45RPM: #124 I Can't Explain - The Who (1965)

On this day in musical history the debut single release from The Who arrived. We could argue that it was actually their second single as the debut released under the name of The High Numbers had been released in July 1964 Zoot Suit / I'm The Face. But for today's purpose we are saying it's the Debut Single (at least the first released under the banner of The Who).

It would enter the charts in February 1965 at #45 and hit its highest peak (#8) in April before ending a 13 week run on the charts at #29 in May.

The song has been a fixture of the live shows for many decades now and has been the opening number for the past couple of tours (Check out a performance from 2015 in Dublin).

It's amazing to think that the song is 52 years old!  All good music, no matter the age, continues to sound great.

The opening riff of course sounds like they borrowed it from The Kinks (and that's a discussion for another time and place!) and The Clash liked it so much they "used it" as inspiration for two songs - Clash City Rockers and Guns On The Roof. Bowie recorded it for his Pinups album in 1973 and Yvonne Elliman released it adding a woman's perspective to it also in 1973.

I Can't Explain / Bald Headed Woman

Brunswick

Produced by Shel Talmy

Released 15th January 1965

UK Chart #8

French Chart #14

US Chart #93

 A-Side

B-Side

 Personnel
    Roger Daltrey - lead vocals, tambourine
    Pete Townshend - lead and rhythm 12-string guitar, handclaps
    John Entwistle - bass guitar, handclaps
    Keith Moon - drums, handclaps
    The Ivy League - backing vocals
    Perry Ford - piano
    Jimmy Page - rhythm guitar (recording session)

Other Releases of I Can't Explain

Bald Headed Woman was considered the A-Side and I Can't Explain the B-Side on the Italian release on Decca

  

It was also the A-Side on the release of the single in Denmark on Brunswick!

Bald Headed Woman was also the A-Side on the New Zealand & Australia releases on Festival Records!

When reissued 1967 in Australia I Can't Explain was given the A-Side

 

French EP Picture Sleeve released on Brunswick

Notice that Bald Headed Woman is misprinted as Blad Headed Woman (this appears on both sides of the sleeve)!

Picture Sleeve for German release on Brunswick

US Release on Decca

 

Canadian Release on Decca

Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!: Day 277 - The Who

The Who By Numbers - The Who

Polydor (UK) / MCA (US)

Produced by Glyn Johns

Released 3rd October 1975 (UK) / 25th October 1975 (US)

UK Chart #7

US Chart #8

The Who
    Roger Daltrey – lead vocals, percussion
    Pete Townshend – guitars, keyboards, ukulele, accordion, banjo, percussion, backing vocals, lead vocals on "However Much I Booze" and "Blue, Red and Grey"
    John Entwistle – bass guitar (four and eight-string), brass, backing vocals, joint lead vocal on "Success Story", album cover art
    Keith Moon – drums, percussion

Additional musicians
    Nicky Hopkins – piano on "Slip Kid", "Imagine a Man", "Success Story", "They Are All in Love", "How Many Friends", and "In a Hand or a Face"

Singles from The Who By Numbers

(US Picture Sleeve)

Squeeze Box / Success Story

October 1975

UK Chart #10

US Chart #16

Slip Kid / Dreaming From The Waist

August 1976

Did Not Chart

*********************

Following up a huge album like Quadrophenia was always going to be a mammoth task and one that The Who clearly did not master with their ninth Studio Album The Who By Numbers.

The album was their first on Polydor Records and recording took around three months to complete. This was mainly due to Pete Townshend's "writers block". The songs on the album were, for the most part, more introspective and personal than many other songs that the band had released. Townshend had his 30th birthday in May 1975 and was struggling with the idea of being too old to play rock-and-roll and that the band were losing their relevance. He began to feel disenchanted with the music industry, a feeling that he carried into his songs. I actually found that to be quite funny the idea that at 30 he was thinking he was too old to be playing when you consider that he's still out playing loud rock and roll 41 years later!

The drugs and the drink probably didn't help in this whole matter of being creative and dreaming up a new bunch of songs. Townshed himself declared that  "[The songs] were written with me stoned out of my brain in my living room, crying my eyes out... detached from my own work and from the whole project... I felt empty."

Glyn Johns worked his magic in the studio and finally an album featuring nine songs by Townshend and one by John Entwistle (Success Story - The Ox's satirical look at the world of rock and roll stardom).

The album wasn't all bad and it wasn't great as the Rolling Stone review of The Who by Numbers stated: "They may have made their greatest album in the face of [their personal problems]. But only time will tell." Personally I really like How Many Friends, that was a brave song to write!

Not many of the songs were deemed good enough to become part of the live set and when the band went out on the road to tour the album only a few were ever played. Townshend said that he disliked playing Dreaming From The Waist whilst John Entwistle declared it to be one of his favourites to play live!

Squeeze Box was a huge hit both sides of the Atlantic in 1975 but a year later Slip Kid failed to chart.

The 1996 Reissue included three live tracks from their magnificent show at  Swansea Football Club in 1976.

Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!

The Who - Electric Proms Live at The Roundhouse (2006)

A bit too short to be included as part of The Soundtrack4Life Concert Series as there are quite a few tracks that were not included in the BBC Broadcast of The Who's performance at the Electric Proms in 2006.

The Roundhouse in Chalk Farm, London is the setting for the show in which The Who played tracks from their first studio album (Endless Wire) of new material for 24 years!

Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!: Day 231 - The Who

Who Are You - The Who

Polydor/MCA

Produced by Glyn Johns and Jon Astley

Released 18th August 1978

UK Album Charts #6

US Album Charts #2

Original Tracklist

A1 New Song    
A2 Had Enough    
A3 905    
A4 Sister Disco    
A5 Music Must Change    
B1 Trick Of The Light    
B2 Guitar And Pen    
B3 Love Is Coming Down    
B4 Who Are You

Personnel
The Who
    Roger Daltrey – lead vocals, percussion
    John Entwistle – bass guitar, backing vocals, synthesizer, brass on "Had Enough" and "Music Must Change", lead vocals on "905"
    Pete Townshend – guitars, backing vocals, piano, synthesizer, lead vocals on "Sister Disco" (bridge)

    Keith Moon – drums, percussion

Additional Musicians
    Rod Argent – synthesizer on "Had Enough", piano on "Who Are You", keyboards on "Guitar and Pen"; and (uncredited) keyboards on "Love is Coming Down"
    Ted Astley – string arrangement
    Andy Fairweather-Low – backing vocals on "New Song", "Had Enough", "Guitar and Pen", "Love Is Coming Down", and "Who Are You"
    Billy Nicholls – backing vocals on "New Song" and "Had Enough"
    Michael Nicholls — backing vocals on "Had Enough"

*******************

Keith John Moon

23rd August 1946 -  7th September 1978

Aged 32

The eighth Studio Album from The Who is one that is tinged with much sadness because it is the final album that their eccentric drummer played on. A few weeks after its release the news came that Keith Moon was dead from an overdose of pills that he had been given to actually help him with regard to detoxing at home from his dependence upon alcohol. Clomethiazole is discouraged for unsupervised detoxification because of its addictive potential, its tendency to induce tolerance, and its risk of death when mixed with alcohol.These pills really should not have been prescribed to him but the particular physician who wrote the unsually large prescription was unaware of Moon's lifestyle.

The band had been drifiting apart in the three years between their last Studio Album The Who By Numbers in 1975. Band members were working on various solo projects and Keith Moon was sinking deeper into a spiral of alcohol and drug abuse.

Throughout the recording of the album there was a lot of concern about Moon's inability at times to play and delays to the completion of the album were furthered as Roger Daltrey had to undergo an operation on his throat and then Pete Townshend sliced his hand on glass after an argument with his parents and also the session keyboardist, Rabbit Bundrick, breaking his arm when he fell out of a taxi. Add to that difficulties with studio equipment that wiped out a backing track and Roger punching the lights out on Glyn Johns after a disagreement regarding a rough mix of a 'Had Enough' that included a String Arrangement that Daltrey didn't particularly like, and then Townshend laying down an ultimatum to Moon to clean up or get out (and this sparked him to get help with his addictions).

It was all drama, something The Who were not unaccustomed to!

The album received mixed reviews on release but went on to be a success, it was stopped from taking the #1 spot in the USA by of all things the Grease Soundtrack! Go figure!

When the album came out I was mainly listening to Punk music but I still had a soft spot for The Who and I know Townshend had some love for some of the bands like The Clash and The Ruts at the time. I remember the time when they announced the death of Keith Moon I was very upset as he was still one of my favourite drummers in Rock Music and he always provided a chuckle or two with his crazy antics.

The band so easily could have thrown in the towel at the time but they recruited Kenney Jones to fill the drum stool and were back touring a year later.

Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!

Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!: Day 138 - The Who

Live at Leeds - The Who

Track Records

Produced by Jon Astley, Kit Lambert and The Who

Released 16th May 1973 (US) and 23rd May 1973 (UK)

UK Album Charts #3

US Album Charts #8

2001 Deluxe Edition

First Release of the Complete Concert

Live at Leeds by The Who is probably one of The Most Iconic Live Albums of All Time.

You would never imagine that today an artist performing one of their most heralded albums would only end up releasing a Live Album that actually contained none of that Iconic Album, such was the case with Live at Leeds. The band performed Tommy, their 1969 Rock Opera but not a single song appeared on the release!

Original Tracklist for Live at Leeds

A1     Young Man     4:45
A2     Substitute     2:50
A3     Summertime Blues     3:22
A4     Shakin' All Over     4:15
B1     My Generation     14:27
B2     Magic Bus     7:30

I included the Deluxe Version above that was released in 2001 mainly for the purpose that the whole show is included. The only problem though is with the sequencing.  During the actual concert, "Summertime Blues", "Shakin' All Over", "My Generation", and "Magic Bus" were played after the Tommy set, but for easier listening, the Deluxe Edition devoted the entire second disc to the Tommy set, and moved those songs out of order to the end of the first disc. During 1970, this was the regular Who concert set list, but an album with a 1970 concert in true order wasn't available until 1996 when the official Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 album was released.

The concert was recorded on 14th February 1973 at Leeds University and the night after their performance from Hull City Hall was also recorded but the complete show never saw the light of day until 2012 when the complete show was released as Live in Hull and was pretty much set up similar to the 2001 Deluxe Editon of Live at Leeds with the performance of Tommy appearing on Disc 2.

Live at Leeds has been cited as the best live rock recording of all time by The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, the BBC, Q magazine, and Rolling Stone.

Personnel
    Roger Daltrey - vocals, harmonica, tambourine
    Pete Townshend - guitars, vocals
    John Entwistle - bass guitar, vocals
    Keith Moon - drums and percussion, vocals

Let The Day Begin...Let The Day Start!

Happy 72nd Birthday Roger Daltrey

Hard to believe that Roger is 72 years old today. Still out there as well plying his trade alongside Pete Townshend under the banner of The Who and also performing Solo.

Roger Daltrey

  Pacific Amphitheatre, Costa Mesa, CA. 2013

The Who

 Tanglewood 

7th July 1970

Open Your Heart, Open The Door

The Soundtrack4Life Concert Series: The Who - Hammersmith Odeon 28/12/79

Continuing to focus on The Who, I thought this one would be a good one to add to the Concert Series. Over two and half hours of the band at the Hammersmith Odeon way back in 1979.

The Bill for for the Four Nights at the Hammersmith Odeon in aid of The People Of Kampuchea

 26 December
    Queen

27 December
    Ian Dury and the Blockheads (with guest Mick Jones on Sweet Gene Vincent)
    Matumbi
    The Clash

28 December
    The Pretenders
    The Specials
    The Who

29 December
    Elvis Costello & The Attractions
    Rockpile (with guest Robert Plant on "Little Sister")
    Wings
    Rockestra

Setlist
    Substitute
    I Can't Explain
    Baba O'Riley
    The Punk and the Godfather
    My Wife
    Sister Disco
    Behind Blue Eyes
    Music Must Change
    Drowned
    Who Are You
    5.15
    Pinball Wizard
    See Me Feel Me
    Long Live Rock
    My Generation
    I'm a Man
    Hoochie Coochie Man
    Sparks
    I Can See for Miles
    I Don't Want To Be an Old Man
    Won't Get Fooled Again
    Summertime Blues
    Dancing In The Streets
    Dance It Away
    The Real Me

Rewind: 1965 My Generation - The Who

On the same day as The Beatles released their Sixth Studio Album Rubber Soul a band from London called The Who were releasing their debut album and a real classic it is I think. 

The Beatles would hit the #1 spot in the UK and just behind them at #5 would be The Who.

After their first two singles hit the Top Ten (I Can't Explain - #8 and Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere - #10) there was no doubt much excitement about the prospect of an album. The band themselves have often dismissed the album as a bit of a rush job that didn't really represent their live performance of the time but this has not stopped declaring it to be one of the best rock albums of all time.

What was quite unusual about the album is that a majority of the material on it was actually written by Pete Townshend but this was only after a number of other cover songs had been dropped from an earlier recording session. Three cover songs remained I Don't Mind and Please, Please Please (both had been done by James Brown) and Bo Diddley's I'm A Man.

Can you believe this is 50 years old today!!
 

My Generation - The Who

Brunswick

Produced by Shel Tamy

Released 3rd December 1965

UK Charts #5

German Charts #14

 The Who
    Roger Daltrey – lead vocals, harmonica
    John Entwistle – bass guitar, backing vocals
    Keith Moon – drums, percussion
    Pete Townshend – six and twelve-string acoustic and electric guitars, backing vocals, lead vocals on "A Legal Matter"

Singles From My Generation
    My Generation / Shout and Shimmy
    Released: 5 November 1965

UK Chart #2

US Chart #74

    A Legal Matter / Instant Party
    Released: 7 March 1966

UK Chart #32

    The Kids Are Alright / The Ox
    Released: July 1966

UK Chart #41

US Chart #106

    La-La-La-Lies /  The Good's Gone
    Released: 11 November 1966

Did Not Chart

A testament to the influence of this exceptional debut album is that a few of the songs from it have captivated bands and artists from varying musical walks down through the years. Here's just a few of them.

My Generation

It's a wild mix of styles and I wouldn't give a thumbs up to them all!

Oasis.

Green Day.

The Zimmers.

Iron Maiden.

The Melvins.

Redundant.

The Krewmen.

Chickenfoot.

Forgotten Karma.

Alice Cooper.

Patti Smith - Contains Strong Language

Hawk Nelson.

Hanoi Rocks.

Sponge.

Barnie Rubblz - A bunch of kids giving it a shot!

Sweet.

 and there's probably loads more that I could add!

The Kids Are Alright

Green Day.

Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs.

The Connections. 

Eddie and the Hot Rods.

The Pleasers.

Blam Blam Y.C..

Not Popular.

Dope Zebra.

A Legal Matter

Zero De Conduite.

Mike Peters.

The Alarm.

The Litter.

I'm sure there are loads of cover versions out there but I don't have the time at the moment to get any more!

Rewind: 1973 The Who Gets A New Drummer (only for three songs though!)

On this day in musical history a 19 year old lad Scott Haplin took over the drum stool from Keith Moon after he had his drink spiked with a horse tranquiliser!! Moon had collapsed twice before Pete Townshend put out a request for a drummer and up stepped Scott Halpin who had turned up at the show with no ticket but had bought one off a scalper.

This happened at The Cow Palace in San Francisco on this day in 1973.

Here's a great BBC Radio 4 documentary about the whole night.

Video of the show. Shot in Black and White and although not great quality it's worth a watch.

Rewind: 1975 The Who By Numbers - The Who

The Who by Numbers is the seventh studio album by English rock band The Who, released on 3 October 1975 in the United Kingdom through Polydor Records, and on 25 October 1975 in the United States by MCA Records. It was named the tenth-best album of the year in The Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics poll.

Pete Townshend has claimed that the band recorded practically every song he had written for The Who By Numbers, partially due to a writer's block that he was experiencing at the time. The songs on the album were, for the most part, more introspective and personal than many other songs that the band had released. Townshend had his 30th birthday in May 1975 and was struggling with the idea of being too old to play rock-and-roll and that the band were losing their relevance. He began to feel disenchanted with the music industry, a feeling that he carried into his songs.

    "[The songs] were written with me stoned out of my brain in my living room, crying my eyes out... detached from my own work and from the whole project... I felt empty."
    — Pete Townshend

For the album's recording, the band recruited producer Glyn Johns, who the band had previously worked with the band during the recording of Who's Next. Compared to previous Who albums, The Who By Numbers took an unusually long time to complete (nearly three months) and was marred by numerous breaks and interruptions due to the band members' growing boredom and lack of interest.

As an illustration of the band's lack of confidence in the material, only four of the ten songs on The Who By Numbers were performed live, two of which ("Squeeze Box" and "Dreaming From The Waist") became concert staples.

    "I felt partly responsible because the Who recording schedule had, as usual, dragged on and on, sweeping all individuals and their needs aside. Glyn worked harder on The Who by Numbers than I've ever seen him. He had to, not because the tracks were weak or the music poor but because the group was so useless. We played cricket between takes or went to the pub. I personally had never done that before. I felt detached from my own songs, from the whole record.
    Recording the album seemed to take me nowhere. Roger [Daltrey] was angry with the world at the time. Keith [Moon] seemed as impetuous as ever, on the wagon one minute, off the next. John [Entwistle] was obviously gathering strength throughout the whole period; the great thing about it was he seemed to know we were going to need him more than ever before in the coming year."
    — Pete Townshend

The album cover was drawn by John Entwistle. In 1996, when asked about the cover, he replied: "The first [piece of artwork] release[d] is The Who By Numbers cover, which I never got paid for, so now I'm going to get paid. (laughs) We were taking it in turns to do the covers. It was Pete's turn before me and we did the Quadrophenia cover, which cost about the same as a small house back then, about 16,000 pounds. My cover cost 32 pounds."

 The Who By Numbers - The Who

Polydor

Produced by Chris Charlesworth, Bill Curbishley, Glyn Johns, Robert Rosenberg

Released 3rd October 1975

UK Chart #7

US Chart #8 

The Who
    Roger Daltrey – lead vocals, percussion
    Pete Townshend – guitars, keyboards, ukulele, accordion, banjo, percussion, backing vocals, lead vocals on "However Much I Booze" and "Blue, Red and Grey"
    John Entwistle – bass guitar (four and eight-string), brass, backing vocals, joint lead vocal on "Success Story", album cover art
    Keith Moon – drums, percussion

Additional musicians
    Nicky Hopkins – piano on "Slip Kid", "Imagine a Man", "Success Story", "They Are All in Love", "How Many Friends", and "In a Hand or a Face"
 

Tracklist

 All Songs by Pete Towshend unless otherwise noted

 Side One
1.     "Slip Kid"       4:29
2.     "However Much I Booze"       5:03
3.     "Squeeze Box"       2:41
4.     "Dreaming from the Waist"       4:08
5.     "Imagine a Man"       4:00
 

Side Two
6.     "Success Story" (John Entwistle)     3:20
7.     "They Are All in Love"       3:00
8.     "Blue, Red and Grey"       2:47
9.     "How Many Friends"       4:06
10.     "In a Hand or a Face"       3:25

Singles From The Who By Numbers

1. Squeeze Box / Success Story
   Released: October 1975 UK Chart #10 US Chart #16
2. Slip Kid / Dreaming from the Waist
   Released: 7 August 1976

Baba O'Riley (Live in Texas 1975).

 Won't Get Fooled Again (Live in Texas 1975).
However Much I Booze (Live 1975).
Won't Get Fooled Again (Pontiac Silverdome 6th Dec 1975).
42 Mins of the Pontiac Silverdome show 6th Dec 1975.
I'm Free/See Me Feel Me/Summertime Blues - Cleveland 1975).
The Who Live at Swansea 12th June 1976.

Rewind: 1971 - The Who Release Who's Next

Is Who's Next the greatest album by The Who? Some say no, that's reserved for the album that followed in 1973, Quadrophenia, but I am of the opnion that it is the best and no amount of arm-twisting is going to change it! 

Who's Next - The Who

Track

Produced by The Who and Glyn Johns

Released 25th August 1971

UK Chart #1

US Chart #4

Personnel
The Who
    Roger Daltrey – vocals
    Keith Moon – drums, percussion
    John Entwistle – bass, brass, vocals, piano on "My Wife"
    Pete Townshend – guitar, VCS3, organ, A.R.P. synthesiser, vocals, piano on "Baba O'Riley"

Additional musicians
    Dave Arbus – violin on "Baba O'Riley"
   Nicky Hopkins – piano on "Getting in Tune"

Singles From The Album

     "Won't Get Fooled Again" Released: 25 June 1971

UK Chart #9 US Chart 15
    "Baba O'Riley" Released: 23 October 1971 (Europe)

Did Not Chart
    "Behind Blue Eyes" Released: 6 November 1971

US Chart #34.

Rewind: 1964 - The High Numbers Release Debut Single

Zoot Suit / I'm the Face

The High Numbers

Fontana Records TF480

Released 3rd July 1964

Produced by Chris Parmeinter and Peter Meaden

Recording wise this is where it all started for The Who.

The song was written by their then advisor Peter Meaden (as was the b-side) but musically both songs were both exact copies of previously released songs (Zoot was Misery by The Dynamics, and Face was Slim Harpo's I've Got Love if You Want It). 

It was released under the name The High Numbers in an attempt to attract the Mod Crowd to buy the song. Not sure of the truth that only 500 of the 1000 pressed were sold. Not long after its release the band found new management and reverted back to their own name The Who.

Unlike the original release which totally failed to chart the single was reissued in 1980 and peaked at #49. The A-Side for this re-release was I'm the Face with Zoot Suit relegated to the B-Side.

Zoot Suit.

I'm the Face.

Music is the Doctor #7: Tribute to The Who

The Who have been getting a lot of love of late, especially after their recent shows celebrating their 50 years! Add to that an impressive set at Glastonbury showing Kanye West what real Rock sounds like.

Thought it would be good to carry on that love with a Music is the Doctor Playlist paying homage to The Who, it's members and their solo work and feature a few artists who have found inspiration in their work. There's a few links as well that you can click on to hear some more music.

1. The Seeker - The Who
So, my mate Dougie from Sligo tried to convince me today that Mick Hucknall had done a worthy cover of this tune...Mick Hucknall, can you believe that! I love old Dougie but I fear he is seriously misguided on this particular issue! He'll probably disown me after publicly outing him on his regard for the Ginger Boy!

On the other hand my mate Skinny posted a version by Rush that was very acceptable to my ears (mainly because it wasn't Mick Hucknall singing it!)

2. The Kids Are Alright - Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs
From their excellent series 'Under The Covers'. There's a few covers of this one that I like (I've already posted in a previous playlist the great version by Eddie and the Hot Rods).

3. Baba O'Riley - The Who
My mate Bevan always makes me laugh whenever this one and 'Won't Get Fooled Again' are mentioned. He calls them the "CSI Songs". 

Even after all these years it still sounds fantastic live. The performance of it at Glastonbury was quite something to behold.

4. Disguises - The Jam 

The Jam released a couple of covers of The Who as B-Sides and this one is from 'Funeral Pyre'. Oh course there was a lot of chatter back in the day that Paul Weller and Co were the next "Who" but Weller never said anything of the sort. He wore his love for them on his sleeve and in many ways I thought it was great because as a result youngsters were turning their attention back to some of the most amazing music of the Sixties as a result.

5. Rough Boys - Pete Townshend

There's a few bits and pieces of Pete's Solo stuff that I really enjoy and this is one of them. Think this would have sounded good as a song for The Who.

6. Giving It All Away - Roger Daltrey.

Roger's Solo stuff always felt a bit light to me. I did like the McVicar soundtrack though.

7. Peg Leg Peggy - John Entwistle
Can't say that I've heard much of The Ox's Solo stuff before. I kinda like this one though, some cool rock and roll. 

8. Crazy Like A Fox - Keith Moon

 Keith released a solo album 'Two Sides of the Moon'. It wasn't brilliant but a few things on it were interesting.

9. 5.15 - The Who
This live version is just amazing. Filmed at The Royal Albert Hall, London in 2002.

10. Who Are You - The Who
One of the last great singles by The Who I think. 

11. Let My Love Open The Door - Audio Adrenaline

This is another fav Pete Solo song, this time covered by a Christian band out of Atlanta for their album 'Underdog'.

12. Love, Reign O'er Me/The Real Me - Pearl Jam

Sometimes Eddie Vedder's voice really bugs me (sorry, it's a personal issue!) but I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised and actually really like this version.

13. My Generation - Oasis
Oasis could never quite make up their minds if they thought they were The Beatles or The Who and surprisingly they pulled off a pretty tasty version of possibly the most famous songs of The Who. 

Patti Smith does an expletive full version of it as well and has been performing it for years. Her version of it at Glastonbury was quite mezmerizing!

14. I Can See For Miles - The Who
Pete Townshend was quite mortified when this single flopped and quite rightly so, how it did so one will never know. It is a fantastic slice of 1960's rock.

15. Going Mobile - The Who

 From the brilliant 'Who's Next' Album and one that apparently they as a band hadn't played live before! Not sure if that still stands (should ask Dougie if he's talking to me after the Mick Hucknall comments above!). I know when Roger was out touring Solo that Simon Townshend (Pete's brother) would sing it in the set.

16. Going Back Home - Roger Daltry and Wilko Johnson

One of the best collaborations I've heard in years has come from this pairing. The album, 'Going Back Home', is a total gem and well worth a blast.

17. Spirit of Keith Moon - Peter and the Test Tube Babies

Punk rockers always had an affection for Keith Moon. His antics and tomfoolery were often quite rebellious. This track was a B-Side to the Test Tubes' brilliant single 'The Jinx'. I still have a lot of love for this tune. I think old Moonie would have approved!

18. Young Man Blues - The Who 

From possibly one of the best bootlegs of The Who from the 1970's.

19. Sustitute - The Who
Guitar World posted a Top Ten of Cover Versions of songs written by The Who and at #4 was a version of this by the Sex Pistols! Now I have to say this, their version is absolutely wretched! Best to go to the source! This version was filmed at a show in Kilburn back in 1977. 

20. Won't Get Fooled Again - The Who

Next to 'My Generation' this is probably one of the most loved of all songs by The Who. This particular video was filmed at Shepperton Studios and was one of the final performances of Keith Moon with the band.

Alphabet Beats #156: W is for....The Who

W is for....

For Dougie of Sligo and Bob of Philly

Two of the biggest fans of The Who that I know.

When asked the question, "What is your first musical memory?", I have absolutely no hesitation in saying it was The Who on the Television performing 'Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere'. I was just a mere nipper but the image of Pete Townshend whirlwinding whilst playing guitar left a mark on me so much that I assumed that every other guitar player was actually playing the guitar wrong! It's a great memory to have and one that reminds me that The Who have a special place in my own Soundtrack4Life.

A lot of people point to The Beatles or The Rolling Stones as their band of the 1960's but for me it will always be The Who (closely followed by The Kinks).

In the Melody Maker for 5th June 1965 here is how they described The Who: 

"A new name ...being hurled around in hip circles...They are four Mods from Shepherd's Bush, London...

Their music is defiant, and so is their attitude. Their sound is vicious. This is no note-perfect 'showbiz group', singing in harmony and playing clean guitar runs. The Who lay down a heavy beat, putting great emphasis on the on and off beats. Moon thunders around the drums. Townshend swings full circles with his right arm. He bangs out Morse Code by switching the guitar pick ups on and off. Notes bend and whine. He turns suddenly and rams the end of his guitar into the speaker. A chord shudders on the impact. The speaker rocks. Townshend strikes again on the rebound. He rips the canvas cover, tears into the speaker cone, and the distorted solo splutters from a demolished speaker. The crowds watch this violent display spellbound."  

50 years on from that Roger and Pete are still at it, whilst John and Keith are no longer with us, rest in peace. 

Roger is sounding amazing for his age and Pete still has the attitude if not a little more reserved. They are out on the road now for what could be their final ever tour (I think we have heard that one more than once over the years, though this time due to age and the general wear and tear touring brings to the body it could actually be true). They will perform at Glastonbury this year as the band to close the 2015 Event on The Pyramid Stage (Sunday 28th June).

My only gripe about The Who (and it's the same one that I also have about The Rolling Stones) is that I really do wish they would have recorded more new material. One new song (Be Lucky) on The Who Hits 50! and the first since the Endless Wire album in 2006 is quite unacceptable I think, though when the 26th Compilation of their career was released mention was made of a possible new album in 2015 - that remains to be seen!

Enough of my rambling, on with the music. Click on the links to enjoy the sound of Shepherd's Bush Boys The Who.

The Music
    The Who sings My Generation (1965)
    A Quick One (1966)
    The Who Sell Out (1967)
    Tommy (1969)

Live at Leeds (1970)

Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy (1971)
    Who's Next (1971)
    Quadrophenia (1973)

Odds and Sods (1974)
    The Who by Numbers (1975)
    Who Are You (1978)

The Kids Are Alright (1979)
    Face Dances (1981)
    It's Hard (1982)

Who's Last (1984)

BBC Sessions (2000)
    Endless Wire (2006)

Quadrophenia Live in London (2014)

The Hits 50! (2014)

The Soundtrack4Life 

Top Ten

The Who

 10. The Real Me.

09. The Kids Are Alright.

08. Baba O'Riley.

07. Who Are You.

06. I Can See For Miles

05. Love Reign O'er Me.

04. Won't Get Fooled Again.

03. 5.15.

02. Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere.

01. My Generation.