#201
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Lots more forgotten gems coming up in the next few months or so
__________________ People try to put us down Just because we get around Golly, Gee! it's wrong to be so guilty |
#202
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Album #1: My Generation Recorded between April – October 1965 at IBC Studios in London, the first album released by the band on December 3rd, 1965 was entitled 'My Generation'...in the UK at least. When it was released in the US on April 25th, 1966, the title had changed to 'The Who Sings My Generation'! The track listing and album cover was also changed The UK release featured a cover image of the band standing beside some oil drums and looking upward to the camera, with splashes of colour added by the red and blue stencilled letters of the title and a jacket patterned after the Union Flag thrown over John's shoulders. Pete was wearing his school scarf The US release, however, attempted to jump on the 'British Invasion' bandwagon, and the cover consisted of a shot of the band standing beneath Big Ben Initially the record was due to be predominantly the R&B covers which made up the live show. However, as the project developed, and Pete wrote more songs, the final release became a mixture of both covers and original numbers. Few albums have been as influential as this one, and many bands that followed have cited 'My Generation' as an inspiration. Indeed, the interplay between Keith's crashing drums, John's speedy, trebly bass, Pete's use of his guitar as a sonic tool rather than a musical instrument and Roger's truculent vocals was unlike anything else at the time. This was punk rock before the term existed! Special mention must go to Nicky Hopkins, the session pianist who was brought in to help fill out the bands sound, but managed to sound like a fully paid-up member of the group - no mean feat in a quartet as combative as The Who at this early stage of their development 1/12: Opening the first side of the album is 'Out In The Street'. A flamenco-like guitar flourish, reminiscent of the opening of 'Anyway Anyhow Anywhere', starts this spiky, jerked up rocker that sets the stage for their uncompromising style of brutal 'Maximum R&B' Pete: This was going to be a single. I hate that 'no, no, no' bit. It was originally 'show me, show me' but Kit Lambert thought it wasn't very good. He wrote all the new lyrics. I'm not going to take the blame for any of them. It sounds all cut about and edited." "Out! Out in the street I'm talkin' 'bout slowly I'm not gonna rest Woman, you don't know me Yeah, you don't know me, no Know me, no Know me, no Yeah, but I'm a-gonna know you Hey listen, woman You just can't throw me I won't stand it If you don't know me If you don't know me, no Know me, no Know me, no Yeah, but I'm a-gonna know you Listen to me I'm telling you You look at me, woman Yeah, tell the truth I know your mind I can see that you're in need I'll show you woman Yeah, that you belong to me You're gonna know me, no Know me, no Know me, no Yeah, I'm a-gonna know you Give me no reasons Said you'd go free It's not gonna be now If you gotta know me You're gonna know me now Know me now Know me now Yeah, you're gonna know me" 2/12: 'I Don't Mind' was a cover of a song originally recorded by James Brown in 1961. A slow and soulful blues song might sound at odds with the other more violent songs that made up the album, but this was the kind of song that Roger liked singing. Although the pitching isn't quite right, the band create just the right atmosphere - tense and moody. There's also a nice little guitar flourish at the end of the solo Pete: "It's just a straight copy, well the best we could do of a James Brown number." "I don't mind your love I don't mind the one you're thinkin' of I know, I know You gonna miss me I don't mind your love so sound I don't mind, it can't go cold I know, I know You gonna miss me I don't mind, it's the end of my song I don't mind, good-bye, so long I know, said, baby I know You gonna miss me"
__________________ People try to put us down Just because we get around Golly, Gee! it's wrong to be so guilty |
#203
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3/12: The third song of the first side of the album is 'The Goods Gone'. A cheerless and forbidding song, this is certainly the moodiest song on the LP. Taken at a slow pace, and with an uncharacteristic deep voice from Roger, if the intention was to create an air of misery, they succeeded! Pete: One of mine. I like it. Roger sounds as though he's about six feet tall when he's singing. "I know when I've had enough When I think your love is rough chorus: The good's gone The good's gone The good's gone The good's gone The good's gone out of our love I know it's wrong We should enjoy it, but The good's gone The good's gone Once we used to get along Now, each time we kiss, it's wrong (chorus) Now it ain't no fun And the good's gone now We used to love as one But we have forgotten now I know when I've had enough When I think your love is rough (chorus) It's gone forever" 4/12: In November 1966, producer Shel Talmy released the song 'La-La-La-Lies' as a single in Europe without the bands consent. It reached #17 in the Swedish pop charts! The 'B'-side of this release was 'The Goods Gone' An attractive melody is given greater emphasis by Keith, who restricts himself to just using tom-toms during the verse and chorus - an arrangement which was unusual at the time. Only during the middle-eight and solo do the cymbals come into play Pete: "It's not my favourite one on the LP. It reminds me a bit of Sandie Shaw" "If I'm so lost without a friend Tell me, who's this by my side? This girl with eyes like gems And cool reactions to your lies Lies La la la la la la lies You can't repeat what you put 'round All the things that made me cry You kicked me when I was down And they hurt me all those lies Lies La la la la la la lies I've got my girl and together we're strong To laugh at you and prove you wrong I don't insist that you feel bad I just want to see you smile Don't ever think you made me mad I didn't listen to your lies Lies La la la la la la lies If I'm so lost without a friend Tell me, who's this by my side? This girl with eyes like gems And cool reactions to your lies Lies La la la la la la lies I don't insist that you feel bad I just want to see you smile Don't ever think you made me mad I didn't listen to your lies Lies La la la la la la lies"
__________________ People try to put us down Just because we get around Golly, Gee! it's wrong to be so guilty |
#204
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5/12: 'Much Too Much' is a fairly standard beat group song from the era. Keith's drumming is good however "Much too much to bear Your love is hard and fast Your love will always last If it's you I need I've got to pay the levy Got to pay 'Cause your love's too heavy on me And it's much too much to bear If I ever leave you darlin' I hope you see That I really love you But your love's too heavy on me And it's much too much to bear When I make love to you Do all the things you want me to do You never think of me Always cry a bevy Bevy of tears 'Cause your love's too heavy on me And it's much too much to bear There was a time I could give all I had to you But my enthusiasm waned and I can't bear the pain Of doing what I don't want to do Much too much to bear Your love is hard and fast Your love will always last If it's you I need I've got to pay the levy Got to pay 'Cause your love's too heavy on me And it's much too much to bear" 6/12: What can be said about 'My Generation' which hasn't been said before? Closing the first side of the album is *the* Mod anthem from the 60's; the best known song in the Who's repertoire; and one of the greatest rock songs ever recorded - It was named the 11th greatest song by Rolling Stone Magazine in its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time; 13th on VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Songs of Rock & Roll; is part of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll; and is inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for "historical, artistic and significant" value. In 2009 VH1 named named it the 37th Greatest Hard Rock Song of all time Pete has often regretted writing the line 'hope I die before I get old', but 'My Generation' remains the hardest hitting single release by any group of the time. Remember that The Beatles and The Stones were still singing about love! The song started life as a slow blues number, but manager Kit Lambert suggested that they sped things up a bit. Released as a single on October 29th, 1965, 6 weeks before the album was released, it reaching No. 2 in the UK charts, and is their highest charting single in their home country. Just before it was released, however, Roger was fired (again) for his violent attacks on the other three members of the band! He was quickly reinstated when the song leapt up the charts - it's success undoubtedly saved him from the life of a tearaway (and possible prison) and the band from extinction! The song is a cataclysmic tour de force, from Roger's 'controversial' stuttering vocals, to John's lumpy bass solo (which was probably the first time a bass solo had appeared in a rock song), to Pete's grungy two-chord guitar riff, to Keith's assault on the drums. The rebellious stance was a perfect war cry for anyone under the age of 20 who felt alienated and that the current state of the world wasn't for them. If the first two minuted of the song were not enough, the band pile on the pressure with a musical key change...and the song ends with a brutal climax of distorted feedback and general mayhem Pete: "The guy who's singing is supposed to be blocked. It's reminiscent in a way because Mods don't get blocked anymore. They get drunk or other things. Pills was a phase...No, he's not blocked. He just can't form his words. [Manager] Chris Stamp was all for it, but the others kept wanting to put their own bits in. The ending is a natural progression of what's come before. It's the way it happens on stage. It was meant to get back more to the general theme at the end, but it doesn't."At the time, it was used as the last song of the set, leading to the wanton destruction of the instruments. Over the years, it also evolved into a improvisational jam session between Pete, John and Keith, with the run time being extended. The longest version I am aware of lasts for over 30 minutes, and was recorded at the Fillmore East in 1968 "People try to put us d-down (Talkin' 'bout my generation) Just because we get around (Talkin' 'bout my generation) Things they do look awful c-c-cold (Talkin' 'bout my generation) I hope I die before I get old (Talkin' 'bout my generation) This is my generation This is my generation, baby Why don't you all f-fade away (Talkin' 'bout my generation) And don't try to dig what we all s-s-say (Talkin' 'bout my generation) I'm not trying to cause a big s-s-sensation (Talkin' 'bout my generation) I'm just talkin' 'bout my g-g-g-generation (Talkin' 'bout my generation) This is my generation This is my generation, baby Why don't you all f-fade away (Talkin' 'bout my generation) And don't try to d-dig what we all s-s-say (Talkin' 'bout my generation) I'm not trying to cause a b-big s-s-sensation (Talkin' 'bout my generation) I'm just talkin' 'bout my g-g-generation (Talkin' 'bout my generation) This is my generation This is my generation, baby People try to put us d-down (Talkin' 'bout my generation) Just because we g-g-get around (Talkin' 'bout my generation) Things they do look awful c-c-cold (Talkin' 'bout my generation) Yeah, I hope I die before I get old (Talkin' 'bout my generation) This is my generation This is my generation, baby"
__________________ People try to put us down Just because we get around Golly, Gee! it's wrong to be so guilty |
#205
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6/12: Another Mod anthem, 'The Kids Are Alright' opens the second side of the album. Opening with a lovely flourish, and based around Pete's favourite 'A' and 'D' chords, the song is as melodic as anything else on the album, and is almost Beatle-esque in concept. It was the basis for a song entitled 'It's Alright' by The Rockin' Vicars (featuring Lemmy in lead guitar) in 1966 A music video for the song was filmed by the Serpentine in Hyde Park, and Keith is obviously bored and frustrated by the confines of not being able to play the song live "I don't mind other guys dancing with my girl That's fine, I know them all pretty well But I know sometimes I must get out in the light Better leave her behind with the kids, they're alright The kids are alright Sometimes, I feel I gotta get away Bells chime, I know I gotta get away And I know if I don't, I'll go out of my mind Better leave her behind with the kids, they're alright The kids are alright I know if I go things would be a lot better for her I had things planned, but her folks wouldn't let her I don't mind other guys dancing with my girl That's fine, I know them all pretty well But I know sometimes I must get out in the light Better leave her behind with the kids, they're alright The kids are alright Sometimes, I feel I gotta get away Bells chime, I know I gotta get away And I know if I don't, I'll go out of my mind Better leave her behind with the kids, they're alright The kids are alright" 7/12: 'Please, Please, Please' was originally recorded by James Brown and The Famous Flames in 1956. In keeping with the original, Roger emotes in true James Brown style, but the song is overdone and the only saving grace is a lovely solo from Pete It might have worked in a live setting, but on record it seems like everyone is trying just a little bit too hard "Please, please, please, please me (You don't have to go) Baby please, baby please, please me (You don't have to go) Baby please, baby please don't go (You don't have to go) Don't go, I said baby, don't baby I love you so (You don't have to go) Baby, you know you broke my heart when you went away (You don't have to go) I said, I said, I said I'll see you some other day (You don't have to go) I said, baby, baby, please, don't go (You don't have to go) Don't go, no baby, no baby I love you so (You don't have to go) Take this pain from my heart Baby, let me take you by the hand (You don't have to go) Baby, baby let me, let me be your lover man (You don't have to go) Baby please, baby please don't go (You don't have to go) Don't go, I said baby, don't baby I love you so (You don't have to go) Please, please, please, please me (You don't have to go) Baby please, baby please, please me (You don't have to go) Baby please, baby please don't go (You don't have to go) Don't go, I said baby, don't baby I love you so (You don't have to go) Please please me"
__________________ People try to put us down Just because we get around Golly, Gee! it's wrong to be so guilty |
#206
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8/12: With a lighter touch than the other songs on the album, 'It's Not True' approaches the typical beat group sound of the 60's, but with Keith and John pounding away, it's a far cry from the Merseybeat sound. Once again, Keith excels in an upbeat song Pete: This is everyone else's favourite track. I hate it. Yes, I'm thinking of giving this one to a country and western! "It's not true You say I've been in prison You say I've got a wife You say I've had help doing Everything throughout my life chorus: It's not true, it's not true I'm telling you 'Cause I'm up here and you're nowhere It's not true, so there I haven't got eleven kids I weren't born in Baghdad I'm not half-Chinese either And I didn't kill my dad (chorus) If you hear more rumors You can just forget them too Fools start the rumors None of them are true (chorus) You say I've been in prison You say I've got a wife You say I've had help doing Everything throughout my life I haven't got eleven kids I weren't born in Baghdad I'm not half-Chinese either And I didn't kill my dad (chorus)" 9/12: 'I'm A Man' did not appear on the US release of the album. This cover of the Bo Diddley blues standard became a tour de force in the hands of The Who. Rogers macho vocal delivery is perfect for the delivery, and Pete wades into a lengthy solo complete with volume controlled feedback 'freakout effects', all the while dueling with the perfect piano playing of Nicky Hopkins - effectively they turn the second half of the song into a fiery instrumental showcase John: We have performed better versions of this song but they were never recorded. So, here it is - recorded at IBC Studios in all its glory. Yardbirds eat ya heart out! Now when I was a little boy 'bout the age of five I had something in my pocket Keep a lot of folks alive Now I'm a man, I'm age twenty-one You know baby, we can have a lotta fun I'm a man, I spell, M A N Man All you pretty women, stand in line I can make love to you baby, in an hour's time I'm a man, spelled M A N Man I'm going back down to Kansas To bring back the second cousin Little John, the conqueroo I'm a man, spelled M A N Man The line I shoot will never miss The way I make love to 'em, they can't resist I'm a man, I spell M A N Man"
__________________ People try to put us down Just because we get around Golly, Gee! it's wrong to be so guilty |
#207
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August 11, 1964 - The High Numbers appear at the Railway Hotel for their first filmed recording. Kit Lambert shoots forty minutes of 16mm film of the band performing before dancing Mods. Apparently there was trouble that evening down at Roger's house. Right before the show, Roger's father-in-law drags Roger outside and hits him. Roger dons sunglasses for the shoot to cover up the black eye. Footage from the shoot first appears edited into 1965's "I Can't Explain" video, the audio is released in the 1980's on a bootleg called Dance to Keep From Crying* and two songs, "I Gotta Dance to Keep From Crying" and "Ooh Poo Pah Doo", appear with sound and video in the 2007 movie Amazing Journey: The Story of The Who *Full setlist:
__________________ People try to put us down Just because we get around Golly, Gee! it's wrong to be so guilty |
#208
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11/12: The penultimate song on the second side, 'A Legal Matter' was the first song that was sang entirely by Pete. There was an apocryphal story that Roger didn't sing it because he was getting divorced from his first wife at the time. [The divorce did not actually occur until five years after this album but they were separated at the time.] A nagging riff underpins the song, which is very clearly influenced by 'The Last Time' by The Stones which was released 10 months previously Pete: "'Legal Matter' is about a guy on the run from a chick about to pin him down for breach of promise. What this song was screaming from behind lines like, 'It's a legal matter baby, marrying's no fun, it's a legal matter baby, you got me on the run,' was 'I'm lonely, I'm hungry, and the bed needs making.' I wanted a maid I suppose. It's terrible feeling like an eligible bachelor but with no women seeming to agree with you." "I told you why I changed my mind I got bored by playing with time I know you thought you had me nailed But I've freed my head from your garden rails Now it's a legal matter, baby You got me on the run It's a legal matter, baby A legal matter from now on My mind's lost in a household fog Wedding gowns and catalogs Kitchen furnishings and houses Maternity clothes and baby's trousers Now it's a legal matter, baby Marryin's no fun It's a legal matter, baby A legal matter from now on I told you why I changed my mind I got bored by playing with time I know you thought you had me nailed Well, I've freed my head from your garden rails Now it's a legal matter, baby You got me on the run It's a legal matter, baby A legal matter from now on You ain't the first and you ain't the last I gain and lose my women fast I never want to make them cry I just get bored, don't ask me why Just wanna keep doing all the dirty little things I do And not work all day in an office just to bring my money back to you Sorry, baby" 12/12: The closing track on the album, 'The Ox', is an instrumental. However, it's a far cry from the 'melodic' tunes recorded by instrumental bands like The Shadows! Keith's relentless tom-tom assault carries the music throughout, but that's not taking anything away from Pete's guitar slashes; Nicky Hopkin's piano and John's menacing bass which is treated as the lead instrument here. Keith was a huge fan of surf music, and 'Wipeout' by The Safaris in particular, but this ain't no surfing song. Instead it's 12-bar blues, but it has no real melody in the accepted sense of the term - just a bass riff and a brutal onslaught which teeters on musical anarchy for most of the time I have to admit that the song is not a favourite of mine The title comes from one of John's nicknames Pete: "This is the last track on the LP. We all wrote it except Roger. In a way, I suppose it's a surfing sound. It's an American sound like something you get from the Wailers. I got out of this something I've always wanted to get out of a piece of music. I like that piano break. Actually it's John getting a piano sound out of his guitar. Nicky Hopkins is on this, he used to be with Cyril Davis. This session went on much longer and at the end we were all falling about."
__________________ People try to put us down Just because we get around Golly, Gee! it's wrong to be so guilty |
#209
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When released in the US, the title change of 'My Generation' to 'The Who Sings My Generation' was not the only difference. As seen above, the track listing for the second side ran: The Kids Are Alright / Please, Please, Please / It's Not True / I'm a Man / A Legal Matter / The Ox. The US version omitted 'I'm A Man' and replaced it with 'The Ox'. A new song was then used to close the album 'Circles' was the last thing produced by Shel Talmy for the band. It was scheduled to be released on the Brunswick Records lable as the 'A'-side of a single on February 18, 1966 probably with the unreleased track "Instant Party Mixture" as the B-side, but was withdrawn when it became clear that The Who intended to break their contract with Talmy. Eventually it appeared on the B-side of the "A Legal Matter" single in Europe where it was re-titled 'Instant Party' "Circles, my head is going round in circles My mind is caught up in a whirlpool Dragging me down Time will tell if I'll take the homeward track Dizziness will make my feet walk back Walk right back to you chorus: Everything I do, I think of you No matter how I try, I can't get by These circles, leading me back to you Round and around and around and around and around and around and around and around and around And round and round like a fool I go Down and down in the pool I go Dragging me down (chorus) There one thing could kill the pain of losing you But it gets me so dizzy then I'm walking right back again Back to you Time will tell if these dreams are nearly fact Don't know why I left, I'm coming back Coming on back to you" In 2002 the album was given the Deluxe Edition treatment, and it was re-issued as a double disc set. The first disc followed the listing for the original UK release ('Out In The Streeet' - 'The Ox') followed by 'Circles', the single release 'I Can't Explain' and two previously released 'B' sides 'Bald Headed Woman' and 'Daddy Rolling Stone' The second disc contained:
__________________ People try to put us down Just because we get around Golly, Gee! it's wrong to be so guilty |
#210
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In March 1966, 'Substitute' was another song that was originally only a single. It was the first song released by the band that was produced by Pete The primary inspiration for the song was the 1965 single 'The Tracks of My Tears' by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. Pete became obsessed with the line, "Although she may be cute / She's just a substitute" which led him to celebrate the word with a song all its own. He has also acknowledged that the main guitar riff was derived from a single by Robb Storme and The Whispers entitled 'Where Is My Girl' When the single was released in the US, segregation was still in effect which resulted in some self-censorship by the band. The line "I look all white, but my dad was black" had to be changed to “I try walking forward but my feet walk back.” "You think we look pretty good together You think my shoes are made of leather But I'm a substitute for another guy I look pretty tall but my heels are high The simple things you see are all complicated I look pretty young, but I'm just back-dated, yeah Substitute your lies for fact I can see right through your plastic mac I look all white, but my dad was black My fine looking suit is really made out of sack I was born with a plastic spoon in my mouth The north side of my town faced east, and the east was facing south And now you dare to look me in the eye Those crocodile tears are what you cry It's a genuine problem, you won't try To work it out at all you just pass it by, pass it by Substitute me for him Substitute my coke for gin Substitute you for my mum At least I'll get my washing done" For the 'B'-side of the song, those who bought the single in the UK got a newly re-recorded version of 'Circles' produced by Pete, while those who got the US version got the strangely titled 'Waltz For A Pig'. This was the most public manifestation of the Shel Talmy problem. Shel = The Pig! This instrumental was credited to The Who Orchestra, but in actuality is was performed by The Graham Bond Orgnisation, featuring Graham Bond on Organ, Ginger Baker on Drums, Dick Heckstall Smith on Sax and Mike Falana on Trumpet. There was no Bass Player on the track as Jack Bruce had recently been fired by Ginger Baker!
__________________ People try to put us down Just because we get around Golly, Gee! it's wrong to be so guilty |
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