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Post by jay on Dec 15, 2019 12:36:22 GMT -5
It’s a bitch - a good (sic) indicator of a crushed track; turn it up and if it starts distorting early, well, yep... Worse yet, all the dynamics and detail are squashed out of the track and it becomes fatiguing to the ears in no time. I haven't actually heard the CD yet, only the tracks from Spotify, but I'm very disappointed in the sound quality and mastering. On many songs Roger's vocals literally distort.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 15, 2019 15:35:38 GMT -5
I was so focused on the material, which is excellent, I wasn't critically listening to the sound quality (although I did notice the loud volume). I'm almost afraid to go back and listen again now!
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Post by jay on Dec 15, 2019 22:00:03 GMT -5
Oh, the album itself is incredible! It might possibly be their best since The Who By Numbers. On Facebook in a Who page I likened it to the Beach Boys TWGMTR, in that it's at times startlingly great in a way that it almost shouldn't be.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 21, 2019 11:17:43 GMT -5
So I've gone back through and listened to the cd a few more times over the last week (it's been in heavy rotation in my car, as I've done a bit of travelling) and it's still holding up. These tunes have some true staying power, and despite the compression and max volume, it's an enjoyable set. In my world, this says a lot. The Who are pretty much my second favorite band after the Beach Boys (would you believe the Beatles are third?). However, I've never believed the Who to be a consistently strong album band--of course, with the exception of Who's Next and Tommy. I know I'll meet a lot of opposition here, but Quadrophenia has some great songs, but also many forgettable ones, IMO. That album is not in my cd collection. What is in my cd collection is WN, Tommy, and a number of the plethora of comps, including the 25th Anniversary box set. Plus I've assembled a few of my own comps. Anyway, what I'm getting at is this newest album is sticking with me must stronger than Who By Numbers, Who Are You, Face Dances, It's Hard (all of which I do have on original vinyl) and Endless Wire (which I'd had high hopes for after an advanced listening to It's Not Enough). Bottom line: WE HAVE A WINNER FOLKS! (Maybe in 20 years we'll get a logical remaster?)
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Post by jk on Feb 23, 2020 8:47:32 GMT -5
Nice to see a Who topic and some devoted fans at EH (hi, Jay).
If I had to pick one Who song that says it all for me, it would be "The Kids Are Alright". One for the ages, and such a wonderful sentiment:
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Post by kds on Mar 23, 2020 13:34:58 GMT -5
Ooohh! I've just been listening to this, with thanks to a post made elsewhere by Ian Rusten. "The Ox" is something else: The Ox was quite a powerhouse of an instrumental, especially for its time. For my money, The Who had the greatest rhythm section in rock history.
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Post by jk on Oct 14, 2020 15:42:56 GMT -5
I've never liked Tommy. All at once it struck me why -- it's too long and there's too much "filler". So, how about whittling it down to single LP format (no more than 22 minutes a side)?
This gave me:
Side One: 1. Overture 2. Amazing Journey 3. Sparks 4. The Hawker 5. Cousin Kevin 6. The Acid Queen
Side Two: 1. Pinball Wizard 2. Go To The Mirror 3. Tommy Can You Hear Me 4. Smash The Mirror 5. Sensation 6. I'm Free 7. We're Not Gonna Take It
...and a very satisfying listen it is too.
This did mean leaving out my favourite track, the long dark instrumental "Underture". However, as my slimmed-down Tommy is for a single LP, when burned to CD there will be plenty of room -- as happens with all single LPs when transferred to the CD format -- for at least one bonus track!
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Post by kds on Oct 15, 2020 7:11:30 GMT -5
I've never liked Tommy. All at once it struck me why -- it's too long and there's too much "filler". So, how about whittling it down to single LP format (no more than 22 minutes a side)? This gave me: Side One:1. Overture 2. Amazing Journey 3. Sparks 4. The Hawker 5. Cousin Kevin 6. The Acid Queen Side Two:1. Pinball Wizard 2. Go To The Mirror 3. Tommy Can You Hear Me 4. Smash The Mirror 5. Sensation 6. I'm Free 7. We're Not Gonna Take It ...and a very satisfying listen it is too. This did mean leaving out my favourite track, the long dark instrumental "Underture". However, as my slimmed-down Tommy is for a single LP, when burned to CD there will be plenty of room -- as happens with all single LPs when transferred to the CD format -- for at least one bonus track!
Check out some of the live versions of Tommy from around 1969-70. They have a little more energy than the studio version and trim some of the filler to fit in with The Who's shows. Their set at the Isle of Wight features a pretty brisk run through that you might enjoy. To be honest, Underture is one that I'd jettison. It's mostly the same riff from Sparks over and over.
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Post by Deleted on May 31, 2021 5:17:29 GMT -5
Is there a thread on this band already? I couldn’t find it. I was into their stuff as a kid and have recently returned to their catalogue and been enjoying it.
I think this is my favorite track and performance by them. This song strikes me as somewhat Wilsonian with the different sections, vocal harmonies, and even the country western bass line featured in California Girls (‘soon be home’ section). I know Townshend has expressed adoration of Brian, but I also wonder if Brian could have been inspired by this song? It feels a bit like a predecessor to some of the Smile material.
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Post by jk on Jun 1, 2021 2:48:35 GMT -5
Is there a thread on this band already? I couldn’t find it. I was into their stuff as a kid and have recently returned to their catalogue and been enjoying it. I think this is my favorite track and performance by them. This song strikes me as somewhat Wilsonian with the different sections, vocal harmonies, and even the country western bass line featured in California Girls (‘soon be home’ section). I know Townshend has expressed adoration of Brian, but I also wonder if Brian could have been inspired by this song? It feels a bit like a predecessor to some of the Smile material. Well, you've found it now. (Thanks, Doc.) Lovely track. I'm none too familiar with this album, so maybe this is the opportunity to make amends. Pete has mentioned Brian, to be sure, but has Brian ever mentioned Pete? My "Beach Boys Calendar" on another forum includes this curious entry (possibly from Badman -- I must check): Townshend on Brian: "His world has nothing to do with pop" which is about "being out on the road and getting drunk".
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Post by jk on Jun 1, 2021 8:46:02 GMT -5
Pete has mentioned Brian, to be sure, but has Brian ever mentioned Pete? My "Beach Boys Calendar" on another forum includes this curious entry (possibly from Badman -- I must check): Townshend on Brian: "His world has nothing to do with pop" which is about "being out on the road and getting drunk". It's part of a much longer quote in Badman itemized as 28 October 1966 (top of p. 156): "[Once] again Wilson's brilliance is lost on The Who's Pete Townshend. Just four months after his press attack on Pet Sounds [!], the guitarist and songwriter blasts Brian and 'Good Vibrations' in an interview for Disc & Music Echo. 'Brian Wilson lives in a world of flowers, butterflies and strawberry flavoured chewing gum,' Townshend rants. 'His world has nothing to do with pop. Pop is going out on the road, getting drunk and meeting the kids. "Good Vibrations" was probably a good record but who's to know? You had to play it about 90 bloody times to even hear what they were singing about. Pop is getting so complicated nobody knows what's happening, least of all the fans. Everything's so involved. Next year is going to be worse. We're going to have a batch of over-produced Beach Boys records and over-produced records in general. It needs The Beatles to come out of their hole and make a really simple pop record to sort things out."
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Post by drbeachboy (Dirk) on Jun 1, 2021 11:26:44 GMT -5
Geez, maybe Brian read this and it was the reason he ditched Smile and went lo-fi with Smiley Smile and Wild Honey.
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Post by jk on Jun 1, 2021 12:21:00 GMT -5
Geez, maybe Brian read this and it was the reason he ditched Smile and went lo-fi with Smiley Smile and Wild Honey. I don't know if he'd ever have read Disc & Music Echo. In those days you had four UK pop music weeklies, New Musical Express ( NME), Melody Maker, Record Mirror and D&ME. At one stage I used to buy all four. The first two had and still have an international reputation; the NME included a Billboard top 20 when I read it and the MM a Cashbox top 50. The other two... well, they felt like afterthoughts, but I was so obsessed with pop/rock'n'roll in those days that I had to have them all! Even if Brian had read it, it's doubtful (at least to me) whether a legless Pete Townshend would have caused Brian to alter course to that degree. But who knows for sure?
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Post by Ham Burgerstand on Jun 1, 2021 12:24:01 GMT -5
Geez, maybe Brian read this and it was the reason he ditched Smile and went lo-fi with Smiley Smile and Wild Honey.
Doubtful, although Pete does seem to be a Smiley Smile fan. In the liner notes to his Scoop album, regarding the track "Goin' Fishin'", he wrote:
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Post by jk on Jun 1, 2021 14:56:51 GMT -5
I'm probably looking in all the wrong places, but who can tell me who plays keyboards on, say, the album A Quick One?
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Post by nts1drums on Jun 1, 2021 15:10:22 GMT -5
I'm probably looking in all the wrong places, but who can tell me who plays keyboards on, say, the album A Quick One? It’s not on Wikipedia, that’s odd. It’s got detailed explanations for the other instruments too. :/ Well the first thing would be to check who played keyboards on songs around that timeframe (‘64-‘67). Any close friends or associates that played keyboards would most likely qualify. Pete himself would work too, I don’t recall the other band members playing keyboards at all until the 70s (and the only change in that was John playing synths with Pete iirc).
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Post by jk on Jun 1, 2021 16:25:23 GMT -5
I'm probably looking in all the wrong places, but who can tell me who plays keyboards on, say, the album A Quick One? It’s not on Wikipedia, that’s odd. It’s got detailed explanations for the other instruments too. :/ Well the first thing would be to check who played keyboards on songs around that timeframe (‘64-‘67). Any close friends or associates that played keyboards would most likely qualify. Pete himself would work too, I don’t recall the other band members playing keyboards at all until the 70s (and the only change in that was John playing synths with Pete iirc). Yes, it's certainly odd. Well, the name Nicky Hopkins came briefly to mind but I associated him more with the Stones and with Steve Miller. I did recall some really cool piano-playing on stuff like "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere". I thought I'd check out Nicky anyway and it seems it was him on The Who's debut album My Generation and on Who's Next. He may be playing on "Heatwave" -- the other keyboard moments on AQO don't sound like Hopkins at all. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicky_Hopkins
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Post by Deleted on Jun 2, 2021 7:59:57 GMT -5
Pete has mentioned Brian, to be sure, but has Brian ever mentioned Pete? My "Beach Boys Calendar" on another forum includes this curious entry (possibly from Badman -- I must check): Townshend on Brian: "His world has nothing to do with pop" which is about "being out on the road and getting drunk". It's part of a much longer quote in Badman itemized as 28 October 1966 (top of p. 156): "[Once] again Wilson's brilliance is lost on The Who's Pete Townshend. Just four months after his press attack on Pet Sounds [!], the guitarist and songwriter blasts Brian and 'Good Vibrations' in an interview for Disc & Music Echo. 'Brian Wilson lives in a world of flowers, butterflies and strawberry flavoured chewing gum,' Townshend rants. 'His world has nothing to do with pop. Pop is going out on the road, getting drunk and meeting the kids. "Good Vibrations" was probably a good record but who's to know? You had to play it about 90 bloody times to even hear what they were singing about. Pop is getting so complicated nobody knows what's happening, least of all the fans. Everything's so involved. Next year is going to be worse. We're going to have a batch of over-produced Beach Boys records and over-produced records in general. It needs The Beatles to come out of their hole and make a really simple pop record to sort things out." Lol what a great quote. I mean I whole heartedly disagree but it’s still a great quote. I love how he implores the Beatles to make simpler music...that did not exactly transpire 😆
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Post by jk on Jun 2, 2021 8:24:35 GMT -5
Lol what a great quote. I mean I whole heartedly disagree but it’s still a great quote. I love how he implores the Beatles to make simpler music... that did not exactly transpire 😆 Yes, that's hilarious!! Mind you, Pete broke that particular rule himself on a number of occasions.
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Post by nts1drums on Jun 2, 2021 20:35:02 GMT -5
Lol what a great quote. I mean I whole heartedly disagree but it’s still a great quote. I love how he implores the Beatles to make simpler music... that did not exactly transpire 😆 Yes, that's hilarious!! Mind you, Pete broke that particular rule himself on a number of occasions. *Cough* Tommy *Cough Cough* Quadrophenia *Cough*!
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Post by jk on Jun 3, 2021 5:22:04 GMT -5
Has anyone here been to a Who concert? I went to two, both with the original lineup. A little bit more on that another time...
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Post by jk on Jun 3, 2021 7:58:36 GMT -5
Here you go... I was lucky enough (read: old enough) to see the original lineup twice, once in London in '73 and then in NL a few years later (thanks to kds for pulling me up on a couple of things). On the second occasion, Pete was on the wagon (briefly, it transpired) and sang an acoustic version of "However Much I Booze". (A big thankyou to Jay at SS for correcting me there -- I'd always thought the song he sang was called "The Day I Gave Up Booze"!). Pete said something along the lines of "You'll note Mr Moon hasn't joined me in my venture." And no, judging from the expression on Mr Moon's face, it didn't look as though he had. So yes, that second concert in particular was most memorable. I believe they did most if not all of Quadrophenia. This set may be of the show I attended in London, although I don't see the "Booze" song listed: www.thewholive.net/concert/index.php?id=168A-ha!!! Now this is an online review of the second concert I saw (with thanks to Google Translate and a little tweaking from me): Monday, 27 October 1975. Venue: Ahoy, Rotterdam. We were sitting in the 7th row, very close to the stage. Yes there were seats in the arena. The opening band had its own equipment, including drums. These looked a little forlorn standing in front of Keith Moon's immense kit. The Who pitched in full of power and energy. When I had to leave to visit the toilet in the basement, The Who rumbled through all the walls and floors. Even the water in the toilet vibrated to the sound of The Who. A thunderous show and a great experience. Set list: Substitute I Can't Explain Squeeze Box Baba O'Riley Behind Blue Eyes However Much I Booze Dreaming From The Waist Boris The Spider Amazing Journey Sparks Fiddle About Pinball Wizard I'm Free Tommy's Holiday Camp We're Not Gonna Take It Summertime Blues Bargain My Generation Join Together My Generation Blues Won't Get Fooled Again
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Post by sockit on Jun 11, 2022 17:14:13 GMT -5
I've never liked Tommy. All at once it struck me why -- it's too long and there's too much "filler". So, how about whittling it down to single LP format (no more than 22 minutes a side)? This gave me: Side One:1. Overture 2. Amazing Journey 3. Sparks 4. The Hawker 5. Cousin Kevin 6. The Acid Queen Side Two:1. Pinball Wizard 2. Go To The Mirror 3. Tommy Can You Hear Me 4. Smash The Mirror 5. Sensation 6. I'm Free 7. We're Not Gonna Take It Hi jk! I thought I would bump this old thread to respond to an old post to point out the similarity (with a few exceptions) of your Tommy playlist to the song list of The Smithereen's 2009 cover album of Tommy. It's a very good performance and just the right selection of the songs, but unfortunately it's out of print at the moment.
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Post by jk on Jun 11, 2022 17:23:46 GMT -5
Hi jk ! I thought I would bump this old thread to respond to an old post to point out the similarity (with a few exceptions) of your Tommy playlist to the song list of The Smithereen's 2009 cover album of Tommy. It's a very good performance and just the right selection of the songs, but unfortunately it's out of print at the moment. Hi, sockit . Wow, yes -- fascinating. Thanks! Well it may be out of print but the whole thing would seem to be on YouTube (I'll give it a listen when I have more time): www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPQKxwf8t4xqfcU_mRYC9QVC6Hv0soRFX
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sockit
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Post by sockit on Jun 11, 2022 17:30:37 GMT -5
Hi jk ! I thought I would bump this old thread to respond to an old post to point out the similarity (with a few exceptions) of your Tommy playlist to the song list of The Smithereen's 2009 cover album of Tommy. It's a very good performance and just the right selection of the songs, but unfortunately it's out of print at the moment. Hi, sockit . Wow, yes -- fascinating. Thanks! Well it may be out of print but the whole thing would seem to be on YouTube (I'll give it a listen when I have more time): www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPQKxwf8t4xqfcU_mRYC9QVC6Hv0soRFXOf course, it's not as great as the Who's original, but it's a pretty good alternative and there are a few surprises that work (at least for me). The two guitar solos in "See Me Feel Me"--the first a blistering lead, the second a low fuzz power chord trip--melt my face every time!
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