Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere

Last updated
"Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere"
Anyhow etc.jpg
Single by the Who
B-side
  • "Daddy Rolling Stone" (UK)
  • "Anytime You Want Me" (US)
Released21 May 1965 (1965-05-21) (UK) [1] [2]
5 June 1965 (1965-06-05) (US) [3]
Recorded13–14 April 1965
Studio IBC, London
Genre
Length2:41
Label Brunswick (UK)
Decca (US)
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Shel Talmy
The Who singles chronology
"I Can't Explain"
(1964)		"Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere"
(1965)		"My Generation"
(1965)

"Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" was the second single released by the English rock band the Who in 1965. It features call-and-response lyrics (especially common in Who lyrics at this time) and some of the first ever recorded guitar feedback. The song was composed by lead singer Roger Daltrey and guitarist Pete Townshend, the only time they wrote together. The guitar feedback, although not the first to be heard on a record (see the Beatles' "I Feel Fine"), is thought to be the first solo with feedback. This is the first Who release with Nicky Hopkins playing piano. [5]

Contents

Overview

Composition

"Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" has a significant similarity to "Out in the Street", which appears on their debut album My Generation. Both songs feature a three-chord strum before "blasting into an uptempo rhythm"; [6] Despite this, "Out in the Street" is a marginally older song, and both tracks originate from the same recording sessions between 13 and 14 April 1965. [7] The use of feedback throughout the song was crucial, according to Townshend, who stated that the group "were trying to achieve the sound which we get on the stage at present, all in a commercial song that will sell." [8] He would later claim that "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" was an attempt to write a very spiritual song. [9]

Roger Daltrey helped a lot with the final arrangement and got half the credit. Something he does today for nothing, bless him. I was lying on my mattress on the floor listening to a Charlie Parker record when I thought up the title. (It's usually title first with me.) I just felt the guy was so free when he was playing. He was a soul without a body, riding, flying, on music. Listening to the compulsory Dizzy Gillespie solo after one by Bird was always a come-down, however clever Gillespie was. No one could follow Bird. Jimi Hendrix must have been his reincarnation, especially for guitar players. The freedom suggested by the title came restricted by the aggression of our tightly-defined image when I came to write the words. In fact, Daltrey was really a hard nut then, and he changes quite a few words himself to toughen the song up to suit his temperament. It is the most excitingly pig-headed of our songs. It's blatant, proud and, dare I say it, sassy

—  Pete Townshend, Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy liner notes by Brian Cady. [10]

Brett Milano of udiscovermusic.com rated Townsend's guitar solo as one of the 100 all-time greatest, "cramming all kinds of great noises – guitar feedback, air-raid sirens, and good old guitar destruction – into the brief space he had." [11]

Release

"Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" was released on 21 May 1965. [5] The release coincided with an appearance on Ready Steady Go! by the group, in which they perform this and "Shout and Shimmy". [8] "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" fitted the mood of Ready Steady Go! so well that the show adapted it as their intro for a while. [12] In the US, the feedback present in the recording startled Decca Records, who believed they'd received a faulty tape of the song. [13] The song was released on 5 June 1965 in the US. [14]

The single became the Who's second top-ten single after "I Can't Explain", reaching number ten on the UK Singles Chart. It remained in the top forty for eleven weeks, with six weeks in the top twenty, and one in the top ten. [15] [16] It also became a top forty single in France, reaching number thirty-eight, but it failed to match the success that "I Can't Explain" had in the US: whereas that was a top-hundred hit (peaking at 93), [17] "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. [16] It sold approximately eighty-eight thousand copies in the UK. [16]

Cash Box felt that the "middle instrumental section is a wow." [18]

The song was rarely played live for most of the Who's career past 1965, but since 1999 has become a staple for their live shows; it appears on the album Live at the Royal Albert Hall. It can also be found on BBC Sessions and The Kids Are Alright.

B-sides

When first released in the UK, "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" featured the B-side "Daddy Rolling Stone", a cover of blues-singer Otis Blackwell's debut B-side from 1953. [5] [19] Upon release in the US on 5 June 1965, it was replaced by a cover of the Garnet Mimms ballad "Anytime You Want Me". [14] Both songs were included on the 2002 reissue of My Generation .

Personnel

The Who

Additional musician

Other versions

David Bowie recorded a version of this song for his Pin Ups album in 1973. [20]

The Flaming Lips recorded a version of this song which appeared on a Mojo magazine CD of Who covers called Mojo: The Who Covered.

A version of this song has also been recorded by Ocean Colour Scene for the Who tribute album Substitute – The Songs of The Who.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Who</span> English rock band

The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered one of the most influential rock bands of the 20th century. Their contributions to rock music include the development of the Marshall stack, large public address systems, the use of synthesizers, Entwistle's and Moon's influential playing styles, Townshend's feedback and power chord guitar technique, and the development of the rock opera. They are cited as an influence by many hard rock, punk, power pop and mod bands. The Who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Daltrey</span> English musician and lead vocalist of The Who (b. 1944)

Roger Harry Daltrey is an English singer, musician and actor. He is the co-founder and lead singer of the rock band the Who.

<i>Quadrophenia</i> 1973 studio album by the Who

Quadrophenia is the sixth studio album by the English rock band the Who, released as a double album on 26 October 1973 by Track Records. It is the group's third rock opera, the previous two being the "mini-opera" song "A Quick One, While He's Away" (1966) and the album Tommy (1969). Set in London and Brighton in 1965, the story follows a young mod named Jimmy and his search for self-worth and importance. Quadrophenia is the only Who album entirely written & composed by Pete Townshend.

<i>Whos Next</i> 1971 studio album by the Who

Who's Next is the fifth studio album by the English rock band the Who, released on 2 August 1971 by Track Records in the United Kingdom and Decca Records in the United States. It developed from the aborted Lifehouse project, a multi-media rock opera conceived by the group's guitarist Pete Townshend as a follow-up to the band's 1969 album Tommy. The project was cancelled owing to its complexity and to conflicts with Kit Lambert, the band's manager, but the group salvaged some of the songs, without the connecting story elements, to release as their next album. Eight of the nine songs on Who's Next were from Lifehouse, with the lone exception being the John Entwistle-penned "My Wife". Ultimately, the remaining Lifehouse tracks would all be released on other albums throughout the next decade.

<i>The Who Sell Out</i> 1967 album by the Who

The Who Sell Out is the third studio album by the English rock band the Who. It was released on 15 December 1967 by Track Records in the UK and Decca Records in the US. A concept album, The Who Sell Out is structured as a collection of unrelated songs interspersed with fake commercials and public service announcements, including the second track "Heinz Baked Beans". The album purports to be a broadcast by pirate radio station Radio London. The reference to "selling out" was an intended irony, as the Who had been making real commercials during that period of their career, some of which are included as bonus tracks on the remastered CD.

<i>Live at Leeds</i> 1970 live album by the Who

Live at Leeds is the first live album by English rock band the Who. It was recorded at the University of Leeds Refectory on 14 February 1970, and is their only live album that was released while the group were still actively recording and performing with their best-known line-up of Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle and Keith Moon.

<i>Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy</i> 1971 compilation album by The Who

Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy is a compilation album of singles by English rock band the Who, released in 1971 as Track 2406 006 in the UK and as Decca DL 79184 in the US. It entered the US Billboard 200 chart on 20 November 1971, peaking at number 11, and the UK chart on 3 December 1971, peaking at number 9.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Won't Get Fooled Again</span> 1971 single by the Who

"Won't Get Fooled Again" is a song by the English rock band the Who, written by guitarist and primary songwriter Pete Townshend. It was released as a single in June 1971, reaching the top 10 in the UK, while the full eight-and-a-half-minute version appears as the final track on the band's 1971 album Who's Next, released that August. In the US, the single entered Billboard on 17 July, reaching No. 15.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Can't Explain</span> Original song written and composed by Pete Townshend

"I Can't Explain" is a song by English rock band the Who, written by Pete Townshend and produced by Shel Talmy. It was released as a single in the United States on 19 December 1964 by Decca and on 15 January 1965 in the United Kingdom by Brunswick. It was the band's second single release and first under the Who name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'm a Boy</span> 1966 single by the Who

"I'm a Boy" is a 1966 rock song written by Pete Townshend for the Who. The song was originally intended to be a part of a rock opera called Quads, which was to be set in a future in which parents can choose the sex of their children. The idea was later scrapped, but this song survived and was later released as a single.

<i>Ride a Rock Horse</i> 1975 studio album by Roger Daltrey

Ride a Rock Horse is the second solo studio album by English singer Roger Daltrey, released on 4 July 1975 by Track in the UK and MCA in the US. Ride a Rock Horse was recorded during Daltrey's filming commitments for Ken Russell's film Lisztomania. The album's cover, which is photographed and designed by Daltrey's cousin Graham Hughes, depicts the singer as a rampant centaur.

"Armenia City in the Sky" is a song by the English rock band the Who, released on their 1967 album The Who Sell Out. It is the only song on the album not written by any members of the band, as it was instead written by Speedy Keen, a friend of the band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dogs (The Who song)</span> 1968 single by the Who

"Dogs" is a UK single written by Pete Townshend and released by the Who in June 1968. It reached number 25 on the UK singles chart, lower than any single the band had released in several years. The B-side of the UK single was "Call Me Lightning". Both songs were originally released mixed in mono only, as they were not intended for album release.

<i>Ready Steady Who</i> 1966 EP by the Who

Ready Steady Who is the first EP by the Who, released on 11 November 1966, about a month prior to their album A Quick One. The title refers to a Ready Steady Go! TV special the band had recently appeared in, but the EP contains different recordings from those performed on the TV show.

"Odorono" is a song written by Pete Townshend that was first released by English rock band The Who on their 1967 album The Who Sell Out. Townshend sings the lead vocal rather than normal Who lead singer Roger Daltrey. The song praises the virtues of an actual American deodorant named Odorono.

The Who, then known as The Detours, began performing in mid-1962 in a variety of line-ups before the band members became more settled, along with their roles within the group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Let's See Action</span> 1971 single by the Who

"Let's See Action" is a song written and composed by Pete Townshend and recorded by the Who. It was released as a single in the UK in 1971 and reached #16 in the charts.

The Scene Club was a 1960s music venue in Ham Yard, 41 Great Windmill Street, Soho, central London, England. The club opened in 1963 and was associated with the mod youth subculture.

"Disguises" is a song by the English rock band the Who, written by guitarist Pete Townshend, and first released on the group's 1966 extended play Ready Steady Who. It, along with "I'm a Boy" are of the earliest compositions in which Townshend questions gender identity and identity crisis', a prevalent aspect found later in his songwriting. "Disguises" and "I'm a Boy" also marks the first time Kit Lambert received credit as a record producer for the Who, something that had previously been credited to Shel Talmy and Townshend.

References

  1. ↑ "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere". The Who. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
  2. ↑ Neill, Andrew (2007). Anyway, anyhow, anywhere : the complete chronicle of The Who, 1958–1978. Kent, Matt, 1959– (Rev. ed.). London: Virgin. p. 67. ISBN   978-0-7535-1217-3. OCLC   122283647.
  3. ↑ Neill, Andrew (2007). Anyway, anyhow, anywhere : the complete chronicle of The Who, 1958-1978. Kent, Matt, 1959– (Rev. ed.). London: Virgin. p. 419. ISBN   978-0-7535-1217-3. OCLC   122283647.
  4. 1 2 "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere". AllMusic . Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 Atkins, John (2000). The Who on Record: A Critical History, 1963–1998. Jefferson, USA: MacFarland. p. 45. ISBN   978-1-4766-0657-6. OCLC   911054981.
  6. ↑ Atkins, John (2000). The Who on Record: A Critical History, 1963–1998. Jefferson, USA: MacFarland. p. 54. ISBN   978-1-4766-0657-6. OCLC   911054981.
  7. ↑ Atkins, John (2000). The Who on Record: A Critical History, 1963–1998. Jefferson, USA: MacFarland. p. 47. ISBN   978-1-4766-0657-6. OCLC   911054981.
  8. 1 2 Atkins, John (2000). The Who on Record: A Critical History, 1963–1998. Jefferson, USA: MacFarland. p. 46. ISBN   978-1-4766-0657-6. OCLC   911054981.
  9. ↑ Segretto, Mike (2014). The Who FAQ : all that's left to know about fifty years of maximum R&B. Milwaukee, WI. ISBN   978-1-4803-6103-4. OCLC   859384977.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  10. ↑ "The Hypertext Who › Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere". www.thewho.net. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
  11. ↑ Milano, Brett (September 11, 2020). "The Best Guitar Solos: 100 Hair-Raising Moments". udiscovermusic.com. Retrieved 2020-09-15.
  12. ↑ Neill, Andrew (2007). Anyway, anyhow, anywhere : the complete chronicle of The Who, 1958–1978. Kent, Matt, 1959– (Rev. ed.). London: Virgin. p. 67. ISBN   978-0-7535-1217-3. OCLC   122283647.
  13. ↑ Howard, David N., 1969– (2004). Sonic alchemy : visionary music producers and their maverick recordings (1st ed.). Milwaukee, WI: Hal Leonard Corp. pp. 107–108. ISBN   0-634-05560-7. OCLC   53485190.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. 1 2 Neill, Andrew (2007). Anyway, anyhow, anywhere : the complete chronicle of The Who, 1958-1978. Kent, Matt, 1959– (Rev. ed.). London: Virgin. p. 419. ISBN   978-0-7535-1217-3. OCLC   122283647.
  15. ↑ "anyway anyhow anywhere | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2019-11-26.
  16. 1 2 3 Neill, Andrew (2009). Anyway, anyhow, anywhere : the complete chronicle of The Who, 1958–1978. Kent, Matt, 1959– (Rev. ed.). London: Virgin. p. 81. ISBN   978-0-7535-1217-3. OCLC   122283647.
  17. ↑ Neill, Andrew (2007). Anyway, anyhow, anywhere : the complete chronicle of The Who, 1958–1978. Kent, Matt, 1959– (Rev. ed.). London: Virgin. p. 62. ISBN   978-0-7535-1217-3. OCLC   122283647.
  18. ↑ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. June 5, 1965. p. 12. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  19. ↑ Komara, Edward M. (2006). Encyclopedia of the Blues. Psychology Press. ISBN   978-0-415-92699-7.
  20. ↑ Goodman, Jessica. "The Who honor David Bowie at Madison Square Garden show". Entertainment Weekly .
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.