- Devotional's GUIDE to the making of "The Who Sell Out" -

Devotional's GUIDE to the making of "The Who Sell Out":

The recording/mixing/mastering of 1967's "The Who Sell Out" has been the subject matter of endless speculations and discussions on this board. I've been wanting to gather relevant information about this record for quite some time, and finally found great help in Andy Neill and Matt Kent's brilliant book "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere".

I've singled out the following information and dates from the book along with a few of my own observations, and tried only to include incidents that are related to the making of the album, although I admit it's hard, as it was quite an eventful year for the band. I hope this will answer some of your questions regarding the album, refresh your memory, or at least give you a good read.

So friends, pour a hot cup of coffee, or grab a cold beer, and travel with me back to 1967, where the Who are working all over the place on the follow up to "A Quick One"...

Monday, 27 February:

The Who flew back to London (from the Italian leg of the European "A Quick One" tour) to begin recording at De Lane Lea Music Ltd's basement studio at 129 Kingsway (a.k.a. Kingsway Recording Studio), opposite of the Holborn tube station, as well as rehearsing at the Saville Theatre. A German television crew filmed their airport arrival as part of the documentary "Die Jungen Nachtwandler - London Unter 21", which was screened Monday, 3 July on station BR (Bayerischen Rundfunks).

The Who content in the 54 minute film, directed by Edmund Wolf, revolved around the activities of Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp. These included the Beat Club Marquee special taping on 2 March (introduced by Lambert in German), Lambert and Stamp conducting a Track Records press conference, Pete demoing "Glittering Girl" on acoustic guitar at his Wardour Street flat for their approval as a possible single, and the Who rehearsing the song onstage at the Saville.

Thursday, 2 March - Saturday, 18 March:

2nd leg of the U.K. "A Quick One" tour.

Tuesday, 21 March:

The Who flew to New York for their first American tour.

Saturday 25 March - Monday 2 April:

1st leg of the U.S. "A Quick One" tour.

Monday, 3 April:

The Who flew back to London.

Wednesday, 5 April:

Recording/mixing IBC/Pye: "Pictures Of Lily" and John's "Doctor, Doctor". The "Lily" session at Pye No. 2, with Kit Lambert and engineer Alan McKenzie, was filmed by French ORTF television for the programme Bouton Rouge, screened Sunday, 21 May. The group was seen discussing and practicing their harmonies with Pete on piano, while Roger was taped recording his vocal track. Footage also included the recording of overdubs onto the basic track, along with a playback of an early mono mix.

Friday 7 April:

The Who arrived in Essen (without Keith, who missed the flight) to commence on a riotous, two-week German tour with Track labelmates John's Children.

Mono mixes for "Pictures Of Lily" and "Doctor, Doctor" were made at Ryemuse Sound today, and it was released as the Who's first single on Track Records on 21 April, reaching #4 in the U.K. and #51 on Billboard when released in the U.S. on 24 June.

Saturday, 8 April - Wednesday 19 April:

German leg of the European "A Quick One" tour.

Thursday, 20 April:

The Who flew back to England. "We had to give up playing on the continent", John explained, "because if we smashed up out equipment, the audience went wild and smashed up the hall, and if we didn't do the violence bit, they smashed up the hall anyway in a temper!"

Friday, 21 April - Wednesday, 26 April:

3rd leg of the U.K. "A Quick One" tour.

Tuesday, 25 April:

At Ryemuse Sound, two mono mixes of "Pictures Of Lily", with and without John's French horn solo, were made to be mimed to on the following day's TOTP taping.

Monday, 24 April:

Between gigs, the group squeezed in a week of recording a proposed all-instrumental EP at De Lane Lea. "The instrumental market now is pretty nil, and there's such a lot we do instrumentally anyway which we used to do a long time ago", Roger told Record Mirror. "I'm getting a trombone, and John plays a lot of brass. It's wide open".

Harking back to their Detours days, the group taped a powerful version of Edvard Grieg's "Hall Of The Mountain King" (from "Peer Gynt"), inspired by the arrangement they'd seen performed by Johnny Kidd and the Pirates. From these sessions, "Instrumental - No Title" (a.k.a. "Sodding About"), featuring John at the fore on French horn and a pounding bass solo, was mixed on 5 June. In 1998, it was remixed for the revamped Odds And Sods CD, but didn't make the final selection because of time restrictions.

During this period, the group recorded an American radio advert for Coca Cola. Two different jingles for the sugary black liquid were taped and submitted, but, according to company records, were never aired. They eventually appeared (with "Hall Of The Mountain King") as bonus tracks on The Who Sell Out CD in 1995.

Sunday, 30 April:

The Who, with Chris Stamp, flew into Helsinki, Finland, to commence an eight-day Scandinavia tour.

Tuesday, 2 May - Sunday, 7 May:

Scandinavian leg of the European "A Quick One" tour.

Monday, 8 May:

The Who flew back to London, spending the next few weeks recording as well as rehearsing at the Saville Theatre. During that time, "Early Morning Cold Taxi", co-written by Roger with Dave "Cyrano" Langston, was recorded at CBS, while Keith's "Girl's Eyes" was tracked at Sound Techniques Ltd, 46a Old Church Street, Kensington.

Kit Lambert made 8-track masters of both tracks at CBS on 7 June, although both remained unreleased until 1994, when they were remixed and remastered for the Thirty Years Of R&B box set, and The Who Sell Out expanded CD. Daltrey and Langston went as far as making a demo of another co-composition, "Blue Caravan", but felt it unsuitable for The Who.

Devotional notes: "I Can See For Miles" was also started at CBS during these sessions, and the backing track was done. The exact dates are unclear, but guide vocals were recorded before it was left unfinished until the final overdubs and lead vocals were done at Talentmasters, New York, in August.

Wednesday, 17 May - Monday, 12 June:

4th leg of U.K. "A Quick One" tour.

Wednesday, 17 May:

Tour opening at the Locarno Ballroom, Stevenage. The venue's general manager, Mr. Maurice de Jonghe, was not impressed. "Ridiculous", he whined to Stevenage News. "If they have to smash everything to get a reaction, then you certainly won't see them here again... We would certainly think twice about booking them again". Backstage, John broke a finger on his right hand after punching the dressing room wall, apparently taking exception to a poster of the leader of a "well-known band".

Prior to the gig, during a recording session, a group interview for Show 237 of the BBC's Transcription radio programme Dateline London was taped for overseas broadcast only.

Tuesday, 23 May:

A recording session was curtailed because of John's injury. During this time, the backing track to his composition "Someone's Coming" was recorded, with the horns and vocals being overdubbed in Nashville (17 August). The group also recorded a one-minute American radio jingle for "Great Shakes" at City of London Studios, featuring John on trumpet and Keith endorsing the instant milkshake mix manufactured by General Foods Corporation.

Wednesday, 24 May:

Recording/mixing De Lane Lea: Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues". This unreleased version was taken at a considerably faster pace than the remake taped on 10 October and released in 1998 on the Odds and Sods CD. The tape box annotation "4-track master single" confirms its intended release as a possible follow-up to "Pictures Of Lily", with John's "Someone's Coming" as the B-side.

Saturday, 27 May:

Gig at the Pembroke College May Ball, Oxford, co-billed with Cream. The Who were unaccustomed to playing the Grand Marquee before a stuffy audience of debutantes and undergraduates. Keith threw his drums around, severely straining a stomach muscle in the process. Initially unaware of the injury, he collapsed in agony at an overnight recording session during the small hours of the 28th, and was rushed to St. George's Hospital on Hyde Park Corner for an emergency hernia operation. He was ordered to rest for a fortnight and discharged on Sunday, 4 June.

Monday, 29 May:

The Who spent and unproductive week trying to record (at Pye Studios, according to Chris Townson, who stood in for Keith at a few gigs) in Keith's absence. "They were hoping to add (Keith's) drums at a later date", Kit Lambert told Melody Maker, "but it didn't work. We hope he should be able to do some drumming in about a week's time, but until then all recording sessions have been postponed".

Tuesday, 5 June:

"Instrumental - No Title" (a.k.a. "Sodding About") was mixed today (at Pye or CBS?).

Thursday, 7 June:

Kit Lambert made 8-track masters of "Early Morning Cold Taxi" and "Girl's Eyes" at CBS today.

Tuesday, 13 June

The Who flew to Detroit via New York.

Wednesday, 14 June - Sunday, 18 June:

2nd leg of the U.S. "A Quick One" tour.

Tuesday, 20 June:

The Who flew back to London from Los Angeles. It was on this flight Keith and Pete tripped on the hallucinogenic STP, and Pete had a bad trip so powerful that he left his body. "I was looking down on myself in the seat, and in the end I realised I must go back, otherwise I was gonna die".

Saturday, 25 June:

Keith, with wife Kim and drive "Wiggy" Wolff, went to a Beatles session at EMI Studios, 3 Abbey Road, St. John's Wood, London, and appeared as guests singing back-up on the chorus to "All You Need Is Love". The single was released by Parlophone on Friday, 7 July.

Wednesday, 28 June:

This afternoon, Mick Jagger was found guilty of illegal possession of amphetamines. Hearing the verdict, Pete, Roger and Keith hastily convened at De Lane Lea to record covers of "The Last Time" and "Under My Thumb" as a spontaneous gesture of support, should Mick and Keith Richards (who was also being tried on drug charges) go to prison.

The session was produced by Kit Lambert, engineered by Damon Lyon-Shaw, and filmed by Chris Stamp for an unscreened Top Of The Pops clip. As well as playing guitar, Pete overdubbed keyboards, backing vocals and bass. A honey-mooning Entwistle was contacted at 3:00 am via the Queen Elizabeth ship-to-shore phone for his approval. "I had to go to the radio room just to hear that", Entwistle remembered. "I thought somebody had died!"

The following afternoon, Jagger received three months and £100 costs and Richards one year and £500 costs for allowing his premises to be used for smoking hemp. Keith and wife Kim joined the throng demonstrating outside the Bouverie Street offices of The News Of The World, the tabloid paper widely suspected of setting up the bust after jagger issued a libel suit against them.

On the 30th, a Track-paid advertisement appeared in the Evening Standard: "The Who consider Mick Jagger and Keith Richards have been treated as scapegoats for the drug problem, and as a protest against the savage sentences imposed on them at Chichester yesterday, the Who are issuing today the first of a series of Jagger/Richards songs to keep their work before the public until they are again free to record themselves".

It was a magnanimous gesture, but by the time the single reached the shops and entered the Top 50 the following week at #44, Jagger and Richards had received bail pending appeal. "We made this record and released it in 24 hours flat before we knew they'd got bail", said Lambert. "It's just a simple gesture, and we are not trying to cash in at all. All the royalties will go to charity".

Saturday, 1 July:

Disc reported the Who were continuing work on their next album, provisionally titled "Who's Lily?", in the hope of having it completed before the opening of their American tour. Eight Townshend compositions were to be included together with six tracks written by the rest of the group.

Wednesday, 5 July:

Mixing at De Lane Lea, with Kit Lambert/Dave Siddle: "I Can't Reach You", "Relax", "Glittering Girl" and "Rael" (backing track). "Glittering Girl", featuring Pete's guide vocal, was mixed into mono by Kit Lambert, but remained unreleased until The Who Sell Out CD in 1995.

Friday, 7 July - Friday, 15 September:

3rd leg of the U.S. "A Quick One"-tour

Saturday, 8 July:

While in New York City, prior to the commencement of a long coast-to-coast American and Canadian trip with Herman's Hermits (and "Special Guest Stars" the Blues Magoos), three days of studio time were booked at Talentmasters Studio, 126 West 42nd Street, with engineer Chris Huston. Huston, originally from Liverpool, had played with the Undertakers when the Who supported them at the Glenlyn Ballroom and Goldhawk Club in early 1964.

The sessions were occupied with cutting a new backing track and multi-layered vocals to a condensed version of "Rael", which now had a running time of 6 mins 45 secs. Early American Who champion Al Kooper from the Blues Project played organ.

"By the end of this particular session, we were all pretty tired", Huston recalled to Brian Cady. "As was customary, if the session would be continuing the next day, I put the tapes on top of a small side shelf in the control room. This evening, for some reason, I neglected to put the tape in its box. Back then, to save money, many studios bought tape on "flanges". That is, the tape was on a metal hub, but didn't have the protective metal side flanges. Talentmasters was one of those studios."

"When I came in the next day, and hour or so before the session, I could not find the "Rael" four-track master. I searched every nook and cranny, including the obvious places like the tape library. It was only then that I thought to contact our janitor, who wasn't on the phone. I eventually got in touch with him through a relative, and found out he'd taken it upon himself to declare the tape garbage and had taken it down to 41st St. (the back of the building) and put it in the dumpster, but not before breaking it off at the hub. Panic ensued. I searched frantically through the dumpster to retrieve all the pieces. The take itself was in four or five sections that I was able to splice together. However, the intro section of the tape was stretched beyond redemption."

"Fortunately, I'd taken home a mono mix the night before, and we ended up copying the mono intro onto a track for the master. Pete was angry and rightly so, but he did not throw a chair through the Control Window, as Al Kooper would have it. Furthermore, Al saying that the window and related damage was $12,000 makes me laugh. The truth is, the whole Control Room didn't cost that much to build, and there was only a lone plane of 3/8" glass in the window!"

Sunday, 6 August - Monday, 7 August:

Recording/mixing Mirasound and Talentmasters Studios, NYC with Kit Lambert and Chris Huston: "Relax", "Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand" (two versions, both featuring Al Kooper on organ), "Summertime Blues" and the intriguingly titled "Bob Sings Soul", a joke piece featuring road manager Bob Pridden on vocals, intended for Sell Out.

At Talentmasters, "Relax", featuring Pete on organ, received further overdubs, and the guide vocals to "I Can See For Miles" were replaced, with the backing track recorded at CBS, London (circa May). Engineer Chris Huston made a reduction mix, leaving two vacant tracks onto which the vocals were double-tracked.

Monday, 14 August:

Following the night's show at the Rhode Island Auditorium, Providence, Rhode Island, the tour party boarded their chartered flight heading south. Engine trouble forced an emergency landing on a foam-covered runway. "That was a bleedin' nightmare", Entwistle told Roy Carr. "Two blokes on the plane were out of their heads on acid. Actually it was probably that incident that inspired Townshend to write "Glow Girl"". "I never regarded myself as a person afraid of travelling by air", Townshend told Jann Wenner. "When we did the Herman's Hermits tour in an old charter plane, I wrote so many songs about plane crashes, it was incredible".

Thursday, 17 August:

While in Tennessee, Lambert arranged a session at Bradley's Barn, Nashville, previously used by the Everly Brothers and Buddy Holly and the Crickets. Vocals and backing overdubs were added to certain tracks, as well as John's brass overdubs on "Someone's Coming".

At Columbia Recording Studios, 6121 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, Kit Lambert made four-track mono transfers of "Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand" (single version), "Summertime Blues", "Someone's Coming" (an intended single, see 24 May) and "Relax".

Saturday, 19 August:

With the Who receiving rave notices on the Hermits tour, Atco re-released "Substitute" in a calculated effort to gain a piece of the action. Billboard picked it as that week's "Sure Shot", but again, it failed to chart.

Tuesday, 5 September:

With a break in the tour, the Who flew on to Los Angeles, checking into the Beverly Hills Hilton. Kit Lambert brought the four-track tapes of "I Can See For Miles" and "Rael" to Gold Star Studios at Santa Monica and Vine, Hollywood, for mixing and mastering, utilising the studio's famed echo chamber.

Friday, 8 September:

Safety copies of "I Can See For Miles" and "Rael" made today at Gold Star.

Sunday, 10 September:

Final mixing of "I Can See For Miles" at Gold Star. U.S. Decca rush-released the single on 18 September B/W the electric version of "Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand". A second electric version remained unreleased until 1995, when it was included as a bonus track on The Who Sell Out CD. The acoustic Sell Out arrangement was taped in London. "I Can See For Miles" was not released in Britain until Friday, 13 October.

Saturday, 16 September:

"Pete Townshend has written this opera called "Rael"", Chris Stamp told Disc, "and they've now cut it down to about seven minutes, which we could just squeeze onto a single. If we choose one of the other tracks for the new single then we'll put it on the new album, which we hope to issue in October."

Sunday, 17 September:

The Who arrived back from the Hermits tour, $5000 in the red. Keeping up appearances, John actually borrowed $100 to fly home first class rather than economy.

Monday, 18 September:

"I Can See For Miles" released in the U.S..

October:

The Who spent the month rehearsing a new act at the Saville, including song introductions for the forthcoming Herd-Tremeloes-Traffic theatre tour, while Sell Out sessions continued, engineered by Damon Lyon-Shaw, with Pete on keyboards.

The satirical photos for the album sleeve were designed by Track art directors, David King and Roger Law, and photographed by David Montgomery at the latter's studio at 11b Edith Grove, Chelsea. "Roger did his pose in the beans in good spirits" remembered Pete. "The thing was the beans were ice cold and had come right out of the fridge!"

Monday, 2 October:

At CBS, four-track mono master copies were made of "I Can See For Miles", "Armenia (City In The Sky), "Early Morning Cold Taxi" and "Girl's Eyes".

Friday, 6 October - Saturday, 11 November:

5th leg of the U.K. "A Quick One" tour.

Tuesday, 10 October:

Recording/mixing at De Lane Lea: a special radio session for the revamped Top Gear, which had begun 1 October on the BBC's new flagship station, Radio 1.

This session set a precedent in that it was the first to be recorded outside the corporation's own studios. The Who insisted on using stereo facilities (despite there still being only AM outlets in Britain), rather than suffer the Beeb's arcane procedures and time restrictions. The powers that be reluctantly agreed after a persuasive battle on the group's behalf by BBC producer Bernie Andrews.

In two sessions produced by Kit Lambert, starting at 12:30 pm and 5:30 pm respectively, versions of "Pictures Of Lily" (with Pete on organ), "A Quick One (While He's Away)", Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues", and "My Way" were recorded, along with five irreverent, one-off jingles: two for Top gear and three for Radio 1 to the tunes of "Happy Jack", "Boris The Spider" and "My Generation" ("my favourite station").

Remix mono tape copies were also made (and taken away by Andrews) of "Our Love Was", "Relax", "I Can't Reach You" and "I Can See For Miles", the last featuring John's bass track re-recorded in compliance with a Musicians Union ruling on miming.

The majority of tracks were first broadcast in the third edition of Top Gear on Sunday, 15 October, from 2:00-5:00 pm, and introduced by Pete Drummond and Tommy Vance.

"My Way, "Someone's Coming", a repeat of "I Can't Reach You", "I Can See For Miles", "A Quick One", "Relax" and three of the jingles were included in the 15 November Top Gear (same times). "Our Love Was", "I Can See For Miles", "Pictures Of Lily" and "Summertime Blues" were repeated on the 28 October edition of Saturday Club (10:00-12:00 midday), as were the latter three on The David Symonds Show, broadcast daily 13-17 November, 5:33-7:30 pm.

According to BBC documentation, the Who offered to re-record some of the jingles for regular use on Radio 1, but were prevented from doing so by the fact that there was "no MU/BBC agreed basis for a contract".

"Summertime Blues" from this session was released in 1998 on the remastered Odds and Sods CD.

Wednesday, 11 October:

Recording/mixing De Lane Lea/IBC: "Heiz Baked Beans", "Odorono", "Top Gear", and several other linking adverts for The Who Sell Out.

"Pete's jingles were sort of like the long ones, and mine and Keith's were like short jokes", Entwistle explained. "Most of the jingles went on, whether they were good or bad. The short ones like "Rotosound Strings" and "Premier Drums" were made up by me and Keith in the pub near Kingsway Studios. And the thing that goes out on the run-off groove, "Track Records, Track Records...", we phoned that one in from the pub. We did it over the telephone, and they recorded it with a microphone. Obviously, "Heinz Baked Beans", "Medac" and "Silas Stingy", I'd written before. I actually did demos for them".

Thursday, 12 October:

Recording/mixing IBC: "Tattoo".

Friday, 13 October:

"I Can See For Miles" released in the U.K..

Keith went to Southern Television's studios in Northam, Hampshire, representing the Who on the second "test" programme of New Release, produced by Mike Mansfield and presented by DJ Tony Blackburn. The show consisted of artists miming to their latest disc (appearances coincided with its release date), before they joined Blackburn in a forum to discuss the record's merits. Artists then remained to comment on the others.

Keith helpfully explained that the Who's latest was "originally recorded for an LP, but taken off because we liked it better than those that were on before we took those off that were on there before those that we took off, if you get me?!" The programme was screened Monday, 16 October, 9:30-10:00 pm, over most Southern ITV areas (screening dates varied for each region), with the 13-part series properly commencing on Tuesday, 2 January 1968.

Monday, 16 October:

Mixing IBC: Mono masters of "Tattoo", "Odorono" and "Rael (1 & 2)". The final chorus of "Odorono" was trimmed off and sat unused until it appeared as a bonus track on the expanded Sell Out CD in 1995.

Friday, 20 October:

Recording/mixing IBC Studio A: "Rael (1 & 2)", "Jaguar" and "Armenia City In The Sky" (arm and ear), written by John "Speedy" Keene. Unusually the latter two tracks featured Keith on lead vocal. "Jaguar" remained unreleased until The Who Sell Out expanded CD reissue in 1995.

Around this time, Pete played an acetate of a rough mix of "Armenia" to Radio 1 DJ John Peel while being interviewed for Dutch television at Track's Old Compton Street Office. Townshend displayed the proposed artwork for The Who Sell Out and discussed the album's thematic advertising link, as well as the difference between selling records and playing concerts. This "John Peel Special Report" appeared in Vjoew, transmitted Monday, 30 October, 7:03-7:55 pm on Nederland 2.

Tuesday, 24 October:

Recording/mixing De Lane Lea: "Premier Drums", "Speakeasy", "Charles Atlas" and "Track Records" jingles plus and acoustic remake of "Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand".

Thursday, 26 October:

Mixing IBC: Mono masters of "Jaguar" and "Rael (1 only: the coda had been subsequently dropped. It wasn't reinstated until the 1994 box set and the 1995 Sell Out CD).

Monday, 30 October:

Mixing De Lane Lea: The Who Sell Out stereo mastering.

Thursday, 2 November:

Recording IBC: "Sunrise", taped solo by Pete. "Keith didn't want that on the record", he revealed. "At the time I was studying Mickey Baker jazz methods, and I had two of his tutors, both of which were magnificent. It's all that I've ever needed to get into slightly more complex chord work. I played that song on a Harmony 12-string. It was written for my mother to show her I could write real music".

Mixing De Lane Lea: The Who Sell Out mono mastering.

Wednesday, 15 November:

The Who flew to America for a two-week visit, which had originally been expected to last four weeks. In that week's Billboard, "I Can See For Miles" was at its highest position of #9, staying in the chart for five weeks.

Friday, 17 November - Friday, 1 December:

4th leg of the U.S. "A Quick One" tour.

Monday, 20 November:

After Kit Lambert worked out the running order, discs were cut and banded by Damon Lyon-Shaw at IBC Studio A today; lacquers were rushed to the pressing plant; the sleeve was quickly printed; and finished copies of the LP were in the shops by Friday, 15 December.

Sunday, 3 December:

The Who flew back to London. "I honestly feel that in America we have reached the same measure of success it's taken us three years to attain in Europe", Pete told the NME. "The group has been getting a great feeling of satisfaction from the dates we've played. We'd like to reach the stage where our record success becomes secondary to concerts, and I think we might be getting there".

Wednesday, 6 December - Saturday, 13 January:

1st leg of the U.K. "Sell Out" tour.

Friday, 15 December:

The Who Sell Out was released in the U.K., reaching no higher than #13. The intended release date of 17 November had been put back while Track awaited written agreement from the firms mentioned on the album, namely Heinz Baked Beans, Odorono deodorant, Medac germicidal cream and Charles Atlas. The jingles company responsible for the Radio London ads filed a lawsuit claiming unauthorised use; it was settled out of court. Initial copies of the record came with a psychedelic poster, designed by artist Adrian George for Osiris Visions. The album was released in the U.S. on 6 January 1968, reaching #48 and spending a total of twenty-three weeks on the Billboard chart.

... That's it for now, people! Corrections, questions and additions are very welcome. Long Live Rock!

- Chris a.k.a. Devotional

 

Thanks Chris. Great reading !

 

WOW!!!


I am glad I waited for this!!!!!



Thank you!!!!

 

Great work, thanks!