[no subject]

Mod-era hardliners who have grown accustomed to the
cheap thrill of hearing the early Who in rattling,
crackling mono might have mixed feelings about
Polydor's deluxe edition of My Generation (***), with
its newfangled stereo remixes. First released on the
Brunswick label in 1965, the Who's debut album was
originally designed as a collection of Motown and R&B
cover versions, but Pete Townshend's songwriting was
developing at such a pace that the blueprint was
modified to accommodate a newly penned batch of his
songs. Due to a contractual dispute with American
producer Shel Talmy, My Generation has been
unavailable in the UK since the 1960s, apart from a
limited appearance on vinyl in 1980 from Virgin. But
now a settlement has been reached, and Talmy has
remastered both the original album and an extra 18
tracks that were shelved first time around. The latter
are mostly covers, including loud yet funky rampages
through Daddy Rolling Stone and James Brown's Shout
and Shimmy. However, completists will be agog at the
inclusion of Townshend's previously unissued Instant
Party Mixture and an alternate version of Anyway
Anyhow Anywhere. 

Brighter and cleaner though the stereo mixes are,
something of the Who's original scouring assault has
gone missing in action. That said, the bass guitar
barrage from the late John Entwistle on the
instrumental, The Ox, could saw through a
double-decker bus. Judging by internet postings, fan
reactions are mixed. "You've gotta be nuts not to rock
to this great music," says one. "My first four Beatles
albums on disc in stereo were a thousand times more of
a treat than this letdown," argues another. Ah, give
it time. 


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-Brian in Atlanta
The Who This Month!
http://www.thewhothismonth.com
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