The Who Sell Out (Deluxe Edition) [Extra tracks, Original recording remastered, Deluxe Edition]

The Who | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 2, 2009)
• Original Release Date: April 7, 2009
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Extra tracks, Original recording remastered, Deluxe Edition
• Label: Geffen Records
• ASIN: B001QBC4AG
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,663 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Armenia City in the Sky

2. Heinz Baked Beans

3. Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand

4. Odorono

5. Tattoo

6. Our Love Was

7. I Can See for Miles

8. I Can't Reach You

9. Medac

10. Relax

See all 29 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Armenia City in the Sky

2. Heinz Baked Beans

3. Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand

4. Odorono

5. Tattoo

6. Our Love Was

7. I Can See for Miles

8. I Can't Reach You

9. Medac

10. Relax

See all 22 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Digitally remastered and expanded deluxe two CD edition of The Who's classic 1967 album, which has been remastered from the original stereo and mono masters for the first time (this is the first official re-release of the mono mix since the album's original release). This deluxe edition contains previously unreleased songs and/or mixes, a 28-page booklet that contains unseen photos and 1960s period advertisements and out-takes from the original October 1967 album cover photo session. Disc One contains the original stereo mix of the album plus 17 bonus tracks. Disc Two is the mono mix of the album with an additional 10 bonus tracks. The booklet also contains an introductory essay by noted Rock writer Dave Marsh and in-depth liner notes by Who biographer Andy Neill. 55 tracks including 'Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand', 'I Can See For Miles', 'Summertime Blues' and many more. Universal.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why wasn't this done sooner. Redux, June 3, 2009

By 

E.I.E.I. Owen (Philadelphia, Pa United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Who Sell Out (Deluxe Edition) (Audio CD)

When I originally wrote this review, Amazon did not have this version available so I placed the review under the Schm (or whatever it is) version so here it is.

The collection contains both the original stereo and mono mixes of the album. This is not a repackage of the 1995 release even though a lot of the extras that appeared there are here but in a different mix. The mono mix might be of more interest for fans since it has not been available in the U.S. since 1967. There are subtle nuances in the mix overall, the music and the commercial jingles meld more seamlessly than its stereo counterpoint in such a way that it does feel like your listening to a pirate radio station. On "Our Love Was" the solo guitar break is completely different than the stereo version.

The stereo mix is a re-mastered version of the original Kit Lambert mix from 1967 so any embellishments that John Astley did in 1995 are now gone. In addition "Rael" is also presented with its original mix as well as a re-recorded version on disc one. Apparently, the original tape was thrown in the trash and a nasty edit had to be made in the songs first line. This track was re-stored by John Astley on the "Maximum R&B" box set and on the 1995 re-issue.

Another bonus is more of the PAMS jingles that were intended for the rest of the album in-between the extra tracks. There are also early mixes of other tracks as well as a few hidden ones so this pretty much surpasses the 1995 edition especially if you were not a fan of the work John Astley did in cleaning up the recording.

This has to be one of The Who's best albums pre-Tommy and probably the last when they actually used a lot of those great vocal harmonies. Finally, a great re-issue of a great album. Oh, as a bonus there is a small re-print of the original poster that originally came with the album

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Who Sold Out, June 2, 2009

By 

PHILIP S WOLF (SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, CA. USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Who Sell Out (Deluxe Edition) (Audio CD)

Widely considered to be among the best records of the 1960's, and by many thought to be The Who's greatest recording: "The Who Sell Out" once again, has received a major overhaul. This "Deluxe Edition" features 2 full CD's of the classic album in complete stereo and mono versions, and another albums worth of unused songs, commercials, jingles, radio spots and alternate tracks.

The original album was recorded between April and October of 1967. This was a very hectic year for The Who, between live dates, TV appearances, and trips to America, the band somehow found time to record, in studios in London and the USA. It was all rushed together in November, so the album would see a release prior to the Christmas holiday.

The concept behind: "The Who Sell Out" was all about the pirate radio that was broadcasting offshore England in 1967. The entire radio format is reproduced by The Who. Radio spots, commercials, jingles and pop songs of the highest caliber were all the work of Pete, Roger, John & Keith. The power pop, heard on the band's 1966 recording: "A Quick One" builds to enormous explosion with this project. Power pop, comes into full bloom on: "The Who Sell Out." This is the last of the first wave of Who records, as the next project would be very different from this.

Some of The Who's finest music can be found on this record. With: "Tatoo", "I Can See For Miles", "I Can't Reach You" & "Rael" this is finely crafted rock/pop music that doesn't show it's age in 2009. Good pop music is timeless, and The Who understood this, that is the secret to this album's greatness.

With this expanded and remixed edition, sound clarity of this project has improved, but due to the limitations of equipment of it's time,{and Kit Lambert} "Sell Out" may never sound the way we want it to, but it has gotten better. The early demo of: "Relax" fearures some jazz piano and has a 'laid-back' feel to it. "Jaguar" is an all-out eruption of Who fury. "Sodding About" is a jam, much like: "The Ox." "Glittering Girl" is a feast for the ears here, the mix has new found clarity and depth. Even: "Someone's Coming" {a song I never cared for} comes alive here as there is much more prominence to the instruments, now heard.

With four different versions of: "Rael" included here, you will hear music that was buried in the old mixes. An early: "Summertime Blues" will reveal how many years the band would age between 1967 and 1970. A surprise hidden track, is included at the end of disc two, with some things I won't disclose here {it would be like unwrapping a Christmas gift early!}

The last edition of this record was released in 1995. "Melancholia" and "Glow Girl" were a part of that version. The reason, that they are not included here, is because they were recorded after the completion of sessions for: "Sell Out" {they are both from 1968.} The Radio One spot {Boris Mix} is also absent here.

Again, it is fair to say that The Who, do reach a peak on this record, that they will never achieve again. The band sounds so young and spikey here, that it is a little hard to believe that they have to grow up with: "Tommy" and become a different group, a rock group. In 1967, Pete, Roger, John & Keith still sound like teenage punks....well power pop punks!

My only issue with this set is the mono still sounds compressed. This fantastic band cannot be contained in it. Some prefer the mono to the stereo versions, and I don't agree to that. The Who, were way ahead of the equipment that they were forced to record on. You would need 64 separate tracks to let this music breathe the way it needs to.

Sound issues aside, this is about the purist glimse into the music of the sixties, that you are going to find. This is a great record, the extras add to the fun and excitment of sounds that are hardly being contained herein. I am not deducting a full point to due sound problems. The music of: "The Who Sell Out" is an 11 !!!

4.75 Stars !!!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars not just a Sell Out.......!, November 2, 2009

By 

silly narwhal "sillynarwhal" (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Who Sell Out (Deluxe Edition) (Audio CD)

Even though Sell Out is one of my all-time favorite albums, I ignored this release for a year, glancing at the track list and thinking, ahh, no great shakes here...I mean, they added a whole 2nd disc, with TWO mixes of Someone's Coming, and DIDN'T include the treasure Melancholia at all, which was on the previous 1-DISC release? If you've had similar p-shawish reservations......

Let them go. This is a wonderful release. Turns out there are some 9 or 10 items here that weren't on the previous release, and most of these have NEVER been released:

*mono Our Love Was, Is ~ the bad news: my rare, if muddy BBC version with the country-western guitar solo isn't really a BBC performance; the good news: it's the mono mix, now in pristine quality on this release!

*Our Love Was, Is, take 12 ~ a truly alternate version to boot!

*Relax ~ demo (none of the Scoops had this!)..Pete doing his best Keith imitation on drums.

*Sodding About ~ not just another lost commercial as I'd whiningly feared, but a MONSTER unreleased instrumental! Not half as long as the excellent Hall of the Mountain King, but makes up for it in ferocity...a heavier display of Ox-power than any other track on the album. Stacks up nicely to the studio Young Man Blueses of a year later. [added comment: I just found out this was the "Signal 30" instrumental that circulated on bootleg; well, now it's official! Is it me, or was Pete's Tommy outtake "Trying to Get Through" based on this jam?]

*Summertime Blues ~ surprisingly, a different studio version from Odds n Sods/BBC. A bit shorter, but another one from the vaults nevertheless.

*Glittering Girl ~ not just two mixes, but two bonafide different performances (one by Pete, one by Roger, vocally), recorded months apart. The latter is another first-time release!

*I Can See For Miles/early mono mix ~ pre-overdub version, for completists and geeks only, perhaps, but isn't that us? An interesting listen. Though the added dressings sweetened it to perfection, this shows how few of those dressings there actually were.

*Rael remake ~ didn't know what this meant from the cover (a 2009 dub mix?), but it's a whole different take from back in the day!

All this, plus a few more commercials and a pair of highly enjoyable hidden items I'll maintain the silence on....and spiced with outtake cover photos of each of our heroes (I remember the John one from the tribute photo montage in 2002) makes this utterly worth having.

As for dear departed Melancholia, I'm content with the explanation it was recorded in early 68, after the album's release ~ but I'll hang onto the '95 version.

And one should, for another good reason: RAEL. It's all well and good the compilers wanted to use the original masters--and the bonus "early" mono mix late on disc 2 does contain the long-lost 2nd verse, so it's here--but I think it's ridiculous they didn't use the '95 mix for the stereo album on disc 1. That mix finally restored that glaringly spliced verse, achieving the definitive version of this song after 28 years, and now you go back to an inferior version? Did the ghost of Kit Lambert influence this decision? I mean, Pete threw a chair thru the control room window over this at the time.... Not a deal-breaker, though ~ just keep your previous one, if it's the '95 version with bonus tracks.

On the mixes ~ need to listen to the mono mix again, but I agree with the reviewer that Someone's Coming greatly benefits from the mono (who'd have thought?). But Odorono suffers ~ Pete's voice is too low in the mix, and it just doesn't sparkle the way the stereo one does (and the way this song should! listen to the "ripped her glittering gown" line in stereo vs. mono). Nice to have both the "regular" (stereo) and the "shaky" (mono) mixes of the acoustic Mary-Ann with the Shaky Hands in one place. Previously, the 80's cd had the regular and 95's had the shaky (albeit in a new stereo version)--so I can finally ditch the former cd, there's absolutely nothing to recommend it now. Even the Rael purists get their original mix back on the new Deluxe.

The two different electric versions of Mary-Ann are under the same roof now, too. My Way (Easy Goin' Guy) could've been squeezed on, I guess, but that and the other Summertime Blues are already on Odds n Sods.

If all this sounds like geekdom...it is. If you've never heard The Who Sell Out, get the one-disc '95 edition with bonus tracks ~ just one version of each song for your listening pleasure. If/WHEN, however, this album is imprinted on your heart; or, if you're a Who nut, or serious collector, or all of the above ~ YOU'RE GONNA WANT THIS.

Too great a treasure trove to pass on.