Who – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

Who – Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy … album review

I bought this album right after I had bought Wholigans and Who’s Next. I wanted to know what their sixties output was like besides My Generation and I Can See For Miles. This compilation album was released in 1971; it wasn’t just a sampler of radio singles; it was a brash declaration of how The Who reached the top and what they broke along the way. Most of these songs did not reach the ears of Americans and Canadians in the 1960s. If Who’s Next was their grand gesture, Meaty Beaty was their rowdy scrapbook. The album is exciting!

In Canada and America, most people know the Who’s Next material and after as well. This album is the roots of the band. They stretched the limits of recording, trying new things in the studio, much like The Beatles did, but with a rawer result.

Rock in the mid to late sixties was changing, and what a diverse set of songs that you hear from that period. This is when Pete Townshend was turning teenage anxiety into rock mini-operas and Keith Moon was trying to demolish every drum kit in London. The title, reportedly referring to the four members themselves, Meaty (Roger), Beaty (Keith), Big (John), and Bouncy (Pete), is cheeky and self-mythologizing. And the tracklist? Nearly perfect. These singles are where Moon started to get his wild drumming reputation. He is everywhere in these songs, especially I Can’t Explain, making them different from other bands.

I have said that my favorite kind of band to watch live is the ones that you think will fall apart with any song they play, but they pull it between the lines without going over the cliff. They did that with these songs in the studio.

You’ve got I Can’t Explain, The Kids Are Alright, and Substitute up front, each one a case study in amphetamine, fueled mod rock. These aren’t songs that build; they explode right from the opening riff. Substitute, in particular, grabs your attention with the loud backing, but also the lyrics. Substitute could be The Who’s best single ever. And then I’m a Boy, Happy Jack, Pictures of Lily, you realize Pete was already leaning into story-song territory years before Tommy became a rock opera.

Magic Bus is a Bo Diddley-beat freakout that somehow makes a song about public transportation sound like a spiritual quest, or My Generation, the track that blew the doors off rock ’n’ roll. If that bass solo doesn’t rattle you, check your pulse. There’s a through-line here: Townshend’s fascination with identity, repression, rebellion, and guilt. These songs are electric in the best sense of the word.

Later Who albums might be deeper (Quadrophenia) or grander (Who’s Next), but this one is the sound of the band becoming The Who. Loud, brash, and already mythic. If you want to learn about The Who…this is a great starting point.

…

Creation – Making Time

Thank you, Dave, for this Turntable Talk. I wrote this for his series about songs with Time in the title, in the song, or about time. I like trying out new songs on the weekend, and this is a great example of mid-sixties British Rock. If you dig the Who and Kinks…you should like this one.

Here’s a 1966 track that hits you like a kaleidoscopic brick through a plate-glass window. This is a band that I so wish would have done more things. Their lead guitarist, Eddie Phillips, was asked by Pete Townshend to join the Who as their second guitarist. They are one of those bands that slipped through the cracks.

They were formed in 1966 from a band called The Mark Four. The Creation was from Chesthunt, 12 miles north of central London. They formed in 1963 as the Mark Four and went through different names until 1966 when they became the Creation. The Creation was sharper, weirder, and wilder than most of their peers. They had the raw power chords and the feedback fury of early Hendrix, and the pop art mindset of a band who not only wanted to be heard, they needed to be seen as well. The lead singer, Kenny Pickett, would spray paint a canvas, and someone from the road crew would set it a fire during the set…during the song Painter Man.

This song was released in 1966. They patterned themselves after The Who and The Kinks. It had the sonic sound of The Who, the garage grit of The Kinks, and the art-school sound with later groups like The Jam to Blur. But what really made it jump off the grooves? That guitar solo really helped out. Long before Jimmy Page, Eddie Phillips, the guitar player, used a bow. Making Time was the first rock song to feature the guitar being played with a bow. Shel Talmy produced the group that also produced The Who and The Kinks.

The band broke up in 1967-1968 with some different members. The guitar player Eddie Phillips and singer Kenny Pickett started to write songs in the seventies after leaving the business for a while. They wrote Teacher, Teacher for Rockpile. They regrouped in the 1980s and are still out there touring.

I’ve been talking about the Who and Kinks…a member from each band played with The Creation along with a Rolling Stone. Mick Avory, the drummer for the Kinks played with the reformed band from the mid-1980s to 1993. Doug Sandom, who was replaced by Keith Moon in the Who, played with them off and on until he died in 2019. Ronnie Wood played with them in 1968 (right before they broke up) as a vocalist and guitar player.

They only released 3 studio albums. One in 1966 called We Are Paintermen. One in 1987 called Psychedelic Rose and another one in 1996 called Power Surge. This song peaked at #49 on the UK Charts in 1966.

Making Time

Making time
Shooting lines
For people to believe in
Things you say
Gone in a day
Everybody leavin’
Everybody leavin’

Why do we have to carry on?
Always singing the same old song
Same old song
The same old song

Tellin’ lies
Closing your eyes
Making more excuses
Pullin’ the wool
Actin’ the fool
People have their uses
People have their uses

Why do we have to carry on?
Always singing the same old song
Same old song
The same old song

Lookin’ for
An open door
Never taking chances
Take your pick
Makes you sick
Seekin’ new advances
Seekin’ new advances

Why do we have to carry on?
Always singing the same old song
Same old song
The same old song

Who – Shout and Shimmy

If this song doesn’t get you up nothing will! I’ve probably covered The Who more than any other band but I’ve missed this excellent cover they did back in 1965. In this post, we will look at the song and the original drummer of The Who.

This is a cover of a lively James Brown original from 1962. The Who recorded in 1965, it was on their My Generation album. It was also part of their appearance on the music show Ready, Steady, Go! alongside the song Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere. Shout and Shimmy did not achieve widespread fame, it reflects the band’s devotion to R&B and soul, influences that heavily shaped their early sound. They also covered the Marvelettes song Heat Wave which was a part of the Mod culture. James Brown wrote and released Shout and Shimmy in 1962.

The Who’s rendition captures the raw energy of their early sound. Keith Moon in the live cut of this is a blur on drums. He was 19 years old and joined The Who the year before replacing The Who’s original drummer Doug Sandom.

Sandom was a good guy and a solid drummer but he was 34 in 1964 and considered far too old for The Who by the record company. Pete Townshend wrote a moving forward to Sandom’s book in 2014: Had we continued together back in 1964 with Doug on drums we may never have become as successful as we are today. Keith Moon was a born publicist as well as a highly eccentric performer. But I have no doubt that personally, I would have been happier as a young man. Partly because I think we would have continued to put music and friendship first in our band because that was Doug’s way. With Doug as my friend, I believe I could have been a better man.

Doug drummed for them as The Detours and The Who. He had this to say about The Detours changing to The Who: “We were setting up our gear when the Ox arrived and told us there was another band called The Detours and they’d already been on TV so we had to change our name. That night we all went back to a friend of Pete’s – a wonderful chap called Richard Barnes (an author and has worked with the Who for decades), or Barnsy, to try to find a new name.

Barnsy initially suggested The Group and Pete favoured The Hair. Someone else suggested No One until we imagined a compere on stage saying: ‘Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome No One.’ We’d have been a laughing stock. It was Barnsy who came up with The Who. Pete tried to compromise by suggesting The Hair And The Who until it was pointed out that it made us sound like a pub. Anyway, Roger came round to mine the next day and said it was to be The Who.”

On one of their recording dates, Townshend and Sandom were not in good moods and Sandom retold it: “He had a terrible go at me, snarling, ‘What’s wrong with you? If you can’t get it right then you’re out.’ I just got up from my stool and said, ‘That’s it, I quit.’ It was the biggest mistake of my life.

Sandom stayed in touch with the band until he passed in 2019 at the age of 89 years old.

I always try to give a studio and live version…but in this case…live is the way to go. Around 1:29 is where Moon kicks in.

Shout and Shimmy

Do you feel alright? Well do you feel alright children? Do you feel alright?You know you make me want to shout shimmy, oh yeah you gonna shout shimmy,Oh yeah you gonna shout shimmy, oh yeah you gonna shout shimmy,Oh yeah you know I walk up to the front, I try to do the flop,I walk up to the back, and I move on side to side,Then I stop, oh yeah and then I drop,Oh yeah and then I drop, oh yeah and then I do a little thing ?????,Do you feel alright? Do you feel so good? Do you feel so good?Do you feel alright? Do you feel alright? Tell me now, tell me now,Do you feel alright? Do you feel alright? Everybody do you feel so good?You know I feel alright, you know you make me want to shout shimmy,Oh yeah you gonna shout shimmy, oh yeah you gonna shout shimmy,Oh yeah you gonna shout a little bit soft, shout a little bit quieter,Shout a little bit soft, come on soft, shout a little bit soft,A little bit soft, cool down, cool down, come on, cool it down,I feel so good, I feel alright, drum on, drum on, drum on drummer,Everybody everybody everybody clap your hands, come on clap your hands,Clap your hands, a little bit harder, a little bit louder,A little bit harder, a little bit louder, a little bit louder,Come on and shout, everybody, come on and shout, come on and shout baby,Come on and shout baby, do you feel alright? Do I feel so good?Do you feel alright? Do I feel so good? Call a doctor, call a doctor,Do you feel alright? Do you feel alright? Do you feel alright?Do you feel alright? Do you feel alright?You know I feel so good I’m gonna shout and shimmy all night,I feel all, you know I feel alright.

…

Who – Sister Disco

The Who Are You album was not the best album The Who released but it has its bright spots. Pete Townshend wrote this song and he said The Who would never use any disco elements in their songs. To his credit, they never used any. At this time Pete was hanging around with some of the punk bands like The Clash…so that makes sense.

The Who Are You album peaked at #2 on the Billboard Album Charts, #2 in Canada, and #6 in the UK in 1978.

Kenney Jones had the hardest job in the music world at the time. Replacing Keith Moon was an impossible task. He didn’t play in the same style, although not many did, but he did a good job. He was eventually forced out of the band 3 years later when Roger wanted something different. Roger said that Jones was a great drummer but didn’t fit The Who.

The Who after Moon’s passing was this… whether to get a Moon-styled drummer or get someone more traditional. If they’d gone with the former, Blondie’s Clem Burke or Mitch Mitchell would have fit the bill, as Zak Starr does now. But I doubt Clem was known enough to warrant consideration. That leaves a candidate who would not duplicate Moon’s frenetic approach…in Kenney Jones. Pete Townshend wanted stability and more of a straight beat. That is fine…but when they did that they didn’t sound like themselves as much…and Pete was probably happy about that fact.

I liked the Face Dances album a lot when it was released and I still do. Kenney did a great job on that album but with older Who fans…the drums were just as big of a part of the music as the singing and guitar. In other words, Kenney Jones could not win. He was more of a traditional drummer in a band that was not known for that. Entwistle also toned down his bass playing because he would play off of Moon and be all over the place.

Sometimes I wish they would have packed it up like Zeppelin did after Bonham died but I enjoyed a lot of the music that The Who released after Moon died. Jones was in a no-win situation.

Pete Townshend: With ‘Sister Disco’, I felt the need to say that the group would never, ever, in any way do anything like the Bee Gees. We stand over here and what we stand with is all right. They might say we’re boring old farts but we still feel more at home with the boring old farts than any of that crowd.

Pete Townshend: For this track I spent a lot of hours programming my analogue sequencers in my ARP 2500 studio synthesizer. It isn’t quite Kraftwerk, but in 1976 I don’t think they were doing much better. This is a perfect example of the progression I was making towards theatrical music writing. I was trying to evoke absurd Baron Munchausen musical textures. Roger sounds so seriously intent about everything that the pomposity becomes real and threatening rather than pictorial.

Pete Townshend: It’s got nothing to do with disco at all! It’s only a series of lines put together. The chorus ‘Goodbye Sister Disco, now I go where the music fits my soul’…that is not an indictment of disco music. I like a lot of disco music; I even like discos. It’s to do with saying goodbye to, I think, a sort of self-conscious poseur kind of thing The Who had been for such a long time.

Roger Daltrey: I really like ‘Sister Disco’ but I don’t necessarily understand what he’s saying. I do understand what he’s trying to say but I don’t know whether it comes off. It was a song about getting too old for discos and that whole line that Pete sings, ‘Goodbye Sister Disco, I go where the music fits my soul,’ is kind of operatic; it’s a bit pompous. That’s why I personally didn’t sing that line because I can’t…when Pete sings it he’s got enough kind of tongue-in-cheek quality to get away with it and it works, but if I sang it, it would be a total disaster.

This is a rehearsal version with Kenney Jones on drums getting ready for the 1979 tour. The first without Keith Moon.

Sister Disco

As I walked through that hospital door
I was sewn up like a coat
I got a smile from the bite of the wind
Watched the fresh fall of snow

I knew then that my life took a turn
I felt strong and secure
And with adhesive tape over my nose
I felt almost demure

Goodbye Sister Disco
With your flashing trash lamps
Goodbye Sister Disco
And to your clubs and your tramps

Goodbye Sister Disco
My dancing’s left you behind
Goodbye, now you’re solo
Black plastic; deaf, dumb and blind

Bye, goodbye Sister Disco, now I go
I go where the music the music fits my soul
And I, I will never let go, I’ll never let go
‘Til the echo of the street fight has dissolved

I will choose nightmares and cold stormy seas
I will take over your grief and disease
I’ll stay beside you and comfort your soul
When you are lonely and broken and old

Now I walk with a man in my face
Ooh, a woman in my hair
I’ve got you all lookin’ out though my eyes
My feet are a prayer

Goodbye Sister Disco
With your flashing trash lamps
Goodbye Sister Disco
And to your clubs and your tramps

Goodbye Sister Disco
My dancing’s left you behind
Goodbye, now you’re solo
Black plastic; deaf, dumb and blind

WHO – The Real Me

Jim Adams invited me to participate in Song Lyric Sunday for his blog. This week’s prompt is…”a song that features a great bass line.” I knew it was going to be a Who song…and I changed it at the last minute from My Generation to this. This song has some incredible bass.

I have played music since I was around 14-15 and bass since I was around 15. I started out with an acoustic guitar with 2 strings. I could play Smoke on the Water, Down on the Corner, and other songs with those two strings. Soon I graduated to 6 strings and learned chords. A buddy of mine played guitar and he was more advanced than I was at the time.

We decided I would play bass and he would play guitar. I got a job cleaning up a vacant lot that had a massive mess for two days and earned around 50 bucks…and in the early 1980s…that could get you a decent bass guitar in a pawn shop. I learned by ear. We would listen to a record…slow it down to the slowest speed on the turntable and start figuring it out. I’m glad I learned that way because I can pick things out by listening.

Hearing this song around 8 years after it was released for the first time was exciting for me. It was a huge influence on how I played. I always made sure in any band I was in…the bass was heard. You could feel it in your chest… I made sure of that. I would hear some say…”Max is on 11 again.”

Where do I start with this song?

One of the most exciting songs of The Who. It was on the Mod concept album Quadrophenia. Roger and Pete are excellent in this song but John and Keith really stand out. The bass and drums do the heavy lifting in this song. It peaked at #92 in 1974.

I have sat for hours with a bass in my hand trying to get the runs right to this song. One of John’s best bass parts. I usually tie my fingers into knots trying to get this right. It wasn’t one of their huge hits but it was absolutely perfect for me.

I’ve never heard a hard rock band this tight yet carry a great melody underneath it all. John’s bass playing in this song is so good and he makes it sound almost normal. That is why I’ll always be in awe of The Who. Give me their rhythm section of Entwistle and Moon and I could rule the world. The word “revolutionized” is overused at times…but yes Entwistle did revolutionize the bass guitar as Moon did the drums.

The album told the story of a young mod named Jimmy. This song is about Jimmy’s inner turmoil and his quest to understand who he really is. He seeks answers and validation from his mother, a psychiatrist, and God, but finds no clear resolution. The album explores themes of identity, rebellion, and disillusionment. Pete Townshend wrote this and put a little of each band member’s personality in the character.

John Entwistle: “The Real Me” was the first take. I was joking when I did that bass part. The band said, “Wow, that’s great, that’s great!” And I was just messing around. They just loved the song. I was sitting on top of my speaker cabinet playing a silly bass part and that’s the one they liked.

John Entwistle: I think if you listen to my bass parts on their own, they sound unbelievably disjointed, but when you play them with the other instruments on the track, they fit. That’s what comes from playing with Keith.

Speaking of my favorite rhythm section…here is an isolated recording of JUST the bass and drums.

The Real Me

I went back to the doctor
To get another shrink
I sit and tell him ’bout my weekend
But he never betrays what he thinks

Woo
Can you see the real me, doctor?
Doctor?
Can you see the real me, doctor?
Woah, doctor

I went back to my mother
I said I’m crazy ma, help me
She said I know how it feels son
‘Cause it runs in the family

Can you see the real me, mama?
Mama?
Can you see the real me, mama?
Woah, mama

Can you see
Can you see the real me?
Can you see
Can you see the real me
The real me
The real me

The cracks between the paving stones
Look like rivers of flowing veins
Strange people who know me
Peeping from behind every window pane
The girl I used to love
Lives in this yellow house
Yesterday she passed me by
She doesn’t want to know me now

Can you see the real me?
Can ya?
Can ya?
Can you see the real me?
Can ya?
Woah, yeah

I ended up with a preacher
Full of lies and hate
I seemed to scare him a little
So he showed me to the golden gate

Can you see the real me, preacher?
Preacher?
Can you see the real me, preacher?

Can you see
Can you see
Can you see
Woah

Can you see the real me, doctor?

Can you see the real me, ma?

Can you see the real me (me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me)?

…

Who – Go To The Mirror

I just can’t get enough of this band. Not counting the Beatles…this is the band I would take to a deserted island and listen to. Not only in the studio but especially live. In their concert prime, between 69-76, they were untouchable in pure rock.

This song is on their Tommy album. I just listened to the album again and I have only one complaint. The production is thin and they don’t sound like The WHO. I have the studio and live version at the bottom. When they took this album on the road it really blossomed and turned into a Who mini opera. Their next album Live At Leeds and Who’s Next made them, along with Led Zeppelin, two of the biggest bands of the 70s.

Tommy is about a deaf, dumb, and blind boy who plays pinball. He is not really deaf, dumb, or blind but he dissociates himself from society and those around him. No one can break through his shell.

This song is about him seeing a doctor. The doctor confirms that there is nothing physically wrong with Tommy and his condition is caused by mental blocks from trauma as a kid. The doctor says Tommy will come out naturally. He is encouraged to go to the mirror where they know he is getting some kind of stimulation. In the mirror Tommy sings to his enlightened self “listening to you”, furthering his spiritual journey.

It’s a song that you will hear the familiar refrains running through this concept album. The “See Me, Feel Me” and “Listening to you, I get the music” parts.

Go To The Mirror

He seems to be completely unreceptiveThe tests I gave him show no sense at allHis eyes react to light the dials detect itHe hears but cannot answer to your call

See me, feel me, touch me, heal meSee me, feel me, touch me, heal me

There is no chance no untried operationAll hope lies with him and none with meImagine though the shock from isolationWhen he suddenly can hear and speak and see

See me, feel me, touch me, heal meSee me, feel me, touch me, heal me

His eyes can seeHis ears can hear his lips speakAll the time the needles flick and rockNo machine can give the kind of stimulationNeeded to remove his inner block

Go to the mirror boy!Go to the mirror boy!

I often wonder what he is feelingHas he ever heard a word I’ve said?Look at him in the mirror dreamingWhat is happening in his head?

Listening to you, I get the musicGazing at you, I get the heatFollowing you, I climb the mountainI get excitement at your feet!

Right behind you, I see the millionsOn you, I see the gloryFrom you, I get opinionsFrom you, I get the story

What is happening in his headOoooh I wish I knew, I wish I knew

Max Picks …songs from 1981

1981

The Who – You Better You Bet..I always thought of this song as the sister song to Who Are You. You Better You Bet was on the album Face Dances. This was the first album without Keith Moon and with Kenney Jones on drums.

Pete Townshend has said he wrote it “over several weeks of clubbing and partying” while the still-married guitarist was dating a younger woman. He said: “I wanted it to be a great song because the girl I wrote it for is one of the best people on the planet.”

Rolling Stones – Start Me Up…I was over at my friend Kenny’s house and I heard this song. Kenny loved animals and had a tarantula, piranha, and other sorts of fun animals. I think it was his radio alarm that went off but I heard this song and knew exactly who it was and I was hooked. This was before it was worn completely out. The opening riff is straight out of the 5-string open G tuning for all of you guitarists. That tuning helped Keith come up with all of those great riffs.

All the news at the time was on their tour. They were called old and over the hill…funny now thinking back…they were only in their late 30s and early 40s. Nowadays that is a young band. I went out and bought the album and loved it. The next year I bought the live (from that tour) Time is On My Side and Going To A Go-Go singles. I then broke down and bought the Still Life live album they came from. This video is amusing…it’s a video a high school band would make with one take but it worked for them. Charlie’s expressions are worth watching alone.

Kim Carnes – Bette Davis Eyes – More than any other song at that time…this one seemed so different and I knew music was changing in the 80s. I still liked it and I bought the single. Just like with Bonnie Tyler and It’s A Heartache…my first thought when hearing this was Rod Stewart. I really like Carne’s raspy voice more than the pop singers at the time…and now. Now I’d love to hear a duet with Kim Carnes and Bonnie Tyler.

“Bette Davis Eyes” was originally recorded by Jackie DeShannon on her 1975 album New Arrangement. DeShannon wrote the song with the songwriter Donna Weiss. According to DeShannon, she got the idea after watching the 1942 Bette Davis movie Now Voyager. It was Donna Weiss who submitted the demo to Carnes, who along with her band and producer Val Garay, came up with the hit arrangement for the song.

Rick James – Super Freak..Me being a bass player…this song is impossible to resist. The movie Little Miss Sunshine used this song to great effect. When James exclaims, “Blow, Danny!,” he’s talking to his sax player Daniel LeMelle just before his solo.

The song featured backup vocals by The Temptations. You will hear James point it out in the song when he says: “Tempations sing.” Temptation member Melvin Franklin was Rick James’ uncle.

One story bout Rick James… He dodged the Vietnam War draft by heading across the Canadian border from his hometown of Buffalo. But as soon as he got into Toronto, three drunk guys tried to beat him up for going AWOL. Some other guys came over to help Rick out… Two of those guys were Garth Hudson and Levon Helm, then playing backup for Ronnie Hawkins…later The Band. He also became friendly with Joni Mitchell and she introduced him to Neil Young…Rick and Neil would soon form a band called the Mynah Birds.

Talking Heads – Once in a Lifetime… David Byrne at his visual performance best with this video. According to David Byrne’s own words, this song is about how we, as people, tend to operate half-awake or on autopilot. Or perhaps a better way of explaining that statement is that we do not actually know why we engage in certain actions that come to define our lives.

The members of Talking Heads…David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz and Jerry Harrison – all contributed to the writing of this song along with the track’s producer, Brian Eno. And “Once in a Lifetime” itself originated from jam sessions. With this album the band wanted a more democratic process instead of Byrne writing all of the songs.

…

Max Picks …songs from 1978

1978

I remember this year well. The Dodgers repeated a World Series trip but also repeated losing to the Yankees.

Great song by The Who on their last album with Keith Moon. Keith was not in the best shape by this time but his drumming on this is still fantastic. The song is about real events that happened to Pete Townshend down to being passed out drunk at night and asking a policeman that knew Pete’s name, Who the F**k are you? You can still hear Daltrey sing the expletive on classic radio stations.

This one was always a favorite of mine of the Rolling Stones. Keith Richards wrote this, but a lot of the lyrics were improvised in the studio. While the band played, Jagger came in with different lines to fit the music.

This song is a good example of the Rolling Stones tapestry of guitars. Keith and Ron Wood weave their guitars in and out until the two guitars are almost indistinguishable from each other.

Warren Zevon was a very clever songwriter. He went were other songwriters don’t often go. This track was produced by Jackson Browne. The songwriters were LeRoy Marinell, Waddy Wachtel, and Warren Zevon. John McVie and Mick Fleetwood played on this song.

This song is one of the best pop singles of the 1970s. It was on the album City To City. This was Rafferty’s first release after the breakup of his former band Steeler’s Wheel. Gerry Rafferty had been unable to release any material due to disputes about the band’s remaining contractual recording obligations, and his friend’s Baker Street flat was a convenient place to stay as he tried to remove himself from his Stealers Wheel contracts. It was his second solo album, the first being Can I Have My Money Back? released in 1971.

The album and song were about life on the road in all its glory and squalor. To emphasize this notion even further, Jackson Browne literally recorded the album on the road, in hotel rooms, on buses, and, in the case of “Running On Empty,” on stage.

Favorite Rock Lyrics 4

Hope you all are having a good week…happy Wednesday!

And he dug up her grave and built a cage with her bonesExcitable boy, they all said well, he’s just an excitable boy …. Warren Zevon

I’ll be in my basement room with a needle and a spoonAnd another girl can take my pain away…Rolling Stones

We were the first band to vomit at the bar and find the distance to the stage too far meanwhile it’s getting late at ten o’clock rock is dead they say Long Live Rock…The Who

Cause when life looks like Easy Street there is danger at your door… The Grateful Dead

Then here come a man with a paper and a pen tellin’ us our hard times are about to end… The Band

I could walk like Brando right into the sun then dance just like a Casanova… Bruce Springsteen

Elementary penguin singing Hare Krishna man, you should have seen them kicking Edgar Allen Poe …The Beatles

Mother, you had me but I never had you I, I wanted youYou didn’t want me so, I just got to tell you goodbye … John Lennon

Exchanging “good luck”s face to face checkin’ his stash by the trash at St. Mark’s place …The Replacements

We come from the land of the ice and snow from the midnight sun where the hot springs flow… Led Zeppelin

Every day, I look at the world from my window but chilly, chilly is the evening timeWaterloo sunset’s fine… The Kinks

I don’t wanna be a candidate for Vietnam or Watergate… Queen

If I ventured in the slipstream between the viaducts of your dream… Van Morrison

I am just a dreamer but you are just a dream and you could have been anyone to me… Neil Young

So we bought a pack of cigarettes and Mrs. Wagner piesand walked off to look for America…Simon and Garfunkel

Favorite Rock Lyrics 2

Everyone seemed to like the first one so I thought I would bring it back. I did list many of the lyrics that you suggested in the comments on the other post…SO… this post was written by all of us…and uh…the ones that actually wrote the songs!

Sometimes my burden is more than I can bear, it’s not dark yet but it’s gettin’ there... Bob Dylan

The sunshine bores the daylights out of me…Rolling Stones

I asked Bobby Dylan, I asked The Beatles, I asked Timothy Leary, but he couldn’t help me either, they called me the Seeker…The Who

Cows are giving kerosene, the kid can’t read at seventeen, the words he knows are all obscene, but it’s alright… The Grateful Dead

You take what you need and you leave the rest, but they should never have taken the very best… The Band

Wild thing you make my heart sing you make everything groovy… The Troggs

There were ghosts in the eyes of all the boys you sent away… Bruce Springsteen

Rich man, poor man, beggar man thief you ain’t got a hope in hell, that’s my belief… ACDC

The farther one travels the less one knows the less one really knows …The Beatles

My friends are gone and my hair is grey I ache in places I used to play …Leonard Cohen

Whatever gets you through the night … John Lennon

God, what a mess, on the ladder of success Where you take one step and miss the whole first rung …The Replacements

Oh, let the sun beat down upon my face and stars fill my dream I’m a traveler of both time and space… Led Zeppelin

Girls will be boys and boys will be girls, It’s a mixed up, muddled up, shook up world, except for Lola La-la-la-la Lola… The Kinks

She keeps her Moet et Chandon in her pretty cabinet “Let them eat cake”, she says just like Marie Antoinette… Queen

Shammy cleaning all the windows singing songs about Edith Piaf’s soul… Van

You can’t be twenty on Sugar Mountain though you’re thinking that you’re leaving there too soon… Neil Young

Hello darkness, my old friend I’ve come to talk with you again…Simon and Garfunkel

Who – Getting In Tune

This song was originally on the Who’s Next album released in 1971…my favorite album of that year and maybe of the seventies. That year was an incredible time for albums. Led Zeppelin would release their most remembered album Led Zeppelin IV a few months after Who’s Next.

There is not a bad song on the album. Roger excels on this song and it builds up in the middle for good dynamics. In 2016, Rolling Stone ranked Getting In Tune number 8 on its list of the 50 greatest songs by The Who. Nicky Hopkins plays piano on this song.

The Who’s Next album is one of the most sonic-sounding albums I’ve ever heard. Glyn Johns produced it and said this: “I have a residing memory of sitting in the truck, my hair being parted by what was coming out of the speakers, a massive amount of adrenaline coursing through my veins. There have been a few occasions over the years when I have been completely blown away, believing without a doubt that what I was listening to would become much more than just commercially successful but also a marker in the evolution of popular music, and this was one of those moments.”

Pete Townshend originally wrote this about a character in his “Lifehouse” project, which was going to be a film similar to The Who’s Tommy and Quadrophenia. Townshend never finished “Lifehouse,” but the songs ended up on the great album Who’s Next.

Pete Townshend wrote this as part of his “Lifehouse” project. He wanted to release a film about a futuristic world where the people are enslaved… but saved by a rock concert. Pete couldn’t get enough support to finish the project, but most of the songs he wrote were used on the Who’s Next album.

Townshend’s use of the ARP synthesizer on Who’s Next was groundbreaking. He didn’t just add texture to it but the ARP became part of the structure of the songs. This was not like today’s synthesizer where you just took it out of the box. It had to be programmed and connected together…and not many people knew how to do it. He took a risk using it because technology in general always moving ahead, Who’s Next could have sounded dated a few years afterward but it still sounds fresh and interesting today…unlike some 1980s synth music.

The album peaked at #4 on the Billboard Album Charts, #1 in the UK, and #5 in Canada in 1971. It also peaked at #7 on the US Billboard Top Pop Catalog in 2014.

Getting In Tune

I’m singing this note ’cause it fits in well with the chords I’m playing
I can’t pretend there’s any meaning hidden in the things I’m saying

But I’m in tune
Right in tune
I’m in tune
And I’m gonna tune
Right in on you
Right in on you
Right in on you

I get a little tired of having to say
“Do you come here often?”
But when I look in your eyes, I see the harmonies
And the heartaches soften

I’m getting in tune
Right in tune
I’m in tune
And I’m gonna tune
Right in on you (right in on you)
Right in on you (right in on you)
Right in on you

I got it all here in my head
There’s nothing more needs to be said
I’m just bangin’ on my old piano
I’m getting in tune to the straight and narrow
(Getting in tune to the straight and narrow)
Getting in tune to the straight and narrow
(I’m getting in tune to the straight and narrow)
Yeah, I’m getting in tune to the straight and narrow
(I’m getting in tune to the straight and narrow)

I’m singing this note ’cause it fits in well with the way I’m feeling
There’s a symphony that I hear in your heart, sets my head a-reeling

But I’m in tune
Right in tune
I’m in tune
And I’m gonna tune
Right in on you (right in on you)
Right in on you (right in on you)
Right in on you

Baby, with you
(Baby, with you)
Baby, with you
(Baby, with you)
Baby, with you

I’ve got it all here in my head
There’s nothing more needs to be said
I’m just bangin’ on my old piano
I’m getting in tune to the straight and narrow

Getting in tune to the straight and narrow
I’m getting in tune to the straight and narrow
Getting in tune to the straight and narrow
I’m getting in tune to the straight and narrow
(Getting in tune to the straight and narrow)
Yeah, I’m getting in tune to the straight and narrow
(Getting in tune to the straight and narrow)
Yeah, I’m getting in tune to the straight and narrow
(Getting in tune to the straight and narrow)
Yeah, I’m getting in tune to the straight and narrow, yeah
(Getting in tune to the straight and narrow)
(Getting in tune to the straight and narrow)
(Getting in tune to the straight and narrow)
(Getting in tune to the straight and narrow)
(I’m getting in tune to the straight and narrow)
Yeah, I’m getting in tune to the straight and narrow
(I’m getting in tune to the straight and narrow)
(I’m getting in tune to the straight and narrow)

Who – Live At Leeds

My friend Dave first posted this article I wrote here on an episode of Turntable Talk. For those who didn’t see it…here it is. Cincinnati Babyhead also reviewed this on Hanspostcard’s site.

Dave asked a question: Is there an act that actually comes out better on live releases than studio ones?

First, let me say…overall I’m more of a record guy…I usually like the studio version of songs but yes there are some bands that can come off better. I would say The Who, Allman Brothers, Cream, The Grateful Dead, Aerosmith, The Stones (1969-1972), and Bob Dylan’s “1966 tour.” However, there is one condition to this.

I think you have to take into consideration the era you are talking about with each band or artist. If we are talking about the peak years then yes. The Rolling Stones for instance…for me it would be 1969 through 1974. When they had Mick Taylor on guitar…they had a huge raw sound live they haven’t had since. With Dylan, the 66 tour for me was the top and I could listen to those versions all day. The Who it would be 1969 through 1976 when they were untouchable live. But I’m not saying I don’t like other years with these artists…but those are known as the peak years.

When the Who took Tommy on tour I think the live recordings beat the studio album by a long shot. That leads me to…my favorite live rock album of all time.

From Classic Rock website ranking Who albums: “We usually don’t include live albums in our rankings, but ‘Live at Leeds’ is no ordinary live album. Like ‘Live at the Apollo,’ ‘At Fillmore East,’ ‘At Folsom Prison’ and a handful of other classic concert records, it transcends the genre, turning a quick record-company cash turnaround into a statement of purpose.”

The Who: Live at Leads. If you are a rock and roll fan, a rock fan, or even a heavy metal fan…everyone can find something on that album. This is guitar rock at its best. Listening to the sound of that record, it’s no telling how loud they played. They weren’t the loudest in the Guinness Book of World Records for nothing! When Pete hit a power chord you could almost feel your eardrums retract in and out like a speaker.

It’s not being loud though that makes it so great. Personally, I’ve never heard a band as tight as they were during this tour. They wanted to release a live album and soundman Bob Pridden had 38 shows taped. Pete wanted Pridden to go through all shows and tell him which one was best. Because of constant touring Pridden could never get through all of the shows. The day came and Pete asked him ok…which shows. He couldn’t give Pete an answer.

They had a show at Leeds and Hull coming up on the schedule. In a move he’d later label “one of the stupidest decisions of my life,” Townshend told Pridden to burn the tapes so that they’d never wind up in the hands of bootleggers. So, instead of more shows from that era…we have very few.

So…now the tapes were burned and the Leeds and Hull concert was coming up. They had a lot of pressure to get it right for the live album.

Pete Townshend: “I played more carefully than usual and tried to avoid the careless bum notes that often occurred because I was trying to play and jump around at the same time. The next day we played a similar set in City Hall in Hull. This was another venue with good acoustics for loud rock, but it felt less intense than the previous night.”

They played most of the Tommy album and their “oldies” on this tour, which was songs only around 5-6 years old. The original Live at Leeds didn’t have any Tommy songs on it. This album was like a marker for the pre-Tommy Who coming to an end. The deluxe re-released version had the complete show full of Tommy material

The recordings had a few clicks in the tape and Townshend tried to maneuver around them.

Townshend tried slicing out the clicks with a razor blade and quickly realized it would be impossible to get all of them. But subpar-sounding bootlegs were flooding the market at this time, so the band just added a note to the label saying the clicks were intentional! The album cover was a faded stamp reading “The Who: Live at Leeds” on brown paper, mirroring the look of illegal vinyl bootlegs of the era. Later on, Aerosmith had a similar live bootleg album cover.

What impresses me is the only overdubbing on the album was the backup vocals because they were poorly recorded. John Entwistle and Pete did the backup vocals in one take in the studio to stay true to the live album. What you hear on the album is what the good people at Leeds heard that night. No massive overdubbing to tighten anything up.

By 1970 The Who had been touring almost non-stop since 1964 and it showed on this album. After the album, the band didn’t tour as much as before. They worked in the studio on more complex albums Who’s Next and Quadrophenia. Their tours were not the marathon tours of the sixties.

This was before Won’t Get Fooled Again, Baba O’Riley, and Quadrophenia’s complex music that required backing tapes live. This album was The Who as nature intended… a very loud tight rock band and possibly the best live rock album.

BTW…Bob Pridden worked as The Who’s soundman until 2016 when he retired.

Here are three examples. Young Man Blues. Listen to Moon and Entwistle intertwine with each other. You also have Summertime Blues and A Quick One, While He’s Away.

The Who : Maximum R&B at it’s best.

…

Pete Townshend and Ronnie Lane – My Baby Gives It Away

I have often wondered why this album wasn’t more popular. It features The Who’s Pete Townshend and The Small Faces/Faces Ronnie Lane who then was leading his own band, Slim Chance. The album is full of great songs and is worth a listen. The guest musicians include Eric Clapton, Charlie Watts, John Entwistle, Ian Stewart, John “Rabbit” Bundrick, and more.

In October of 1976, the Who closed a North American tour in Toronto, a show that would be the last with Keith Moon before a paying audience. The band took a break to pursue individual projects. Ronnie Lane had wanted Townshend to produce his album but he then wanted Townshend to collaborate writing on the songs. Townshend declined because he had never written with anyone before but they did manage to write the title track, Rough Mix, together.

The album ended up with Townsend songs and Lane songs. They did do a cover of a Don Williams song called Till All The Rivers Run Dry. Rough Mix didn’t draw a lot of attention at the time but is now considered a lost gem. Townshend has said in his book that there was a big argument where he shoved Ronnie Lane. He said it felt like he didn’t know his own strength because Lane felt like he was made out of paper. Later Pete found out about Lane’s multiple sclerosis.

Lane was already showing the early symptoms of multiple sclerosis (tremors, slurred speech), which others sometimes interpreted as a sign he was drunk. He didn’t tell Townshend, or very many others, about his medical diagnosis.

Townshend’s liner notes eventually read, “Ron and Pete play various acoustic & electric guitars, mandolins & bass guitars, banjos, ukuleles & very involved mind games.”

The album peaked at #44 in the Billboard Album Charts, #70 in Canada, and #45 in the UK in 1977.

Pete Townshend: The recording of Rough Mix with Ronnie is now a blur, but I remember some special moments. I played live guitar with a large string orchestra for the first time, my father-in-law Ted Astley arranging and conducting on ‘Street in the City’. I was surprised at the respect given me by the orchestral musicians. Playing with Charlie Watts on ‘My Baby Gives It Away’ was also very cool, making me aware that his jazz-influenced style was essential to the Stones’ success, the hi-hat always trailing the beat a little to create that vital swing.

Meeting John Bundrick (Rabbit) was also an important event in my life as a musician. He wandered into the Rough Mix studio one day looking for session work. Here was a Hammond player who had worked with Bob Marley, and could play as well as Billy Preston. Offstage he could be reckless and impulsive, drinking too much, asking for drugs and telling crazy stories, but musicians of his calibre didn’t come around very often.

My Baby Gives It Away

My baby wakes in the deep of the nightShe doesn’t need itBut she says it’s all rightMy baby digs it, just a Rollin’ away

My baby gives it up every dayMy baby gives it, she gives it awayMy baby gives it up every dayMy baby She just gives it away

When you’re alone in some city hotelYou can get company by ringing a bellYou might go pick up a girlOn the street

But my baby gives it up totally freeMy baby’s counting’ on, ’cause you aloneMy baby’s brother never break a your armMy baby ha, ha, I love her

She’s cheepOoh yeahMy babyMy baby

My babyMy babyMy baby

You better buy yourself an new pair of shoesAnd walk for a lifetime on that bad newsYou better buy an electric guitarThere’s no better way to beat the blues, I beat ’em

My babyMy babyMy babyMy baby

She give it way, every day, every wayMy baby just gives it away

My baby’s momma is a singular girlShe brought up her daughter and brought her up wellI’m breathing no more‘Cause she took it away

My baby gives it up every dayMy baby gives itShe gives it awayMy baby gives it up every day

My babyMy babyMy babyMy baby

My babyMy baby

How I love her, yeahMy baby, my baby, she just gives it awayMy baby, my baby, she just gives it awayMy baby, my baby, gives it away

Let me tell you, my baby, she just give it awayMy baby, every dayMy baby gives it up every dayMy baby give itJust gives it away

Real or Memorex? Lip Syncing and Backing Tracks

I saw an interview with Paul McCartney and he called out major bands playing live with backing tracks but refused to say which ones. I also saw an article about Motley Crue using pre-recorded tracks to bolster their sound.

McCartney: “To me the concert experience is at the heart of what music is about. You come to a show and you are in the room so it is the real thing. I have been to concerts where I think, ‘Oh, I really am in the room with Tony Bennett and it is like he is in my living room’. That is a great part of the experience. I then think, ‘Wait a minute, people must think that about me’. When we make mistakes playing live, we always now turn it and say, ‘Tell you what this proves we are live

McCartney and his band did just that when I saw him. They messed up an intro of a song…Paul laughed and went on.

Before you read the rest…I might be harsher than some people. I didn’t even like it when after 1981… the Stones started to fill up their stage with different musicians to sweeten the sound…and professional backup singers…I would rather hear Keith sing backup. The same applies to the Who… who did the same thing on their 1988-89 tour. That was more because of Townshend’s hearing problems but I would have rather heard the four of them and maybe a keyboardist…BUT at least those bands were not faking it…they didn’t hide anything…they just added more musicians.

Sometimes backing tracks have to be used…Backing tracks are sometimes used when a band cannot have an orchestra or an exotic instrument which I totally get. I’ve seen KISS use it when Peter Criss would sing Beth…I totally get that. I’ve seen The Who use a backing track for Won’t Get Fooled Again and Baba O’Riley which again I totally get. They don’t try to hide it…it’s a part that would be hard to duplicate live and is the main part of the song. That is the reason Keith Moon wore headphones while playing those songs so he would come in on time.

Those tracks are not what I’m talking about. What I’m getting at is when a guitarist, bassist, or vocalist mimes what they were doing and you are NOT hearing it live. You are hearing what they perfected in a studio sometime in the past.

There are places when this has to be done. Many TV studios are not made for rock bands and they have to lip sync to a backing track…most of the bands don’t like doing it but if they want to promote a song they do. In music videos for the most part…they have to lip sync also… so there are times when there is no other choice.

When you are paying $100 for a ticket…I don’t believe lip-syncing or faking should be allowed or they should have to tell you they are doing it. I could take four more bloggers (any volunteers?) and we could mime to Jumpin’ Jack Flash…would anyone want to pay $100 for that? Many acts that dance and jump about…when you hear them sing you hear no panting or breathing hard and you SEE them panting and breathing hard. I’m not a fan but I admire the fact that Lady GaGa actually called some performers out for lip-syncing.

“I don’t think it’s cool to lip-sync, I’m not judging if people do, because it’s everybody’s own style and type of artist they’ve decided to be. But I think that if you pay money for a ticket to see a show then the artist should f**king have some pipes and sing their records for you”… I agree with her.

Paul McCartney is 80 and sometimes his voice goes off… not a lot but sometimes…so what? Mick Jagger goes off at times…but that makes them human. I’m old fashion about this… but I cannot respect anyone that goes out and mimes their greatest hits in a live atmosphere. I’ve been listening to a lot of concerts in the 70s… Lynyrd Skynyrd, Aerosmith, The Who, Led Zeppelin, etc. How did they do it without autotune? How did they do it without an extra Jimmy Page guitar pre-recorded? If they messed up…they messed up…big deal…they are human. Some performers have said since the ticket prices are so high…they want to give a perfect show. No, I don’t want a perfect show…I want a real show warts and all.

What do you think? If you go to see a band live…do you want to hear guitar, vocal, or bass tracks that were recorded earlier? Live music…should be live… right? Am I’m expecting too much? It may not bother many people.

Artists who have been caught lip-syncing include Mariah Carey, Katy Perry, Milli Vanilli, 50 Cent, Justin Bieber, Beyonce, Selena Gomez, Madonna, and more.

Ah…I cannot conclude this post without Miss Ashley Simpson…the poster child for lip-syncing.

Who – Love Ain’t For Keeping

The Who’s Next album was released in 1971 and is one of the greatest classic rock albums ever released. This song is a song one clocking in at a short 2:11 and unlike most of the album…this one is softer. Pete Townshend originally wrote this for his Lifehouse project, where the character of Ray, a Scottish farmer, was intended to sing the song, which expresses the sentiment that love is meant to be shared.

The song was originally recorded several months prior to Who’s Next, as a four-minute electric version with Townshend singing lead and playing rhythm guitar, and the lead solos performed by Leslie West, the guitarist for New York power trio Mountain. The Who was recording at the Record Plant in New York, and Townshend reportedly didn’t want to spend time on overdubs, so West was called in to play on the track.

After a falling out with producer Kit Lambert, the band recorded an acoustic version that was used on the album. The Who often played the harder Rock version at their concerts. This version can be heard on their 1974 Odds & Sods album.

If two versions weren’t enough… Townshend’s original demo of the song appears on the six-disc Lifehouse Chronicles, songs from Townshend’s never fully-completed Lifehouse rock opera. This demo clocks in at 1:31, with no solo and Townshend taking advantage of the then-novel oscillator bank on his Arp synthesizer.

The album peaked at #4 in the Billboard Album Charts, #5 in Canada, and #1 in New Zealand in 1971.

Love Ain’t For Keeping

Layin’ on my back
In the newly mown grass
Rain is coming down
But I know the clouds will pass
You bring me tea
Say “the babe’s a-sleepin'”
Lay down beside me
Love ain’t for keeping

Black ash from the foundry
Hangs like a hood
But the air is perfumed
By the burning firewood
The seeds are bursting
The spring is a-seeping
Lay down my darling
Love ain’t for keeping
Lay down beside me
Love ain’t for keeping

Lay down beside me
Love ain’t for keeping
Lay down my darling
Love ain’t for keeping