According to AAA book on (16th August) 2 early versions of MG were recorded over the following month at a different studio with Kit producing. Can't believe they still don't exist in the archive somewhere.
Are these supposed to be band tracks or just Pete's progression of developing demos for the next single?
The book indicates they were done at proper recording studios, so it seems likely they would have been band recordings.
On topic in that came to mind from this discussion of mystery sessions: has any major rocker kept an actual contemporanous diary of their early years that has later been published for the masses to read? What a wonderful thing it would be to have a PT diary from 1963-72ish...or beyond...
Pete's voice is to Roger's what Keith Richard's is to Mick Jagger's. Roughly the same range, but not nearly as much character. "A Legal Matter" essentially takes the opening riff of "Let's Go Trippin'" and turns it upside down. It's a great energetic performance, but "Houses"/"Trousers" is a bit of an awkward rhyme.
It is a stretch, but I always got a kick out of it coming from an English song writer in a decidedly English band, trousers is such an English term where Americans use pants. Towser writes about trousers Funny that Pete writes this great song about escaping but in his real life, within 2 years he'd be married to Karen with a child on the way. Of course Roger had done some escaping as he discusses in his book and in particular the subject of The Kids Are Alright
A legal Matter........A good song about a guy being unhappy in a marriage. A theme which Pete in real life couldn't of lived out. I have no idea of what the divorce rate was in England in the mid 60s, so this may or may not have been controversial subject matter. A good Pete vocal and I think it's nice in contrast for him to take a lead here and there, as already stated. The Ox.........If ever there was a filler, but it does have some good drumming. It's the kind of jamming the Who did a lot better on stage in later years. I watched the Summit 75 show the other day, which IMO shows some good examples of their jamming. This might of been more interesting in 65 or 66.
Understood, but Pete's demos. A number of them have a honky-tonk, rockabilly vibe or country and western flavor to them imo. It may be subtle or more pronounced, but that's what they hint at to me fwiw. Hopkins adds a manic energy and jazzy flair to some of the band recordings imo. As a band, they were aware of jazz music too, and fwiw I think of Keith as such a kind of player - in that spirit. Hopkins added to that undercurrent, an element to The Who's own brand of 'Hard Bop' imo on the MG album. I hear you though, there are some Who songs I'd prefer without piano. For me, I'm not sure there are any from the MG album.
There's also a BBC version of "Ox" (retitled "You Rang" because Entwistle utters those words exactly once in his pastiche Boris voice), which argues for the song not having a sung melody since it was also performed as an instrumental. Unless they preferred it without, once it was codified on the released album...but I'd be super surprised if it ever had vocals.
I think your right, reading these lyrics in the song- "My mind's lost in a household fog Wedding gowns and catalogs Kitchen furnishings and houses Maternity clothes and baby's trousers" Those lyrics seem to be more about the fear of those things than the actual experience. I mostly tend to think of legal matters in relationships as being about divorce, but I'm pretty sure your correct. A different legal matter making the song more edgy than I realized. I do think it's a hypothetical more so than a Pete experience, or writing through the eyes of someone he observed.. Glad you pointed that out.
Instant Party (Circles) - Circles (Instant Party) This has a slightly psychedelic feel about it. I really like the groove of it. I am not very familiar with this song. I really like when Roger sings in his straight voice, and that is a highlight of this for me. I like the arrangement of the song, and I think it has a certain instant appeal based around the elements in it and the way they are arranged. There is an urgency in the instrumental section, and it kind of reminds me of a proto - I Can See For Miles thing. We get a modulation in key for the ending, and that is fine, but the song has already grabbed my attention. I am not sure if this is the first time I have heard this, but I have certainly not heard it much. Excellent track.
The person he observed would have been Roger who was forced to marry his pregnant girlfriend in 1964.
One of my favorite Who songs, though I prefer the 1966 version on the Ready, Steady, Who EP more. I’ve oft wondered if they ever performed it live?
So for the basic album, I reckon it is a very good album. Personally I think I prefer the US version, merely for the fact that I think Circles is a lot better track than I'm A Man. We can hear the band trying a lot of different stuff. We can hear Pete trying things with his writing, and sure he would have gotten inspiration from other artists, that is a given in music, no matter who we are talking about, but for the most part I think he manages to put his own identity into the songs. Musically I would imagine that at the time Moon's drums would have stood out to the sixties listener. There are some great fills and some nice presence, a presence that drums didn't always have in the early years of rock/rock and roll. Although I am not a fan of the effected vocals he sometimes uses, I think Roger shows quite clearly that he has the potential here to be an excellent vocalist. John really stand out for his bass solo on My Generation, and remains solid in the groove of the songs, so I would imagine folks would have been wondering what they could expect from future releases in terms of this obviously talented bass player. Pete lays down some nice guitar, in sound, chords and little fills and lead breaks. On the whole it seems like the album represents the band really well for this stage, and I imagine those that bought the album would be intrigued as to where this was going to go, with the variety of sounds and styles, and also some of the individual shining performances on here. Over the next couple of days we'll look at some of the outtake tracks from the expanded editions.
Circles 5/5 I really like this one. Definitely has a melancholic feel---a great "gray sky" song. I prefer the Ready Steady Who EP version, but this version is great as well. Keith shines on the turnarounds and the bridge.
Circles is great. A high energy rocker to close the album. Its raw and sounds quite a bit like a live performance to me, especially with Pete's mini-jam towards the end of the track. Moony is of course doing his controlled chaos thing, and John is loud and boisterous as well. The vocals are fine, though they aren't the strength of this tune. Its still a bit of the unrefined Who, but at this stage of their career any lack of refinement is to be expected. And to be honest I'll take high energy over refinement any day of the week anyway. Overall, I really like My Generation. Its actually (and thankfully) a lot lighter on covers than I would expect on a debut album released in 1965. My favorite tunes are the title track, The Kids Are Alright, The Good's Gone, and Out In The Street. My least favorites are I'm a Man and slightly better but still not great (imo) is Much Too Much. Everything else is good to great. Also, and I know we're not there yet, but I prefer this debut to their next record. But more on that when we get to it. I also hope we don't spend TOO much time on the outtakes. Only because (I feel) the album proper is all the best stuff, and the music left on the cutting room floor was cut for a reason. And I just don't think I'll have much to say about Lubie Come Back Home. But hey, not my call.
I don't know if this answers your question, but... I guess it still doesn't answer whether Circles was performed live.