Tag Archives: the who sell out

#1339: The Who – Tattoo

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It’s really come to this. The last song to represent The Who Sell Out in this series. It’s been a ride with that one, with a track from that album appearing in the ‘A’ section way back when. ‘Fun’ isn’t a word you’d use to describe a lot of albums by The Who, but if there was one that could be, Sell Out would probably be it. You’ve got the light radio concept throughout, a toe dip into that style of album before Pete Townshend fully went into the deep end for Tommy. Lighthearted songs with topics ranging from the importance of deodorant to baked beans to Scrooge-type characters. And it’s a showcase of the harmonies vocalists Roger Daltrey, Townshend and John Entwistle could execute, which kind of went away as the albums came along. And listening to the studio banter in alternate takes in that Super Deluxe Edition seem to show the bandmembers having a few laughs or so during the sessions. It sounds like a good time. Sell Out‘s still a bit of a overlooked album in the Who discography, but those who know really know.

‘Tattoo’ is the fifth song on The Who Sell Out and a very plainly told story about a boy and his brother who go to the parlor to get some tattoos to prove their manhood. The dad beats one brother, the mum beats the other. There’s no deeper meaning that what’s sung to you in the lyrics. I kind of remember hearing this one for the first time, on this old website called we7.com, back in the summer of 2010. The way Daltrey was singing, the subject matter, the nothing-left-to-interpretation-ness of it all. This was a very unusual song by The Who, very unlike anything you’d expect by them. It all sounded a bit silly to the 15-year-old I was then. Especially that “rooty-toot-toot” ending. Seemed like they were sort of making fun of what they were singing about. I can’t remember when the change happened that I suddenly saw the light, but I must have done because I can firmly say ‘Tattoo’ is one of my favourites on the entire album. The way Daltrey sings it is really a plus because of how un-Daltrey it is. Those descending harmonies by Townshend and Entwistle at the end of the choruses… just beautiful. Glorious stuff. And I feel like a mention to drummer Keith Moon occurs in a lot of Who posts I do on here, but he takes a backseat on ‘Tattoo’, which lets all the melodies really sink in.

So everyone, if there’s a lesson to be learned today, it’s to listen to The Who Sell Out. Myself, I’ve never been into the 2009 reissue / 2021 Super Deluxe Edition which I think use the original mix as it was from 1967. The 1995 Remix/Reissue, which is listed as being released in 1967 on Spotify and the like, was the edition that I listened to first and that I think contains the best mix out of all the re-releases that have been around. I’m sure that’s the version I’ve hyperlinked above, with the 23 tracks on there. It’s a damn shame that whoever split the songs for the remix of on streaming did a bad job, with the radio adverts playing at the beginning of songs rather than the end, because I feel each song would probably have a lot more plays if the alternate was the case. I did go through a period wondering whether I liked ‘Relax’ or not. By the time I was writing the R’s, I didn’t. But now I do again. So I’ll give that a mention. And the alternative version of ‘Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand’ with Al Kooper on organ. Much prefer that to the actual album version, actually. So, yeah. Wave bye to Sell Out, everybody.

#1084: The Who – Rael 1

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Around the summer of 2010, I properly started listening to The Who. The months up until that period of time were those in which I discovered the Beatles and really began my fascination with their music that continues to this day. So I’m thinking that my decision to check out The Who came from a throwaway thought of “What’s another ’60s band that people talk about? The Who? Wouldn’t do no harm to try them out.” And so I did. I was 15 then, and now at 28, albums like Quadrophenia and Who’s Next are such that I can’t imagine my life without. But really I think the first of the band’s albums that I sought to listen to was The Who Sell Out, the group’s third album, released in 1967. I saw its professional ratings on the Wikipedia page and the time and was surprised at how highly rated it seemed to be among critics and the like. Couldn’t be that great, surely? Well, it actually is. And its 1995 remix/reissue that added 10 more songs to the original tracklist further showcased just how on a roll the band appeared to be during those sessions. That’s the version I’m most accustomed to.

‘Rael 1’, originally titled ‘Rael (1 and 2)’ on the original 1967 release, would usually be the album’s closer, though with the 1995 issue there’s an added selection of bonus material recorded during the record’s production. The song was the result of what was initially going to be a much larger project – I believe, a rock opera – conceived by Pete Townshend, but pressure from the band’s record label to produce hit singles at a faster rate ground whatever plans Townshend had to a halt. So what we get is the much compressed version of his vision. Like the Who’s album closer on Sell Out‘s predecessor, ‘Rael 1’ is another mini-opera, consisting of separate musical movements to create one whole piece. But unlike the domestic relationship situation explored in ‘A Quick One…’, ‘Rael’ takes the subject matter to broader horizons, exploring a world in which China is the main power of the world and is on its way to conquer Israel. The track is told by an Israeli protagonist who wishes to return to his home and save his country against all odds.

Shame the idea didn’t get the full album treatment it needed. However, the whole idea of a rock opera was something that was very much on Townshend’s mind. We all know what arrived a couple years later. And if you don’t, well, the band made Tommy, which took the band’s popularity to a whole other level worldwide and took the group’s success to the greatest heights when for a moment it looked like the band were at a crossroads when Sell Out didn’t meet commercial expectations. There are plenty of musical ideas subtly presented in Sell Out that would appear again in the music of Tommy, and none arrive quite as clearly as they do here on ‘Rael 1’, with its final instrumental section being reused for ‘Sparks’. I’m sure Who fans got a kick out of hearing music that they were sure they’d heard before and revisiting Sell Out to find that it was there all along. Even though the music gets its own highlight in the form of ‘Sparks’, I recognise it more as the exciting instrumental passage that brings Sell Out to a cosmic end.

#662: The Who – Jaguar

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‘Jaguar’ is a song by The Who that was recorded during the sessions that resulted in The Who Sell Out, their third album overall, released in 1967. It didn’t make it onto the original LP in that year, despite bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon’s pleas for it to be, but made its way onto the extended and remixed version of the album when it was reissued in 1995.

It’s another rare occasion in the band’s discography where Keith Moon takes the lead vocal on the track. Pete Townshend sings the “radio blasting…” bridge. This site takes information from the album’s liner notes so I’m inclined to agree with it. But even if you still don’t believe it’s Moon singing, I’ll try and tell you why it is. It’s clearly not usual lead vocalist Roger Daltrey. John Entwistle does sing on the album. He did possess a very high falsetto during these times. He doesn’t have the almost childish tone to his voice that is clearly noticeable on this track. That leaves Pete Townshend and Keith. Now listen to, let’s say, ‘I Need You’ – which Keith wrote and sang on previous album A Quick One and compare that to ‘Odorono’ for example which Pete sings. The difference is clear. It’s Keith, people.*

Anyway, this track is great. It’s the first one Pete Townshend wrote with the ‘product/radio advertisement’ concept for the album in mind, so its lyrics are really trying to tell you what great quality you can get from a Jaguar brand car. They even use the company’s “Grace, Space, Pace” slogan in the thing. Moon is reaching for the high notes in the verses but he stays relatively on key which is fantastic to hear. Fun to sing along to also. The song goes through various key changes many, many times as well, so if you’re into that sort of stuff you’re gonna have a good time listening.

It is said that the track ‘Sunrise‘ replaced ‘Jaguar’ on the album just as they were sorting out the final tracklist in ’67. That’s more or less a Townshend solo effort. That’s a beautiful song in itself. Maybe ‘Jaguar’ would have suited the album better? But whatever, what’s done is done.

*16/05/2020 Yeah, I did a bit of research and experimenting. I think it’s John who sings the track with Pete in the bridge. I wrote about it on the Who subreddit.

#565: The Who – I Can’t Reach You

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Just when one Who song has been done, another comes quickly around the corner. ‘I Can’t Reach You’ comes right after ‘I Can See for Miles’ on The Who Sell Out, and as I type this I’m slowly realising the contrast between the two. The latter expresses a narrator’s confidence in their ability to see all things, whereas the former witnesses one who’s trying their hardest to gain any sort of communication with a particular entity they want to get close to. Also, ‘I Can’t Reach You’ is one the daintiest compositions on the whole album which is a sudden change coming after the chaos of the preceding song. Clearly a lot of thought was put into the order of the tracklist. I’ve listened to this album for about seven years now and that’s just crept on me.

There’s a child-like innocence I sense when listening to this song, possibly aided by the foregrounded light piano that leads the melody and the fact that Pete Townshend sings here. At this point Roger Daltrey hadn’t fully developed his trademark howling vocals of the 70s so there’s not a large difference between the two’s vocal abilities on the album, but Townshend’s higher register lends this particular song a softer and vulnerable touch.

The song is the first on the album to use lyrics/music that would then be appear on the following album Tommy through the ‘see, feel, hear’ section of the chorus. ‘Sunrise’ does it. ‘Rael 1’ does it. ‘Glow Girl’ does it too, if you own the 1995 release. Other small, small things to look out for when listening is John Entwistle’s heavenly harmony vocal during the chorus, Keith Moon’s yet again going crazy on the drums – so much so that he lets out a scream before a drum roll around 2:32 – and the sneaky key change that occurs during the instrumental break which you won’t realise would have happened until Townshend brings in the final chorus. It’s all nicely tied together. One of my favourites on the album.

My iPod #563: The Who – I Can See for Miles

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Another old one. ‘I Can See for Miles’ is the seventh track and single from The Who Sell Out – the band’s third album overall – released in late 1967. I’m in that group, figuratively speaking, that rates the album as one of their best. Well, a lot of people would say that too. But I think it’s miles better than Tommy. It doesn’t take itself too seriously. All four members have more or less equal vocal duties on here and sound like they’re having a good time on every song (all 23 of them if you own the 1995 remaster/remixed edition). Plus this was the apex of The Who’s power-pop phase before they became the hard rock staple from the 70s onwards. Every song is just very entertaining.

The song concerns a narrator who, in basic terms, does not like to be taken for a fool and is number one when it comes to being observant but this is exaggerated to make it seem as if they are an all-seeing entity that can see far beyond any boundary. ‘I Can See for Miles’ is meant to sound massive. Pete Townshend described it as “the raunchiest, loudest, most ridiculous rock and roll record you’ve ever heard”. In some ways, the performance lives up to its description. I’m sure there are at least two drum takes by the manic Keith Moon on here, with drum rolls and various cymbal crashes overdubbed for full effect. It contains a memorable chorus characterised by rising vocal harmonies. There’s a guitar solo that consists of only one note. And there’s a key change for the last verse and chorus. You’d think it had everything to make it a great hit.

Apparently not. It peaked at ten in both the British and American singles charts in its day. Some would be thrilled about that, but Townshend was not too particularly happy. Despite how well (or not so) it did commercially, one can’t deny its audacity and ferocity. It also influenced Paul McCartney to write ‘Helter Skelter’ which is not so bad.

Below is a clearly mimed performance the band did for French TV in 1968.