THE WHO SELL OUT, my all-time #19 favorite album, came to my attention in a curious way. It was the mid-1990s and I was browsing through a used-vinyl album store here in Gainesville, across University Avenue from the University of Florida in a small shopping plaza patrolled by a dude who grilled anyone who parked there as to where they were going. Once safely inside the store, I was amazed to find a set of four old sixties albums by the British rock band The Who, including this one...I bought them all at a steal and couldn't believe my luck (I still can't). I transferred each album to cassettes, which I listened to at work. Although they all were great, it became clear after some time that the third LP, from 1967, was the best. The album is interspersed with fake, funny commercials (like Heinz Baked Beans and Medac) and the jacket cover reflects this...one full-length song turns out to be a fake ad! Lead guitarist and secondary singer Pete Townshend wrote most of the songs, with some contributions from the others: lead singer Roger Daltrey, bassist John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon...Townshend and Daltrey are the only ones left alive today. Here are my personal rankings of this special album's tracks, with a little side commentary for each...
1 Rael--an epic song, forerunner to the later rock opera Tommy with its Underture theme first used here. It's the conclusion that won me over...it portends the greatness that The Who would achieve in coming years...
2 I Can't Reach You--a bittersweet, beautiful song about unrequited love...
3 Relax--mellow, true to its title with the feel of a pleasant walk in the park...
4 Sunrise--romantic, slow...so unlike later Who songs...
5 Armenia City in the Sky--the album's opening track, also probably The Who's most psychedelic song...
6 I Can See for Miles--the greatest song about the dubious art of remote viewing ever made...
7 Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand--the words are kinda weird, the music wonderful with strumming acoustic guitar and castanets...
8 Tattoo--a funny, wistful look back at two little brothers' attempts to be men by getting their first tattoos...
9 Our Love Was, Is...yet another tender, sweet romantic tune: what happened to them in later albums?
9 Odorono--a full-length song that turns out to be just another "ad" of many on the album...
10 Silas Stingy--bassist John Entwistle's typically quirky contribution...I get it, already: greed is bad...
Next week: Album #18...
No comments:
Post a Comment