#391 The Who - My Generation

It's funny the stuff you miss. I've listened to plenty of The Who's output, but in the midst of my year-by-year catchup project I noticed I'd never given their debut a proper playthrough.

I heard about The Who's legendary stage presence, with all its madness and fury, years before I heard any of their non-single tracks, so I remember being surprised at how tame it actually was. The Who Sell Out and Quadrophenia are perfectly respectable, well-respected albums, but the delivery is more warped and arty than blunt and brutal. Here, though, I see a bit more of their proto-punk side, particularly the rollicking opener Out in the Street, the inexorable sputtering lashout of the title track, and the pre-Waits sneering blues swagger of I'm a Man, which flames out in spectacular climax. The James Brown covers are also telling, as the band seems to strive for a bit of his infernal fury.

There's also seeds for the later, more composed work though, with flittering pianos, vocal harmonies, and spare, upbeat poppy structures cropping up throughout.

As an album, it hangs together pretty well, seeming like a missing link between earlyish Beatles, earlyish Stones, and early-to-middleish Kinks. A solid slice of 60's rock, and a missing piece I'm glad to have cleared up 4/5

You might like this if: You like earlyish Beatles, earlyish Stones, and early-to-middleish Kinks and have somehow missed this before now.