The Who Album-By-Album (& Single-By-Single) Thread

The first of many Who songs that only sound like the Who to me. Punk rock circa 1965. A better introduction to the "band" than Can't Explain. A true powerhouse performance that laid the groundwork for the anthem that followed.

No doubt's at all who played on this one.

As with many Who songs the definitive version is live. This clip from Ready Steady Go is it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNMB88gxCTE

Has anyone every seen the pop art sleeve that supposedly came with the UK single? I just want to see a picture of one.

 

Anyway Anyhow Anywhere​

http://www.*****/images/AAA-UK.jpg

UK: May 21, 1965 - Anyway Anyhow Anywhere / Daddy Rolling Stone - Brunswick 05935
US: June 6, 1965 - Anyway Anyhow Anywhere / Anytime You Want Me - Decca 31801

UK

A1: Anyway Anyhow Anywhere (2:35) *****
(Pete Townshend/Roger Daltrey)
B1: Daddy Rolling Stone (2:49) ***
(Derek Martin)

US

A1: Anyway Anyhow Anywhere (2:35) *****
(Pete Townshend/Roger Daltrey)
B1: Anytime You Want Me (2:38) ***
(Jerry Ragavoy/Garnet Mimms)

The Who's second single is just downright revolutionary! The band entered IBC in April to consciously try to get closer to their live sound than on their debut. They were quite aware of what their strengths were as a a band at that point, and just went for it. Following a great and uplifting start with a much looser feel than "I Can't Explain", at about 1:07 the band just takes off into a dimension that has not been explored by any band before them. This time the lyrics are a lot more determined and self assured. Pete described them as "Young and rebellious, anti middle-class, anti boss-class, and anti young marrieds." The title came to Pete while listening to Charlie Parker. "I just felt the guy was so free when he was playing. He was a soul without a body, riding, flying, on music." It could almost be read as an anarchistic statement, kicking down every door, breaking down every barrier. Roger helped a lot with the arrangement, making it a Townshend/Daltrey-composition. Roger is a lot more convincing here than on the debut, and delivers the words with passion. Pete attacks his guitar like a madman, making it scream and cry. His equipment was probably the same as on "I Can't Explain"; A 1964 Rickenbacker 360/12 “Export” (12-string, Fireglo, old style) into a Blonde ’64 Fender Bassman head and Fender Pro 1x15 blackface with internal speaker disconnected and then into Fender Bassman 2x12 cabinet or an early Marshall 4x12 cabinet to a devastating effect. Then there's Moonie. What a drummer! Keith is just everywhere! He drums up a tornado, and just rides on it, with John being the glue that holds it all together. While The Beatles made a nice little feedback on "I Feel Fine", The Who kicked it into cathartic overdrive! The result was a sound so extreme that Decca returned the master and said it was damaged. The B-side "Daddy Rolling Stone", although credited to Derek Martin, is actually written by Otis Blackwell. Martin's version was issued in the US on Crackerjack Records in 1963, and in the UK in 1964 on Sue Records, and The Who picked up his arrangement. It's Maximum R & B indeed, with a killer beat and a great performance from the whole band. The US was treated with a proof that The Who also can handle slower material gracefully with a cover of Garnet Mimms And The Enchanters "Any Time You Need Me", retitled "Anytime You Want Me" for the occasion. Roger really shines in this one with a very soulful performance, and the backing vocals from John and Pete are particularly impressive here. By their second single they had already developed the group dynamics that we know and love.​

 

Great posts, Devotional

The definitive versions are live: AAA from 1999
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQH5v7NKeIw

 

On Raspberriies' reunion tour (I caught them in Atlantic City) in 2005 the second song in their set was a cover of "Can't Explain"-it almost brought tears to my eyes,said it all-how that music affected four Cleveland teenagers and changed their lives.And a Philadelphia teenager I know also....

 

I believe "AAA" is the true "sound & soul" of the Who.

 

I guess I'm joining this late, just for this post, anyway. The guitar stylings Townshend uses, even at that early stage, heard moreso a few months later on Daddy Rolling Stone, and in the other April 1965 sessions, and later again in the measures of chordal tones and simple single line riffs and 'solos' throughout multiple songs on the debut record, and before that with the few '64 High Numbers tunes, like the solo in Zoot Suit, is indicative of his playing in the Can't Explain solo, which in itself is more akin to incorporating a few pickup and grace notes as an addendum to a chordal progession, and it's only the last measure of tagged ascending notes that even truly makes it more of a real 'solo' and sounds part and parcel of his guitar vocabularly at the time. The studio version of Daddy Rolling Stone is not uploaded, but here is Leaving Here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkEpopoiqtw

Love the AAA single, but I enjoy all the extended post-1999 concert versions.

 

+1

 

Well, it certainly laid a foundation for many qualities that would make The Who great.

 

Sorry I'm late...had chores to do.

I Can't Explain - My God! What a song! Kinks rip-off? Honestly I have never thought that once whenever I heard this song. As for the 12-string soloing, that is Pete all the way. As Dee said, it is very similar to his other guitar soloing of that period. And no one could whack the living crap out of that poor Ric 12-string and make it ring like that.

As for the real soloist on this track, tain't Pete nor Page. It's Keith! "Open My Eyes" by Nazz is a great tribute, turning the intro upside down musically.

AAA - it just keeps getting better. Great song and great sound. A war zone on record. When I hear this, I think of the "KIDS ARE ALRIGHT" movie promo that says "This guitar has only seconds to live...".

Were the Who the greatest singles band ever or what? When I got my first Meaty Beaty LP, it stayed on the turntable for weeks.

 

Great point. I always wondered just how much The Who influenced the Velvets. The Stones certainly didn't use the words "pop art" in the way The Who did. I know most of the Detroit bands cited The Who as an influence, and they were the only band that blew MC5 off their own stage, but I can't recall any of NYC's coolest band the Velvets talking much about The Who. Cale and Townshend would probably have had a lot to talk about in '65, though.

 

Jeff Beck on The Who -

What people underestimated, he was the most incredible drummer. You can’t even mimic him. Nobody’s been able to do it. I’ve watched and stood beside him and just gone ‘jesus!’ You’re asking me to recount a car crash. I could describe a car crash easier than I could describe his drumming. 'Anyway Anyhow Anywhere' .. Those drums. If you gave the Who just that inch of good material. There is no one who ever held a candle to them. Townshend, he’s not a finicky fiddly tiddley guitar player like I was, and like Eric and Jimmy were -we were always a bit fairy arsed about it - he was orchestral and he was this windmill orchestra with a couple of howitzer cannons on the side. They were too good. They were highly intelligent. The veneer that they put out of this loony dangerous band was one thing, but when you got close to them....

 

Anyway Anyhow Anywhere - what a great and exciting song and recording!
If "Can't Explain" is one of the best debut singles ever (and it surely is), then this one is one of the best 2nd singles ever (and of course "My Generation" is...). The Who made such an amazing statement with those first singles - no other group comes even close in my opinion.

 

What a funny, generous and self deprecating thing for Jeff to say.
He's right of course about Pete and the Who, but his statement makes me appreciate HIM even more.

 

OK, let's try to find the best sounding digital "Anyway Anyhow Anywhere".

This single was omitted from The 1st Singles Box because the masters have gone missing (which was a bad excuse, as some other tracks were obviously vinyl sourced). This is also why only the alternate vocal version (as issued in MONO on the French I Can't Explain/Bald Headed Woman/Anyway Anyhow Anywhere/Daddy Rolling Stone EP in 1965) was included in a STEREO mix on My Generation [Deluxe Edition] from 2002. That is the only STEREO version available, and while it's cool the hear the backing track, the vocals are clearly inferior, thus subtracting from the overall feel. I haven't compared the vinyl to redbook/SACD.

For MONO, we have Steve's Meaty Beaty Big & Bouncy-version, which has our host's signature unbeatable EQ, but is unfortunately taken from a bad tape. The one we seem to agree on as being best is the US version of Who's Better, Who's Best. For some reason the UK version of the same title is not true MONO, while the US is.

For digital MONO "Daddy Rolling Stone", there is only one option. That is the 2008 Japanese My Generation [Mono]. White Fang claims that it is a different version than either previously released versions, but none of our forum members have commented on this. As for now we regard it as the single mix.

For digital STEREO "Daddy Rolling Stone", Steve was the first engineer to use that mix in 1987, but there are some that prefer the EQ on Thirty Years Of Maximum R&B to that of Two's Missing on CD. I urge you to get a needledrop of Steve's Two's Missing and compare it to Thirty Years Of Maximum R&B. I just did, and the difference is night and day. It also sounds like Two's Missing is taken from a better tape. As we all know, the Two's Missing CD was mastered from the same tape Steve prepared, so it's all in the EQ here. I think the Thirty Years Of Maximum R&B-version sounds lifeless and drowned in NR, but can't compare it to the Two's Missing CD, since I just discovered mine was a bootleg - and only found the cover yesterday. I don't remember it as being anywhere near as dull as the box, though, so I will put Two's Missing up as the best for now. Again, the vinyl sounds fantastic.

We also have a STEREO REMIX available on My Generation [Deluxe Edition]. Apart from Keith being way loud, and John a bit low, it is a very clear and enjoyable mix. I haven't compared the vinyl to redbook/SACD.

So, here we go:

Anyway Anyhow Anywhere - MONO: US Who's Better, Who's Best
Anyway Anyhow Anywhere [Alternate Version] - STEREO: My Generation [Deluxe Edition]
Daddy Rolling Stone - MONO: 2008 Japanese My Generation [Mono]
Daddy Rolling Stone - STEREO: Two's Missing
Daddy Rolling Stone - STEREO REMIX: My Generation [Deluxe Edition]

The MONO Alternate Version of "Anyway Anyhow Anywhere" is only available on the French EP.

 

I know we're already veering the topic towards the next single, but here is that interview I mentioned earlier with Shel Talmy, hosted by The Who Forum.

 

Devotional: at the end of this thread, I'm going to collate your posts and use them for reference purposes. I already plan to revise my "Essential Who" playlist based on your contributions, & we're only two songs in...

 

Just curious but, what about the version of "AAA" that's on Meaty Big and Bouncy which Steve mastered? Is the version on Who's Better, Who'sBest ...better?

 

See the second paragraph of D's post which you quoted...

 

D'oh.....oh well that what I get posting after a few beers,

 

No kidding!

I wish I had something to contribute but at this point I'm enjoying reading along.

 

I've lain low for awhile, in hopes that the starter of this thread might reconsider his implied desire to pick up his ball and go home rather than defend his views (against which, I see, even more new evidence has been amassed).

For the record, I'm quite glad he started this thread, as I'm sure we all are.

But I can't let it slip into the next single without a paean to "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" -- one of my favorite records of all time.

Much of what I would say has already been said. But I'll add that, as has been suggested in other threads, I agree with the case that has sometimes been made that this is the first psychedelic single ever made...at least going by the middle section.

Few moments in rock 'n' roll are more exhilarating than that moment when this song simply becomes detached from its moorings and "takes off" into hitherto completely unexplored territory -- one all-purpose definition of "psychedelic" music that's always worked for me.

Even upon the thousandth hearing, the listener is left nearly breathless at the cacophony exploding all around him. It's noise, but it's noise of the most beautiful kind.

I'm assuming The Who were still playing small clubs when they first started doing these songs, and I can hardly imagine what the effect must have been.

The song itself is fun...I like the bravado of the lyrics and the way Roger sings them, and the tightly controlled lead in to the middle, where you just know Keith is holding himself back with might restraint, because he knows he'll get to break out in just a moment.

Finally, the ending build-up, culminating with Pete's deft and unexpected flicking of the toggle switch, is perfection.

I know "My Generation" is more celebrated, but this is the Who record to put in the time capsule for me.


P.S. I'm sure it's old hat to everyone here, but of course, the world needs to see this performance of the song from the Richmond Jazz Festival...one of the most exciting live performances I've ever seen.

P.P.S. As I haven't followed "The Who"'s (quotes intentional) live adventures the past couple of decades, I had no idea they had added this song back into their repertoire. I just watched the Las Vegas performance of it, and was not impressed. All that equipment, and not a tenth as exciting as when Keith had a basic kit and Pete and John had amplifiers instead of massive sound reinforcement. Granted, they're much older, but that still doesn't account for the lack. And what, in God's name, is that keyboard wheedling behind it??

 

March 26th 2007

AAA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EuOXadcxLs


A much more representative clip of modern day AAA than the early one from 1999.

 

There is no excuse for your theory being branded as "pathetic". That is just rude and not what this forum is suppose to be about. I am glad you started the thread and will happily defend your right to make a plausible argument about Jimmy Page's role in the recording of "I Can't Explain".

I don't know whether it is Page's or Pete's solo. I do know that Shel Talmy was insensitive about the use of session musicians and ticked off both Pete and Ray Davies in 1965 by their use during recording sessions. I also know that "I Can't Explain" was a hit, where Daddy Rolling Stone was not, and that this fact MAY contribiute to Pete's claim to the solo (while not caring about DRS). And finally, it is a fact that both Pete and Jimmy Page contradicted themselves on occasion and that sometimes an honest mistake in recollection will happen from time to time.

 

GAAAA! Sad I am coming in here so late! Just a couple comments:

*I'm The Face/Zoot Suit

Sad this wasn't discussed at all. It's not so great, but it IS the Who. The B-side is lame, yes, and the A-Side is just Slim Harpo's "Got Love If You Want It" with new lyrics. But the A-side has great bass swoops by John and some neat drum rolls by Keith. I even like the solo (as played in my memory's jukebox...I am not pulling it out right now).

I'd even like to know where people think the best versions of these reside. They've been remixed on a lot of releases. Original mixes out there anywhere?

*I Can't Explain

It is worth mentioning that the Nazz ripped off the riff for "Open My Eyes" (adding some jazzy major 7ths, oh Todd) and the Clash rewrote it for "Clash City Rockers."

 

I’m late chiming back in great stuff from Devotional. Two cents on the 2 singles discussed. Here’s a nutshell synopsis from me.

ICE is the most explosive 3 minute single of its 60’s era time frame.

AAA compiles all the elements of the Who sound. To be further defined on the 1st LP.

They burnt these to the ground in 1999-beyond. Played them well (And Substitute) and found a few million more fans.