Customer Reviews

Who Sings My Generation

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Yes, this is it.....the start of a legend. There is no need to tell you about the famous tracks (My Generation & The Kids Are Alright), but let's review the others. This was when the Beatles and Stones were newly minted Gods and there simply wasn't supposed to be any way to top either of them. But nobody figured there was a Keith Moon out there, or a Pete Townsend, or a guy who loved French horn named John Entwistle, and...oh yeah, that guy who sings.....Daltrey. But there was....and here is what they wanted us to hear first.

The Ox - If you haven't heard it, you don't really understand that Keith & John were as original as Pete & Roger.....play it first!
Circles - for John's French horn
Out in the Street - Townshed showing why the band would be famous within the year
I Don't Mind - har...mon...y..... you had to have it in the early days
The Good's Gone - vintage rocker even though nobody can keep up with Keith (again)
It's Not True - more vintage rock from the era that invented it
La-La Lies - the harmony that became legend when the opera started (A Quick One and Tommy)
Much Too Much - a strong number that could have been released as a single
Please, Please, Please - why do James Brown?.....why not?

In 1965-1966, mainstream rock-pop in England (non-mainstream rock was already forming in the US, in the form of still unknown bands like the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane) was taking a very steady course; The Beatles, more or less alone at the top, were leading and creating the mainstream, slowly leading it into new realms. The Rolling Stones, always one step behind them (having pretty much abandoned the bluesy attitude of their first releases and not yet found their own sound; that would only happen in 1968-69), always trying to out-do the Beatles. And dozens of other bands, slowly dragging behind them.

It's obvious to me from this very first album that The Who, despite the appearence of the album cover and its dry, meaningless title, were never a mainstream group, never Beatles or Stones imitators. True, they did have enormous commercial success from the very beginning; but they somehow managed to remain in and out of mainstream at the same time, recording mass-selling singles which were bound to sell the albums as well, no matter how sophisticated and experimental the albums really were. Of the songs on this first album, of the three singles released, two - The Kids Are Alright and La La Lies - were quite msinstreamly Beatle-esque, and therefore sold well; the third, My Generation, one of the Who's most brilliant songs, is an oddity, and I'm not sure how it became such a huge hit as early as 1965. It did, though, and good for them. The Who were never a pop group, despite what their second album, 'A Quick One', may suggest. Their semi-mainstream persona opened the way to many other important musical phenomenas; Punk, Grunge and Alternative rock are all part of The Who's legacy. No wonder their music was so often covered in concerts by bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam.

The Who were more mature in their music and lyrics than most English pop bands of the 60s, and Pete Townshend was in every aspect a professional songwriter, as much as he was one of the most creative guitar-players of his time, even if not the best techniqually. And while I'm on the subject: instrumentally, The Who were the very best, their only competition in England being the legendary Cream. Roger Daltrey had one of the best recognizable, most imitated voices in rock; Keith Moon's fierce, violent drumming is by far the best in that time, and had influenced all rock drummers who came after him, including Led Zeppelin's John Bonham, the Jimi Hendrix Experience's Mitch Mitchell and the Muppets' Animal (and I'm certain that Keith is the direct inspiration to Animal's character); and John Entewistle, who remains the finest bass player in rock history, supplying some of the most amazing bass-solos I've ever heard. Note that throughout their career, The Who maintained their four-man lineup almost religiously. The Stones were a six-man band from the very beginning, and The Beatles were always happy to bring in guest musicians, whether it's a flute or trumpet player, a string quartet or an entire orchestra. The Who were always very purist in their instrumentation, though the sounds they could make with these instruments were truly astonishing. Though the Beatles were and remain my favorite band, the Who were, basically, much more of a rock band (and much more of a band, really.)

The Who's debut album is an incredible, energetic masterpiece of a rock album, with several songs that are amazing in their experimentations and original sound and techniques. Most notable are 'Out In The Street', with Pete's odd guitar experiments, making pretty much every sound possible with a guitar (including smashing and breaking, of course); 'It's Not True', a fantastic typical example of Pete's witty, sharp songwriting; 'Instant Party (Circles)', a superb, semi-progressive song, introducing John Entwistle's trademark french horn; and 'The Ox', a big, impressive instrumenal segment the likes of which no other band at the time could make.

Whether or not this is The Who's best album it's impossible to determine. True, it's not as comlex and polished as Tommy or Quadrophenia, and it's not half as clever as the wonderful 'The Who Sell Out'; but it certainly has a magic of its own, more than the debut album of any other band of the Who's generation. A timeless classic, an essential 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.

I chose this CD as my 300th review for many reasons.

My Generation, that one song itself is one of, if not the best example of The Whos highly charged loud, fast, rebellious music.

Keith Moons drums pulsate and punctuate the lyrics and rhythm. When listening to My Generation, my pulse fluctuates to the beat, the adrenaline rush runs through my veins and summons my feet to dance.

Keith Moon has been dead thirty years this September. The last big bam in rock. Keith Moon, a.k.a. Moon the Loon remains the epitome of rock bad boys. Leaving a generation in mourning, yet hasn't ceased influencing future drummers.

Time has been good to this CD. It's still up there with the best of rock. A celebration of freedom, youth and their generation.

Part of me wants to call this the Who's greatest album. Don't get me wrong- I love Who's Next and Live at Leeds as much as the next guy (or doll), but come on! This record rocks with such rip-roaring, white-hot, blood-boiling abandon that it just about drowns out "Won't Get Fooled Again." I mean, seriously, just listen to that first song: easily one of the greatest album openers ever, "Out In the Street" comes tearing out of the gates like a drunken hooligan, a vein-shredding mod-rock meltdown that teeters on the edge of white noise that foreshadows heavy metal and punk while keeping one foot firmly rooted in the wildman traditions of R&B. Sounds good, right? Now, imagine an album with 12 songs of similar quality.

"The Good's Gone" is a sullen, bitter drone with a defiant, sneering vocal from Roger Daltry and a wonderfully sludgy rhythm from Keith Moon and John Entwistle. "A Legal Matter" is soul-based mod at its most happenin', with its ridiculously catchy chorus, pounding pianos and propulsive vocals. "La-La-La-Lies" is a vengeful little pop nugget, and "The Ox" is an absolutely outta-hand instrumental assault featuring a brutal electric guitar onslaught from Pete Townshend and some truly unbelievable drumming. There's also the wonderfully tongue-in-cheek "It's Not True" and the proto-psychedelic delirium of "Circles." I even like the two much-maligned James Brown covers here (Ok, to be fair, I could do without the somewhat stiff "Please Please Please," but the group's take on "I Don't Mind" retains the original's smoldering intensity). And then there's "The Kids Are Alright," one of the most genuinely poignant songs ever written about the bittersweet experience of growing up. I should also mention the title track, an apocalyptic noise-fest that makes Ozzy Osbourne look like Barney the Dinosaur.

A great debut album, then. Get it and crank it.

The first official album by the Who shows them as simple hard Mod rockers who did more than just destroy their instruments on stage. Its hard to imagine that this predates the punk movement by well over a decade because most of the qualities of punk are here. Gritty loud three chord songs, simple melodies, and playing that was faster and harder than just about anything that had existed at that time. Sharing the spotlight with the punk qualities was the die hard Mod theme that would influence bands well into the 70s and 80s.

Mid 60s London was a swinging good place to be. While America had their hippie movement, hipsters from England were dressed up in outrageous neo-European clothing and were jamming at late-night clubs. Thats when the music came into frame. The British were obsessed with American R&B. So they started playing it themselves only with a rougher edge. Imagine if James Brown had gone punk and you get the idea. The Who were a working class group. Yeah, I know they later became rich and famous but their music, back then, was not about being rich and famous but was told from the level of the British teenagers who bought it, listened to it, and enjoyed it. Though The Who were not the first British band to try out an R&B sound (The Beatles and the Mersybeat movement predate them) they were the first to combine it with the British born hard rock genre of crunching guitars, feedback, crashing drums (Keith Moon is easily one of the best drummers of all time) and angry frustrated lyrics.

Rodger Daltery was, and still is, a major vocal influence. Though his voice would get better over time, never again would he sound this angry yet secure about his subject matter. Pete Townshend and John Entwistle were an amazing guitar and bass duel who could keep the pulsating and loud music from seeming to skimpy and watered down. Many rock fans regard them as the best lineup ever for a rock band.

The album is a collection of hard rockers of mostly R&B influence however some tracks like the anthemic title track, and the highly experimental, The Ox, with its almost atonal attack of white noise and disortion may have been seen as a prelude to the psychedelic movement that would shortly unfold. The songwriting may not have been as mature as it would shortly become but some songs like, The Kids Are Alright, and, A Legal Matter, were more serious in meaning than most R&B songs at that time.

Before The Who made the rock opera, Tommy, or the arena rock masterpiece, Who's Next, they were the band you hear as you play this album and wonder to yourself "would rock had survived this long had it not been for groups like this?".

With the sudden, tragic death of Who bassist John Entwistle on June 27, I pulled out this album, The Who's debut disc from 1965, and played it in tribute to the late, great Ox (and I definitely plan to play more Who albums from my collection in the days ahead as well). The only Who album to unfortunately NOT get remastered yet (apparently due to producer Shel Talmy having a long-standing dispute with the band to this day), "The Who Sings My Generation" is vintage, classic Who that presents the band in all of their early Mod glory: Roger Daltrey's great voice, Pete Townshend's expert songwriting & ferocious guitar playing, John Entwistle's monstrous bass, and Keith Moon's unique smashing of the drumkit, it's all here. Classic Who songs are everywhere: "My Generation," "The Kids Are Alright," "La La La Lies," "Circles" (featuring John on french horn!), "A Legal Matter" (with a fine debut lead vocal from Pete), "Much Too Much," and the Entwistle/Moon power showcase, "The Ox." "The Good's Gone" is a terrific Who rocker, a true buried treasure from the band, and their covers of James Brown's "I Don't Mind" and "Please Please Please" are great fun.Like their contemporaries The Beatles, The Who would definitely expand their musical horizons and greatly mature as a band in the years that would follow, but they had to start somewhere, and what a fabulous start, too: "The Who Sings My Generation" is an essential rock album, capturing The Who at their most raw in 1965 when Mod was God to so many youths of the day. A classic Who album in every sense of the word. Farewell John, and say Hi to Keith for us. Long Live The Who. :-)

Though they came a little too late to dominate the British Invasion led by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, The Who were still one of the most important and enduring groups of that era. While the Beatles were into pop and the Rolling Stones were into Blues, The Who were were a hard rock and they played with an almost punk like attack. Of course they would later go on to craft rock operas a la "Tommy" and "Quadophenia" but at the time "My Generation" was released they simply wanted to smash their instruments to the beat of the music.

The album "My Generation" is The Who at there rawest. They play simple three and four chord songs that reflect there Rockabilly and R&B roots. "Out In The Street" and the James Brown cover "Please Please Please" are wild enough but other such as "The Ox" and the title cut are downright out of control. The title song has become an all time classic anthem with Keith Moon's thunderous drumming and John Entwhistle's groovy bass solo and, of course, the lyrics. Like punk, which would come many years after, The Who's music was all about youth and their rebellion. 50's rock had done this and groups like The Who were making sure the spirit lived on.

Though much of the music here is simply R&B played with a hard rock ethic there is signs of things to come. The afterformentioned "Ox" was just as experimental as anything the group would do later on and "Instant Party" incoporated french horns which would be used later on "Tommy". Roger Daltry's sings with more of a rasp suited for the R&B, James Brown style R&B present here. This in direct contrast to his more harmonious crooning on such masterworks as "Who's Next". Peter Townshend plays exceptionly well here. Whether he's spitting out blues licks or smashing the living daylights out of his guitar, it's clear he knows what he's doing. Perhaps even more of a showcase than Daltry and Townshend are John and Keith. Quite often voted rock's best rhythm section, it's easy to see why. John's bass lines are just as driving as they are melodic and Keith's drumming is as wild as you can get and still keep in 4/4 time.

In a way, The Who are the other Fab Four after The Beatles. "My Generation" is a wonderful start to one of the British Invasion's best acts. This complete's the holy trinity of British Invasion debut albums. The others are Beatles' "Please Please Me" and The Rolling Stones' "England's Newest Hit Makers" both also highly recommended.

According to sheltalmy.com, MCA and The Who have made an agreement with Shel to release the album My Generation remixed and remastered in stereo. The cd is said to be a double cd package including outakes and bonus tracks. It is scheduled to be released in Spring of 2002.

This, the Who's first album, is very close to a classic 5 stars. A few weak moments, but the energy level on this album never quits...and this album is so much better than their second, A Quick One. If you haven't bought it yet because you're waiting for the remaster, forget it. The Who's original producer owns the master tapes and, despite great effort to purchase them from him, he will not relinquish them. There is no reason to expect that the situation will ever change. Can you imagine what this would sound like remastered from the original multitracks? But, hey, it's not going to happen, so purchase this gem before MCA does something stupil like cut it from their catalog.