The Who Appreciation Thread

[I. Spaceman]

I'm definitely right. But, yeah, check and track are words that sound close to each other. It also helps to actually own a copy of the album and see that the name of the cut is Track Records.

[Peter Reum]

The Who are among my 5 favorite bands. Quadrophenia is the best in my mind. Roger sat one seat down in the row behind me at Smile's premier in London. Eric Clapton was 3 seats behind me the same night.

[Newguy562]

It's amazing how much work Pete put into Lifehouse & Quadrophenia...Those demos are amazing and at times better than the originals.

[Newguy562]

I know Pete Townsend and Keith Moon were big fans of the beach boys.
(Keith moon's favorite song of all time is Barbara Ann.)

Really? I often thought Keith's favorite is Don't Worry, Baby. Didn't he even do the cover of it on his only solo record?

oh wow really? i just said that because Roger Daltry said it in a performance before

[Alex]

@ISpaceman  Guess I didnt check the CD booklet close enough. The tracklisting on the case just goes from Rael 1 to Rael 2. 

[Newguy562]

I know Pete Townsend and Keith Moon were big fans of the beach boys.
(Keith moon's favorite song of all time is Barbara Ann.)

Really? I often thought Keith's favorite is Don't Worry, Baby. Didn't he even do the cover of it on his only solo record?

oh wow really? i just said that because Roger Daltry said it in a performance before

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GG8q_aJbUc - here're 2 v-ns of Keith's cover of DWB in case you didn't check them.

keith moon is one of the greatest drummers of all time but DAMN HIS SINGING! :O

[Newguy562]

I know Pete Townsend and Keith Moon were big fans of the beach boys.
(Keith moon's favorite song of all time is Barbara Ann.)

Really? I often thought Keith's favorite is Don't Worry, Baby. Didn't he even do the cover of it on his only solo record?

oh wow really? i just said that because Roger Daltry said it in a performance before

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GG8q_aJbUc - here're 2 v-ns of Keith's cover of DWB in case you didn't check them.

keith moon is one of the greatest drummers of all time but DAMN HIS SINGING! :O

Exactly but arrangements are very tasteful. Note that the guitar was played by Mr. Dale himself - king of the surf guitar! Btw, Keith did also Beatles cover, In My life.

hey did dick dale ever have anything to say about the beach boys?

[Music Machine]

I'm definitely right. But, yeah, check and track are words that sound close to each other. It also helps to actually own a copy of the album and see that the name of the cut is Track Records.

Yes, I.Spaceman is correct that it's Track Records. It refers to the UK based record label owned by the Who's 60's manager Chris Stamp and their 60's producer Kit Lambert. Track Records distributed the Who's discography in the UK from '66 to '75 and also initially had the UK distribution rights for Jimi Hendrix. Other acts on the label included The Crazy World of Aurthur Brown and Golden Earring.  In '75, Track Records were absorbed by Polydor.

The Who are my all time favorite band and it's very hard to pick just one favorite album. If pushed I would say Quadrophenia for studio work, Live at Leeds (especially the short original album and the '95 remaster) for live material. I'm also a big fan of Sell Out in both it's mono and stereo mixes. I also really like Pete Townshend's home demos and I've compiled an eight volume set of my favorite ones.  I also named my i-pod touch Gridlife in reference to Pete Townshend's storyline for Lifehouse.

[Catbirdman]

Just read through this thread. It's nice to see all the appreciation for The Who Sell Out. It may be in my top 15-20 records, certainly my favorite by the Who. I get off the magic bus with Tommy though.Maybe someday it'll click with me but I never seem to be in the right frame of mind to let it soak in right. I was a big fan of Who's Next in high school, but over the years I've seen too many car commercials and have developed a distaste for bombast. I still probably like it better than I'd like to admit though.

A few years back I dove down the rabbit hole and made a compilation for myself of all the Who songs from 1967-1968, interspersed with jingles and commercials. I found a lot of vintage commercials on the internet as well as Radio London jingles.

[cablegeddon]

Live at Leeds (especially the short original album and the '95 remaster) for live material. I'm also a big fan of Sell Out in both it's mono and stereo mixes.

Nobody ever mentions the BBC-sessions. Isn't a very overlooked live album?

[Music Machine]

There are bootlegs of the Who's BBC sessions with superior mixes to the released ones. Another really good Who live set is Tanglewood 1970 which is up on Wolfgang's Vault. Eagle Rock are releasing a DVD of The Who live in Houston '75 in October. I think they're planning on releasing it right around the same time as Pete's autobiography.

[sparkydog1725]

My first Who exposure was the US album Happy Jack, which is still my favorite. A GREAT underrated song is Heaven and Hell!! 

[bluesno1fann]

Bit burned out on the Who, though they're still one of my favourite bands.

Long Live Rock is my favourite song by the Who at the moment, and The Who Sell Out is my favourite album by them.

Have to say John Entwistle and Keith Moon are my favourite members, and they're just not the same without them. I only like two songs by the Who which were made after Keith died.

[Pim]

Awesome band. My favorites is probably Quadrophenia. I think their output is pretty great overall, even though I've barely listened to the Kenny Jones albums and the first two albums. Every other album has great tracks - some favorites include Our Love Was, Blue Red And Grey, Sister Disco, Success Story. Really hope that the rumours about a new album this/next year are true. Really enjoyed Endless Wire and the two shows I've seen (the 2007 tour and Quadrophenia last year).

[JK]

I saw The Who in their original lineup twice, once in London in '73 and the second time in the Netherlands in '75. On one of those occasions (unless I'm greatly mistaken or was pissed at the time) Moon sang lead on a song, accompanying himself on the tympani. Something tells me it was from Quadrophenia, although I get the impression it was too slow and contemplative to be "Bell Boy". Does anybody have any idea as to what that song might have been?    

[Moon Dawg]

It's amazing how much work Pete put into Lifehouse & Quadrophenia...Those demos are amazing and at times better than the originals.

 Yep, his LIFEHOUSE demos are of incredible quality. Pete made great demos.

[Jay]

I saw The Who in their original lineup twice, once in London in '73 and the second time in Rotterdam in '75. On one of those occasions (unless I'm greatly mistaken or was pissed at the time) Moon sang lead on a song, accompanying himself on the tympani. Something tells me it was from Quadrophenia, although I get the impression it was too slow and contemplative to be "Bell Boy". Does anybody have any idea as to what that song might have been?   

If it was at the 1973 Quadrophenia show, then it was most definitely Bell Boy. I'm not sure what it would have been if it was at the 1975 show. Possibly Fiddle About? Or Tommy's Holiday Camp? I'd LOVE to hear any memories you may have of the shows, if you wouldn't mind sharing.

[JK]

I saw The Who in their original lineup twice, once in London in '73 and the second time in the Netherlands in '75. On one of those occasions (unless I'm greatly mistaken or was pissed at the time) Moon sang lead on a song, accompanying himself on the tympani. Something tells me it was from Quadrophenia, although I get the impression it was too slow and contemplative to be "Bell Boy". Does anybody have any idea as to what that song might have been?    

If it was at the 1973 Quadrophenia show, then it was most definitely Bell Boy. I'm not sure what it would have been if it was at the 1975 show. Possibly Fiddle About? Or Tommy's Holiday Camp? I'd LOVE to hear any memories you may have of the shows, if you wouldn't mind sharing.

I'm sure you're right about it being "Bell Boy" and that it was at that show. My memory playing tricks on me, no doubt...

This is a memory (reworked from a post of mine on another board) of the Dutch show that is nowhere else to be found online. Most baffling. And I refuse to believe it's a lapse of memory this time...

It seemed Townshend had recently gone teetotal! He sang a song about it (accompanying himself on acoustic guitar) called "The Day I Gave Up Booze".  "You'll note that Mr Moon hasn't joined me in my venture", Pete added, and to be sure, Mr Moon didn't give the impression that he had.  Not that this dalliance lasted long. If I remember correctly Pete had some marital problems and hit the booze again with a vengeance...

Was it "However Much I Booze" (a song on all the set lists) with new lyrics? After listening to "HMIB" on Youtube, it doesn't seem likely. "TDIGUB" had more of an upbeat folk tune feel.

Regrettably, that's the sum total of my recollections of that show...

[KDS]

Last time I saw The Who was in late 2012, when they took Quadrophenia (my favorite The Who album, and one of my top ten albums of all time) on the road. 

I think The Who took a page from what The Beach Boys did on their C50 tour with Carl and Dennis.  During the second half of Quadrophenia, they played a clip of John going his bass solo from "5.15."  I think it was taken from the Royal Albert Hall 2000 DVD.  Also, during Bell Boy, they played a mid-70s performance of Keith singing his leads. 

I'd love to see The Who on their 50th Anniversary Tour, but I'm seen them 3X now (2000,2002,2012), so I'm pretty happy with that.