My Generation
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| My Generation | ||
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| Studio album by The Who | ||
| Released | December 3, 1965 | |
| Recorded | April 1965 and October 1965 | |
| Genre | Rock, R&B | |
| Length | 36:13 | |
| Label | Brunswick Records | |
| Producer(s) | Shel Talmy | |
| Professional reviews | ||
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| The Who chronology | ||
| My Generation (1965) |
A Quick One (1966) |
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| Alternate cover | ||
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| The Who Sings My Generation (US release) | ||
My Generation is The Who's first album. It was released in the US in 1965 under the title The Who Sings My Generation, with a different cover and a slightly different track listing.
The album was made immediately after The Who got their first singles on the charts, and according to the booklet in the Deluxe Edition, it was later dismissed by the band as something of a rush job that did not accurately represent their stage performance of the time. On the other hand, critics often rated it as one of the best rock albums of all time in the 1970s and 1980s when such list-making was common. In 2003, the album was ranked number 236 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
The title song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 and remains one of The Who's best known songs and, indeed, one of the most acclaimed songs in rock and roll history.
The album was made during The Who's early "Maximum R&B" period and features several covers of popular R&B tunes, in addition to the R&B leanings of the tracks written by the band's guitarist Pete Townshend.
According to the booklet in the Deluxe Edition, "I'm a Man" was eliminated from the US release due to its sexual content. The US release also excised a brief solo laden with manic drum rolls and guitar feedback before the final verse of "The Kids Are Alright", hiding some of the group's sonic pop-art leanings.
Many of the songs on the album saw release as singles. Aside from "My Generation", which preceded the album's release and hit #2 on the UK singles charts, "A Legal Matter", "La-La-La Lies", and "The Kids Are Alright" were also released as domestic singles, though none were as commercially successful as "My Generation". Interestingly, "The Kids Are Alright" was a top 10 single in Sweden, peaking at #8.
"My Generation" and "The Kids Are Alright" in particular remain two of the group's most-covered songs; while "My Generation" is a raw, aggressive number that presaged the punk rock movement, "The Kids Are Alright" is a more sophisticated pop number, with chiming guitars, three-part harmonies, and a lilting vocal melody, though still retaining the driving rhythm of other Who songs of the period. Along with other early Who numbers like "I Can't Explain" and "So Sad About Us", it is considered an important forerunner of the "power pop" movement. "Circles" was notably covered by contemporaries of the group, British freakbeat outfit Les Fleur de Lys. The cover version has found some notice after its inclusion on the second Nuggets box set on Rhino Records.
The US release also substituted a portrait of the band with Big Ben in the background for the original UK cover depicting the band standing beside some oil drums and looking upward to the camera, with splashes of color added by the red and blue stenciled letters of the title and a jacket patterned on the Union Jack thrown over John Entwistle's shoulders.
Most of the songs have enduring qualities and the engineering was very clean, so the album still rewards the interested listener. However, many of the qualities represented here, especially Pete with his finger nails on the guitar strings, lessened over the years as the band changed styles and matured.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
All songs composed by Pete Townshend except where noted.
[edit] My Generation (UK release)
- "Out in the Street"
- "I Don't Mind" (Brown)
- "The Good's Gone"
- "La-La-La Lies"
- "Much Too Much"
- "My Generation"
- "The Kids Are Alright"
- "Please, Please, Please" (Brown/Terry)
- "It's Not True"
- "I'm a Man" (McDaniel)
- "A Legal Matter"
- "The Ox" (Townshend/Moon/Entwistle/Hopkins)
[edit] The Who Sings My Generation (US release)
- "Out in the Street"
- "I Don't Mind" (Brown)
- "The Good's Gone"
- "La-La-La Lies"
- "Much Too Much"
- "My Generation"
- "The Kids Are Alright"
- "Please, Please, Please" (Brown/Terry)
- "It's Not True"
- "The Ox" (Townshend/Moon/Entwistle/Hopkins)
- "A Legal Matter"
- "Instant Party"
[edit] Singles
- My Generation (UK 2)
- A Legal Matter (UK 32)
- The Kids Are Alright (UK 41)
[edit] Personnel
- John Entwistle – bass guitar, vocals
- Roger Daltrey – lead vocals
- Keith Moon – drums, percussion
- Pete Townshend – guitar, vocals
- Nicky Hopkins – piano (except on "I Can't Explain")
- The Ivy League – background vocals on "I Can't Explain" and "Bald Headed Woman"
- Perry Ford – piano on "I Can't Explain"
- Jimmy Page – guitar on "Bald Headed Woman"
[edit] Editions
- [1965] Brunswick Records LAT 8616
- Original UK LP release. Titled as My Generation, with the UK cover and track listing as described above. Producer: Shel Talmy
- [1966] Decca DL4664 (mono) / DL 7-4664 (stereo)
- Original USA LP release. Retitled as The Who Sings My Generation, with alternate cover and variant track listing as described above. Producer: Shel Talmy
- [1988] MCAD-31330 (7673-11330-2)
- Original CD release (AAD). Titled as The Who Sings My Generation. Original USA release cover on the front; simple track listing on the back. Standard MCA silver label with title and track listing. The tracks are as on the original USA release, with "Circles" listed as "Instant Party (Circles)". The front insert folds out for the original liner notes, another copy of the CD's track listing, and some spamish advertisements for other MCA CDs. Producer: Shel Talmy.
- [2002] MCA - no catalog number (08811-29262)
- Two-disk Deluxe Edition remixed CD release (ADD). Title reverts to My Generation (Deluxe Edition). Original UK release cover on the front; small photos of band members along with band name and album title on the back. The package is in a digipak-style case, with a transparent vinyl sleeve. The paper cover folds out into four panels, with the original liner notes, photos from the two original album cover photo shoots and reproductions of the labels on some of the songs' tape boxes inside. The disc 1 label is a facsimile of an old Brunswick single label ; disc 2 has a facsimile of an old Decca single label. The tracks are as on the original UK release, plus 3 bonus tracks on disc 1. Disc 2 consists entirely of bonus tracks. All songs are remixed, with digital effects not found in the original release. Included is a 14 leaf booklet with the original USA release cover on its front and including articles by Mike Shaw, Shel Talmy, and Andy Neill, a detailed track listing, period photos of the band, facsimiles of period posters and single covers, and extended credits. Producers: Shel Talmy and Andy McKaie. Executive Producers: Bill Curbishley and Robert Rosenberg.
[edit] References
- Many of the details in this article are derived from the Deluxe Edition of the CD, released in 2002.
