You could do far worse in 1965 than to style your debut album around the likes of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Kinks, really you could. Thing is, The Who had something right from the word go, a 'power' to their playing that wasn't apparent in the likes of 'Get Off Of My Cloud' by The Rolling Stones, released in the same year. Indeed, 'Get Off Of My Cloud' or 'My Generation'? 'We Can Work It Out' or 'My Generation'? I'm not saying that the classic 'My Generation' single was necessarily better than either of those songs, by the way - just highlighting how different The Who were in terms of raw power in 1965. Of course, Keith Moon with his whirlwind arms, seemingly eight arms instead of the usual two - had a lot to do with this. John Entwistle also deserves acclaim for his bass work, particularly the solo parts during the 'My Generation' song, which are a thing to behold. Add on top of this Pete Townshend with his energy and ( fairly ) unique approach to guitar playing, and you have something. And, let's not forget poor old Roger Daltery. Whilst he had to struggle sometimes through these early Who years to make himself heard over the mighty Who racket, his vocal performance on the title song is a classic and the song certainly wouldn't be the same without his stuttering, the "f-f-f-fade away" part especially, of course. I have a slight problem with this debut Who album by the way, in the fact that the cover versions were so inferior to Pete's own original material. I mean, he had enough good songs to fill an album, but then, that just wasn't 'done' in those days. The Rolling Stones were only just moving out of the area of cover versions, The Beatles are another matter, of course - but it holds true. Anyway, The Who covering James Brown songs? Well, yeah. We've got a couple here, 'I Don't Mind' and 'Please Please Please', the latter in particular failing completely to sound like The Who as the vocals seem like an attempted James Brown impersonation. The other cover is the blues styled, utterly forgettable and generic 'I'm A Man', although it's been done well.
So, what about the Pete songs? Well, we've got classics with 'My Generation' and 'The Kids Are Alright', both plugging into a particular section of a nations youth and their frustrations. It was a similar thing with the debut Who single proper 'I Can't Explain'. Kids would come upto Pete and thank him for expressing their frustrations and emotions so well, ask him to write more songs in a similar vein. 'La La La Lies' is a shining pop gem with lovely harmonies during the chorus and the opening 'Out In The Street' contains such energy and aggression, right from the opening "SHOUT!" that introduces the song, that it really is quite impressive. Elsewhere we have 'The Goods Gone' which includes neat drums and guitar and a neat, snarling vocal. 'A Legal Matter' is another high quality Townshend composition, although it wouldn't be until 1967 when we'd get an album full of Townshend compositions from beginning to end. Still, for the time being, the 'My Generation' album was a more than impressive debut signalling the arrival of a major new talent.
Out In The Street / I Don't Mind / The Good's Gone / La La La Lies / Much Too Much / My Generation / The Kids Are Alright / Please Please Please / It's Not True / I'm A Man / A Legal Matter / The Ox / Circles
So, what about the Pete songs? Well, we've got classics with 'My Generation' and 'The Kids Are Alright', both plugging into a particular section of a nations youth and their frustrations. It was a similar thing with the debut Who single proper 'I Can't Explain'. Kids would come upto Pete and thank him for expressing their frustrations and emotions so well, ask him to write more songs in a similar vein. 'La La La Lies' is a shining pop gem with lovely harmonies during the chorus and the opening 'Out In The Street' contains such energy and aggression, right from the opening "SHOUT!" that introduces the song, that it really is quite impressive. Elsewhere we have 'The Goods Gone' which includes neat drums and guitar and a neat, snarling vocal. 'A Legal Matter' is another high quality Townshend composition, although it wouldn't be until 1967 when we'd get an album full of Townshend compositions from beginning to end. Still, for the time being, the 'My Generation' album was a more than impressive debut signalling the arrival of a major new talent.
Out In The Street / I Don't Mind / The Good's Gone / La La La Lies / Much Too Much / My Generation / The Kids Are Alright / Please Please Please / It's Not True / I'm A Man / A Legal Matter / The Ox / Circles