The Who Sell Out | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 15 December 1967 | |||
Recorded | May–November 1967 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | ||||
Length | 38:46 | |||
Label | ||||
Producer | Kit Lambert | |||
The Who UK chronology | ||||
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The Who US chronology | ||||
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Singles from The Who Sell Out | ||||
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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". [3] 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.
The album was primarily written by guitarist Pete Townshend,though three tracks were penned by bassist John Entwistle and one by Thunderclap Newman vocalist Speedy Keen,who also sings. Townshend and Entwistle are joined by vocalist Roger Daltrey and drummer Keith Moon,and organist Al Kooper makes a guest appearance on two tracks. The album was produced by the band's manager Kit Lambert.
The album's release was reportedly followed by lawsuits due to the mention of real-world commercial interests in the faux commercials and on the album covers,and by the makers of the real jingles (Radio London jingles),who claimed the Who used them without permission (the jingles were produced by PAMS Productions of Dallas,Texas,which created thousands of Station identification jingles in the 1960s and 1970s). The deodorant company Odorono took offence that Chris Stamp made a request for endorsement dollars. [4] "I Can See for Miles" was released as a single and peaked at number 10 in the UK and number 9 in the US,becoming the band's highest-charting single and only Top 10 hit in the latter region.
The Who Sell Out has received widespread acclaim from critics,some of whom viewed it as the Who's best record. It has also frequently been featured on all-time lists of the best albums,including Rolling Stone magazine's "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". However,it was the band's lowest-charting album on the UK Albums Chart,where it peaked at number 13.
In his book Maximum R &B,Who confidant Richard Barnes claims to have come up with the idea of the band recording commercial jingles after their cover of the Batman theme appeared on the Ready Steady Who EP. Barnes posited the idea to Roger Daltrey,whose similar suggestions to Pete Townshend were allegedly met with derision. [5]
Initially,the band's follow-up to A Quick One was to be titled Who's Lily after their recent single "Pictures of Lily". Early cuts such as a cover of "Summertime Blues",the Coke jingles,and the instrumental "Sodding About",showed the influence of Track Records label-mate Jimi Hendrix on Townshend's guitar playing.
Even before the group had formed,the members of the Who had been profoundly influenced by rock 'n' roll appearing on the radio. The BBC did not broadcast much contemporary music at the time,which was left to stations like Radio Luxembourg and then-pirate radio stations such as Radio Caroline,Radio Scotland and Wonderful Radio London. [6] By the end of 1966,the Who had achieved commercial success owing to the mod movement that made up a significant section of the group's early audience. However,the movement was fading,and the TV show Ready,Steady,Go that had boosted the group to fame had been cancelled. [7] The group started touring the US the following year,and started to achieve success with their live act. [8]
In summer 1967,the group's managers Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp suggested the band could create a concept album based on pirate radio and structure it in the same manner as that,or a typical US AM radio station. [6] As pirate radio had been influential to mods,it was felt particularly appropriate to pay tribute to it. [9] As well as the music,the inter-song announcements and jingles were a key component of radio,so it was decided to include a selection of humorous asides on the album. [10] The Marine,&c.,Broadcasting (Offences) Act 1967 came into effect at midnight on 14 August 1967,outlawing all pirate stations (except for Radio Caroline North and South) and strengthening the album's effect as a tribute. [11] The aspect separated the Who from their contemporaries in the developing underground rock scene,both musically and stylistically. [12]
The first song to be written specifically for the concept was "Jaguar",paying tribute to the car,which was quickly followed by an instrumental the group had recorded for Coca-Cola. [13] "Armenia City in the Sky" was written by a friend of the band,Speedy Keen. [lower-alpha 1] According to music critic Richie Unterberger,The Who Sell Out featured "jubilant" psychedelic pop music that veers between "melodic mod pop and powerful instrumentation", [14] while Edna Gundersen from USA Today said the album's style was power pop. [15]
Having finished touring the US,including an appearance at the Monterey International Pop Festival,the group returned to the UK on 16 September 1967 to start recording. They made progress on the album for the next three weeks;the first song to be completed was the single,"I Can See for Miles",released the following month. [16] By October,the group had also completed "Armenia City in the Sky","Early Morning Cold Taxi" and "Girl's Eyes". [17] "Heinz Baked Beans","Odorono" and "Top Gear" had been completed mid-month,along with a series of linking adverts and jingles mostly recorded by Entwistle and Moon. [18] "Tattoo","Odorono" and "Rael" were completed by 20 October, [19] while most of the remainder of the album was recorded in between live shows at the end of the month. [20] "Sunrise",a solo Townshend piece,was the last to be recorded on 2 November. The album was mixed by Lambert and Damon Lyon-Shaw intermittently throughout November,coming up with a finished master on the 20th. [21]
The cover is divided into panels featuring a photograph by David Montgomery of each of the band members,two on the front and two on the back. On the front is Pete Townshend applying Odorono brand deodorant from an oversized stick,and Roger Daltrey sitting in a bathtub full of Heinz Baked Beans (holding an oversized tin can of the same). Daltrey variously claimed that he had either caught pneumonia,the flu,or "the worst cold that [he had] had in [his] lifetime" after sitting for a prolonged period in the bathtub,as the beans had just come out of the fridge,and were "freezing cold". [22] [23] On the back is Keith Moon applying Medac (an acne ointment) from an oversized tube to an oversized pimple,and John Entwistle in a leopard-skin Tarzan suit,squeezing a blonde model in a leopard-skin bikini with one arm and a teddy bear with the other (an ad for the Charles Atlas exercise course mentioned in one of the album's fake commercials).
Original vinyl copies of Sell Out end with an audio oddity that repeats into a locked groove (In response to the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ). The music in the locked groove is a snippet of what was originally intended to be a vocal jingle for the Who's UK label Track Records.[ citation needed ]
When the LP was released on Track Records in the UK in 1967 (Track 612 002 Mono &Track 613 002 Stereo),a psychedelic poster illustrated by Adrian George was included inside the first 1000 copies (500 stereo and 500 mono). They came with a sticker on the front cover stating 'Free Psychedelic Poster Inside'. Because of their rarity,first pressings with poster and sticker have sold for more than £600 (about $820). The 20-by-30-inch (50 by 75 cm) poster was reinstated into the vinyl packaging when The Who's back catalogue of studio albums was restored to vinyl in 2012.[ citation needed ]
Retrospective professional ratings | |
---|---|
Aggregate scores | |
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 96/100 (super deluxe) [24] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [14] |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [25] |
Mojo | [26] |
NME | 9/10 [26] |
Pitchfork | 8.5/10 [27] |
Q | [26] |
Rolling Stone | [28] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [29] |
Uncut | 5/5 [30] |
The Village Voice | A+ [31] |
The album was released in the UK on 15 December 1967. It reached number 13 in the charts. The original release date of 17 November had been pushed back due to arguments about the running order. It was released almost concurrently in the US, [32] reaching number 48. [33] The concept of the album hampered its commercial performance despite positive reviews, [34] as its irony sat awkwardly with the serious ambitions of the underground music scene,and it was too specific to the mod scene's background for many younger pop fans. [35]
In a contemporary review for Rolling Stone ,Jann Wenner called The Who Sell Out "fantastic" and praised its "exquisite" sense of humor and the Who's "consummate" musicianship,which includes "wholly original" instrumentation and cleverly placed electronic sounds. [36] Robert Christgau,writing in Esquire ,said the album establishes the band as "the third best not just in Britain but the world",while citing "Tattoo" as the best song Townshend has "ever written,worth the price of the album". [37] He later included the album in his "basic record library" of 1960s albums,published in Christgau's Record Guide:Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981). [38] In a retrospective review for AllMusic,Richie Unterberger said that,"on strictly musical merits,it's a terrific set of songs that ultimately stands as one of the group's greatest achievements." [14] Sociomusicologist Simon Frith referred to it as a "Pop art pop masterpiece". [39]
In 1995,The Who Sell Out was reissued by MCA Records with numerous outtakes and rejected jingles added to the end of the original album. [40] In the liner notes for the reissue,Dave Marsh called it "the greatest rock and roll album of its era" and "the Who's consummate masterpiece,the work that holds together most tightly as concept and realization". Marsh believed the album's essence is "most tightly linked to the glorious pop insanity that psychedelia and its aftermath destroyed forever." [41] Reviewing the reissue in The Village Voice ,Christgau called it the Who's "only great album",feeling they had yet to "take their pretensions seriously",with nothing but good songs throughout,including the faux-ads and bonus tracks. [31] It was also deemed the band's best work by Todd Hutlock from Stylus Magazine , [42] while Melody Maker said the record was a masterpiece because of its "glorious celebration of pop as useless commodity and a commercially corrupted art form" without degrading itself. [43] Rolling Stone called it "the most successful concept album ever" in a 1999 review. [28]
In 2003,The Who Sell Out was placed at number 113 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, [44] 115 in a 2012 revised list, [45] and 316 on the 2020 list. [46] Mark Kemp,writing in The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004),called it Townshend's first and best concept album and said that he "successfully does what he would overdo" in Tommy and Quadrophenia :"There's no fixed narrative to take away from the music. And the music is sensational". [47] In 2007,Rolling Stone included it on their list of the 40 essential albums of 1967 and stated,"the Who's finest album exemplifies how pop this famously psychedelic year was." [48] The album was reissued in 2009 as a two-disc deluxe edition,which Danny Kelly of Uncut magazine said was the "definitive" release of the Who's most "entertaining" and "endearing" album. [30] In his review for eMusic,Lenny Kaye said that The Who Sell Out is a "classic of prophetic pop art" because of "the concept of branding that has taken the place of record label patronage these days". [49]
On 23 April 2021,the album was re-released as a new Super Deluxe Edition Set,designed by Richard Evans,featuring 112 tracks on five CDs:"The Original Mono Album","The Original Stereo Album","Pete Townshend's Demos","The Who's Studio Sessions",and "The Road to Tommy",including 48 previously unreleased tracks,two 7" singles,posters,memorabilia,and new liner notes by Townshend.
All songs written by Pete Townshend,except where noted.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Armenia City in the Sky" | Speedy Keen | Daltrey and Keen | 3:48 |
2. | "Heinz Baked Beans" | John Entwistle | Moon, Entwistle and Townshend | 1:00 |
3. | "Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand" | Daltrey and Townshend | 2:28 | |
4. | "Odorono" | Townshend | 2:34 | |
5. | "Tattoo" | Daltrey, with Townshend | 2:51 | |
6. | "Our Love Was" | Townshend | 3:23 | |
7. | "I Can See for Miles" | Daltrey | 4:05 | |
Total length: | 20:50 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "I Can't Reach You" ( [note 1] ) | Townshend | 3:03 | |
2. | "Medac" ( [note 2] ) | Entwistle | Entwistle | 0:57 |
3. | "Relax" | Daltrey and Townshend | 2:41 | |
4. | "Silas Stingy" | Entwistle | Entwistle and Daltrey | 3:07 |
5. | "Sunrise" | Townshend | 3:06 | |
6. | "Rael (1 and 2)" (includes hidden track [note 3] ) | Daltrey | 5:51 | |
Total length: | 18:38 |
Notes
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
14. | "Rael 2" | Townshend | 0:47 | |
15. | "Glittering Girl" | Townshend, with Entwistle | 2:56 | |
16. | "Melancholia" | Daltrey | 3:17 | |
17. | "Someone's Coming" | Entwistle | Daltrey | 2:29 |
18. | "Jaguar" | Entwistle, with Townshend | 2:51 | |
19. | "Early Morning Cold Taxi" | Roger Daltrey, Dave Langston | Daltrey | 2:55 |
20. | "In the Hall of the Mountain King" | Edvard Grieg | Instrumental (with vocalizations from the band) | 4:19 |
21. | "Girl's Eyes" | Keith Moon | Moon and Entwistle | 3:28 |
22. | "Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand" (Alternative version) | Daltrey and Townshend | 3:19 | |
23. | "Glow Girl" | Daltrey and Townshend | 2:24 | |
Total length: | 28:45 |
This edition contains the original album in stereo on disc one, the mono mix on disc two, and bonus tracks on both discs.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
14. | "Rael Naive" | 0:59 | |
15. | "Someone's Coming" | Entwistle | 2:36 |
16. | "Early Morning Cold Taxi" | Daltrey, Langston | 2:59 |
17. | "Jaguar" | 2:58 | |
18. | "Coke After Coke" | 1:05 | |
19. | "Glittering Girl" | 3:00 | |
20. | "Summertime Blues" | Eddie Cochran, Jerry Capehart | 2:35 |
21. | "John Mason Cars" | Keith Moon, John Entwistle | 0:40 |
22. | "Girl's Eyes" | Moon | 2:52 |
23. | "Sodding About" | Entwistle, Moon, Townshend | 2:47 |
24. | "Premier Drums" (Full Version) | Moon | 0:43 |
25. | "Odorono" (Final Chorus) | 0:24 | |
26. | "Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand" (US Mirasound Version) | 3:22 | |
27. | "Things Go Better with Coke" | 0:30 | |
28. | "In the Hall of the Mountain King" | Grieg; arranged by the Who | 4:23 |
29. | "Top Gear" | 0:52 | |
30. | "Rael (1 & 2)" (Remake Version) | 6:35 | |
Total length: | 39:20 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
14. | "Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand" (Version 1; US mono single mix) | 3:16 | |
15. | "Someone's Coming" (UK single mono mix) | Entwistle | 2:31 |
16. | "Relax" (Early demo, stereo) | 3:21 | |
17. | "Jaguar" (Original mono mix) | 2:51 | |
18. | "Glittering Girl" (Unreleased version, stereo) | 3:17 | |
19. | "Tattoo" (Early mono mix) | 2:46 | |
20. | "Our Love Was" (Take 12, unused mono mix) | 3:16 | |
21. | "Rotosound Strings" (With final note, stereo) | Entwistle, Moon | 0:12 |
22. | "I Can See for Miles" (Early mono mix) | 4:00 | |
23. | "Rael" (Early mono mix) | 5:46 | |
24. | "Armenia City in the Sky" (Isolated backwards track (Hidden track)) | Keen | 3:15 |
25. | "Great Shakes" (Unreleased US radio commercial; (Hidden track)) | 1:01 | |
Total length: | 35:32 |
Adapted from the liner notes of the 1995 reissue. [50]
The Who
Additional musicians
Personnel
Chart (1967–1968) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [52] | 8 |
UK Albums (OCC) [53] | 13 |
US Billboard 200 [54] | 48 |
Chart (2021) | Peak position |
---|---|
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) [55] | 34 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [56] | 51 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [57] | 97 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [58] | 77 |
French Albums (SNEP) [59] | 120 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [60] | 19 |
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) [61] | 94 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [62] | 26 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [63] 2009 deluxe edition | Silver | 60,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
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.
Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend is an English musician. He is the co-founder, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s. His aggressive playing style and poetic songwriting techniques, with the Who and in other projects, have earned him critical acclaim.
Tommy is the fourth studio album by the English rock band the Who, released on 19 May 1969. Written primarily by guitarist Pete Townshend, Tommy is a double album and an early rock opera that tells the story of the fictional Tommy Walker and his path to becoming a spiritual leader and messianic figure.
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.
Who's Next is the fifth studio album by the English rock band the Who, released on 14 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.
A Quick One is the second studio album by the English rock band the Who, released on 9 December 1966. In the United States, where the song "Happy Jack" was a top 40 hit, the album was released in April 1967 under the title Happy Jack with a slightly altered track listing.
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).
Live at Leeds is the first live album by English rock band the Who, recorded at the University of Leeds Refectory on 14 February 1970 and released on 11 May 1970 by Decca and MCA in the United States, and by Track and Polydor in the United Kingdom. It is the band's only live album that was recorded with the classic line-up of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon.
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.
It's Hard is the tenth studio album by English rock band the Who. Released in September 1982, it was the final Who album to feature bassist John Entwistle, who died in 2002. It was also the second and final Who studio album with drummer Kenney Jones, as well as the last to be released on Warner Bros. Records in the US. It was released on Polydor Records in the UK, peaking at No. 11, and on Warner Bros. in the US where it peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart. The US rights to both this album and Face Dances subsequently reverted to the band, who then licensed them to MCA Records for reissue. The album achieved gold status by the RIAA in the US in November 1982. It was their last album for over two decades until Endless Wire in 2006.
Who Are You is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Who, released on 18 August 1978 by Polydor Records in the United Kingdom and on 21 August 1978 by 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.
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.
Odds & Sods is an album of studio outtakes by British rock band the Who. It was released by Track Records in the UK on September 28, 1974, and by Track/MCA in the US on October 12, 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.
"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.
"The Song Is Over" is a song by the English rock band the Who, appearing on Who's Next. It was originally to be the ending song on Lifehouse. It takes place after the police invade the Lifehouse Theatre and the concert goers disappear.
"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 or UK. In Japan, "Boris the Spider" was released as the B-side to "Whiskey Man" in 1967.
The Kids Are Alright is a soundtrack album by the British rock band the Who, a companion to the band's documentary film of the same name. As a compilation album, it serves as a retrospective look at the band's biggest hits throughout their career to the point it was released. Most of the tracks are live recordings, rather than the original studio versions.
"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.
"The Ox" is an instrumental piece by English rock band the Who. It was on their debut studio album My Generation (1965). The tune was improvised by Pete Townshend, John Entwistle, Keith Moon and keyboardist Nicky Hopkins. This track appears as the B-side of "The Kids Are Alright" on the single's UK release. The tune was also on the compilation album Thirty Years of Maximum R&B (1994). A jingle based on this tune was released as "Top Gear" on both reissues of The Who Sell Out (1967). It is the oldest known recorded track by the Who. The title is a nickname given to Entwistle by the band, because of his strong constitution and seeming ability to "Eat, drink or do more than the rest of them."
"Happy Jack" is a song by the British rock band the Who. It was released as a single in December 1966 in the United Kingdom, peaking at No. 3 in the charts. It peaked at No. 1 in Canada. It was also their first top 40 hit in the United States, where it was released in March 1967 and peaked at No. 24. It was included on the American version of their second album, Happy Jack, originally titled A Quick One in the UK.
Footnotes
Citations
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