My Generation (Dlx) (Dig) [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

The Who

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 27, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Mca
• ASIN: B00006GF6Y
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (112 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #46,353 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The roaring, raging quartet heard on Who's Next, Live at Leeds, and Quadrophenia is scarcely discernable on much of this, their first album. But the Mod-fueled, American R&B-inspired sense of ambitious pop that powers A Quick One, Sell Out, and even Tommy isn't so hard to find here. This reissue not only expands the original with a bonus-disc treasure trove of 17 outtakes and rarities (including the Pete Townshend-penned, previously unissued "Instant Party Mixture"), but has been remixed from the original 1964-'66 session tapes by producer Shel Talmy and released in true stereo for the first time. Anchored by early Who/Townshend anthems "My Generation" (also included in an instrumental version), "I Can't Explain," and "The Kids Are Alright," disc one's original LP set veers somewhat schizophrenically from Townshend's nascent power-guitar thrashing on the anthems and Roger Daltrey's ill-advised James Brown and Bo Diddley impressions on "Please, Please, Please" and "I'm a Man," respectively, to the surf-inspired John Entwistle-Keith Moon instrumental showcase, "The Ox." Not surprisingly, it's the Townshend originals (like "It's Not True," "Legal Matter," and the proto-psychedelic "Circles") that point to what the band would become in a few short years. The bonus material on disc two leans equally heavily on covers, but also contains its share of signposts to the future Who, including a rare, alternate version of "Anyhow, Anyway, Anywhere." Also included is a new booklet with many rare photos and a history of the album's recording by Andy Neill (coauthor of Anyway Anyhow Anywhere: The Complete Chronicle of the Who 1958-1978). --Jerry McCulley

Product Description
It's kind of odd that the Who's first album would be the last to be reissued in deluxe fashion, but, given the prominent role the late John Entwistle plays on it (his instrumental 'The Ox' was and is a sonic marvel), it's kind of fitting, too. But the real reason it took so long for the Who camp to release this is that they added so much to it! Disc one presents the original album mixed in stereo for the first time by original producer Shel Talmy, plus single sides like 'Bald Headed Woman' and Daddy Rolling Stone.' Disc Two is a collector's dream, with more loads of first-time stereo-in fact, 28 out of the 30 tracks here are in stereo! Previously unreleased, full-length versions of 'The Good's Gone' and 'I Don't Mind,' an unreleased instrumental version of 'My Generation' and an unspeakably rare, French EP-only alternate version of 'Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere' the highlights. Three sets of liner notes analyze

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great album, but the remix needs an explanation, September 2, 2002

By	Terestai (Littleton, Colorado USA) - See all my reviews

After years of EQ-adjusted CD releases and bootleg discs that claimed to be "from the mono masters," we're finally treated to a CD that's been culled from the earliest possible sources. While the sound quality is superb and the packaging is lavish (the Who's management must have seen the "Instant Party" bootleg!), they should have packaged a track-by-track explanation of what you're hearing. These are the songs as they exist on the three-track masters, blemishes included, and without any overdubs.

This may seem an odd choice, given the large amount of variation between the songs as they're presented here, and how they were presented on the original LP and CD releases. But there IS a reason... upon hearing the original three-track masters, it was discovered that many elements were recorded directly to the finished mono mix. Therefore, isolated tracks of these "add-ons" didn't exist to be put into this stereo remix. Such elements include the guitar overdubs on "My Generation" and "A Legal Matter", the vocal harmony in the second verse of "Much Too Much" and, most noticeably, the doubletracked vocal in "La-La-La Lies" which covered up the error that is now laid bare on this CD. Note: I've read that the french horn on "Circles" was not an overdub, but is still not present on this stereo remaster. This is the biggest reason I've deducted a star from my rating (and the fact that both discs clock in at under an hour.)

The extra tracks are incredible! They fill in a gap that could previously only be filled by tracking down copies of "Who's Missing", "Two's Missing" and the "Rarities" albums. The standouts here are "Instant Party Mixture" and the alternate vocal version of "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere." Interestingly enough, the common version of the latter track is not present, because of the same overdub issue I mentioned above. The vocal line we're more accustomed to hearing was an overdub, and does not exist today in an isolated form. The vocal line you hear on this CD was the original, and has only been officially released once - by accident - on a 1966 French EP. All previous CD releases of this track have been on bootlegs, and have all sounded hideous. This sounds like it was recorded yesterday.

This set is alternately cohesive and chaotic. It captures the raw studio essence of The Who in 1965, but comes off as sounding unfinished. It's a proud testimonial to how the '60s British music machine worked - it wasn't recorded perfectly because the record wasn't expected to have a shelf life of more than a month. Recording was done in a quick and dirty fashion, and that hampered the ability to perfectly remix it. They did the absolute best with what they had to work with, and it's well worth the money... and the years of waiting.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Beginning of Things to Come, December 17, 2007

By	Caesar M. Warrington (Lansdowne, PA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Who Sings My Generation (Audio CD)

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.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not that I'm not grateful, November 18, 2002

By	Gordon Pfannenstiel (Russell, KS United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

First, I really do appreciate the effort that has gone into improving the Who's catalog for the CD age. The Rolling Stones have finally followed suit...Capital/EMI, when are you going to get it together?

Unfortunately, this is a flawed release for several reasons. I don't think it was a mistake to remix from the original 3-tracks, but it was a mistake not to include a first-rate remaster of the original mono album. With 160 minutes of available time on a double CD, it is simply inexplicable, and a darn shame.

Also, the entire catalog is now remastered, but we still don't have a wonderfully remastered orginal version of Anyhow, Anytime, Anywhere or Substitute, or, for that matter, the second version of Circles, Pictures of Lily, or the stereo version of Magic Bus (not to mention the much longer version). These are not the only omissions, but certainly the biggest.

So, on the one hand, kudos to MCA for at least making the effort to present the Who in the best sound possible; on the other hand, shame on MCA for charging for a double CD while ommitting essential early material and ommitting the original mono album entirely.