I think this is a POLL of shit while John Sinclair rots in prison: THE WHO RESULTS THREAD (ilm artist poll #25)

5. Meaty Beaty Big And Bouncy (502 points, four #1 votes
http://www.thewho.info/images/71MBBAB-UK-Who.jpg

One of the best first tries at a greatest-hits ever, and I'm guessing one of the first twenty albums I bought.

4. Quadrophenia (524 points, one #1 vote)
http://media.liveauctiongroup.net/i/4274/5478108_1.jpg?v=8C81BC5F42FB830

I was going to vote in this if I'd had more time to absorb the parts of the discog that I don't know very well, but it didn't happen. (A Quick One is a really solid album though, innit?)

Anyway, re: "Squeeze Box." I remember an interview with Pete Townshend in Hit Parader - prolly from around the time of Face Dances - where he was bashing Paul McCartney's commercialism - but then admitted The Who sold a shitload of t-shirts and "Squeeze Box" was "every bit as bad as Ebony & Ivory." I agree.

I love those "if you enjoyed this recording, you may also like...." suggested albums on the back cover of the original pressings of The Who Sings My Generation - all put there by some Decca guy plugging whatever their recent releases were by a guy who'd apparently never actually listened to The Who. If you enjoyed "My Generation", may we suggest, the Kingston Trio?

"Squeeze Box" is redeemed by the exuberant groove of the fun part, and the expression of true love in the slow pretty "I'm so in love with you" part. I never quite got the metaphor though. "Mama's got a squeeze box she sits in her lap, when daddy comes home he never gets a nap."

Yeah, Decca's cluelessness is a (the?) main reason the Who's early singles stiffed in the US.

xp

3. Live At Leeds (628 points, five #1 votes)
http://www.concertposterart.com/images/posters/detail/Who-Live-At-Leeds-LP-Album-Promo-Poster-Type-Ad-1970-Concert-Poster-Type-Ad.jpg

Gonna finish the albums now, have to run soon.

A curious thing about decca's cluelessness about the early Who was that (as pointed out in Bomp by Mike Sanders back in the day) they managed to place full page ads in Billboard for the first four singles.

2. Who's Next (669 points, five #1 votes)
http://i53.tinypic.com/21nh66h.jpg

True, but they didn't have an independent promo person (standard practice in those days), distribution was spotty at best, and magazines didn't always, or often, receive promo copies.

xp

Yeah, and they let Atco issue "Substitute".

1. The Who Sell Out (1008 points, nine #1 votes)
http://www.thewho.info/images/67SOad-Who.jpg

Not American, not teenagers.

Haven't y'all heard the Kingston Trio cover of "The Ox"? Fuckin' slays, man.

unusual packaging!

The top 50 countdown starts tomorrow!

I see that alot in the liner notes in mid-1960s albums. For whatever reason, the A&R execs of the time seemed to believe only teenagers could possibly like rock music

Reprise inner sleeves of the late 60s were awesomely O_O, especially the one for Are You Experienced? that had ads for Trini Lopez, Frank Sinatra and Dino Desi & Billy records...along with the Electric Prunes of course.

Next thing you're gonna tell me, Hendrix was an opening act for the Monkees....

and Mickey Dlenz owned one of the first Moogs!

they were probably the first to use a Moog on a pop record. Tim Buckley guested on one of their TV show episodes, so did Zappa. The Monkees were cool.

Really happy to see that number one!

The "unique packaging" did the trick.

bah, "Unusual Packaging". Stupid bookmark.

Thing is, I'd never heard the original Sell Out lineup til years after the 90s reissue with all the bonus tracks. With all those bonus tracks, it's almost a more fun version of the White Album.

I love the jingles

I decided early on to reserve a spot on my ballot for one of the Sell Out jingles

I just realized I forgot to vote for A Quick One While He's Away

D:

omg what is wrong with you

yeah forgetting "A Quick One"...that song IS the Who!

but you are forgiven

the definition of fail ;_;

I think "I Need You" was pretty high up on my ballot.

in other news I watched Kids Are Alright today and I want to timetravel back in time & run away with The Who

are there 4 cooler guys in rock? like, a fuck-off stadium band that you would have beers with? even grumpy rog. filled with love atm :)

I just realized I forgot to vote for A Quick One While He's Away

I don't even know who you are anymore!

You would love the new Quad doc.

xp

head = oven

yes I want to see the Quad doc!

side note - watching Live At Kilburn 77: is that considered a sloppy Moony show? bc he seems p good to me?

For decades it was a foregone conclusion that this was one of the worst shows they ever played. And while it's not entirely inconceivable that, by their standards, the Who thought it sucked, an off night for them is a night other bands would kill for.

Moon's not quite where he was in late '76, but he's far better than he was on the 1978 Shepperton show ("Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" in The Kids Are Alright), and handily surpasses everything he did on Who Are You.

So yeah, I think it's a great show. I think the negative reaction to it had a lot to do with everyone's mental and emotional state at the time; Townshend wasn't sure he wanted to continue, Moon was a wreck and seemed to be holding them back, John and Roger wanted to tour...

It was their only 77 show, right?

The 78 show was sloppy but they really made up for it with playing like it was the greatest thing ever in the world. Particularly Townshend, who looks like he is coked out of his mind, but does some great guitar solos. And of course that iconic slide.

xp Yep, their previous show had been 14 months earlier in Toronto.

Voted My Generation as the #1 album. As a kid, I felt weird for liking it so much. It was not a "rock" album in the way even A Quick One was- much more an oldies/rock 'n' roll record from my early 80s vantage point. It wasn't my favorite then, though. Later I realized that I like rock 'n' roll more than rock, and it's appeal grew. This phase of the band was relatively short compare to Stones and Kinks- just one maximum r'n'b album, and the Meaty Beaty singles. But they were using so much more noise than their contemporaries, right from the start. The Ox is like the hardest bits of Link Wray's singles, strung together. Nowadays, it sounds like something from In The Red records with it's balance of sharp melodies, snark and noise.

http://youtu.be/hflF6YCsqbs?t=1m12s

The Who Sings My Generation (I had the one packaged in tandem with Magic Bus - The Who On Tour) took a little time to grow on me. I think I had a similar reaction to yours initially, but after getting into the Velvets and the MC5, I went back to My Generation and it suddenly became evident where/how those bands got so many of their ideas. There is no "European Son" without "The Ox."

I had both of the MCA twofers -- Magic Bus/My Gen and Quick One/Sell Out. They sort of muddied the waters as far as getting a sense of the band's story and chronology, but obviously the music was great. Any release with "Bucket T" is worth it...

Jimmy dug those twofers...a full decade before they were released:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQ9ujkz8WUE

didn't vote for least favorite after remembering about Freddy Fender's Squeeze Box

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAKfFDJhuQM