Substitute: Songs from the Who

Various Artists (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 12, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Edel America
• ASIN: B00005JIZ7
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #133,586 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. The Kids Are Alright - Pearl Jam

2. Behind Blue Eyes - Sheryl Crow

3. Pictures Of Lily - David Bowie

4. 5:15 - Phish

5. Circles - Paul Weller

6. The Real Me - Fastball

7. Who Are You - Stereophonics

8. Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere - Ocean Colour Scene

9. The Seeker - Cast

10. Naked Eye - Unamerican

11. Substitute - The Who featuring Kelly Jones

Editorial Reviews

Out-of-print in the US! Tribute album to the '60s legends, now sadly dwindled down to the duo of Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey. Even before the '60s came to a close, the Who were a certified success around the world, but the band took it even further in the '70s and beyond. This compilation features Cast ('The Seeker'(, Ocean Colour Scene '(Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere)', Paul Weller ('Circles'), David Bowie ('Pictures Of Lily'), Pearl Jam '(The Kids Are All Right'), Fastball ('The Real Me'), UnAmerican ('Naked Eye'), Stereophonics ('Who Are You'), Phish ('5:15'), Sheryl Crow ('Behind Blue Eyes') and The Who themselves covering 'Substitute' live with Stereophonics' vocalist Kelly Jones and many more. Edel.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Save your money, November 27, 2001

By 

R. Treynor (Columbus, Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Substitute: Songs from the Who (Audio CD)

This disc is kind of a slapped-together cd - a low-rent version of your typical tribute album. Pearl Jam, Phish, and Kelly Jones' tracks are all recorded live, and not for the purpose of this cd - they just happened to be recorded well enough to be included. This cd lacks a cohesive listen, and most of the tracks are pretty uninspired or are note-for-note imitations of the original - just with a different singer...
I bought this to hear other artists take Who material and make it their own, and what this mostly sounds like is a 'karaoke with the stars' cd.
David Bowie's track is the most inspired, but..c'mon, he did this same sorta thing with the same-era Who music on his Pinups album in the early 70s.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pictures of Ziggy, August 3, 2001

By 

Evan R. Myers (Chapel Hill, NC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Substitute: Songs from the Who (Audio CD)

Great songs, and overall good performances, but most of these versions are close to note-for-note versions of the originals. The Bowie version of "Pictures of Lily" is the one real departure, and it works on several levels. The tempo, production, and instrumentation are reminiscent of Ziggy-era Bowie (especially "All the Young Dudes" or "Ziggy Stardust"). In this context, the lyrics take on extra meaning--you can imagine the young boy "relieved" by the pictures of Lily Langtry on the wall inspired to grow up to be a cross-dressing glam rocker. A great version, and one truer to the spirit of a good cover--respecting the original, but making it your own.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars No Substitute, June 12, 2001

By 

Thomas Magnum (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Substitute: Songs from the Who (Audio CD)

Songs From The Who is a compilation of Who cover songs by such devotees as Pearl Jam, Sheryl Crow and others. The problem with the album is that most artists do by the number versions of the songs. Pearl Jam's version of "The Kids are Alright", Sheryl Crow's "Behind Blue Eyes", Phish's "5:15" and Fastball's "The Real Me" all sound like they could have been done at a kareoke bar. They don't add their own unique sounds to the songs and they feel sterile. Other artists do rework songs most notably David Bowie who slows down "Pictures Of Lily" into an almost dirge and Ocean Colour Scene who infuse "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" with a modern flair. The Who themselves rework "Substitute", but the result isn't that great. But at least they got into the spirit of a cover album, reworking an artist's songs into a different sound.