Customer Reviews

Sings: The Who Sell Out

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Fans of both Petra Haden and classic Who will want to hear this CD. It's a chance to hear Pete Townshend's songs stripped down to their essence (although Petra does an excellent job of re-creating the full band sound through vocal tricks). The songs hold up to the a cappella treatment very well. The most fascinating aspect of this new Sells Out is all the changes Ms. Haden takes her voice through -- (for ex.) sounding siren-like on "Odorono" (a bit like Kate Bush!) and then like a teenage boy on the very next song ("Tattoo"). At times it can be dizzying to be immersed in the amazing multiple layers of Petra's voice in the melody, harmonies, rhythm tracks and other miscellaneous effects. On tunes such as "Our Love Was" and "I Can See For Miles" it's like standing in the middle of a large cavern with about 30 singers standing all around you at various points of the compass. If there was ever an album made for headphone listening, this is it!

PS --- If you've become interested in this CD after hearing about it on NPR, you should also investigate the other Petra Haden CD that came out recently, her collaboration with guitarist Bill Frisell. I liked that disc even more than this one!

When I first read about this project before the album was released, I shrugged it off putting it in the same category as the String Quartet Tribute albums where bands like Metallica and Korn have their songs reworked as chamber music. But then I heard an interview on National Public Radio with Petra Haden (daughter of jazz bassist Charlie Haden). She came across as articulate, intelligent and sincere. Also, the song snippets they played made me rethink her a capella reinterpretation of the 1968 Who classic THE WHO SELL OUT.

Now, after hearing the entire album, I am even more impressed. Even though Haden wasn't even born until almost four years after the Who originally released the album, this is an obvious labor of love--right down to the album art. [You gotta admire any artist who will sit in a tub of baked beans!]

Haden treads a fine line between art and novelty with this project, but she pulls it off. Not all of the fake ads work that well--"Medac" is a notable exception--but for the most part their only real purpose was to provide segues between the real songs anyway, and that's where Haden's multi-layered overdubs make this such an exciting album, especially on songs like "Armenia City in the Sky," "I Can See for Miles" and "Sunrise." This album won't make you forget the original, but it will make you see these songs in a new light. Very enjoyable. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

There's debate over which Who album is their best, but my personal favorite is The Who Sell Out. It's full of life, both delicate and hard-charging, a concept album that doesn't forget humor. If you've never heard it, you must.

When I learned Petra Haden was performing the entire album a cappella, I had to buy it. Any worries that she wouldn't be able to handle it vanished with the first "French horn" notes of "Armenia City in the Sky."

The vocal interpretations of the instruments are just wonderful, be they horns, banjos, keyboards, or the phased feedback of guitars (she's no Keith Moon on her drum sounds, but who is?). And the lead vocals and harmonies are so pure and true, giving warmth to songs that never felt warm before and lifting the tender songs like "Sunrise" to beautiful heights.

There are also some great liner notes from Mike Watt, bassist extraordinaire and Friend Of Petra, who reveals he persuaded her to record this partly as a tribute to the late D.Boon, his Minutemen bandmate.

There are (very) occasional rhythmic stumbles and a few slightly changed lyrics, but I'm sure Who fans will pass those by and recognize that Petra Haden nailed the feel of the album, putting her own personal stamp on it in the process.

Webster's defines "tribute" as "a gift or service showing respect, gratitude, or affection." This tribute album has all three, and I am so grateful that it was released.

"Track Records... Track Records... Track Records..."

Petra Haden may be a familiar name to you. Maybe not.
Ms. Haden was the violin player and a back-up singer in That Dog; an underrated power-pop band of the 90's that also included one of her triplet sisters, Rachel. Their father is the legendary jazz bassist Charlie Haden.
Petra appeared on a Weezer fan favorite b-side, singing "I Just Threw Out the Love of My Dreams".
When she suffered serious injuries after being hit by a car in August of 2000, Weezer, Beck, Victoria Williams and others participated in a series of shows and recorded a benefit record to help pay the bills. That's what friends are for, ehh?

So...now that we are caught up on who the gal is....

Petra Haden's latest release is "Petra Haden Sings: The Who Sell Out". That would mean that she, herself, sings every bit of the record: intruments, vocals...even the commercials from the original record. They called it "a cappella" back in ye olden days...and I guess they still do. Yet, that might give you the wrong impression of what this record is.

"Petra Haden Sings: The Who Sell Out" was recorded sporadically from 2000-2003 on a Tascam-488 8-track. As the story goes, Mike Watt introduced her to the classic album and asked her if she'd do her interpretation of it. Watt writes liner notes with the CD, explaining the story of the idea, the importance of this particular Who record to him and the late D. Boon and he gives Ms. Haden much, much praise.

The opening of the album introduces you immediately to Ms. Haden's vocal talents. She is no stranger to working with only herself (a 4-track record, "Imaginaryland" is available from Win Records) so the entire album is performed with confidence and proficiency in her solitary process. Flawless.
One obvious problem such an endeavor might suffer from is the whole thing running together. It could be boring, it could be silly or it could be downright bad. It could all sound the same and be a novelty album. But it doesn't and it isn't and the listener forgets that there could have ever been an obstacle to pulling off this entertainingly reverent and beautiful rendition of a classic album.
Each song takes on a personality and that keeps the entire record flowing wonderfully. Some are pretty traditional a cappella while others play with other sounds- mimicked guitar solos, percussion sounds and soulful melodies.
Like the original record, Ms. Haden's interpretations of these songs are beautiful, sometimes funny, sometimes intense. The record itself has a variety of songs which made it an excellent candidate for such a project.

Watt explains in the liner notes that he gave her the 8-track with "The Who Sell Out" on track 8 of a set of tapes for her to use, which could have led to direct, cold, dull covers of the songs. There is no sign of that being a problem in the fnished product.

Pete Townshend is already said to be a fan of this record. How cool is that?

This record is enjoyable from beginning to finish. It's beautiful, it's fun and it's a really cool idea executed by an amazing vocal talent.

"This is the power of music: to make ideas come alive, to breathe life in little boy daydream pasts so far removed by time..." - Mike Watt from the liner notes of "Petra Haden Sings: The Who Sell Out"

First of all, an intimate knowledge of the Who classic is an absolute prerequisite to appreciate the sheer artistry of this very unique and clever creation. Petra captures the many layers of sound that comprised the original, so taken for granted on the Who's version after about 500 listens (and I know this CD will actually enhance my 501st listen of the original). She also nails the rhythm and pacing of the original and how the tracks/commercials ran together (no surprise since she recorded it while listening to the Who's version). The only Who member who is barely "present" is Keith Moon (with the exception of an occasional drum fill-in "I Can See For Miles" and the tremeloed cymbal clash after "chaos then will reign in our Rael"). But for all the artistry behind this creation, let's not overstress the art-factor. This just a FUN record!

After years of teasing on WFMU (where executive producer Irwin Chusid has been playing tracks from this for a few years now), we finally have the fruit of Mike Watt's suggestion to Petra Haden. Wow! This is about as cool as an acapella recording can get. There is none of the over-slick-ness of most recent acapella stuff. There is, in fact, very little that one might expect on this record.

What IS on this record is a sort of DIY, indie-rock, almost shooby-taylor-esque (at times) interpretation of the Who's BEST LP (don't listen to those who argue with this...the only other that even comes CLOSE is "A Quick One") in PURE VOCALS. Petra Haden imitates the guitars, basses, drums, pianos, and of course, all the vocals from the original, but not in a methodical, exacting fashion. Rather, she has pulled out just the essentials of her personal listening experience of THE WHO SELL OUT and used them. "Drums" appear only here and there, but always to great effect and always with great taste and restraint (for example on Rael). Ms. Haden's basslines are impeccable, and her guitars are spot-on, right down to the attack and the timbre. It is on the massed, often "operatic" (really more like baroque, but I digress) vocal flourishes, however, that Petra Haden's true genius becomes apparent. Her treatment of "I Can See For Miles" is BRILLIANT, with a menacing drone hovering underneath sweet arpeggiated guitars and HUGE three-or-four-part harmonies that OUTDOES the original. The best stuff here, though, is the less rocky, less kitschy stuff: Townshend's slower compositions, like I Can't Reach You, Tattoo, and Sunrise. There, the natural sweetness of her voice shines through, conveying an aching beauty that surpasses, in its untrained simplicity, any high-falutin' choir.

Overall, the effect here is of listening to The Who Sell Out through headphones while very stoned, when you were maybe 16 or 17, doing imitations of all your favorite parts of the record with your voice. More of us than would probably care to admit it still do this in the car. Petra Haden has made it art, simultaneously outclassing all of us dilletantes and setting a new standard for that animal known as the "cover version."

Ms. Haden's sensitivity to and affection for these songs is apparent, as is her TREMENDOUS talent. This is, for me, by FAR the best release of 2005 to date! Anyone who would give this a one-star rating is indicative of the mindset that JUST DOESN'T GET IT, the sort of person who judges guitar players exclusively on their technique (which they usually call "chops" - UGH) rather than sensitivity or ideas or originality or balls. Don't listen to that sort of claptrap!

I agree with one review here that stated that the Haden version of this album made me hear things I hadn't appreciated in the original. It made me realize that this is my favorite Who album after all...being in the running with Quad, Next and Tommy. I would say that 90% of Petra's versions of these songs are on the mark with some weak spots in Mary Anne and Silus Stingy. Her Rael is tremendous. That alone justifies buying and listening to this.

This album sounds like a labor of growing respect, for the band, for the original concept LP, & for the art & craft needed in creating an acapella arrangement. There is nothing dilletantish or slick about it; one could think of the project as an avocation & as the record of a long tutorial project. It's as if all the Beach Boys, Jan & Dean, & oddball falsetto doo wop influences that provided extra pop color & depth to The Who's earlier music staged a rebellion & tried to take over the band. Mostly a joyful noise. Not for all tastes. But for those whose taste it might be: yeah, Petra hears Keith Moon.

When I first heard the samples I did not know what to make of it. And it grew on me. You really need to pick up the original album if you do not have it already. Petra picked apart a lot of the structure of the music, songs and backgrounds and now I can hear things in the original that I just passed by. But that's her job. It will no doubt spawn many imitators, but this has gotten better on repeated listenings, along with more listens to the original.

Received a taped copy across a bar from a friend in an unmarked brown envelope saying "You'll understand". Played it and
yes I do! As a Who fan and fan of the unusual this is FANTASTIC, even forked out for my own copy !........ enjoy !