Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Compilation album by | ||||
Released | November 1971 [1] | |||
Recorded | 1964–1970 | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Length | 42:54 | |||
Label | Track/Polydor | |||
Producer | Kit Lambert, Shel Talmy, The Who | |||
The Who chronology | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
Christgau's Record Guide | A− [3] |
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [4] |
MusicHound Rock | 5/5 [5] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [6] |
Tom Hull – on the Web | A+ [7] |
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, [8] and the UK chart on 3 December 1971, peaking at number 9.
Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy was compiled by Pete Townshend. The band's manager Kit Lambert attempted to have the track order changed but failed because too many copies had already been pressed. The UK release was held up because the Who and Bill Curbishley had failed to clear it with Lambert.
The album is named after the members of the band: "Meaty" is Daltrey, who was quite fit at the time; "Beaty" is Moon, for his drumming; "Big" is Entwistle, who was a large person, often referred to as "The Ox" (lending his nickname to the instrumental of the same name); and "Bouncy" was Townshend, who jumped about quite acrobatically during performances.
The album's original title was The Who Looks Back. Most of the tracks on this album would also appear on many subsequent compilations of Who material.
Several songs on the album had previously been released on studio albums. The Who's debut My Generation included the tracks "A Legal Matter" and "The Kids Are Alright"; A Quick One included "Boris the Spider", the one song written by John Entwistle, and in its American configuration "Happy Jack." "I Can See for Miles" appeared on The Who Sell Out , and "Pinball Wizard" on Tommy . "Pictures of Lily" and "Magic Bus" previously appeared on the US compilation album Magic Bus: The Who on Tour .
Aside from two songs, "Boris the Spider" and "I'm a Boy", every track on the album had been released as a single in the UK; further, all except "A Legal Matter", "Magic Bus", and "The Seeker" were top ten hits. "Happy Jack", "I Can See for Miles", "Magic Bus", and "Pinball Wizard" had also been Top 40 hits in the US. "I'm a Boy" is represented by an alternate longer and slower version that was recorded three months after the original single release.
The original vinyl album featured a longer alternative studio take of "Magic Bus" in fake stereo which was not included on the original compact disc version, because the true stereo or mono source could not be found for the long version of the song. This longer take appeared on The Who Collection compilation in 1988.
On 25 July 2007, Universal Japan re-released Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy in a mini-LP sleeve that included the long alternative version of "Magic Bus" in fake stereo, as with the original album.
In 2017, Polydor Records issued a remastered 180 gram vinyl LP of Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy using Half Speed Mastering techniques. This edition includes the same mixes of the songs found on the original 1971 issue.
On the front cover the Who are looking at four children, one of whom is Who manager Bill Curbishley's younger brother Paul.
The panoramic photograph featured on the inside cover of the gatefold vinyl packaging is an exterior shot of the side of the Railway Hotel, a pub that was sited on the bridge next to Harrow & Wealdstone station in north-west London. The Railway Hotel was a popular hangout for Mods and the Who became a regular attraction there from June 1964, shortly after Keith Moon joined the band, performing every Tuesday night. It was here that Kit Lambert, their manager, first saw the band, [9] and here that Pete Townshend accidentally cracked his guitar's neck on the low ceiling above the stage. In response to laughter from the crowd, he then smashed his guitar for the first time in public; a gimmick he maintained for many years when playing live. [10] The band were filmed at the venue on 11 August – a copy of the recording turning up in 2002. [9]
The Railway Hotel was destroyed by fire in March 2000, after becoming empty and vandalised. [11] The site is now occupied by blocks of flats where the buildings, such as Moon House and Daltrey House, are named after the band members. [12]
Robert Christgau remarked that "In England, this is a greatest hits album [but] in the U.S., where some of these songs have never been released and most have never made the charts, it's a mishmash revelation". [3] Dave Marsh, however, greeted the collection as a disappointment for true fans because Townshend had publicly promised a rich, surprising, and comprehensive collection. Noting that less than half the tracks were new to the U.S. in any way, Marsh wrote somewhat bitterly on the predictable "greatest hits" nature of the tracklist: "Meaty Beaty isn't half what it pretends to be, nor is it anywhere near what it COULD have been. It's not the album we dreamed about, Peter, but since there's so much other stuff lying around unissued, do you think you could try it again?" At the time there were many rarities in the Who catalog – B-sides, demos, and other tracks that were UK-only, live, or previously unreleased – and Marsh complained, "Why reissue things for the second (third) time on an album when you have such an incredible backlog of material?" [13]
[14] In 1987, Rolling Stone ranked it number 99 on their list of the 100 best albums of the period 1967–1987.
All tracks are written by Pete Townshend except where noted
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "I Can't Explain" | 2:05 |
2. | "The Kids Are Alright" (US edit) | 2:45 |
3. | "Happy Jack" | 2:12 |
4. | "I Can See for Miles" | 4:06 |
5. | "Pictures of Lily" | 2:43 |
6. | "My Generation" | 3:18 |
7. | "The Seeker" | 3:11 |
Total length: | 20:20 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" | Roger Daltrey, Townshend | 2:42 |
2. | "Pinball Wizard" | 2:59 | |
3. | "A Legal Matter" | 2:48 | |
4. | "Boris the Spider" | John Entwistle | 2:28 |
5. | "Magic Bus" (extended version) | 4:33 | |
6. | "Substitute" | 3:49 | |
7. | "I'm a Boy" (extended version) | 3:41 | |
Total length: | 23:00 |
Chart (1971) | Peak position |
---|---|
UK Albums Chart [14] | 9 |
US Billboard Pop Albums [15] | 11 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United States (RIAA) [16] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
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 two previous being the "mini-opera" song "A Quick One, While He's Away" and the album Tommy. 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 composed by Pete Townshend.
A Quick One is the second studio album by the English rock band the Who, released on 9 December 1966. A version of the album with an altered track listing was released under the name Happy Jack on Decca Records in April 1967 in the United States, where the song "Happy Jack" was a top 40 hit.
My Generation is the debut studio album by English rock band the Who, released on 3 December 1965 by Brunswick Records in the United Kingdom, and Festival Records in Australia. In the United States, it was released on 25 April 1966 by Decca Records as The Who Sings My Generation, with a different cover and a slightly altered track listing. Besides the members of the Who, being Roger Daltrey (vocals), Pete Townshend (guitar), John Entwistle (bass) and Keith Moon (drums), the album features contributions by session musician Nicky Hopkins (piano).
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.
Magic Bus: The Who on Tour is a compilation album by English rock band the Who. It was released as the band's fourth album in the United States by Decca in September 1968 to capitalize on the success of their single of the same name. It is a compilation album of previously released material, and was not issued in the UK, although the album was also released at approximately the same time in Canada. It peaked at #39 on the Billboard 200.
Direct Hits is the first UK compilation album and the fourth UK LP released by The Who. It collects singles, B-sides, and album tracks originally recorded for Reaction Records and Track Records between 1966 and 1968.
The Who by Numbers is the seventh studio album by English rock band the Who, released on 3 October 1975 in the United Kingdom through Polydor Records, and on 6 October 1975 in the United States by MCA Records. It was named the tenth-best album of the year in The Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics poll.
Who Are You is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Who, released on 21 August 1978 by Polydor Records in the United Kingdom and MCA Records in the United States. Although the album received mixed reviews from critics, it was a commercial success, peaking at number 2 on the US charts and number 6 on the UK charts.
Odds & Sods is an album of studio outtakes by British rock band the Who. It was released by Track Records in the UK and Track/MCA in the US in October 1974. Ten of the recordings on the original eleven-song album were previously unreleased. The album reached No. 10 on the UK charts and No. 15 in the US.
Track Record was founded in 1966 in London by Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp, then managers of the rock group The Who. It was one of the first British-owned independent record labels in the United Kingdom. The most successful artists whose work appeared on the Track label were The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Who, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Thunderclap Newman and Golden Earring. The label ceased operations in 1978 but was revived in 1999.
"Magic Bus" is a song recorded by British rock band the Who. It was written by their guitarist Pete Townshend during the time that their debut album My Generation was being recorded in 1965. However, it was not recorded until 1968, when it was released as a single on 27 July 1968 in the United States and Canada, followed by its release in the United Kingdom on 11 October 1968. It has become one of the band's most popular songs and has been a concert staple, although when released, the record only reached number 26 in the UK and number 25 in the United States. The song was included on their 1968 album Magic Bus: The Who on Tour.
"Pictures of Lily" is a single by the British rock band the Who, written by guitarist and primary songwriter Pete Townshend. In 1971, "Pictures of Lily" was included in the Who album Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy, a compilation of previously released singles.
"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.
"Boris the Spider" is a song written by the Who's bass guitarist, John Entwistle. It appears as the second track of their 1966 album A Quick One. This song is claimed to be Entwistle's first composition, and became a staple of live shows. This song, along with "My Wife", "Heaven and Hell" and "The Quiet One", were Entwistle's most popular songs to perform live. Though this song was popular, it was not released as a single in the US and the UK. In Japan, "Boris the Spider" was released as the B-side to "Whiskey Man" in 1967.
"The Seeker" is a song written by Pete Townshend and performed by English rock band the Who. First released as a non-album single in March 1970, it is included on their 1971 compilation album Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy and other compilations.
Amazing Journey: The Story of The Who is a 2007 documentary by Murray Lerner and Paul Crowder about English rock and roll band The Who. The film features new interviews with band members Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle, Kenney Jones, and Pete Townshend, as well as Sting, The Edge, Noel Gallagher, Eddie Vedder, Steve Jones and others, as well as rare photos of the four members of the band, and archival live footage of performances dating back to 1964. A soundtrack accompanying the film also serves as a greatest-hits compilation for the band.
The Who Collection is a compilation album by The Who, released in 1985. It is notable for containing a unique remix of "Won't Get Fooled Again" and for being one of the few compact disc appearances of the extended version of "Magic Bus".
The Story of The Who is a 2-LP compilation album from The Who. The album was released in the UK in September 1976. The album reached number two in the UK charts. Another version of this collection with a different track listing was also released in Japan. This collection has not been released on CD.
"Join Together" is a song by British rock band the Who, first released as a non-album single in June 1972. The song has since been performed live multiple times and has appeared on numerous compilation albums.
The Who Hits 50! is a compilation of singles by the English rock band the Who, released in 2014 by Polydor Records. The two-disc set contains every single released by the band in the United Kingdom, with the exceptions of: "A Legal Matter" and "La-La-La-Lies" from 1966; and "Long Live Rock" and the remake of "I'm One" from 1979. At the same time it also contains every single by the band released in the United States throughout their career, with the exceptions of: "The Real Me" from 1974; the reissue of "Substitute" from 1976; and "Long Live Rock" from 1979. A condensed single-disc standard edition appeared as well, both versions in conjunction with the band's 50th anniversary and associated tour of the same name. The album is notable for containing singles generally not included on other compilation albums, such as the band's Rolling Stones cover "The Last Time" done as an act of solidarity while Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were facing jail time, along with other lesser-known singles "Dogs" and "Call Me Lightning".