Ringo in John's famous 'Lost Weekend'
- a desperate, self-exterminating celebration of booze and debauchery in
L.A., where they spent most of their time getting drunk to hell and getting
thrown out of bars and restaurants. I suppose the process was just
mindless fun from time to time, but usually it was just sad and stupid
(John later referred to this period in his life as a real nightmare). And
everything that they did served only one purpose - to mask the mid-life
crisis and the disappointments in the guys' personal lives. John and Ringo
managed to recover, though; Keith never did.
I really felt a need to go into these details, because Two Sides Of
The Moon should really and truly be perceived in the context of what
was happening during the recordings. Taken out of context, the record is
a complete, absolute, undescribable failure. Just like Bill Wyman and Ringo
himself before him, Keith had adopted their 'big-band' formula: billions
of session players, loads of donated tunes (Keith has no songwriting credits
at all), and an overall 'trashy' atmosphere that, in a perfect world, would
result in a forgettable, but enjoyable one-listen record.
Unfortunately, Keith managed to blow it on several counts. First, his singing
is horrible. It's not that he can never stay on key (sometimes he can't,
though): but it's obvious that it takes him a lot of efforts to do so,
and thus, when he takes on some 'classic' cover tunes, like the Who's own
'The Kids Are Alright' or the Beatles' 'In My Life', the results are laughable:
he carefully evades lengthy notes, smoothes out all the edges and often
ends up reciting the lyrics rather than singing them. Second, he doesn't
even drum on his own record: I'm pretty sure that the drumming on 'Kids'
is Keith, but for the rest of the tunes he handles the drumming to session
players - altogether, there are seven different drummers on here,
including Ringo, Jim Keltner and others I don't know. I guess this has
something to do that Keith recorded most of this stuff in such a drunken
state he couldn't even hold the sticks; a more modest explanation would
be that the songs were mostly recorded live, with little or no overdubbing,
in which case Keith simply couldn't sing and drum at the same time. Anyway,
I'd say that listening to this record pretty much equals to listening to
a bunch of accapella Jimi Hendrix numbers or to a Robert Plant instrumental
album. Third and most important, though, the 'donated' tunes are often
worthless, with little entertaining value at all. Sure, there's enough
variety to have a little something for every taste, but somehow Keith manages
to leave me unimpressed ninety percent of the time.
The plain old-fashioned rock'n'roll is stubbornly generic: 'Back Door Sally'
manages to produce a little steam as Keith virtually screams his head off,
but 'Crazy Like A Fox' is a tune so dumb that it hardly has any reason
to exist at all, and I can't really understand why anybody should be really
interested in hearing Keith strut his way through John Lennon's 'Move Over
Ms L' when we all can easily prefer John's own version, now commonly available
on the John Lennon Collection. Neither am I particularly fond of
Keith's take on retro-Fifties pop like 'Solid Gold' (only barely interesting
due to the complete fool that Keith makes of himself on that one) or Jerry
Lee Lewis' 'Teenage Idol'. His take on country pretty much defines 'banal
country fodder' ('One Night Stand'; at three and a half minutes, it's way
too long for me), and the rendition of the Beach Boys' 'Don't Worry Baby'
makes me cringe so much I actually reach out for these funny little surf
covers on the bonus part of the Who's A Quick One.
Essentially, when you sort out all that dreck, you're left with... nothing.
Nothing at all, unless you count Keith's whacky gospel rendition of 'In
My Life' as a serious artistic statement. It's actually moving, I'll admit,
and in the light of Keith's demise it's more than that - a highly emotional,
touching confession, so I'll refrain from sneering at that one; I'll just
say that Rod Stewart certainly took his inspiration from this album when
he recorded his own version (now that's not a compliment to Rod Stewart).
So the honour of being the best track on the record falls to the kitschy
reggaeish number 'Together', written for Keith by Harry Nilsson, but having
a fishy Lennon-ish look to it (especially these soaring strings - can anybody
remind me which Lennon tune they're ripped off? I got amnesia!) Keith's
friendly, highly idiotic chatting with Ringo at the end of the track is
the best moment, though. Hmm.
The funny thing is that the bonus tracks on here, excluding alternate versions
of 'Teenage Idol' and 'Don't Worry Baby', are actually better. The
radio promo is wonderful, in the best traditions of Keith's humour; and
the four slightly sleazy pop songs that come after it easily beat out anything
on the record itself. 'I Don't Suppose' is heartfelt; 'Real Emotion' is
engaging; 'Naked Man' is extremely weird; and 'Do Me Good' is such a blatant
rip-off of 'Power Cut' from McCartney's Red Rose Speedway album
that it's interesting in any case. Rip-offs are always interesting, whether
you intend to discard them or not.
In any case, I would certainly only recommend this record to desperate
Who fans in search of more product. Virtually it has absolutely no reason
to exist and I don't even know if it managed to satisfy Keith's ambitions
as a Solo Artist or not. But it makes a funny, listenable tribute to the
Greatest Keith Moon Style Drummer Of All Times, and all the humour contained
therein is probably enough to justify its existence if you love Keith as
a personality, not just as an important drummer. And by all means get the
CD release with bonus tracks: the old version only gets an eight.
Together we'll
sort it out - so mail your ideas!
DALTREY
(released by: ROGER DALTREY)
Year Of Release: 1973
Overall rating = 7
Don't believe that lion mane! It's a Leo Sayer record sung by Roger
Daltrey!
Best song: ONE MAN BAND
There's no obvious answer to the question - why would Roger want to
start a solo career at all? Usually, second-rate band members release solo
albums when they have something to say. For instance, they might be decent
songwriters whose efforts are significantly or totally ignored by the band's
leaders (John Entwistle; Bill Wyman). Or they might just want to display
their radiant personalities (Ringo Starr; Keith Moon). But truthfully,
I simply don't see any reason for this record, the one that jump started
Roger's solo career. Of all living people, he obviously made the worst
possible choice and teamed up with Leo Sayer. Yeah, I know Leo wasn't
a full-fledged fluff rock star by that time, but that doesn't mean his
songwriting and cheesemeister instincts were any less developed.
Results? Daltrey is an album so full of cheese and so devoid of
musical ideas or, in fact, any genuine sincere joyful excitement, that
it belongs in that wretched bin where all Leo Sayer records should be thrown
one by one. Sayer wrote the majority of these tunes (I seem to remember
he later recorded some of these on his own records, but I'm not sure since
I obviously don't have them), while the rest was written by Sayer's piano
player. The band is mostly nameless, with the one exception being violin
player Dave Arbus on some of the tracks - it's the same dude that's responsible
for the crazy jig on 'Baba O'Riley'. Not that I care - all the instrumentation
is as bland as possible, based on simplistic acoustic guitar strumming,
watery two- or three-chord piano melodies and generic MGM orchestration.
Sometimes it seems to me that at least half of the songs rip off Lennon's
'Imagine' (check out the intro to 'You Are Yourself' if you're wondering),
and the other half utilises exactly the same pair of chords that are used
by mediocre singer-songwriters who bother only about pretentious lyrics
and never bother about diversifying the musical accompaniment. And I can't
even say that the lyrics on here are interesting.
What's even worse is that Roger himself doesn't seem to be doing a lot
on the album. After all these years of wailing and roaring along with Pete's
waves of feedback, he suddenly feels like dumping it all and humming out
a set of forgettable, often astonishingly sappy ballads. And it's amazing
how feeble and shakey and unskilled his vocals suddenly become: either
I'm just not able to represent Roger without his trademark 'YEAAAAH!',
or he's a really limited singer when it comes back to 'toning down'. The
second variant seems more preferrable to me - no wonder Pete sang all these
cutesy little ballads on Sell Out.
The album begins with an okayish acoustic pop rocker, 'One Man Band', that
has enough naive charm to not make you squint and squirm, and next minute
it quickly dives head first into Lake Crapola. Particular lows include
'You And Me', an overdose of saccharine where Roger painfully tries to
imitate a tender falsetto but fails as his vocal range just isn't that
suitable, or the Hollywoodish piece of schlock 'When The Music Stops' that
sounds more like Mantovani than Daltrey. Maybe none of the other tracks
are that bad, but that's small consolation. 'Giving It All Away'
managed to even be a hit, God knows why (well, maybe I shouldn't ask -
weren't the Carpenters and the Osmonds at the peak of their popularity
at the time?); the song is based on a dance-pop melody so trivial and stupid
that it only accounts for the total lack of taste of the general record
buying public at the time.
A little comfort comes from 'Thinking' and 'Reasons', two more mediocre
ballads that at least manage to break away from the totally cliched structure
of the album by displaying a little energy - Daltrey unexpectedly comes
to life on both, and the powerhouse drumming on 'Thinking' and lively electric
guitar solos on these songs at least bring in some half-hearted deviation
from the formula. Not that there's anything special about these songs,
of course, but they could make acceptable background listening. Also, the
CD re-issue of the album includes a ridiculously overblown bonus track
- the generic gospel number 'There Is Love', which will at least comfort
you in that Roger does a little howling and roaring on the song, as should
be expected from a generic gospel number. But on the other side, isn't
the perspective of Roger singing gospel a little frightening?
Frankly speaking, I don't even understand why it was so necessary to 'completely
remaster' the album and proudly stick this information on the front cover.
No amount of remastering can bring it to life, and everybody but rabid
Who completists are warned: stay away, unless you dig Leo Sayer, too. Although
I must confess, I kinda like Daltrey's portrait on the front cover. Almost
looks like Marc Bolan, doesn't he? And if you turn it over, you get a good,
detailed overview of his lionish mane which he apparently hadn't straightened
up since nineteen sixty-eight.
You are yourself, and your ideas are valuable
Your worthy comments:
<HeezGawn@aol.com> (26.02.2000)
C'mon George this record isn't THAT bad. "One Man Band" is very listenable and the "It's a Hard Life/Giving it All Away" combo is pretty good stuff. Or maybe I'm just being sentimental. In fact, I'm sure of it. Just memories of that summer of '73. So never mind.
Bob Josef <Trfesok@aol.com> (28.07.2000)
This album exists for a specific reason. Although Roger had a lot of confidence in himself as a blustery rock singer, he felt he needed to improve as a singer of ballads (although I don't know why -- "Love Ain't for Keeping" proves he could put in a moving performance on a slow song). However, he certainly went too far in the wimpy pop direction -- he could have picked a million other collaborators, but Leo Sayer?! The album put you to sleep well before the end. However, I do think that "Giving it All Away" is a lovely song that deserved to be a hit. Although it sounded a LOT better on a live solo tour, when it was just him a a solo piano.
David Lyons <d.t.lyons@btinternet.com> (14.12.2000)
Leaving aside the abomination that is Daltrey (the album, not the bloke), don't forget it got worse - Ride A Rock Horse, anyone? A public flogging should have ensued for the title alone.