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Meaty, Beaty, Big & Not Boring!



OK, I've been jamming MBBB in my car for the past several days.  Some
thoughts:

Did I call this release boring?  Must've been having a bad day.  It's
not boring.  It's an effective, concise collection.  And we should re-
member that in 1971, when the album came out, it scooped up many of
the essential early singles, some of which Who fans may not have owned.

It would be nice to see a remastered version of this but the MCA Canadian
CD sounds good, if a little uneven.  The weirdest thing about this re-
lease is the track order which tosses any thought of chronology out the
window.  Hence we get some odd bed-fellows such as "The Seeker" sandwiched
in a sexy threesome with "My Generation" & "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere."  

Of course, the only track order which makes sense is placing ICE in the
lead-off spot.  After that, things are up for grabs.  (I guess Kit Lambert
tried to have the track order changed but the album had already been print-
ed.)

I think "Legal Matter" stands out as the only "questionable" inclusion
here.  Don't get me wrong, I love the song, but it seems out of place here
surrounded by a bunch of heavy-hitters.  Oh well.  The song's got attitude.

A horrible thought occurred to me while listening to "Pineball Blizzard."
You know Entwistle's famous BA-ROOM! intros?  What if that's not him? 
<gasp!>  Why would I say such a thing?

A. Because those BA-ROOMs seem to be on the same track as Pete's electric
guitar, and....

B. Because there's another bass track on the song:  the 'doo-doo-doo da-doo-
doo-doo-da' that begins with Roger's vocals.

So, could those intro BA-ROOMs possibly be Pete on a de-tuned E-string or
something?  They're so trebly compared to those other smooth, soft bass-
lines that begin with the vocals.

I like the drums in "The Seeker."  No overplaying here.  Wonderful re-
straint.  Hard to keep Moonie down, though.  Notice the evenly placed tom
rolls during the closing verse.  He's like a shaken laboratory beaker with 
a cork on top:  stuff squirts out.

But what is it that's wrong with "The Seeker?"  Why is it such an "almost"
single?  It's got a certain lazy, outdoorsy feel to it, doesn't it?  Like
a rustic farmhouse. (?)  Is *that* what holds the song back?

Or is it Pete's subject matter.  And the hindsight knowledge that this song
represents Pete's first gearshift from character vignettes & rock operas
to self-absorbed narcissism?

Again, I love the song.  But it's............  Aw, you know what I mean.

Anyway,.....good album!  ;-)


- SCHRADE in Akron

The Council For Secular Humanism
http://www.secularhumanism.org/