The Cavern
Rock & Words
THE WHO SELL OUT (The Who, 1967)
Artist: The Who (B+)
Recording Dates: May - Nov 1967.
Release Date: December 15th, 1967. UK
Record Label: Track / Decca
Producer: Kit Lambert
Rating: 9
Era: Rock & Roll II, Early Sixties (1960-1966)
Subgenre: Psychedelia
Best Song: I Can See For Miles
Tracklist: 1) Armenia City In The Sky; 2) Heinz Baked Beans; 3) Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand; 4) Odorono; 5) Tattoo; 6) Our Love Was; 7) I Can See For Miles; 8) I Can't Reach You; 9) Medac; 10) Relax; 11) Silas Stingy; 12) Sunrise; 13) Rael;
(BONUS TRACKS:) 14) Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand (Electric Version); 15) Someone's Coming; 16) Relax (Early Rehearsal); 17) Jaguar (Original Mono Mix); 18) Glittering Girl (Original Mono Version); 19) Tatoo (Early Mono Version); 20) Our Love Was (Take 12); 21) Rotosound Strings With Final Note; 22) I Can See For Miles (Early Mono Version); 23) Rael (Early Mono Version); 24) In The Hall Of The Mountain King.
When I first heard this album, it didn't impress me much. Now I love it, and I definitely consider it one of the best albums of '67, although it falls a little short of The Who's wonderful trilogy: Tommy, Next, and Quadrophenia. Another interesting thing is that those who aren't fans of The Who generally look down on it quite a bit, while their fans, on the other hand, overrate it, often placing it above the aforementioned albums.
The point is, it's still an impressive album from every angle. To begin with, it's a concept album. It's true that the Beatles had released Sgt. Pepper's earlier in the year, and that the idea for a concept album didn't come from the band, but from their managers, Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp. However, the idea behind the album is much more developed than Pepper's, since the guys set out to imitate a pirate radio station (Radio London, which actually existed), broadcasting rock music from ships outside England's maritime borders. And they pull it off brilliantly! I never actually listened to Radio London, of course, but listening to the LP really does transport you back to the '60s and the spirit of radio for 45 minutes. While Pete composed the music, John and Keith arranged all the amusing "commercials," some fictional and others real, like Rotosound, Coca-Cola, John Manson's cars, and Premier. In fact, by doing these promos, the guys hoped to make some money, since although they'd had resounding success with the singles, the two previous albums hadn't sold very well, and smashing instruments after every concert wasn't exactly cheap. It worked with Rotosound guitar strings and with Premier, who made drums especially for Keith, and to a lesser extent with Coca-Cola, but they didn't manage to get John Manson to give them a car… Hahaha!
And that's another of the album's virtues: it has a tremendous sense of humor. Pete took his work very seriously, aiming to make The Who's most complete album to date. He undoubtedly succeeds, as the album is light years ahead of Quick One in terms of maturity, though to his frustration, it wasn't a commercial success either, which would lead him to conceive of Tommy. Despite the seriousness of the intention, the album is one of the most entertaining of the 60s, clearly showing that the band had a blast and enjoyed the recording process, with generous doses of irony, sarcasm, and parodies of consumerism, trademarks of other bands and 60s society, as well as a tribute to the pirate radio stations that allowed them to listen to their idols in their teens. The title of the album reveals a tremendous irony, as they were aware that their records were not selling well; the play on words "The Who - Sold Out" was itself a joke to themselves.
With the material ready, they arranged it to resemble a short excerpt from Radio London, interspersed with fake ads and short commercials, creating subtle connections between the actual songs on the album. Somehow, the material has such a cohesive feel that it feels strange to hear, for example, "Our Love Was" without the preceding jingle, "Radio London reminds you, go to the church of your choice!!!"
However, the album's greatness doesn't lie solely in its conceptual idea. The songs are magnificent, even many of the jingles and commercials. There's a great diversity, from explosive rockers and ballads to songs with psychedelic influences (Pete was impressed by a UFO group called Pink Floyd, and he himself acknowledged a certain Barrett influence on the album). Each song has a distinct atmosphere and transports the listener to different moods, something few bands of the era achieved, besides the Beatles. They are all genuine gems, from the psychedelic and majestic aura of "Armenia City In The Sky," the acoustic warmth of "Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand," the ironic rock of "Odorono," the enchanting arpeggio of "Tattoo," the almost religious ecstasy of "Our Love Was," and the masterful handling of tension and explosiveness in "I Can See For Miles" (and I've already mentioned the entire A-side without meaning to). Pete demonstrates impressive maturity as a songwriter of pop gems, with a guitar mastery that placed him among the Guitar Heroes, while Keith is at his peak, displaying stratospheric inventiveness and practically giving his drums no respite throughout the entire album. John on bass is above average for bassists of '67, with the possible exception of Jack Bruce, but he's still transitioning towards the phenomenal level he'll reach on subsequent albums. Roger, for his part, sounds cool and precise as always, with those vocal contributions on four tracks, and is also nearing his best.
There's also something to consider regarding the vocals: On Quick One, Pete is the lead vocalist on a quarter of the album, while here he appears on almost every track, either as the lead vocalist on "Odorono," "Our Love Was," "I Can't Reach You," and "Sunrise," or in fragments ("Armenia City…," "Mary Anne…," and "Relax," which he shares with Roger), or singing backing vocals. In fact, this is the Who album on which Roger has the least involvement, as he's only the lead vocalist on "Tattoo," "I Can See For Miles," and "Rael," while John sings "Heinz Baked Beans," "Medac," and "Silas Stingy."
The cover, on the other hand, is one of the funniest, most original, and most memorable in rock. Following the album's concept, the cover is divided into four panels, two on the front and two on the back. On the front, Townshend is applying Odorono deodorant from a giant stick, and Daltrey is sitting in a tub full of Heinz beans. It looks like he caught pneumonia after this photo, as the beans were frozen. On the back, Moon is applying Medac from a giant tube to a massive pimple, while Entwistle is in leopard-print underwear with a blonde in a leopard-print bikini on one arm and a teddy bear on the other, seemingly doing a Charles Atlas commercial, judging by the caption. The overall idea is so funny that I'll make an exception and include the back cover in the review.
The album opens with a Radio London jingle, displaying the days of the week with an electronically processed vocal and a jarring brass section between each day, leading into the masterful fade-in that opens "Armenia City In The Sky". The song was written by Pete's friend John Keen specifically for the band. This isn't the only reason it sounds so distinct from the rest of the album; it's also one of the songs most influenced by the psychedelic movement. The song features a very unusual brass section, recorded forwards on some tracks and in reverse on others. This creates delirious effects for the trumpets, trombones, and French horns, contributing to the song's strange and hallucinatory atmosphere. Pete's guitar is also played in reverse, while Entwistle simply plays the notes. Moon delivers a phenomenal performance, with drum rolls and cymbal crashes. At 2:40, there's a medley of brass instruments and a very unusual solo recorded completely in reverse. The vocal melody is simple and catchy, very pop, especially in the choruses, with Pete and Roger sharing the lead vocals in the same tone. The song closes with another jingle: “Wonderful Radio London… Wooopy” with the same distorted voice as the beginning.
The promo for “Heinz Baked Beans” continues with a very festive and hilarious atmosphere, and that funny “What'sssssss for tea, Darling?” is especially funny the last time John asks in a very guttural and bizarre voice. The jingle is barely a minute long, catchy and harmless, with Keith doing a great job on the snare drum and showing us the tone of the commercials on the album: light, but well-crafted.
Next up is “Mary Ann With The Shaky Hand”, with its acoustic, folky, and playful feel. The song is very light and inoffensive, featuring excellent vocal harmonies. The lyrics are also hilarious, a double entendre mockery of British society and the way people choose their wives. The rhythm is very catchy and country; it feels perhaps a bit too light, and the electric version on the bonus track is, in my opinion, superior, but this one isn't offensive either. At the end, the vocals are infused with a vibrant tremolo effect to live up to the song's title. It's light, but very fun pop that creates a warm atmosphere and, incidentally, demonstrates that Pete can also play the acoustic guitar.
The fourth track is “Odorono”, which is supposed to be a commercial, but it develops into a full-fledged song, telling the story of a girl dumped by a suitor who can't stand her smell. The commercial involves her deodorant failing her and her needing Odorono instead. Isn't that brilliant and funny? Well, the story is pathetic, but still entertaining. The melody is also extraordinary, another pop gem with a magnificent, squealing guitar riff and John's effective bass line. With different lyrics, it could have been taken more seriously, but it seems like even the band didn't take it seriously. At the end, a female voice announces: “It's smooth sailing with the highly successful sound of wonderful Radio London.”
Next up is “Tattoo”, another standout track on the album. The lyrics are also a joke, about two brothers who believe that getting a tattoo is what makes a man a man. While they don't take themselves too seriously lyrically, the rest of the song will have you on your feet. The arpeggio-riff is beautiful, delicate, and intimate, and the vocal harmonies are masterful and full of catchy hooks. Seriously, these harmonies rival the complexities achieved by the Beach Boys or the Beatles. The joke is capped off with the sarcastic jingle: “Radio London reminds you, go to the church of your choice…” which always makes me burst out laughing.
Next up is “Our Love Was”, with a descending riff vaguely reminiscent of the Beatles’ “Dear Prudence,” though that song wouldn’t be released until a year later. The ballad has a very sweet and delicate atmosphere, and even Keith seems to hold back a bit on the drums at first. Then he starts to inject more energy with cymbal crashes. The melodies and vocal harmonies are also delightful, confirming Pete as a pop genius. At 1:35, when it seems a bit saccharine with the “love love love love love” bridge, the instruments explode after a very brief but intense drum solo and a passage where the instruments ramp up the volume. Pete’s guitar rarely sounds as sweet as in this song, and rarely does a ballad explode like this without sounding forced. At 2:10, there’s a vibrant two-finger solo, which is somewhat basic by Townshend’s standards, but it fits the song well.
After a few jingles that are barely understandable, comes the album's main course. "I Can See For Miles" is a killer track, one of the band's best, showcasing the power we've come to expect from them. From the power chords in the intro, along with Keith's impressive drumming, creating a tension that feels like it's about to explode at any moment, especially when the excellent vocal harmonies begin to build in intensity in that ascending scale of the chorus, with the guitar vibrating stratospherically in the background. Wow! The song is perfect, from the way Roger approaches the song, with a certain darkness, to Keith's explosive drumming that leaves no space (NOT ONE!!!), the sharp bass lines that create tension, and the powerful and precise guitar, vibrating like a chainsaw. Furthermore, the vocal harmonies again border on perfection, with Pete's more understated work, but perfectly intertwining in the choruses (incredibly complex, try singing them and you'll see) and some verses. A truly classic track. Furthermore, when people say the album has some influences from "Piper At The Gates of Dawn," you can't deny it at all when you listen to this song. It has that Syd Barrett-esque cosmic psychedelia feel, and the influence of Astronomy Domine is undeniable in the guitar riffs, the timing, and the overall structure of the song, without necessarily being a blatant rip-off.
Following this enormous A-side on the record, the B-side is slightly weaker, but it's understandable that such a high level can't be maintained throughout the entire album. It opens with a short jingle sung by John in that guttural voice. The serious music begins with "I Can't Reach You", a harmless ballad with plenty of hooks and a very pop feel. Pete delivers a beautiful vocal performance, which calms things down a bit after the electrical storm of the previous track. The song is lovely and features a cute little piano, though it doesn't particularly stand out.
Next up is "Medac", which is a long promo. As a promo, it's well done, although it's a bit long. And as a song, it feels short and lacks structure. But hey, it's just another one of the band's jokes, so let's not take it too seriously.
“Relax” is an acid-tinged song with keyboards dominating the background, maintaining a mid-tempo that never quite takes off. It seems very average, not bad really, but there's nothing particularly noteworthy about it, except for some effects John creates by quickly running his bass arm across it to give a turbo-like effect.
“Silas Stingy” isn’t particularly outstanding either. It’s sung by Entwistle himself, who also wrote it. It’s not bad, but it sounds like a scary children’s song, also influenced by the “childlike side” of Pipers, but John doesn’t have Syd’s compositional mastery for creating children’s monsters. Perhaps the biggest problem is that the chorus repeats endlessly, and that “Money-money moneybag, here come Silas Stingy” becomes truly tiresome.
“Sunrise” is an incredible Pete ballad, just him and his guitar, singing the verses in three different keys, constantly shifting the sounds, and featuring, for the first time, an absolutely clear and crystalline guitar. The melody is somewhat complex, but brilliant and emotional. An excellent acoustic work from this genius, which takes some time to appreciate, and seems to be one of the few tracks on this album that they truly took seriously.
The original album closes with Pete's second attempt at a mini-opera. “Rael 1 and 2”, a mini-epic, or rather, a war parody of a captain betrayed by his crew, complete with marches. The track has some good arrangements and vocal harmonies, but above all, it offers a glimpse of the guitar line that would become the masterful “Sparks” on Tommy, somehow linking this album to the next, even though Townshend hadn't yet conceived the seed of the masterful rock opera. It's also the most rock-oriented track on side B. Now, a curious fact about this song, which is perhaps its most interesting aspect. Have you noticed that the first 15 seconds sound completely out of place? Check it out. Done? Well, it turns out that the band, including Al Kooper on keyboards, had already recorded almost the entire song and left the afternoon session to continue the next day, leaving the multitrack with the masters unsaved. The studio cleaning lady came in at night and threw the chair in the trash, but instead of emptying the can into a bag, she kept adding bits of trash like soda and cigarette butts. Sound engineer Chris Huston noticed it the next day, discovering with horror that the first 15 seconds were unusable and beyond repair. He was the one who took Pete, the most nervous member of the band, aside and broke the news, adding, “Pete, I’m sorry, but sometimes these things happen.” Townshend smiled ironically, much to Huston’s relief, but then the guitarist went to the sound booth, grabbed the chair, and threw it through the glass, causing about 12,000 pounds of damage. He turned to Chris and, with the same sour smile, said, “Don’t worry, Chris, sometimes these things just happen.” Because of this, it sounds like the first 15 seconds of “Rael” is a completely different song… because it is, since they had to add whatever they could find to cover up the hole.
Bonus Tracks:
The bonus tracks released on the 1995 CD edition are a mess, as it seems that with each reissue they change the names, the order, or even swap songs for ones that weren't on previous versions, so I'm going to talk about the one I own. I like it; I think it adds a lot, and there are some really good songs that were never released, or that only appeared on Odds & Sods. Why weren't they included? Because they would have had to make a double album, and this material is often called the "C-side" of Sell Out, but it's only enough for one side, so they would have had to add more filler. And that wasn't good. I think it's better that Pete has focused his energy on planning an opera about a little pinball master since then.
Of the songs, quickly, “Mary Ann With The Shaky Hand” is infinitely better in this electric version, much more rhythmic, playful and bright, and with a great organ solo, which unfortunately has a very low volume.
“Someone’s Coming” also stands out, with a march-like rhythm, good brass arrangements, and a very catchy vocal harmonies. It lacks polish, but with a little refinement it could have been better than several tracks that did make the cut.
The difference with "Relax" is that it uses a piano instead of a keyboard, and it sounds even more raw and unfinished. It's not one of the bonus tracks that particularly fascinates me.
“Jaguar” is a ferocious song, featuring Entwistle’s masterful bass lines interwoven with Pete’s eminent guitar work. Moon’s drumming is also superb for the most part, showcasing his virtuosity on the sticks. A truly excellent rocker that would have elevated the original album, given their instrumental prowess.
“Glittering” also strikes me as a very strong song, too strong to have been discarded, and would have fit perfectly on the B-side. The ascending riff is delightful, and they would later rework it, but here it works perfectly.
Then there are two early takes of “Our Love Was” and “Tattoo” which are less finished takes, with different solos, etc., although they don't really add to the originals, which are actually better.
A second take of the “Rotosound” promo follows, featuring a bass line that lingers at the end. Next is another version of “I Can See For Miles”, as it appears on Odds and Sounds, and finally a very, very archaic take of “Rael”. The 15 seconds used to fill the gap in the final version were taken from this last take.
Finally, my version closes with “In The Hall Of The Mountain King”, a killer track that showcases the band's most psychedelic side, with undeniable Barrett influences in the psychotic atmosphere and the construction of the excellent riff. It bears such a strong signature of Barrett's Floyd sound that if this Who cover had been added to Piper, no one would have guessed it was a different band performing. In the middle section of this instrumental, the three of them completely lose it, and we can hear them playing solos simultaneously. Incredible. This track should have been included, and it's one of those that elevates the bonus tracks beyond mere curiosities.
Excellent, a tremendous album. Unfortunately, the band isn't quite at its peak yet; they're still developing, although it's a huge improvement over A Quick One. Another flaw is the sound. The change of producer to Kit Lambert is barely an improvement, and the only track that's worth salvaging sonically is thankfully "I Can See For Miles," perhaps because it was initially intended as a single. The rest is very muddy, the rhythm section gets lost, and it's a real shame about the sound. And another factor preventing me from giving it a 10 is the lack of explosiveness. Although musically it sounds tremendous and they demonstrate that they are a group of virtuosos (only Cream and the Jimi Hendrix Experience had a similar level in '67), on this album The Who fail to let loose and rock out like they know how. They sound a bit restrained and flirting too much with pop, far from the fury of Sings My Generation, although you can't deny the evolution and how well-crafted most of the songs are.
The album is definitely worth it. It's The Who's best work up to that point, and the perfect starting point for discovering them in their early days. It also serves as the bridge between their beginnings and their period of full maturity, the stepping stone that led the band to release five outstanding albums—essential in any respectable music collection—in a very short span of time. On this album, they're just one step away from that incredible level.
By Corvan
Jan/20/2010
