From: "Jim Sigel" <drjimmy_mrjim@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Reply-To: thewho@xxxxxxxx
To: "Who List" <thewho@xxxxxxxx>
Subject: Album on the Week
Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2004 20:25:36 -0700
Who's smashing idea was it do give the Deluxe My Gen album a listen?
Brilliant...
I love this album in any form - vinyl, tape, crappy MCA first CD release,
and
glorious Deluxe edition. What strikes me most about this collection is the
jaw-dropping drumming of Keith Moon. Incredible.
It's fun for me to listen to Keith's drumming on this album because it's
the
closest you'll ever hear him play to traditional style drumming throughout
his
career. He's young enough where his "legendary" style hadn't developed
yet,
so you can hear more Gene Krupa on this album more so than anything else
recorded. He plays a ton of tight triplets that sound like a machine gun
ripping apart a tin can factory. Awesome display. And his ride cymbal
work
is nothing short of genius. Just listen to the cymbal work on "A Legal
Matter". Anyway, compare Keith's drumming on this album with
say...oh...Who's
Next. See how different his drumming is.
I love the James Brown covers, and although the Pete originals reveal his
immaturity at times, you still have to be impressed that a young Townshend
was
able to write with such depth for his age. It's a debut, and there are at
least two bona fide "classics" here. And those rumbling power chords ain't
bad either. There's some great power chord chops by Pete that you can't
find
on any other album. That in itself makes it precious.
John and Roger do fine but there isn't much from them that leaps out at me.
I
think they both shine in moments, but the real stars are Pete and
especially
Keith. Pound for pound, this is arguably the best recording of Keith there
is
too.
Special note for "I'm a Man". The middle cacophonic break is vintange Who
(Keith's supercharged rolls give me goose bumps) and they embarass most
other
bands by the way the break reaches its climax and they effortlessly slip
into
the traditional blues riff to the end.
Another nice treat is Nicky Hopkins on pi-anny.
And finally, "Circles" has always been one of my favorite Who tunes. With
or
without the horns. Mainly with, though.
I must make a confession though. My car has a cassette deck only, so I had
to
record the Deluxe CD onto tape to listen for the Album of the Week segment.
Who Sings My Gen took up one side, so I threw the BBC Sessions on the other
side. And THAT, has had most of my attention. I can't seem to listen to
it
enough. I hang my head in shame... But that version of Shakin' All Over
has
got to be the best version I've heard...
Jim in Colorado