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

My favorite Who-related ad of all time:

 

That was my avatar all week. I change frequently. Got to keep the Gorts off my tail.

 

old but not dead

 

"Got to keep the loonies on the path..."

 

A rare moment of peacefulness.

 

Oakland, 1976... Sunday. Simply one of the best bits of music I ever saw. Encores!

 

Must have been nice to be there as "the sun goes down"

ya, show off!!

Your "on top of everything Who related".....

 

I bet you have the guitar too:

 

If you mean the concert with the Grateful Dead, I was there too....second concert ever. Made me a Who fan for life!

Evan

 

I was always surprised that despite both bands followings, both shows were not sellouts. My favorite poster that I have is from that show, with Pete in mid flight. I also have the black and white "seconds to live". IMO no other band had such a powerful image on stage. You guys were lucky, I was only 9 at the time.

 

Yeah, the Oakland gigs were a gas. Putting the dead on the bill was a curious move. A lot of the dead-heads left after they played! Made it a lot nicer when the Who played. I timed it so I got there just as the dead finished the first day, and missed them completely the second.

It would make you a fan for life, shame it was Keith Moon's last time around.

I don't have a #5 but I have this one

 

OK were bragging here. I saw both shows that year. Winterland and Oakland. These were not the best gigs I had seen them play by a long shot. ... IMO 1976 was good not the greatest, but as a Who fan any show had it's merits. Here is a shot from the balcony at Winterland.

 

I'm sure you guys have seen the 1981 footage of Pete "playing" albeit from outer space with The Dead in Germany.

 

Oh yeah the Rockpalast show. The one where you can't hear him. Curious one time viewing for a Who fan.

 

Of course you can hear Pete ripping the rhythm power cords.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de1Miicm3Bc

 

Yes, thanks for that. I should of stated mine was the old VHS tape. The official release sounds much better.

Excerpts from Oakland '76

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhKb3DfIdJY&feature=related

 

Cool, try explaining what 8mm film was to a kid today


The day I graduated from High School, I ran all the way home and played "I'm Free" full blast. Once the sound of the Gibson/Hi-Watt /Townsend combo gets into your blood, it never leaves.

1983 Hi-Watt Amp Ad

 

A aksed bobby dylan I asked the beatles I asked timothy leary, but I never came back.

"The call me The Seeker, I've been searching low and high...

I won't get to get what I'm after till that day I die..."

 

I think we're just about ready to move on to one of the greatest albums of all time! Can't think of a better way to kick off the weekend!

 

OK, here we go:

 

The Who Sell Out



UK: December 15, 1967 - Track 612002 [Mono]
UK: December 15, 1967 - Track 613002 [Stereo]
US: January 6, 1968 - Decca DL 4950 [Mono]
US: January 6, 1968 - Decca DL 75950 [Stereo]
[US list "Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand" as "Mary-Anne With The Shaky Hands", "Our Love Was" as "Our Love Was, Is", "Medac" as "Spotted Henry" and "Rael (1 And 2)" as "Rael"]

UK

A1: Armenia City In The Sky (3:47) ****
(John Keene)
A2: Heinz Baked Beans (0:59) ****
(John Entwistle)
A3: Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand (2:35) ****
(Pete Townshend)
A4: Odorono (2:31) ****
(Pete Townshend)
A5: Tattoo (2:49) *****
(Pete Townshend)
A6: Our Love Was (3:24) ****
(Pete Townshend)
A7: I Can See For Miles (4:03) *****
(Pete Townshend)
B1: Can't Reach You (3:27) *****
(Pete Townshend)
B2: Medac (0:56) *
(John Entwistle)
B3: Relax (2:39) ****
(Pete Townshend)
B4: Silas Stingy (3:03) ****
(John Entwistle)
B5: Sunrise (3:05) *****
(Pete Townshend)
B6: Rael (1 And 2) (5:27) ***
(Pete Townshend)

US

A1: Armenia City In The Sky / Heinz Baked Beans (4:48) ****
(Pete Townshend/John Entwistle)
A2: Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand (2:35) ****
(Pete Townshend)
A3: Odorono (2:31) ****
(Pete Townshend)
A4: Tattoo (2:49) *****
(Pete Townshend)
A5: Our Love Was (3:24) ****
(Pete Townshend)
A6: I Can See For Miles (4:03) *****
(Pete Townshend)
B1: Can't Reach You / Medac (4:23) ***
(Pete Townshend/John Entwistle)
B2: Relax (2:39) ****
(Pete Townshend)
B3: Silas Stingy (3:03) ****
(John Entwistle)
B4: Sunrise (3:05) *****
(Pete Townshend)
B5: Rael (1 And 2) (5:27) ***
(Pete Townshend)

The Who had gone as far as auto destructive noiserock could go. On their last tour of America, the band smashed up 22 microphones, 5 guitars, 4 speaker cabinets and a ten-piece drum kit - the first week. On their last UK tour, Pete had attacked two theatre managers who cut their gigs in Sheffield and Coventry short onstage - two nights in a row, dragging one by the throat across the stage, kicking out footlights in the process, and punching and throwing an amplifier on the other, leading to more negative and violent publicity. Although their magnum opus "I Can See For Miles" reached number 10 in the UK, and number 9 in the US charts, they were heavily in debt, and came across as exhausted and disillusioned in the media. Apart from the singles, they had recorded a number of songs for different concepts during the year, including an instrumental EP in April, "Summertime Blues" as a potential follow up single to "Pictures Of Lily", and tracks for the proposed album Who's Lily?. The latter should - much in the vein of the previous album have eight Pete-compositions and six tracks penned by the rest of the group. None of these plans materialised, and it wasn't before a session at De Lane Lea with Kit Lambert and Dave Siddle in July, that the band felt they were on to something. One of the tracks debuted there was "Rael", which marked a distinct change in Pete's writing towards more spiritual territory. Still shaking from anxiety following his harrowing STP trip on the plane home from the Hermit's tour, Pete was introduced to the teachings of the Indian Avatar Meher Baba by his friend Mike McInnerney, and immediately immersed himself in Baba's teachings, having read the book The God Man. Pete was in a vulnerable and soul searching state, and it was a case of "When the student is ready the teacher appears" that according to Pete "completely and utterly changed my whole life, and through me, the group as a whole". He played around with an idea called Who's For Tennis? for a while, which was going to be "music that could work on different spiritual levels". There was another incident that was to change the course of the album, and that occurred on August 15th, when the Marine Broadcasting Bill was passed, ringing the death knell for Pirate Radio, which had revolutionised the British music industry, and was instrumental in breaking groups like The Who. Pete came up with the idea of making a concept album that was going to be both a satire of, and a tip of the hat to the pirates, with commercial breaks in between the songs, giving it "that ethereal flavour of a pirate radio station". From that moment on everything just clicked. This was going to be the ultimate pop art statement! They already had a good starting point with a Coca Cola commercial recorded in April, a Great Shakes commercial in May, and a number called "Jaguar", which was reminiscent of "The Ox" from My Generation, with the whole band pumping out "Jag-u-a-r", like the Batman theme tune. Pete: "As things progressed, we realised the whole album could be built around this aspect of commercial advertising. My intention was not only to lampoon corporate advertising, but also to get our share of the revenue". Who-manager Chris Stamp immediately got to work and fixed up two art directors for the sleeve, and attempted to sell the space between songs on the album to advertisers, but with an anticipated sale of less than 50 000 copies, companies like Coca Cola were unwilling to take space and pay for it. Pete: "They sent a case of 20 cans of their beverage instead..." Pete swiftly sent John and Keith to the pub to come up with ideas for jingles instead ("Track Records" was recorded on the phone from the Kingsway Pub). Most of the jingles were recorded with Kit Lambert at De Lane Lea and IBC in October, while the album also featured tracks from Talentmasters, New York (July/August) with Chris Huston as engineer, Bradley's Barn, Nashville and CBS with Kit. The resulting album is The Who's first masterpiece, and is perfectly balanced between the ambitious, the honest, the sarcastic, the sophisticated, the bizarre and the fun. But it's all incredibly emotional and passionate, and it's all so very The Who! Speaking of fun, there's been plenty of fun on The Who's earlier records, but there is a warmth present on The Who Sell Out that seems to come from a brand new and more vulnerable place. There's hardly any R&B left, but not at the expense of any energy. The harmonies are richer, the sound is more spacious, the production is miles better, the performances are more confident, and the jingles range from fantastic ("Heinz Baked Beans", "Odorono") to horrible ("Medac"), but the core of the album are some of the greatest popsongs ever written in the history of hard rock. What a giant leap! Technically, sonically, even lyrically... Who would have imagined that the destructive punkband that last year came out with the purple hearts and power chords that is A Quick One could suddenly emerge with a transcendental pocket-symphony like "Tattoo", a gorgeous hymn like "Can't Reach You", or a meditative morning prayer like "Sunrise"? The latter is just Pete and the guitar, and is (as is all of the aforementioned tracks) immensely beautiful. Pete didn't sing any songs on the last album, but here he sings four - and he has a fairy-like voice, carrying the songs with grace and hope, much like a wounded healer - as opposed to a wounded hurter. "Our Love Was" is another example which is just greatness. John takes the lead on his own stellar "Silas Stingy", while Keith kicks off the album with John Keene's killer "Armenia City In The Sky", which is cathartic psychrock dripping from the ceiling, backwards guitars included! Roger is turning into a very versatile and dynamic singer, and does a great job on the his five tracks, showing a much more melodic, softer and clear side of his voice. There is absolutely no filler on the album. Well, apart from "Medac", of course. And at the centre of it all is "I Can See For Miles", which - even in its inferior album mix - is a defining and powerful mammoth - now also available in STEREO! Whohooo! In spite of their manic presence, their pretentiousness, their individuality, and their strong personality and character, The Who are a hard band to parody, because they are always the first to take the piss out of themselves. The David Montgomery-shot sleeve for The Who Sell Out illustrates just this perfectly, with the band flogging Odorono, Heinz Baked Beans, Medac, and... What's that, John? Oh yes, Charles Atlas! Even here the band gave their all. Roger caught pneumonia from sitting in a tub a ice cold beans. A cover with no tracklisting was controversial, so Decca added a sticker proclaiming that it includes "I Can See For Miles". The first 1000 UK MONO and STEREO copies came with a psychedelic poster made by Adrian George. There's one track that stands out from the rest, and that's "Rael", which although it was the catalyst of the whole album, seems to take on a life of its own as a closer, steering us way out of the pirate radio setting into classical territory. Since Kit Lambert had provided him an education in classical music back in 1965, Pete had developed an increasing appreciation for the genre. Add to this the fact that Karen’s (Pete's girlfriend) father was composer Edwin Astley, and one can understand that information and guidance regarding the genre had become readily available to Pete. "I was studying orchestrations and stuff like that, and I’d bought a piano. "Rael" was intended to be written for a full orchestra and to be a genuine opera. Looking back, I can’t quite remember where the Who fitted in, because I had (Track labelmate) Arthur Brown lined up as the hero. The story was about 1999 (not as clichéd as 2000 you see) and the emergence of the Red Chinese (The Redchins) as world leaders. The only spiritual note was that the Redchins were regarded as being fairly evil because they were crushing the old established religions as they conquered." Many parallels can be drawn to what The Who were doing, and while they were crushing the old order and chopping away at their own legs, the definitely managed to perfect and capture the essence, the immediacy and quality of pop art, and turn it into a lasting work of timeless magic with The Who Sell Out.​

 

A powerhouse Who album.

 

Just A Quick One While...

+1, another great Who album, another great DV post!

It drives me crazy though, how all these early Who albums seem to have a different US vs. UK release YEAR! How do we decide which year to assign them to for our Best of 1967, 1968 etc... UK cause they were Mods?


cheers,

 

Keith sings "Armenia City In The Sky"? I didn't know that.....

Evan

 

Said Poster...

"The first 1000 UK MONO and STEREO copies came with a psychedelic poster made by Adrian George."


A Real Beauty!