My Generation Deluxe - my take

[Brian Cady <brianinatlanta2001@xxxxxxxxx>]

MY GENERATION REVIEW

What better on a rainy Saturday afternoon with the
wife out shopping than to sit and crank an old Who
album really loud?

And heres one I've rarely listened to loud. The MY
GENERATION Lp, if turned up, usually turned to a
humming, buzzy drone. Well, all that's over now. Shel
Talmy has provided us with a mix of The Who's first
album that can and should be played as loud as
possible. In fact, I've discovered that, if you have a
sub-woofer, "The Ox" can provide a great massage!

I do think the far better and more realistic sound of
the band on this version, especially Keith's drums
which have that "right in the living room with you"
sound, more than makes up for the fact that there are
little bits missing here and there. Purists may gripe
about the differences but you really need to hear this
and judge for yourself.

As for the stereo mix, I'm quite happy with it. It
isnt very wide as noted but it does provide enough
separation to allow you to hear the various
instruments and vocals far more clearly than you ever
have before.

Here's some things I noticed:

"Out In The Street"  the bass here is very clear.
Unfortunately, there's only a few tracks on the album
where that's the case. I don't think that's this mix's
fault as John wasn't that loud in the original mix and
I think it's just that John was still discovering how
to make his sound louder and more forward during this
year. For many of the tracks he just plays more of a
supporting role like the bassists at that time did.

"La La La Lies"  the vocals cut off very abruptly
right before the break. Tape damage?

"My Generation"  John is far more prominent here,
helped by having a lead guitar overdub missing.
Hearing John and Keith so clearly more than makes up
for it. The feedback at the end is ear-piercing.
Great!

"The Kids Are Alright"  at the beginning you can hear
someone say a "four" from a countoff with the first
note. Pete? At the end you can hear Keith clicking his
sticks on something.

"Please Please Please"  when the rest of the band
stops and Roger is singing his "please please please"
before The Who comes back in you can hear a buzz. I
also noticed it at the end of "My Generation" and at
the beginning of Shout and Shimmy. It took me a
while to realize it was the sound of someone's
amplifier buzzing in the background. Well, I guess
that's what happens when you turn it to eleven.

"Im a Man"  certainly has a different sound from the
tracks that were recorded later. The poorer sound of
the previous issues disguised that, but you can hear
it clearly here. It's also nice to have the complete
version of this track finally on CD.

"A Legal Matter"  is missing a guitar overdub.
However, Keith's drums during the instrumental break
hit like a fist in your chest. Wow!

"Circles"  louder tambourine, vocals and bass but no
horn at all! What I've always thought was a long held
horn note in the background of the verses is just
someone singing "wooooooooo." There is also a missing
guitar part during the bridge.

"I Can't Explain"  despite being the same take, the
high quality sound make this feel completely different
and much, much more like a hit single than you've ever
heard it before. This is one snappy track. The bass is
very loud and very clear.

"Bald Headed Woman"  goes on about another twenty
seconds longer at the end.

"Daddy Rolling Stone"  Pete's guitar is less
prominent and the background vocals are completely
different from the standard take. In fact, there's an
odd and somewhat awkward extra "whaaaa" in the break.

"Leaving Here"  as noted is different from the
version on WHO'S MISSING and the THIRTY YEARS boxset.
However, the general sound and feel is the same and I
suspect both takes were recorded on the same day.

"Heatwave"  you can hear a little studio noise at the
fadeout.

Nice to have a clean "Anyway Anyhow Anywhere"
(alternate vocal) on CD. Unlike "I Can't Explain,"
however, the better sound is probably not enough of an
improvement to make this the definitive AAA.

"Instant Party Mixture"  this is The Who's version of
the bootlegged Pete demo usually known as "Partyin'
Pete" (the one where he says Eric Burdon is on hash).
It's done in a doo-wop style over Keith's crashing
drums. Does that make it Who-wop? The melody owes more
than a little to The Miracles' "Dance To Keep From
Crying." The track sounds like it came right off BEACH
BOYS PARTY!

The extended version of "I Don't Mind" makes the song.
The original ends just before it gets interesting.

I expect to hear "My Generation" instrumental version
in some hip-hop soon.

"Anytime You Want Me (A Cappella version)"  Weird, as
my father-in-law would say. And is that Keith on the
background vocals?

Finally "A Legal Matter" and "My Generation" in mono
finish out the set to please the purists and make the
rest of us miss the great sound of the preceding
tracks.

Here are times in case you haven't seen them:

Disc One
Out In The Street (2:32)
I Don't Mind (2:33)
The Good's Gone (4:00)
La La La Lies (2:18)
Much Too Much (2:45)
My Generation (3:21)
The Kids Are Alright (3:10)
Please Please Please (2:46)
It's Not True (2:34)
I'm A Man (3:23)
A Legal Matter (2:54)
The Ox (3:57)
Circles (3:13)
I Can't Explain (2:04)
Bald Headed Woman (2:32)
Daddy Rolling Stone (3:04)

Disc Two
Leaving Here (2:50)
Lubie Come Back Home (3:40)
Shout And Shimmy (3:20)
Heatwave (2:41)
Motoring (2:51)
Anytime You Want Me (2:38)
Anyway Anyhow Anywhere (alternate vocal) (2:43)
Instant Party Mixture (3:24)
I Don't Mind (extended version) (3:43)
The Good's Gone (extended version) (4:29)
My Generation (instrumental version) (3:27)
Anytime You Want Me (vocals only) (2:29)
A Legal Matter (mono) (2:49)
My Generation (mono) (3:27)


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-Brian in Atlanta
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