The Who - The Who Sings My Generation

The Who, a Rapid Surge of Adrenaline

I chose this CD as my 300th review for many reasons.

My Generation, that one song itself is one of, if not the best example of The Whos highly charged loud, fast, rebellious music.

Keith Moons drums pulsate and punctuate the lyrics and rhythm. When listening to My Generation, my pulse fluctuates to the beat, the adrenaline rush runs through my veins and summons my feet to dance.

Keith Moon has been dead thirty years this September. The last big bam in rock. Keith Moon, a.k.a. Moon the Loon remains the epitome of rock bad boys. Leaving a generation in mourning, yet hasn't ceased influencing future drummers.

Time has been good to this CD. It's still up there with the best of rock. A celebration of freedom, youth and their generation. April 24, 2008

Generations Later: Still Just As Fresh As Ever

Though they came a little too late to dominate the British Invasion led by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, The Who were still one of the most important and enduring groups of that era. While the Beatles were into pop and the Rolling Stones were into Blues, The Who were were a hard rock and they played with an almost punk like attack. Of course they would later go on to craft rock operas a la "Tommy" and "Quadophenia" but at the time "My Generation" was released they simply wanted to smash their instruments to the beat of the music.

The album "My Generation" is The Who at there rawest. They play simple three and four chord songs that reflect there Rockabilly and R&B roots. "Out In The Street" and the James Brown cover "Please Please Please" are wild enough but other such as "The Ox" and the title cut are downright out of control. The title song has become an all time classic anthem with Keith Moon's thunderous drumming and John Entwhistle's groovy bass solo and, of course, the lyrics. Like punk, which would come many years after, The Who's music was all about youth and their rebellion. 50's rock had done this and groups like The Who were making sure the spirit lived on.

Though much of the music here is simply R&B played with a hard rock ethic there is signs of things to come. The afterformentioned "Ox" was just as experimental as anything the group would do later on and "Instant Party" incoporated french horns which would be used later on "Tommy". Roger Daltry's sings with more of a rasp suited for the R&B, James Brown style R&B present here. This in direct contrast to his more harmonious crooning on such masterworks as "Who's Next". Peter Townshend plays exceptionly well here. Whether he's spitting out blues licks or smashing the living daylights out of his guitar, it's clear he knows what he's doing. Perhaps even more of a showcase than Daltry and Townshend are John and Keith. Quite often voted rock's best rhythm section, it's easy to see why. John's bass lines are just as driving as they are melodic and Keith's drumming is as wild as you can get and still keep in 4/4 time.

In a way, The Who are the other Fab Four after The Beatles. "My Generation" is a wonderful start to one of the British Invasion's best acts. This complete's the holy trinity of British Invasion debut albums. The others are Beatles' "Please Please Me" and The Rolling Stones' "England's Newest Hit Makers" both also highly recommended. March 25, 2008

3 1/2 stars, A solid start

Its really hard to review some debut albums, espically if a group had grown and went on to do bigger and better things, but the Who's Debut, "The Who sings My Generation" is far from awful, but its no where near the material they recorded from "Tommy" up to "Who's are You" (yes I love that album) "My Generation" does contain some material that might be considered ahead of its time such as the title track, and "The Ox" with blistering guitars and Moon's insane drumming, yet the album has some drawbacks, and its really only because of the time of its release. There are some bubblegum laden tracks here, and its hard for me to get into those songs, since I really I not the biggest fan of mid 60's rock. I do enjoy some of the tracks here, such as the two mentioned above and "Out on the Street", "The Kids are alright", and "A legal Matter" The other two tracks that are passable are "The Goods Gone", and "Much too Much" So thats five great songs, and two that are passable, the rest, well, I just didnt enjoy them, but that doesnt mean you wouldnt. If I was just gettting into the band, I wouldnt start here, but once you become a Who diehard like I am, I would pick it up. If you like the more bubblegum type style, you might like this album more then I did. Still it rocks better then most crap put out today. ENJOY February 6, 2008

Well worth the wait

I was so excited back when the news broke that Shel Talmy (The Who's original producer) had finally decided to remaster the MG tapes he'd been sitting on for decades, and eagerly bought this two-disc set like a week and a half after it was released. While MG isn't one of my favorite Who albums, I do think it's a very good album (particularly for a debut album, and even more so considering what most albums in 1965 were like), and the deluxe set makes a good thing even better. This is such an improvement, in both sound and length, over the first-generation CD that was nothing more than the unremixed American version of their debut album, retitled "The Who Sings 'My Generation.'" From listening to the first disc, it's obvious that the original British version was the superior one, though at least, in comparison to how Capitol Records retitled and severely rearranged (i.e., misrepresented) The Beatles' albums for the American market, there was minimal tweaking done. The cover shot used is also the one from the original British album, which I think is far superior to the one on the American cover. I love the use of perspective in the photo, and how much more light and colorful it seems, not as dark and crowded.

There are so many wonderful tracks among the original album songs, such as "Out in the Street," "Circles," the instrumental "The Ox," "The Kids Are Alright," and "It's Not True." I think my favorite of the original album tracks is "I'm a Man." Roger might not have had the greatest range at this time, but the voice he was working with was so well-suited to singing these R&B covers, a really gruff raunchy unpolished sound. It's hard to believe "I'm a Man" was left off of the American edition because of the line "When I get you in bed, darling, gonna make love all the time." It sounds so innocuous today, not graphic or R-rated at all! On the first disc, I also love the rarity "Bald-Headed Woman." It isn't really a deep or great song, but it just has that raunchy rough gruff sound that makes this entire album such a delight. The songs on the second disc, by and large, seem more geared towards hardcore fans than new or casual fans, since some of them are alternate versions and instrumental versions instead of entirely new songs, but they're just as much of a delight to discover. Among my favorites are the long-unreleased French EP mix of "Anyhow, Anywhere, Anyway," "Instant Party," and "Motoring." (I've always found it kind of amusing that the second disc is pink, which seems a rather un-Wholike color!) The majority of the bonus tracks hadn't been released anywhere. There are also wonderful liner notes and great pictures. The boys look so young!

Overall, while this isn't a must-have for a new fan, it is highly recommended for any fans of longer standing who haven't gotten around to buying it yet. There are so many treasures to be discovered on this set, and the music has never sounded better. After they were proven so wrong about the supposed awful sound on the remastered LAL, I didn't believe anything the audiomaniacs ranted about how the sound on the remastered MG was going to be so awful and that the "right" versions of songs weren't being chosen. People who don't obsess over perfect sound quality and getting obscure releases just to get it, like the Belgian green vinyl version from 1980 from a certain record label, think it sounds just fine, and haven't thrown tantrums because the sound might not be the most perfect it could have been. Seriously, who even cares so much about that when normal people can't even detect these minute differences in sound quality and know that sound does change when something is remastered from tapes that were recorded using a much different recording process decades ago? January 23, 2008

The Beginning of Things to Come

If you put it down to a time, a band, an album... The Who's MY GENERATION is the first punk album ever recorded: With heavy pounding on what had to be the most tortured drum kit at the time (on stage the group would shock audiences by smashing their instruments and demolishing amps and speakers), angry lyrics are screamed and stuttered over guitar feedback and power chords. Even the album's cover, with the band's four grim faces set in front of Big Ben rising into an overcast sky, leaves you with the impression that these guys are a cocky group of foul-mouthed wiseasses--especially the stiff-jawed blond one, who looks like he'd rather be shaking down a store owner for protection money, or simply just kicking someone's teeth out (and, according to more than a few of the band's biographers, Roger Daltrey often would use his fists to end differences, with Pete Townshend as well as others).

This was 1965 and very few then would've had the courage or the foresight to put this kind of sound to wax. Sure, the Kinks also got together with producer Shel Talmy a year before to pioneer a heavier "rock" sound with "You Really Got Me," but they weren't taking it any further; it was easy confusing that song with its followup, "All Day and All of the Night," because they were basically the same thing with different lyrics. And as is always the case, it's the total package of talent with promotion, image with attitude.

It also took real guts for a rising pop group in 1965 to make an album--let alone a debut album!--where 3/4 of the tracks are original compositions. Except for Dylan and the Beatles, nobody at the time was able to get away with doing this. The original UK album version contains three covers, James Brown's "I Don't Mind," and "Please, Please, Please," as well as Bo Diddley's "I'm a Man;" the US version dropped "I'm a Man" for the proto-psychedelic "Instant Party (Circles)"--yet another original! Pete Townshend was taking a big gamble with this record.

In addition to the awesome title track, MY GENERATION also includes "The Kids Are Alright." Somewhat defining the group's early sound, "The Kids Are Alright" bacame a staple number on the Who's numerous compilations, and would provide the title to Jeff Stein's 1979 documentary on the band.

Of the other numbers here, things start off with "Out In the Streets," a weird hybrid of R&B styles with droning guitar feedback. Meanwhile, both "The Good's Gone" and "Much Too Much" sound as if Keith Moon is barely able to control himself with the drumsticks as Townshend displays his prowess with power chords. Daltrey, naturally, just seems pissed off.

Two other notable tracks are "La La La Lies" and "The Ox." The former obviously owing much to Martha Reeves & the Vandellas' "Heatwave" (a song the Who covered on their next album, A QUICK ONE), while the latter is a sort of group effort instrumental composition, written by Townshend, Moon and Entwistle with famous session man Nicky Hopkins.

A brilliant and exceptionally aggressive album that layed the foundations for most things coming to rock music. December 17, 2007

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