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

Count me as a huge fan of Circles--one of Pete's earliest "inward" songs about a state of mind. With Kit Lambert’s version, the music really evokes the mood in a manner similar to later songs like Melancholia. The hypnotic motif John plays on the french horn in Circles reminds me of the chord progression used in Underture--another inward song.

 

good to see this thread active again....

 

No easy way to find it. It's only available on the bonus disc that came with early copies of The Ultimate Collection, or on the recent very expensive Japanese A Quick One Box. I haven't done a direct comparison, but the box is probably the best source — the Ultimate Collection version, as I recall, sounds uber-compressed.

 

Keep it on the DL, but I have an 'extra' of this UC 4-track BD CD if anyone is looking...


cheers,

 

Very interesting, Devotional. That made me curious. Initially planning to go for the Classic, I bought a much cheaper Virgin. Has not arrived yet, so I cannot comment.

 

Thanks everyone for your help on this. Shall we move on then and keep this thread rolling?

 

Call me crazy, but "Substitute" was always one of my least favorite Who songs. It never struck a chord with me, and I just seemed to hear it all too often between the radio, the comps and the live albums. It wasn't until very recently that I heard it again after a long while and recognized its brilliance. Took me 20+ years that.

 

Did I miss something, or is the UK single version not on any of the remastered cds? Best place to find that?

 

No stereo mix exists, so the UK single version is on heaps of CDs. Meaty Beaty Big & Bouncy, Who's Better Who's Best, and Direct Hits all sound good.

 

I had a similar experience. For years I thought it was a very uninteresting song, even annoying. Then, while in college, I finally woke up and heard the brilliance. A great single.

 

My Beloved First Who Long-player...

Me too, I liked Substiute OK on MBB&B, but I Loved so many other songs more: The Seeker, Pictures of Lily, Happy Jack, Magic Bus, I'm A Boy etc... that is was never a firm fave and I considered it a second or third teir Who track... but recently, coming back to it, I have really enjoyed it and its vibe, style, energy and lyric, I'm sold on its brilliance now, but then I'm NOW totally convinced of the utter genius of almost all the Townshend's tracks on his skillfully compiled MBB&B set...


cheers,

 

substitute: one of my favourite (surely top 10, sometimes top 5) track from the who... although i also like "i can't explain", "anyway..." and "my generation" this is something special...

 

I saw Richard Thompson do a great "Substitute" solo, live at Oberlin college, late 1980's.

 

thanks.. I have a couple of those. Just seems like it should be on one of the album reissues... Of course I have an original UK 45 as well as an ATCO US release... and heaps of comps.

 

Ah, gotcha. Yeah, it seems odd that it wasn't on the A Quick One remasters (apart from the Japanese box).

 

A Legal Matter

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

UK: March 7, 1966 - A Legal Matter / Instant Party - Brunswick 05956

A1: A Legal Matter (2:47) ***
(Pete Townshend)
B1: Instant Party (3:05) ****
(Pete Townshend)

I doubt Pete knew when he wrote "A Legal Matter" that it was going to be released as a single - against his will - in the midst of a court case, but that is what happened. Apart from being an OK track, it is noteable for being the first time Pete sings lead on a Who-song. “It's about a guy on the run from a chick about to pin him down for breach of promise,” Pete told Rolling Stone in 1971. “What this song was screaming from behind lines was I’m lonely, I’m hungry, and the bed needs making. It’s terrible feeling like an eligible bachelor but with no women seeming to agree with you.” The B-side is Shel's version of "Circles", called "Instant Party" here - the same version that would end up on the US My Generation album. Both versions are great, and it's a good thing that we have two versions!​

 

(Sorry for the late updates, I'll be back on Monday with regular updates + various articles/interviews that I will post in full right here):

 

This, and the Out In The Street 45 have now become expensive items. At the time, it seemed redundant to get this. Of course, now I wish I had them...

 

Anybody ever come across a mono version of "A Legal Matter" with audible bass?

Shame I have to stick with the stereo (Frankenstein-ed to include the fills and, I think, solo as well)...

 

Universal Japan's 2008 My Generation CD has the bass pretty high.

 

With Who And 'Birds At Paris Allez-Oop!

Keith Altham, NME, 8 April 1966​

READY, Steady, Allez-oops, from the Locomotive in Paris last Friday, was largely held together by the efforts of the Who and the Yardbirds, who were obviously so much better than the second-rate French artists appearing.

The English production staff worked under very trying conditions to produce some semblance of professionalism from the French side, who were typically excitable, disorganised and, at times, very amusing.

The actual transmission was made the more chaotic by the fact that a national phone strike had been called and the one line open to London was virtually unusable, so it was impossible to know if England was actually receiving the show!

Editor Vicky Wickham in company with Yardbird Paul "Sam" Smith, who was as usual in company with production assistant Rosemary Simon, were outside the Moulin Rouge, in which building the Locomotive is housed, early in the morning.

Munching an enormous pear, Vicky was most optimistic about the show. "I don't feel a bit tense this week," she said. "Usually I'm a nervous wreck but everything seems to be going well."

In a nearby bistro Sam explained he had come on ahead of the Yardbirds, who were all arriving for rehearsals at 2 o'clock that afternoon. To pass the time Sam obligingly showed us his latest impression. "The Who call me 'the screaming skull'," said Sam proudly. "They just can't believe anyone can have a face like mine." Sam demonstrated by pulling down his eyelids with his fingers and rolling the pupils upwards until only the whites showed while opening his mouth hugely. The waiter bringing coffee dropped it all over the floor and went away to get another.

At the RSG hotel the rest of the production staff were seated along a long table looking rather like a firm's outing to Clacton. We sat down at a small table, ordered salads, then Pete Townshend entered, complete with make-up, asking "Where are the others?" and walked out again. Next entrance was producer Francis Hitchens, looking executive-like behind the stub of his enormous cigar and smiling productively. On being told that I had been touring with the Stones he asked if I would ring Bill and Brian who were back in Paris that morning.

"We'd like them on the show," he explained. "I'd like Bill to be a barman. We've got lots of ideas like a man dressed up as a priest and a gendarme to put colour into the show."

On phoning Bill at the Georges V hotel I discovered he had arrived back at five o'clock. He did not fancy the barman bit too much but assured me that he and Brian would make an effort to come to the show.

Rehearsals for the show began at two at the Locomotive and I found I could get in quite simply by saying "I'm English." I watched Antoine, who looks like a cross between Sandie Shaw and Donovan and sings like Bob Dylan with tonsilitis. Then I saw Huges Aufrey who sang 'Santiago' with a group reminiscent of Lonnie Donegan's old skiffle ensemble. Eddy Mitchell, supposed to be the new rocking rage, struck me as rather pre-Bill Haley and the only artist who looked professional was the petit Mirellle Mathieu, a combination of Edith Piaf and Brenda Lee – which is not a bad comoination!

Chaos

I noticed Sam alone and palely loitering by the bar. "I suppose I shouldn't have expected things to go smoothly," he sighed. "The Yardbirds missed their plane. They're in Amsterdam and Giorgio is trying to charter a plane for £3,000 or something."

I made the observation that this was the ideal time for Sam to do his proposed solo disc and sing Jackie de Shannon. "Jackie de Shannon," sang Sam plaintively and stumbled brokenly off into a crowd of technicians.

I looked around the club where pictures of French artists decorated the walls surrounding a portrait of the late Eddie Cochran. Sitting on a stool beneath this was a somewhat bewildered Cathy McGowan.

"I can't speak a word of French," she wailed. "Yesterday I had to phone my sister Frankie in England, who understands the language, so that she could phone back the salon here where my dresses were being prepared. They didn't seem to understand what time I must have them."

Cathy had been out shopping that morning with Michelle, the wife of French star Dick Rivers, who was helping her compere the show. The result was a rather pretty little wrist-watch with beautiful Roman numerals.

Vicky was now beginning to look her old wound-up self as the show began to get under way, with the first act Huges Aufray taking nearly an hour and a half to rehearse one number. She caught hold of Sam by his sleeve.

"Tell me it's not true," she cried. "They're not in Amsterdam?" Sam looked as if he were going to turn into a "screaming skull" permanently and strolled off to the bar.

The Who arrived on cue and Roger Daltrey sat on the stairs to watch proceedings. He commented: "French TV production is very interesting. They kept us waiting six hours to do a show yesterday and all we've done since coming to Paris is spend our lives in cafes with insane brass bands. Weird musicians keep wandering in and producing trombones and trumpets from under their coats to play in the cafe. Ridiculous!"

Keith Moon was apparently engaged on his famous disappearing trick, but he arrived on time after being missing for over eight hours. He'd been to buy a legionnaire hat, he said!

An interesting situation began to develop on stage as director Michael Lyndsay Hogg issued instructions to his co-partner, the French director, who interpreted them the way he thought they should have been done. Consequently Michael was at a loss to understand why his directions were not being carried out!

Finally the little bald French director got very excited and jumped up and down on a technician's foot, screaming "Alors! Alors!" Finally he went away and no one saw him again.

Enter the Yardbirds in a cavalry charge with their manager, Giorgio Gomelsky, who appeared to take over everything and everyone at once by talking in three different languages!

Hitler

Guitarist Chris Dreja observed, on seeing Keith Moon on stage: "Y'know, I see what they mean about him – if he had a moustache he'd look just like Hitler."

Vocalist Keith Relf was suffering from a stomach upset and was not made to feel any better by the bad news that his father, who is their road manager, had been taken ill and was in hospital.

The show got off to an interesting start with the Who doing 'My Generation'. Finally Pete walked off and observed softly: "I'm going to kill the guy on the PA system." Picking up a chair, which he held above his head, he walked, Franken-stein-like, in front of the cameras and appeared to be going to attack the technician.

A number of other unrehearsed diversions were produced backstage by the Yardbirds. Jim McCarty, for instance, donned a white mac and sunglasses, staggered on before the cameras and asked Keith Moon the quickest way back to London.

The French camera crews worked on regardless, mowing down the dancers in the traditional RSG manner and oblivious to minor riots which had broken out around them on arrival of the Rolling Stones. Only and Bill and Brian, of course, but two were sufficient to bring half the audience screaming down toward the stage for autographs. Brian was practically buried under a bevy of birds!

"Brigitte Bardot's sister is in the audience," Brian told me. "She says that Brigitte wants to meet us again. How about that?"

As the show wound to a close I found Vicky staggering bewilderedly about looking for somewhere to collapse. Everyone else was leaping around on and off the stage and climbing the cameras

Did London receive the transmission I asked? "We may never know," said Vicky with a weak smile and went off to have dinner on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower. Or was it to jump?

© Keith Altham, 1966

 

Not the strongest entry in the Who's catalog, but a fun tune nonetheless. Pete's thin, tentative vocals on this track are far removed from the more confident and assertive tone that he would develop during the next several years.

 

The Kids Are Alright

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UK: August 12, 1966 - The Kids Are Alright / The Ox - Brunswick 059565
US: July 1, 1966 - The Kids Are Alright / A Legal Matter - Decca 31988

UK

A1: The Kids Are Alright (2:42) ****
(Pete Townshend)
B1: The Ox (3:49) ****
(Pete Townshend/Keith Moon/John Entwistle/Nicky Hopkins)

US

A1: The Kids Are Alright (2:42) ****
(Pete Townshend)
B1: A Legal Matter (2:47) ***
(Pete Townshend)

This is one killer 45, but while it sounds like an obvious choice for a single from My Generation, the band might not know that it was actually released in England, as Pete has claimed in interviews that it was only released in the States. They did film a promo video for it in Hyde Park in July with the single in mind, though. "Substitute" also had a promo video made in March, making The Who one of the first groups that made videos for their singles. "The Kids Are Alright" is a great Who-track that was recorded on the same October 13th midnight session that produced "My Generation". Kit Lambert had introduced Pete to classical music - mainly baroque, and this was Pete's first attempt at trying to sound a bit like Henry Purcell with a mercybeat. Glyn Johns mixed it, and unfortunately also made the 2:42 edit that cut about 20 seconds from the middle eight to make it more commercial (the same edit is found on the American version of the album - the My Generation post shows the wrong time). This makes it sonically less revolutionary, but still a beautifully jangly hymn about the hardest thing to do when you care for someone, which is putting yourself aside. And although the song has been compared to The Beatles' "All My Loving", these lyrics could never have been written by Paul McCartney, as they so refreshingly make NO attempt at rhyming. There is thankfully no way to edit "The Ox" to make it more commercial. No band could match the sheer adrenaline rush of that proto-metal onslaught. The US got "A Legal Matter" as the B-side. While it still didn't sell all that much, it became a regional hit in Detroit and Chicago. The summer of 1966 was a very turbulent time for The Who, with loads of paranoia. Along with increasingly aggressive behaviour, and Pete being very open about their drug use (to the point where it was often censored by journalists), Roger, who had been fired from the group for a week back in November - after flushing Keith's pills down the toilet, and knocking him out cold after having been attacked with a tambourine, was still uncertain about his position in the group (they did perform as a three piece whenever Roger was ill). Keith, who had already recorded a session with Jeff Beck - much to Pete's dismay, turned up late for a gig in May and was beaten up on stage by Pete and Roger during the smash-up, getting a black eye and requiring three stitches in his leg. He told the press he was going to leave the band (maybe for The Animals), and they played two shows without him. John also considered leaving The Who for The Moody Blues at this time, or optionally starting a band with Keith and Jeff Beck called Led Zeppelin. The tensions within the group only made their concerts even more extreme (John was now also occasionally smashing his bass, and joining in on the destruction - he even cleaved an amp in Sweden with a bass), leading audiences to riot during the giant smash-ups, resulting in bans, promoters dragging them off the stage, police cutting the power etc. While they did blow both The Beatles and The Rolling Stone off the stage at the NME Pollwinners Concert in May, and were considered the most energetic live band in the country, it would soon be impossible for the band to get gigs in clubs because of their reputation. "The Kids Are Alright" was a reminder of The Who's genuine pop sensibility in the midst of all the chaos.​

 

Always dug Keith's drumming during the solo on this one--especially on the longer version.

 

I'm A Boy

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

UK: August 26, 1966 - I'm A Boy / In The City - Reaction 591004
US: December 10, 1966 - I'm A Boy / In The City - Decca 32058

A1: I'm A Boy (2:38) ****
(Pete Townshend)
B1: In The City (2:25) **
(Keith Moon/John Entwistle)

The Who's eighth single marks a distinctive progression from the Maximum R&B-sound. Progression as in a much more progressive approach, that is. "I'm A Boy" is a lot more sophisticated musically than anything off My Generation, and with its weird tempo changes, drum overdubs and even French horn from John - it's the first time they spent more than a couple of takes on a track. Not that it's a polished effort, but still. The Who produced themselves again at IBC, with Kit Lambert and Paul Clay engineering (Kit got his first producer credit). Pete went for Rickenbackers again, fed into two Marshall JTM45 100 (1959 Super Lead or two 1959T Super Lead Tremolo) and heads, with two custom Marshall 8x12 cabinets (John was often using the same amps as Pete at this point). Keith had also got a new Premier kit with two bass drums, although it's hard to tell from his playing on this single, which just sounds as joyous as ever - be it one of two bass drums. And who could have written those lyrics but Pete? Nobody, of course, but did you know that they were part of a concept? At the time, Pete had been working on an idea named Quads. Set in 1999, Quads told of a world where prospective parents were able to choose the sex of their children. The couple in Pete's story chose four girls, but were erroneously given three girls and a boy. Undaunted, the couple raised their children as if they had four girls, dressing their frustrated little boy in girls' clothes and denying him involvement in any boyish activities. "The song, of course, is about a boy whose mother dresses him up as a girl," Pete wrote in 1971, "…and won’t let him enjoy all the normal boyish pranks like slitting lizards' tummies and throwing rocks at passing cars. "I'm A Boy" was my first attempt at Rock Opera." "I'm A Boy" appears to be the only song which materialized from the Quads project, but "Disguises", recorded at the same session, features similarly outlandish lyrics and subject matter. Whether or not any further Quads-related songs were written, Pete’s ideas for the project went beyond "I’m A Boy". "[Quads] goes on in later life where the three girls become a singing group, and I had amazing visions of Keith, John and I pretending to be the Beverly Sisters," Pete said in 1971. "There was a lot of comedy in it, but I think at the same time it was a heavily serious thing as well, because it had these flashbacks to childhood, which I was very into at the time." It's also notable for being a duet, with Pete and Roger sharing vocal duties - very well I might add! The B-side "In The City" is a rather weak track written by Keith and John, who apparently forgot to tell Pete and Roger about the session (maybe so they couldn't refuse the song), and did the backing track by themselves, with Pete and Roger overdubbing later (this seems strange, and "In The City" was recorded on the same night "I'm A Boy" was mixed). Being the most controversial group in England certainly helped the single, and it shot to number 2 in the charts. Not bad for an auto destructive band on a small indielabel that are banned everywhere. On September 10th, Chris Stamp told Disc that The Who were cutting down their appearances to major ballrooms only. "Not only is it impossible for the smaller places to pay, but the group gets a bad representation being dragged off stage and so on."​