The Who - Odds & Sods

Stellar collection of rare Who gems!

Any Who fan will delight in this rich mix of songwriting and odd tid bits and not so odd music, A must for a Who fan's library! September 10, 2008

Review of The Who Odds & Sods album

This was a purchase of a CD to replace the cassette version of this album that I had enjoyed. I obviously knew then that I would like it from a musical standpoint. As an added extra, it contained many more songs that were not on the cassette version. Although there were no songs I had never heard, there were different versions of some of them that I had not heard (studio v.s. live or just a different version). Overall I am extemely satisfied, Shipping was fast and CD was received in excellent condition. Overall, an excellent transaction. January 12, 2008

Odd but not Bod

John came up with this album out of sheer boredom - Roger was heading law suits against MCA for back record royalitys they didn't get - Pete was totally ingrosed in the production of the Tommy movie sound track - and keith was just partying in every pub in England - this period was the start of the downfall of the tight playing live act up to this point - John had to do something being the band was not touring which he lived for at that point - so he dug up out takes old singles and compiled this album Odd & Sods - also they owed MCA a record for 1974 - Its a die hard fans album - better then boots but not as good as a regular alblum - Most songs on Odd's & Sod's are Who's Next outtakes or special recordings like Little Billy made for the cancer society about the dangers of smoking - they use to play that live from 1968 to about 1970 usually about the third or fourth song in the gig - Pete still thinks it's a real gem that never went anywhere - This version is the 1967 studio version not as good as it was live - they played it a Woodstock in 1969 too - like I said John was bored - This would have been a good time for the Who to release a Live Tommy - Who's Next or Quadraphinia album - what a loss - oh well - This was a lame Who period - You have to remmember the boys where really on a holiday after a grueling touring and recording schedule that burned out everybody - There is a picture of the Who in this period at Keith's house outside together sitting on the grass - I swear they all look burned out - you know like when peoples faces look a little puffy and bags under there eye's - stressed out I guess - Kieth played with the Beach Boys for about a hour at a concert that had Elton John there too( he was a big fan of theirs - knew every drum part of their surf music - It was the highlight of his life - he used to play Beachboys music 24 seven at his house) John also toured as a solo act over here the states with his own new band for the first time around this period that he lost 100 grand on to support his new solo release Rigamortis - like I said he was bored - There are many classic songs on here too the they played live also like Naked Eye a great live song - I like Pure and Easy myself - Their use to be a poster of a stage scene from the 1973 Quadraphinia Tour include in the old Vinyl alblum - like I said it's not Who's next but it's interesting just the same - 1974 was a good year for Rock - Hit songs everywhere - Elton John Ruled the Radio - Zepplin was still touring - there where a million classic rock hits in this year of 1974 - Eagles - Linda Ronstad you name it - so maybe they felt there wasn't more room for them on the radio then for pushing new songs or studio album of new songs - Like I said pete was working on the Tommy Movie etc.. and other Tommy projects like the Rainbow gig and the Clapton Comeback gig at the Raibow theater too just before this period - which took up a lot of time - He is credited for saving Eric Clapton from drugs and getting him back on his feet - There was a Electric Tommy album I think he was in volved in that had like a moog style sound to it - anyway it's pure and easy - there are Who gems on here a must have for any fan or should I say Hooligan December 23, 2007

Essential to any fan of The Who's music and career

Originally conceived and compiled by John Entwistle in 1974, this was an 11-track collection looking back at some tracks which were, for some reason or another, never released. They weren't in chronological order, and it was sort of like looking at someone elses' old photographs, despite the good quality of said tracks. Everything in it was good, and one felt priveleged to get an inside look.

So much reissued material nowadays, seems to sacrifice quality for the sake of quantity. You often get many different versions of a song, which for obvious reasons, didn't get released. It usually just adds clutter; do I really need to hear a poorly recorded demo of a song without half the arrangements, just because someone found it last year? Maybe, in some rare cases, but not really. The new version of "Odds And Sods" does what any expanded reissue should do. It takes the original 11 tracks, adds 12 more, then rearranges them into chronological order. You then get the first decade of The Who's music, from earliest available, a song they recorded when they were known as "The High Numbers, (Peter Meaden's "I'm The Face")" up through to the long-time stage staple "Naked Eye," in it's polished form. Live, it is always missing verses, or the performance just goes all chaotic.

One trait of note here, apart from displaying how the band relied less on covered material as the years wore on, would be the way this collection depicts Roger Daltrey's emergence as one of rock's most respected vocalists. It is even more obvious in the video from the "Thirty Years Of Maximum R&B" gift box; the video is also available separately, but as one can see, very plainly, Roger Daltrey wasn't a very good singer early on. In the "Odds & Sods" disc, it isn't quite as glaring, given the advent of outtakes, as the best possible version of a song is the one to be released to the public, but even here, with careful listening, one can tell, he just wasn't all that good. But something happened sometime in 1968; toward the end of the year, his stage presence, vocal delivery, and basic charisma exploded. His transformation was complete by 1972. And the whole band, as well, simply grew into one of the most powerful spectacles in rock. They didn't have the props and lights like one finds with Pink Floyd, or the blood and pyrotechnics of a KISS show, nothing of the sort. Just four tough men from London putting it all out there, warts and all. Technical glitches didn't seem to matter to the fans, and after a while, even the band didn't seem to mind. It's amazing, though, how they had stayed together as long as they did. The infighting wasn't just disagreements and such, it often got physical. Bruce Johnson of The Beach Boys once said he was in the audience at a performance by The Who in 1968, and an on-stage brawl took place during the show; he claims it was the worst fight he had ever seen. It seems Pete Townshend accidentally knocked one of Keith Moon's cymbal stands over, causing Moon a minor injury. He responded by hitting Townshend with one of his drums or something. And in seconds, the entire band were involved in the biggest, most vicious fight many people had ever witnessed, and it continued until long after one of the stage hands brought the curtain down.

Listening to the band play their softer, more introspective material here, numbers like "Too Much Of Anything," belies this image. But the main ingredient on "Odds & Sods," is GROWTH. You witness the band, via, recordings, growing, as musicians, and as people. Pete Townshend used to cover up shortcomings in his guitar skills with volume, feedback, pick-scrapes, and on-stage dynamics, and when you listen to any "High Numbers" recordings, the guitar solos were actually by a session player. This continued into the early career of The Who, as the guitar solo in "I Can't Explain" is reputedly Jimmy Page's. Daltrey's development is aforementioned, but one consistency in this disc, would be the rhythm section. People who discuss Keith Moon fall into two distinct camps; those who say he was the best drummer ever, and those who say he was an enthusiatic amatuer. Realistically, he was not a very good technical drummer, but nobody before him or since, has ever, ever done anything like that. I enjoy listening to him, I am one of his biggest fans, but I honestly see what his detractors say. Sometimes, he just couldn't do it. The percussion track in 1978's "Music Must Change" is actually a recording of Pete Townshend's footsteps; Moon couldn't make himself play 3/4 at the time. He played strictly by instinct, and many of his peers, people like Ginger Baker, could run laps around him. But, get him on a good night, when he's on top of his game, and you won't find better.

And John Entwistle, I have to say, personally, I think he was the best bassist in contemporary music. And a total consummate musician as well. It's sad, rock's most interesting rhythm section is now dead. But they have made their mark. John Entwistle, Roger Daltrey, Keith Moon, and Pete Townshend, a four headed monster that forever changed the music world, will live forever, dead OR alive.

And "Odds And Sods" is a record of the first ten years of the phenomenon known as "The Who." November 6, 2007

To the "Naked Eye" not all versions of Odds & Sods are the same. Get the remastered with the bonus tracks!

As the author of the Jefferson Airplane book "Take Me To A Circus Tent" and a former radio disc-jockey, I am often asked to write and or discuss various music supplies and recordings from the 60's and 70's.

Originally a terrific vinyl treat from 1974, the 1988 remastered "Odds & Sods" includes twelve bonus tracks that completely changes where the previously released songs appear.

I recall very vividly having conversations with a plethora of Who collectors when the improved "Odds & Sods" hit the CD shelves. The majority clearly wanted the running order from the album to be maintained and the bonus tracks to follow. This doesn't detract in any way the sheer brilliance that awaits.

Although "Odds & Sods" put together a myriad of previously unreleased tracks, it was never intended to be a replacement for a studio record. To the surprise of many, the material was strong and consistent, including some of the most underrated tunes the band would pen.

The studio "Summertime Blues" didn't lose any of the raw in your face rock and roll from the live version. There aren't too many better three minute numbers.

"Under My Thumb" sees the Who playing the Rolling Stones. The version well constructed and Pete's background to Roger's lead vocal gives us a terrific rendition.

"My Way" often mislabeled as "Easy Going Guy" pays homage to the earlier days of rock and roll (After all it was composed by Eddie Cochran) but the Who has put the definitive stamp all over the song. Townshend's guitar and Daltrey's vocals have the intensity and quality needed to push this over the top. Keith's drums and John's bass are mixed well so the tasty playing is very much in the front.

"Young Man Blues" written by Mose Allison could have easily lost its way in the recording studio. Then again when the Who were at their peak the studio wasn't off limits to high energy and raw passion.

"Love Ain't For Keeping" is double the length of the "Who's Next" masterpiece. The version used here isn't any less impressive!

John Entwhistle's "Postcard" is not only a standout track on the album but one of the finest period. The song is a living letter home to his wife with complete tails of the difficulties of being on tour. You can play this one hundred times in a row and it wouldn't lose any of its eternal shine.

With twenty-three tracks and almost seventy-seven minutes of Who rock and roll, the only question left is what are you waiting for?

July 20, 2007

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