Who influenced Who->

[mleaman@sccoast.net (Mark Leaman)]

>It's not the timeframe, it's my definition.  For me heavy metal is the
>Black Sabbath school of loud heavy music saturated with faster lead style
>guitar with a heavy supporting rhythm.  Hard Rock is the other heavy camp
>with bands like Zep, the Who and the other bands I mentioned.  It's more
>moderate rhythm and tends to have more anthem type songs.  In the early
>70s anything with a hard sound was called HM, though from todays 
>standpoint lumping the Who & Black Sabbath & Jimi Hendrix under the same 
>label.  

Shane:

Your definition is your definition, but the accepted one has Heavy Metal
including The Who, Steppenwolf ("...Heavy metal thunder..."), and yes
Hendrix too. Black Sabbath came after the fact.

>I got the point (I just ignored it), but before they know it's easy, they
>choose that's what they want to be able to play.  

I've been at places with experienced guitarists showing neophytes STH,
because "It's easy, man!" So you can ignore it but you can't avoid it.

>This is an extension of popularity, but considering new musicians come
>from this pool, it is also musical influence)

I think that is more a marketing decision, myself.

>> MEATY BEATY BIG AND BOUNCY (with a lineup like this, how could it not be
>> classic?)
>
>It's a greatest hits.  The Beatles 1964-1966 & 1967-9170 have on them 
>many of the best pop songs ever written, they're not classics, they're 
>greatest hits.

Ah, but it came out at the time, not after the band was gone. Besides, if
you're going to allow live albums you have to allow best ofs, too.

>According to the liner notes for the new Sell Out the earliest recordings
>that made it on the album were from July 1967 and the majority were from
>October (including the commercials and commercial songs which were what
>held together much the theme) Sgt Pepper came out on June 2 1967, and I'm
>sure Pete & the boys heard the album that the Beatles had taken the better
>part of a year to come up with more than a few times.  The Who did filter
>the idea through Pete's pop-art sensibilities hence the apparent
>commercialism but the similarities are too numerous to say there wasn't
>very strong influence.  SP had it's psychadelic side with Lucy in the Sky
>and others, SO had Armenia & ICSFM.  

Oh, you are SO busted on this one. Pete wrote ICSFM in `66 and was saving
it, as you may recall. And Armenia wasn't written by anyone in the band;
Speedy Keen wrote it. So much for that.
And several songs that were recorded for SO were put to tape in `66, but got
cut. So Pete was already thinking along these lines, you see.

>SP was largely melodic pop songs, SO
>was generally more melodic than their previous releases.  SP had no gap
>between songs, and they all flowed into one another as does much of SO. 
>SP makes use of the runout groove as does SO.  SO has it's rock moments
>but with songs like Mary Anne WTSH, Odorono, Tattoo, Our Love Was and
>Sunrise I wouldn't call it a Rock album in the sense of TWSMG or what
>followed.  Sell Out is the Who's response to Sgt. Pepper. 

I'd call the melodic thing a real stretch. The Beatles were more melodic on
other albums, too...so why now would they influence The Who? I've said
before that if ANY Beatles album influenced The Who, it was REVOLVER. 
There certainly is a gap between all of the songs on SPLHCB with the
exception of Good Morning/Sgt. Peppers (revisited)/A Day In The Life.
I'd call it a Rock album, because it IS. Rock isn't all heavy guitar, you
know. The songs you mention...are they hook-laden? Are they catchy,
sing-along songs (for most people, Who fans don't count)? No....




                   Cheers                   ML

"Never underestimate the power of human stupidity."  L. Long