A bevy of thoughts inspired by today's purchase of Sellout

[Howard Powers <howie@rexnet.net>]

Hi kids!

You have heard me say that I've tried to avoid buying all of the Who's
catalogue, because
I want to keep as much new Who available to me for as long as I can.
Well, today I
gave in and bought Sell Out (all I have left is Odds and Sods and Who By
Numbers).

My first reaction:  I have another record to add to the top of the list
of great Who albums.
I have read about this record for 15 years, and I finally bought it... I
already knew the
thematic "glue" of the record (an homage to the "pirate" radio stations
broadcasting off the
coast of Great Britain).  But hearing it executed... it's a bit
different than I expected,
and it's great.

My second reaction:  I wish I was hearing more of the material for the
first time.  I strongly
recommend to people who will likely buy the whole catalog, that they buy
the boxed set and
other compilatoins last.  I prefer to hear the music in its original
context, and my first listen of
Sell Out would have packed more punch if I hadn't heard it previously.
I also have heard
some of the material on the crappy American best of album known as
Magic Bus.  And also
Two's Missing, which is ok for what it is:  Some great stuff, some stuff
that's just for fans.

This is the reissue version of Sell Out I have, with the 10 extra
tracks.  I have to say that many
of the tracks I have heard previously, do sound better, regardless of
some folks' feelings about
Jon Astley (he's Pete's brother-in-law, and is in charge of the
reissues).  But sometimes the
mix feels marshmallowey, for lack of a better word.  Songs like I Can
See For Miles pack
a lot of dynamic punch.  But somehow (and I noticed this on the boxed
set, too) it sounds
more like the punch is thrown at a pillow.  I know that's a weird
metaphor or whatever.  In the
past we've heard the early Who as having a "muddy" or "murky" mix.
That's a visual
metaphor.  "Marshmallowey" is a physical metaphor, I guess.  I wish I
could explain it better,
but marshmallowey will have to do.

I was surprised that inside the CD is a painting (in a similar style to
the artwork on Tommy)
of a butterfly, and I thought the butterfly looked a bit like Pete.  It
appears to have a very
big nose.

This next remark isn't so much about Sell Out as it is about Keith and
the VH1 Behind the Music:
In photos (including the one on the back of Sell Out) Keith almost
always looks like a little
boy who's just been caught doing something bad!  It was good to finally
see extensive video
of Keith, to see what he really looks like; still photos just don't do
it.

I'm impressed with the variety of music on Sell Out: Armenia City in the
Sky (which is one I
wish I had heard for the first time in the context of the album); Mary
Anne w/ Shaky hands
(same comment), Odorono (this one's a first... wow!); Tattoo (heard it);
Our Love Was (heard
it) etc... all show that this album wasn't just an experiment in
concept, but an experiment in
How To Write Rock Songs.  None of the other Who albums are as
encompassing as far as
the music here (lyrics aside).  In a parallel universe somewhere The Who
stuck with rock as
a few minutes of wild abandon, rather than moving toward the long-form
that made them
famous, and in that universe they are just as revered.

Anyway, I've gone on and on, so I'll let you all go.

Howard P.