Maximum R&B: The 'Orrible 'Oo

[Susan Foreman]

Keith with his godchild Zac Starkey

Zac, son of Ringo Starr, is the current drummer with The Who

[Susan Foreman]

3/10: 'I Need You' was Keith's first ever composition for The Who. Prior to the album's release Keith told publicist Keith Altham that the full title of this song was actually 'I Need You (Like I Need A Hole In The Head)'! According to him, the middle-break represented 'a musical illustration of a transport cafe.' He also denied that one of the voices here was a parody of John Lennon but John later claimed it was. John said Keith thought the Beatles used a secret language to talk behind his back and chose this song to go after them

Silly comments aside, Keith's vocal contributions to the song take their harmonies directly from The Beatles and although this song is about as lightweight as they got in the 60's, he manages to inject a wistful poignancy into it. There is also some thunderous drumming and a mock country and western harpsichord outro from session musician Nicky Hopkins

"Knowing
Is what people tell you
That you're thinking wrong
Embrace you,
But they really mean "So long"

You talk to them
They laugh aloud
Yet they run to you
In any crowd

Please talk to me again
I need you

We're dancing
We will come and dance near you
We want to learn
Let us come and sitar with you

Distort my ears when
The music's loud
Yet you raise your hatchet
In the yellow crowd

Please talk to me again
I need you

Knowing
Is what people tell you
That you're thinking wrong
Embrace you,
But they really mean "So long"

You talk to them
They laugh aloud
Yet they run to you
In any crowd

Please talk to me again
I need you"

4/10: John's second contribution to the album, 'Whiskey Man', lacks both the punch and wit of 'Boris', but retains the slightly slurred vocals and off-key pitch. Maybe he had too much Whiskey before recording his vocals!

It was used as the 'B'-side to the US release of 'Happy Jack'

John:

"I always had trouble singing my r's, so I double-tracked my vocals. On one track I sang 'fwend' and on the other 'flend,' hoping they'd come together as 'friend.'"

"Whiskey Man's my friend, he's with me nearly all the time
He always joins me when I drink, and we get on just fine

Nobody has ever seen him, I'm the only one
Seemingly I must be mad, Insanity is fun
If that's the way it's done

Doctors say he just a figment of my twisted mind
If they can't see my Whiskey Man they must be going blind

Two men dressed in white collected me two days ago
They said there's only room for one and Whiskey Man can't go

Whiskey Man will waste away if he's left on his own
I can't even ring him 'cause he isn't on the phone
Hasn't got a home

Life is very gloomy in my little padded cell
It's a shame there wasn't room for Whiskey Man as well

Whiskey Man's my friend, he's with me nearly all the time
He always joins me when I drink, and we get on just fine
Just fine"

[Susan Foreman]

Today in WHO-story...

23 August 1967 goes down in history as one of the most legendary of days in the complete chronicle of rock 'n' roll in terms of the ultimate in rock 'n' roll excess. And the reason? Well, it was Keith Moon's 21st birthday. The story begins when the Herman's Hermits package tour co-starring The Blues Magoos and The Who rolled up in Flint, Michigan to play at the Atwood High School football stadium. All three groups were booked into the Holiday Inn which was situated on 2207 West Bristol Road in Flint, just a short drive from Bishop International Airport.

Keith had long maintained that he was born in 1947 making himself out to be 20 years old when in fact he was born on this day in 1946. So it really was his 21st birthday. The day began with The Who visiting local radio WTAC with Nancy Lewis, their publicist. By the time The Who got there Keith was already well on his way to being quite drunk. The concert later that day at Atwood High School stadium was fairly average as concerts go and Keith managed to stay sober enough play the whole set. The Who as per usual smashed up their gear including Roger who allegedly kicked a timpani drum through the Atwood goal posts. He shoots! He scores!

The entourage had booked the somewhat rundown Ambassador Suite for the post concert birthday celebrations. Nancy had contacted both Decca Records and Premier Drums who both, along with Track Records, sent cake – including a spectacular one from Premier made as a set of drums. Chris Stamp was on hand with a record player playing some acetates of The Who's recent recordings, the volume turned up extremely loud and garnering several complaints from hotel guests until one minute after midnight when the manager pulled the plug.

Before long a food fight broke out with bits of cake being hurled back and forth across the room. Even the local cop got a face full and took it in good spirits. Of the fight, Keith remembered, " . . . People started picking up the pieces and hurling it about. Everybody was covered with marzipan, icing sugar and fruitcake."

Keith then pulled down Hermits bassist Karl Green's trousers. Green retaliated by attempting to pull down Moon's trousers too – except Keith was wearing no underwear, which left him standing there naked from the waist down, much to the shock, horror and giggles of the few girl fans in the room. The local sheriff attempted to hand-cuff Keith but he managed to wriggle free and race across the room, unfortunately brought to a crashing halt by skidding on a piece of birthday cake and smashing his front tooth in two. Keith ended his birthday night by being driven to an emergency dentist for immediate treatment, all made the more painful by having no anaesthetic due to the amount of alcohol in his bloodstream.

By now, you're probably wondering, what about the Lincoln Continental ending up in the swimming pool? Well, the truth was that it never actually happened. The whole story was concocted by Keith in an interview five years later in Rolling Stone magazine. According to Keith, he ran out of the hotel to escape the food fight and jumped into the first car he saw in the parking lot, a brand new Lincoln Continental. He recalled how he let go of the hand brake and the car rolled through a fence and into the pool. "The water was pouring in," said Keith, "Coming in through the bloody pedal holes in the floorboard, squirting through the windows." He claimed he waited until the car was nearly full of water, took a gulp of air, forced the door open and swam to the surface.

When asked in later years whether this story was true, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle, Tom Wright and all of Herman's Hermits said it never ever happened. All except Roger Daltrey. "We got he $50,000 bill for it" he said. "It flaming well did happen." WTAC DJ Peter Cavanagh backed up Roger's story. "I heard the ruckus and I went outside and the first thing I saw was the vehicle in the pool. By this time we'd all had several beers and some other stuff too, so things can get a little cloudy but I clearly remember seeing the vehicle in the pool."

Whether there was a Lincoln Continental in the pool or not, we do know that the pool had several bottles, poolside furniture, a television or two and several fire extinguishers thrown into it. In recent years Peter Noone has claimed that Herman's Hermits paid for the damage to the hotel.

The legend that all three groups were banned from Holiday Inns for life is also untrue. Just a week later The Who stayed at a Holiday Inn in Rochester, New York and several other Holiday Inns in the ensuing weeks. What the birthday party did do though was set the pace of an all-too-short lifetime of hotel mayhem and destruction for Keith, the likes of which no rock star since has quite managed to match.

Hail, hail rock 'n' roll. And a happy 71st birthday, dear Keith

[Susan Foreman]

#5/10: 'Heat Wave', written by Holland, Dozier and Holland and originally recorded by Martha Reeves And The Vandellas in 1963 was the only cover on the album. It was later covered by The Jam on the 'Setting Sons' LP in 1979

The Who's ability to turn R&B songs into rock songs was unique at the time, and this was probably the closest they came to capturing their 'Maximum R&B' style on record

The song was not included on the US release until 1975

"Heat wave
Heat wave

Whenever I'm with you
Something inside
Starts to burn deep
And my heart's filled with fire
Could be that I'm very sentimental
Or is this just the way love's supposed to be?

chorus:
I got a heat wave
Burning in my heart
I can't keep from crying
Tearing me apart

Sometimes she calls my name
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I can't explain
I feel, yeah I feel
I feel this burning flame
This high blood pressure's got a hold on me
'Cause this is the way love's supposed to be

(chorus)

Oh yeah
Oh yeah

Oh yeah
Oh yeah

Just give me another chance
This could be a new romance

Heat wave
Heat wave
Heat wave
Heat wave"

6/10: Closing the first side of the album is an instrumental entitled 'Cobwebs And Strange'. Completely unlike anything else that the band has recorded before or after, and originally going by the title 'Showbiz Sonata', Keith's second writing credit on the record is strangely similar to a track called 'Eastern Journey' by Tony Crombie and his orchestra and used as the soundtrack to the U.K. television series 'Man From Interpol' in 1960. Regardless of who wrote it, there is no mistaking Keith on the drums!

The tune is an eccentric outing featuring what sounds like a brass band playing a children's nursery rhyme which (to me) would sound right at home during a Spike Milligan surreal comedy sketch!

Apparently the scene in the studio when the track was being recorded was equally as eccentric, with the band played assorted brass instruments, marching around in circles past a mono microphone because producer Kit Lambert, years ahead of his time, thought this might create a 'stereo' effect

For the record, Roger was on the trombone, Pete on guitar and tin whistle, John on the French horn and trumpet and Keith on the drums and tuba

[Susan Foreman]

#7/10: Opening the second side of the original album is another song by Pete. 'Don't Look Away' is a lightweight pop song, with a pleasant enough vocal delivery from Roger, but a weak and unconvincing country and western style guitar from Pete suggests that this is nothing more than a filler track

"Don't go and hide
Yesterday you were my girlfiend
If you do
My inside goes around and around in a whirlwind

There's a stone in my shoe
So I can't catch you up
My head's in a lion's mouth
Wants to eat me up
Right here today
Don't look away
I've always been true
And I still love you
So don't look away
There's a lot you can do
To get me away
You've got to stay
Don't look away
Don't look away

I once heard you say
If I ever was down you would help me
Now my head's being chewed up
You pretend that you don't see

There's a stone in my shoe
So I can't catch you up
My head's in a lion's mouth
Wants to eat me up
Right here today
Don't look away
I've always been true
And I still love you
So don't look away
There's a lot you can do
To get me away
You've got to stay
Don't look away
Don't look away

I've always been true
And I still love you
So don't look away
There's a lot you can do
To get me away
You've got to stay
Don't look away
Don't look away
Don't look away
Don't look away
Don't look away"

8/10: 'See My Way' is Roger's only composition on the album, and the first of only two songs that he ever wrote for The Who.

This was never actually recorded by The Who. Instead, it's a demo tape that Roger and Pete made at the latters home studio, with John and Keith overdubbing their parts at IBC Studios in Soho, London at a later date. Roger was insistent that Keith play like Crickets drummer Jerry Allison, but after the drums were dampened down as far as they would go, Roger still wasn't satisfied with the sound. Eventually Keith and John went outside and found some cardboard boxes to drum on!

Sadly it sounds like the kind of song Buddy Holly might have written early in his career...and then rejected!

Roger:

"Nothing would please me more than being able to write songs, but unfortunately I'm not a songwriter. Believe me, if anyone's tried, I have. I'm not a natural"

"Some way, some day, I'll find a way
To make you see my way

Even if you don't think like I do
You know that it's true
It's your mind that I seek

Tried so hard to make me think my point of view was bad
Although at times when you kept on I thought that I was mad

I'm glad it's goodbye
You don't have to ask why
Come back another day
Come back when you see my way
You see my way

Tried so hard to make me think my point of view was bad
Although at times when you kept on I thought that I was mad

Some way, some day, I'll find a way
To make you see my way

I'm glad it's goodbye
You don't have to ask why
Come back another day
Come back when you see my way
You see my way
You see my way"

[Susan Foreman]

9/10: 'So Sad About Us', written by Pete, is, for many people, the best song on the album. Originally written for The Merseys, a splinter group from The Merseybeats, it has been covered by numerous other bands, including Shaun Cassidy, Primal Scream, The Breeders, the Dexter Romweber Duo and, most notably, The Jam (again), who included the song as the 'B' side to their 'Down In The Tube Station At Midnight' single in 1978

The version by The Who is a feast of ringing chords and harmony vocals fired off at a terrific pace over one of Pete's catchiest early melodies. The whole band here is on top form. Of all the songwriters of the period, only Pete seemed happy with slipping in 'la-la-las' without any embarrassment!

The song has been described as being "an unusually mature, bittersweet farewell for a sixties pop group." Instead of criticizing the girl he is breaking up with, the singer admits that he will always love her while acknowledging that their relationship can't last

"La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la

So sad about us
So sad about us
Sad that the news is out now
Sad, suppose we can't turn back now
Sad about us

So bad about us
So bad about us
Bad - never meant to break up
Bad - suppose we'll never make up
Bad about us

Apologies mean nothing
When the damage is done
But I can't switch off my loving
Like you can't switch off the sun

La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la
La la la la la la la

La la la la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la la la

So sad about us
So sad about us
Sad - never meant to break up
Sad - suppose we'll never make up
Sad about us"

10/10: Pete's first attempt at a rock opera was inspired, original, amusing and with a rousing climax. 'A Quick One While He's Away' would almost certainly not have been written if the other members of the band's contributions had not come up short, so to fill up the remaining ten minutes needed for the album, Kit proposed that a Pete write mini-opera

The song is certainly complex, moving through six specific sections ['Her Man's Gone' / 'Crying Town' / 'We Have A Remedy' / 'Ivor The Engine Driver' 'Soon Be Home' / and 'You Are Forgiven] each with different melodies of the own, ranging from camp country and western to lush harmonies to power pop to English music hall.

If may be flawed, but it was ambitious, especially for its time, and pointed the way forward for the band

When the band were asked to appear at The Rolling Stones Rock And Roll Circus concert in December 1968, it was the song that they chose to perform. General consensus is that their performance was so good that it upstaged the other acts on the bill, including The Stones themselves, Jethro Tull, Taj Mahal, Marianne Faithful and a 'supergroup' named The Dirty Mac consisting of John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Mitch Mitchell, Ivry Gitlis and Yoko Ono

It's also thought that the reason why the concert was not released onto any form of home media until 1996 was due to Mick Jaggers dissatisfaction with his own bands lackluster performance [it had been 20 months since they had played a full show], and the fact that The Who had so easily stolen the show

"

I. Her Man's Been Gone

Her man's been gone
For nearly a year
He was due home yesterday
But he ain't here

Her man's been gone
For nigh on a year
He was due home yesterday
But he ain't here

II. Crying Town

Down your street your crying is a well-known sound
Your street is very well known, right here in town
Your town is very famous for the little girl
Whose cries can be heard all around the world

III. We Have A Remedy

Fa la la la la la
Fa la la la la
Fa la la la la la
Fa la la la la

We have a remedy
You'll appreciate
No need to be so sad
He's only late

We'll bring you flowers and things
Help pass your time
We'll give him eagle's wings
Then he can fly to you

Fa la la la la la
Fa la la la la
Fa la la la la la
Fa la la la la
Fa la la la la la
Fa la la la la la

We have a remedy
Fa la la la la la la
We have a remedy
Fa la la la la la la
We have a remedy
Fa la la la la la la
We have a remedy
Fa la la la la la la

(spoken)
We have a remedy.
We have!

Little girl, why don't you stop your crying?
I'm gonna make you feel all right

IV. Ivor The Engine Driver

My name is Ivor
I'm an engine driver

I know him well
I know why you feel blue
Just 'cause he's late
Don't mean he'll never get through

He told me he loves you
He ain't no liar, I ain't either
So let's have a smile for an old engine driver
So let's have a smile for an old engine driver

Please take a sweet
Come take a walk with me
We'll sort it out
Back at my place, maybe

It'll come right
You ain't no fool, I ain't either
So why not be nice to an old engine driver?
Better be nice to an old engine driver
Better be nice to an old engine driver

V. Soon Be Home

We'll soon be home
We'll soon be home
We'll soon
We'll soon, soon, soon be home

We'll soon be home
We'll soon be home
We'll soon
We'll soon, soon, soon be home

Come on, old horse

Soon be home
Soon be home
Soon
We'll soon, soon, soon be home

We'll soon
We'll soon, soon, soon be home

We'll soon be home
Soon be home ...

VI. You Are Forgiven

Dang, dang, dang, dang, dang, dang, dang, dang, dang

Cello, cello, cello, cello, cello, cello
Cello, cello, cello, cello, cello, cello
Cello, cello, cello, cello, cello, cello
Cello, cello, cello, cello, cello, cello

I can't believe it
Do my eyes deceive me?
Am I back in your arms?
Away from all harm?

It's like a dream to be with you again
Can't believe that I'm with you again

I missed you and I must admit
I kissed a few and once did sit
On Ivor the Engine Driver's lap
And later with him, had a nap

You are forgiven, you are forgiven, you are forgiven ... (ad lib)

You are forgiven"

[Susan Foreman]

Record store day 2020

Release Date: 29 Aug 2020

Format: 2LP - Red /and Yellow

Label: UMC - Polydor

More Info:

"One of the very first 'rarities' collections, released to try and defeat the bootleggers, the original 11-track album was released on the Track Records label in September 1974. Compiled in band down-time by bass guitarist John Entwistle, it includes the single 'Long Live Rock', the unedited unreleased version of 'The Seeker', the studio version of 'Young Man Blues', alternative versions of 'Dogs Part Two' and 'Water', amongst many other gems

This reissue includes the original LP sequence on disc one and adds 14 bonus tracks - B-sides, rarities & extras on disc two, 'Odds & Sods Too' - to create a definitive, 25-track double LP

The stunning artwork and design restore the original 'die-cut' front sleeve and includes all Pete Townshend's original track annotation."

Side A

• Postcard
• Now I'm A Farmer
• Put The Money Down
• Little Billy
• Too Much Of Anything
• Glow Girl

Side B

• Pure And Easy
• Faith In Something Bigger
• I'm The Face
• Naked Eye
• Long Live Rock

Side C

• Zoot Suit (remix with fade)
• Here Tis (only previously released on 30 Years… box set)
• Leaving Here (from ‘Pye’ acetate)
• Baby Don’t You Do It (from ‘Pye’ acetate)
• Young Man Blues (alternate studio version, included on 1998 CD)
• Dogs Part Two (B-side, the single mix; included on Tommy SDE)
• Here For More (B-side single mix)
• The Seeker (long unedited version; unreleased)

Side D

• Heaven And Hell (B-side single mix)
• Don’t Know Myself (B-side single mix)
• When I Was A Boy (B-side single mix)
• Waspman (B-side single mix)
• We Close Tonight (included on 1998 CD)
• Water (B-side single mix)

[Susan Foreman]

For Who fans near Chipping Norton

The Crown And Cushion Hotel

[Susan Foreman]

As mentioned, when 'released in America, the title change of 'A Quick One' to 'Happy Jack' was not the only difference. As reflected in the name change, the track listing was also slightly altered. As seen above, the track listing for the first side ran: Run Run Run / Boris the Spider / I Need You / Whiskey Man / Heat Wave / Cobwebs and Strange. The US version removed 'Heat Wave', bumped up 'Cobwebs And Strange' and added 'Happy Jack' as the final song on the side

Prior to it's release, however, the album went under the working title 'Jigsaw Puzzle, and the proposed track listing was a mixture of 'previously released songs' and new material that eventually ended up on 'A Quick One'. If 'Jigsaw Puzzle' had been released, the track listing would have been: Side 1 consisting of: I'm a Boy / Run Run Run / Don't Look Away / Circles / I Need You / Cobwebs and Strange with side two running: In the City / Boris the Spider / Whiskey Man / See My Way / Heat Wave / Barbara Ann

In 1995, an expanded version of the album was released. A number of addition songs were added to the track listing:

• Batman / Bucket T / Barbara Ann / Disguises, which had previously been released on the 'Ready, Steady, Who' EP
• Doctor Doctor - Which was used as the 'B' side of the bands next single release
• I've Been Away, which had been used as the 'B' side of the 'Happy Jack' single
• In the City - The 'B' side of the 'I'm a Boy' single
• An acoustic version of Happy Jack which was previously unreleased
• Man with Money - A previously unreleased cover of a song originally recorded by The Everly Brothers
• A strange medley of My Generation / Land of Hope and Glory which was recorded for the 'Ready Steady Go' television show

[Susan Foreman]

The next single by the band caused quite a lot of controversy. Released in April 1967, 'Pictures Of Lily' was possibly the first song to deal with the subject of masturbation!

The song is written from the point of view of a young boy whose father sympathises with his raging hormones and offers relief in the form of some soft-core pictures!

The line "She's been dead since 1929" suggests that the Lily in question was stage actress Lily Langtry (1853 – 1929)

The song was very daring for it's time, and was banned by many radio stations for it's sexual content. Even today, it would possibly face a ban from some sensitive radio stations, and gain tabloid newspaper headlines if it was a quiet news day!

John didn't like the song. In 1994 he told Mojo magazine:

"The thing I hate about 'Pictures Of Lily' is that bloody elephant call on the French horn. I also hated the backing vocals, the mermaid voices, where we'd sing all the 'oooooohs.' I hated 'oooooohs.'"

"I used to wake up in the morning
I used to feel so bad
I got so sick of having sleepless nights
I went and told my dad

He said, "Son now here's some little something"
And stuck them on my wall
And now my nights ain't quite so lonely
In fact I, I don't feel bad at all

Pictures of Lily made my life so wonderful
Pictures of Lily helped me sleep at night
Pitcures of Lily solved my childhood problems
Pictures of Lily helped me feel alright

Pictures of Lily
Lily, oh Lily
Lily, oh Lily
Pictures of Lily

And then one day things weren't quite so fine
I fell in love with Lily
I asked my dad where Lily I could find
He said, "Son, now don't be silly"

"She's been dead since 1929"
Oh, how I cried that night
If only I'd been born in Lily's time
It would have been alright

Pictures of Lily made my life so wonderful
Pictures of Lily helped me sleep at night

For me and Lily are together in my dreams
And I ask you, "Hey mister, have you ever seen"
"Pictures of Lily?""

The 'B'-side to the single was 'Doctor Doctor', which has already been mentioned in the previous post

In June 1967, The Who appeared at Monterey. The Pop Festival, which was organised by John Phillips of the Mamas & the Papas, was notable for being the first major American appearance by many acts including The Who, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, sitar player Ravi Shankar, Janis Joplin (with the band Big Brother and the Holding Company) and Otis Redding

Although they were already a big act in the their homeland, only a handful of American dates had been played in New York, Michigan, Illinois and California. Monterey thrust the band into the American mainstream!

They used rented Vox amps for their set, which were not as powerful as the ones they normally use in England, but jad been left behind to save on shipping costs. At their set ended with a frenetic performance of 'My Generation', the audience was stunned as Pete smashed his guitar on the floor and slammed its neck against the amps and speakers. Smoke bombs exploded behind the amps and frightened concert staff rushed onstage to retrieve expensive microphones. At the end of the mayhem, Keith kicked over his drum kit as the band exited the stage.

During Jimi Hendrix's stay in England, he and The Who had seen each other perform; they were both impressed with and intimidated by each other, so neither wanted to be upstaged by the other. They decided to toss a coin, with the Who performing before Hendrix. After The Who had smashed their equipment, Jimi upstaged them the only way he could do - he set his guitar on fire!

The setlist for The Who at the festival was:

• Substitute
• Summertime Blues (Eddie Cochran cover)
• Pictures of Lily
• A Quick One, While He's Away
• Happy Jack
• My Generation