The Who Album: “Who Sell Out [Deluxe Edition]”

I became a Who fan in early 1967 when I first heard "Happy Jack" and rushed out and bought the album. But nothing on that album prepared me for The Who Sell Out, which came out later that year. The whole premise of the album is that it is presented as if it were a British pirate radio station program complete with fake commercials connecting the songs. In fact, some of the commercials become full-fledged songs, such as the two minute-plus "Odorono."

What makes this recording especially refreshing is that while it seemed as if the entire pop culture was taking itself much too seriously during the Summer of Love, The Who were willing to inject a bit of whimsy into the proceedings. In the process they produced some of their most enduring songs: the acoustic charm of "Mary Anne with the Shaky Hands," the tongue-in-cheek "Tattoo," the lovely "Our Love Was" with its razor sharp electric guitar break coupled with Townsend's beautiful acoustic playing and Entwistle's French horn accents, and then there's the ultimate Who single "I Can See for Miles." [It would be the first and only time The Who would reach the top ten in America!]

Other standout tracks include "Relax," "Sunrise" and "Rael," which was a mini-opera along the lines of "A Quick One While He's Away." Since much of the material was more subdued than earlier songs like "My Generation" or "I'm a Boy" little of this album other than "I Can See for Miles" found its way into the band's live shows. That is not, however, meant to diminish the power of these songs.

Like the other remastered Who albums in this series, there is an abundance of bonus tracks. In addition to several previously unreleased commercials, there's the Entwistle-penned "Someone's Coming" (sung by Roger Daltry!), the instrumental guitar workout "Hall of the Mountain King" (based on Grieg's "Peer Gynt Suite") and an alternate version of "Mary Anne with the Shaky Hands" featuring Al Kooper on organ. Several other bonus tracks first appeared on The Who's Thirty Years of Maximum R&B. I have a minor quarrel with this duplication, but it is nice to hear these bonus tracks in conjunction with the original album. Plus, if you didn't spring for the TYOMR&B box set, these are all truly bonus tracks. ESSENTIAL

Widely considered to be among the best records of the 1960's, and by many thought to be The Who's greatest recording: "The Who Sell Out" once again, has received a major overhaul. This "Deluxe Edition" features 2 full CD's of the classic album in complete stereo and mono versions, and another albums worth of unused songs, commercials, jingles, radio spots and alternate tracks.

The original album was recorded between April and October of 1967. This was a very hectic year for The Who, between live dates, TV appearances, and trips to America, the band somehow found time to record, in studios in London and the USA. It was all rushed together in November, so the album would see a release prior to the Christmas holiday.

The concept behind: "The Who Sell Out" was all about the pirate radio that was broadcasting offshore England in 1967. The entire radio format is reproduced by The Who. Radio spots, commercials, jingles and pop songs of the highest caliber were all the work of Pete, Roger, John & Keith. The power pop, heard on the band's 1966 recording: "A Quick One" builds to enormous explosion with this project. Power pop, comes into full bloom on: "The Who Sell Out." This is the last of the first wave of Who records, as the next project would be very different from this.

Some of The Who's finest music can be found on this record. With: "Tatoo", "I Can See For Miles", "I Can't Reach You" & "Rael" this is finely crafted rock/pop music that doesn't show it's age in 2009. Good pop music is timeless, and The Who understood this, that is the secret to this album's greatness.

With this expanded and remixed edition, sound clarity of this project has improved, but due to the limitations of equipment of it's time,{and Kit Lambert} "Sell Out" may never sound the way we want it to, but it has gotten better. The early demo of: "Relax" fearures some jazz piano and has a 'laid-back' feel to it. "Jaguar" is an all-out eruption of Who fury. "Sodding About" is a jam, much like: "The Ox." "Glittering Girl" is a feast for the ears here, the mix has new found clarity and depth. Even: "Someone's Coming" {a song I never cared for} comes alive here as there is much more prominence to the instruments, now heard.

With four different versions of: "Rael" included here, you will hear music that was buried in the old mixes. An early: "Summertime Blues" will reveal how many years the band would age between 1967 and 1970. A surprise hidden track, is included at the end of disc two, with some things I won't disclose here {it would be like unwrapping a Christmas gift early!}

The last edition of this record was released in 1995. "Melancholia" and "Glow Girl" were a part of that version. The reason, that they are not included here, is because they were recorded after the completion of sessions for: "Sell Out" {they are both from 1968.} The Radio One spot {Boris Mix} is also absent here.

Again, it is fair to say that The Who, do reach a peak on this record, that they will never achieve again. The band sounds so young and spikey here, that it is a little hard to believe that they have to grow up with: "Tommy" and become a different group, a rock group. In 1967, Pete, Roger, John & Keith still sound like teenage punks....well power pop punks!

My only issue with this set is the mono still sounds compressed. This fantastic band cannot be contained in it. Some prefer the mono to the stereo versions, and I don't agree to that. The Who, were way ahead of the equipment that they were forced to record on. You would need 64 separate tracks to let this music breathe the way it needs to.

Sound issues aside, this is about the purist glimse into the music of the sixties, that you are going to find. This is a great record, the extras add to the fun and excitment of sounds that are hardly being contained herein. I am not deducting a full point to due sound problems. The music of: "The Who Sell Out" is an 11 !!!

4.75 Stars !!!

The Who Sell Out is a milestone recording, and has for years been a long standing favorite of mine. I own two different vinyl copies which I have cherished. My decision to buy this on cd was based on a friend's recommendation and the fact that there are "extra songs". I was unprepared for just how many additional songs are included on this release, and most of them are simply jaw-droppingly astounding.

My personal favorite bonus track on Sell Out is The Who's version of "Melancholia", which I had heard previously only as Pete Townshend's demo that he released on the "Scoop" album. The notes for "Scoop" tell that perhaps it was Roger who was unhappy with Melancholia as it wasn't quite "macho" enough. Also the Coca-Cola track just simply rocks. What an amazing band The Who were! This record is epic!

If you are unfamiliar with this record then I seriously advise the stopping of your first several listenings with Rael (I) in order to truly experience the album as it was released and intended to be heard. Only after should you dive into all of these bonus tracks as your reward!

The remastering here is excellent and should be played at excessively loud volumes over and over and over again in order to truly appreciate it .

This is quite simply inspiring and should belong in the collection of every music lover with any interest in '60's music or british pop. The sophistication of craft, the range of genres from song to song, the songwriting and the playing have no equal anywhere. Even if you think you may not like The Who (perhaps you have only heard the classic rock '70's anthems, or maybe you thought Tommy was pretensious and long-winded) then you owe it to yourself to hear them at their absolute creative peak!

If you are a nut for The Who and this album, you're gonna want BOTH the 2009 deluxe version AND the original 1995 remixed and remastered version. Both are two great ways to listen to this album! Not only are there BIG TIME differences between the mono and stereo mixes of this album, there are big differences between the '95 version and this newer deluxe '09 version. First off, the '95 version was REMIXED by Andy McPherson to clean it up a bit, the '09 version is the ORIGINAL MIX (both stereo and mono) by Kit Lambert from 1967. You'll hear original echo, reverb, and even double tracked vocals that were removed when it was remixed in 1995. One thing that turns out to be a mixed blessing is the original mix of the album's closing track "Rael." Andy McPherson fixed a HIDEOUS edit that occurs after the song's first verse when it was remixed (due to the master tape being damaged when it was accidentally thrown in the trash by the studio's cleaning lady). On the '09 version, the original edit remains intact and is a bewilderment to the listener's ears! It's so bad it's hard to believe it was originally released this way!

"The Who Sell Out" (like Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon) represents the paradigm of concept album rock. The Warholesque pop art cover (showing the band hawking deoderant and baked beans)sets the tongue in cheek tone that weaves throughout the album. The supposed premise is that we are listening to a pirate radio station, complete with jingles, PSA's and a wide variety of pop styles that range from the levity of standard love songs (Mary Anne w/ the Shaky Hands)to socio-politacal class struggle (I Can't Reach You) to teen angst (Tattoo, Melancholia) to explosive power pop psychedelic guitar feedback wizardry (I Can See For Miles, Armenia City in the Sky). As a matter of fact, there are so many different styles and textures that you can remove the fairly lightweight concept and still have a superb collection of cleverly written, melodic pop songs that define the the time they came from (Summer of love 1967)and transcend it. No one turns a phrase like Townshend; this from Tatto: My dad beat me 'cause mine said mother, but my mother naturally liked it and beat my brother, 'cause his tattoo was of a lady in the nude and mother thought that was extremely rude. Additionally many of the songs work on several different levels; Odorono, for example, reperesents that song you hear on the radio and you're grooving to it and then only at the end it turns out to be nothing but a commercial for some trivial consumer good. A song that pretends to be a song but it's really trying to sell you something (whether product or ideology). But it's also about unrewarded talent, and traumatic disappointment as well as being a cautionary tale about the superficiality of stardom.

When the album was originally released in '67 it was slimmed up so it could fit on a single record. Only on this brilliantly remastered package, which more than doubles the length of the original, do you get the whole picture: ads for Top Gear and Coca Cola, Early Morning Cold Taxi, Jaguar, Melancholia and Glow Girl (which is also on the other superb Who reissue: Odds & Sods). The liner notes, too, are top notch w/ many pictures and discographical info.

What is sad is that many Who fans even are unfamiliar with this album recognizing only I Can See For Miles (which Townshend felt was the ultimate pop single) but the band is clearly at the top of their game. Townshend at his experimental best, Entwhistle is solid on the bass and frivolous on the horns (he writes most of the commercials), Daltrey is straddling the Mod/Rocker dividing line and his vocals have the same innocent youthful intensity that drives his singing on Tommy and is lost into assured arena rock by the time the innovative Who's Next comes around. Finally, Moon never sounded better, with his wild building tom rolls pounding in and out of control simultaneously.

This is definitely peak stuff and it is easy to hear how Tommy, the grand opera, is the next logical step.