Not waiting till Monday to say this: Came home from school one day in 1973 and and the freshly released ' Quadrophenia ' was on my bed. My Mom bought it for me. She said : " It looked like something you'd like " Thanks , Mom.
I remember hoping that one day the Who would do the kind of fan hat tip Zep did at O2 and open a set with a rocking "Out in the Streets," a song I think the current version of the band could do a very convincing job with. But The performing Who don't love their catalog the way a serious fan does....
"Zoot Suit" Single by the High Numbers (The Who) B-side "I'm the Face" Released 3 July 1964 Format 7-inch single Recorded June 1964 Studio Fontana, London, England Genre British rhythm and blues Length 1:59 Label Fontana Songwriter(s) Peter Meaden Producer(s) Chris Parmeinter Peter Meaden "Zoot Suit" b/w "I'm the Face" was the first single of the British rock band the Who, who recorded it under the name the High Numbers in an attempt to appeal to a mod audience.[1] "Zoot Suit" was written by Peter Meaden, the band's first manager. The song is a direct copy of "Misery" by the American R&B group the Dynamics, while the B-side, "I'm The Face", is a copy of Slim Harpo's "I Got Love If You Want It."[2] The single was meant for a mod audience, but failed to chart.[3] The band changed their name back to The Who, found new management and released their own composition "I Can't Explain", which was a top ten hit in the United Kingdom. Both songs embraced mod culture - a zoot suit being a fashionable item of clothing for mods, and a "Face" being mod slang for a well respected member of mod society.[4] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So the band were in a contract with this guy who wanted to market them to a particular audience, and this guy (Peter Meaden) did a quick rewrite of a couple of older songs in a mod style and the High Numbers (The Who) released their first real single. Pete had written and recorded a song called It Was You earlier on, but I haven't been able to find it anywhere. If you can, then please post it for us. We start with a cool little guitar riff, and then move in to a nice beat. This actually sounds pretty cool. I like Roger's more laid back vocal here. But the thing that stands out to me is that guitar, it has a really nice sound and feel. It kind of has a nice surf rock sound about it, maybe a slightly Shadows sound and feel. I reckon that's a pretty decent single for a first one, but of course things really start to come together when Pete puts pen to paper.
I prefer ' I'm The Face ' over ' Zoot Suit '... " I' m the face , baby , is that clear ? I'm the face if you want it. " They should have reworked it and put it on ' Quadrophenia '
I'm The Face The b-side of Zoot Suit. This is a very cool little song, and I first heard it on Odds and Sods. Here we have a cool R&B type song, and it opens with a nice Harmonica. Is That Roger playing it? I like the feel of the groove too. Moon wasn't knocking the skins off here and he shows a good ability to just groove. We get a nice little harmonica lead break, and then Pete puts in a nice little lead break. The guys aren't pushing boundaries here, just getting used to the idea of recording, and I reckon they would have been loving it. It has a nice relaxed sound and feel about it. Good track.
"I'm the Face" appeared on Odds & Sods in 1974. "I'm the Face" was again released as a B-side single to "Long Live Rock" along with a live version of "My Wife" for the UK single but was dropped on the U.S. single.[5] "Zoot Suit" appeared on the soundtrack to the 1979 film based on the Who's 1973 album Quadrophenia. "Zoot Suit" b/w "I'm the Face" was reissued in 1980 and reached #49 in the UK. "Zoot Suit" is the opening track from the compilation album The Who Hits 50! released in October 2014. Both songs were featured on the Thirty Years of Maximum R&B box set.
Of course I had these two songs from Odds & Sods and the Quad soundtrack but I "had to" pick up an LP of various artists called: "Thru' The Back Door" US-Mercury SRM 1-3849. The High Numbers I'm The Face/Zoot Suit was included as a 7" bonus disc but was 33 1/3.
Now THOSE are four hip young men!! And they know yeh they know yeh they know that they gotta be cool.... SRSLY had Pete EVER looked cooler than this?
Got Love If You Want It and Misery were likely already in the High Numbers' repertoire prior to Meaden rewriting the lyrics. His new lyrics are downright moronic, I mean really REALLY incredibly stupid ("The main thing is, unless you're a fool, well you know, yeah you know yeah you know that you gotta be cool"). Musically, this release shows the band wouldn't have gone far if they'd remained an R&B cover band. Keith's work on Zoot Suit is great, but other than that there's little to distinguish these tracks.
For the longest time I thought I'm The Face was the A-side because it was on Odds & Sods, but even looking at the sleeve, I'm still confused.
I have a feeling that the cover I posted is for the 1980 rerelease. I believe I'm The Face was the a-side in that instance
