A Quick One ... Like a Sprinting Cheetah ... Like Flinging a Bullet ... Like a Hollywood Marriage

Overall Album Score: 8.5 out of 10

The story behind the sophomore album from The Who goes like this: They were desperately in debt (having something to do with their practice of destroying their musical equipment during concerts) and they had to come up with A Quick One to make some mooooney! For some reason, the managers thought it would be a good idea for everyone to write songs on this one, and not just Pete Townshend who wrote all of the original material on their debut. And so we get material from Keith Moon, John Entwistle, and Roger Daltry.

Almost surprisingly, both Moon and Entwistle come up with some great stuff. Entwistle has the best track on here, "Boris the Spider," which is not only completely entertaining, but it's a wholly unique song! Keith Moon has one of the most insane songs that I've probably ever heard, "Cobwebs and Strange," which is this a circus-esque track that features his utterly entertaining and unique style of drum playing. All classics! Roger Daltry, however, proves that he is not really a songwriter ... he's just a good singer. His only contribution is "See My Way." It's not really awful, but it's the worst thing on here. Oh! And Pete is still writing some songs, too! His greatest contribution was probably his mini-rock opera "A Quick One While He's Away."

Alright, there are utterly STELLAR songs on here, but don't forget that The Who are going to get MUCH better than this. This is merely a taste ... of The Who ... and all the glory that they are about to bestow ... on the ... unsuspecting ... public ...

There is some cool bonus tracks here! There is the same amount of bonus tracks as there were tracks on the actual album! Some of these are definitely throwaway ... but others are utterly irreplaceable ... like your underwear!

Overall Album Score: 8.5 out of 10 (The 'Hoo? ... Oh! That one rock and roll band that can come up with good songs. Even if Pete's not writing all of them, they're still cool ...)

Average Song Score: 8.5 (Even when The Who are seemingly at a low, they still manage to completely rock.)

Album Tilt: 8.5 (This isn't an awful album at all to have to sit through ... although, I can't help but wish that the 'listening experience' was a bit more consistent.)

Artist Rating: 8.5 (I was thinking about having this score lowered, but, actually, there are MANY different new and unusual musical ideas that are expressed in this album. ...The only problem is that it was forced out of them...)

Track Reviews

Run Run Run 8/10

This one sounds a lot like that one song ... that I can't seem to think the name of ... Don't you just hate it when that happens? I want myself to look like I'm smart and on-the-ball when it comes to songs that sound like other songs, but I just end up looking like a complete idiot in the end! Yeah! Anyway, "Run Run Run" is a fairly nice'n'quick album starter ... even though it sounds a lot like that one song ...

Boris the Spider 10/10

You know, this John Entwistle composition isn't really that wonderful of a song ... but, of course, the reason why it's famous is not because of the actual composition! It's for the bass! (Entwistle not only played the bass ... he *PLAYED* the bass.) And this bass in the main instrument that's being played here! Hmmmhmmm! It's kind of a frightening song, too ... might be a good one for a Halloween party mix ... if you're the type of person who would make a Halloween party mix, that is. I originally scored this as a 9.5, but seeing as it was stuck in my head for most of this week (and not annoyingly at that), I decided to raise 'er up to a full 10!

I Need You 8/10

Keith Mooooooooooooon the maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaadmaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan composes a tuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuune ... and it's actually pretty good! Of course, since I share a lot in common with the young Keith Moon (except I'm not British ... nor am I a drummer ... nor am I a raving lunatic ...), the real reason that I like this song is because it's kind of maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad. I also enjoy the classical overtones that are somewhere in the middle. And there's a conversation in here, too. Yep. Kinda crazy.

Whisky Man 8.5/10

Hey! Since when was John Entwistle such a songwriter? The second greatest song in the album, so far, is another Enthwistle composition! ...Again, I really don't think that the 'composition' is great as such ... it's the BASS ... the rumbliness of it is maaaaagical ...

Heatwave 7.5/10

A coverrrrr! Well, at least this is better than those James Brown covers they did in their debut ... If this song was covered at the last minute just to fill this album up with something, then it they still did a pretty good job with it. I can't help but feel that The Who were emotionally disconnected from it ... but such would be expected.

Cobwebs and Strange 9.5/10

Holy coooooooooooooow! This is that circus-type instrumental that is performed VERY BADLY, but of course the *very badly* bit was done on purpose, so that makes it quite entertaining! ... Oh, and you've got to dig that interchange between the acoustic guitar and Moon's insane drumming! ... That's the really awesome bit ... In fact, that's really what makes this one so danged memorable. This is a Keith Moon composition, by the way.

Don't Look Away 8/10

Hey! Pete Townshend is still writing music for the band ... and, dude! I can't say that it's really that good, either! Totally unlike "Boris the Spider" and "Cobwebs and Strange," it really fails to catch fire. However, the melody is better than both of those, probably ... This one is a normal-sounding British Invasion tune. ...of course this is still The Who, so therefore, the song is good.

See My Way 7/10

...Hmm... now who hadn't composed a song yet? Oooooooh yeah! That Roger Daltrey dude! ...Hmm... That Roger Daltry dude shouldn't compose songs... I really like Entwistle's bass here! That sort of thumping sound is really neat ... other than that, the song ... is ... not good ...

So Sad About Us 9.5/10

This might not have Entwistle's wonderful bass innovations, but this Townshend song is probably the best actual composition on here. It does sound like a good old regular British Invasion song. The melody is very good, very catchy, etc ... This is a good song from one of the greatest groups on the planet. For the Who, it might not be a significant song, but for any other band, it would have been their greatest hit.

A Quick One While He's Away 18/20

Just to prove to the world that he isn't a normal Joe, or something, and the fact that all the previous Townshend compositions are normal is of no consequence, he delivers a mini-rock operetta! I was already kinduv a fan of Tommy before listening to this song ... and I had to admit that I was slightly disappointed with it. ...And I still am! Even though it was an innovative idea (the record managers didn't want Townshend to make a 10-minute mini-rock opera ... that's why this song is divided into about five parts with different melodies). Nevertheless, this is pretty entertaining, and it is interesting to listen to ... especially if you're a Tommy fan, just because this helped provide some foundation.

TAKE NOTE: The bonus track reviews are not counted toward the album's final score ... but there are so many of them, that I thought I would just include the scores along with the titles so that you don't have to search for 'em in the paragraphs.

BONUS TRACKS:

Batman 7.5/10

Ohhhhh ... what is the historical significance of this cover? ... This is a cover of the theme song from that old 60s television show. ...Interesting... I actually like the vocal performances, though.

Bucket T 8.5/10

You know what? These bonus tracks are in alphabetical order! ...I hadn't realized that until now! ... That explains why "Batman" is the first bonus track... Anyway, this is an entertaining cover! The vocal performances, again, are wonderful. They're even funny! ... Yep ... The Who definitely had fun with this one ... and so I'm having fun with it, too.

Barbara Ann 8.5/10

And now The Who are covering The Beach Boys! ... Oh man! What an utterly flawless cover it is, though! The Beach Boys hardly did it better themselves. That weird whistle is pretty funny, too ... whoah. These are the coolest bonus tracks in the WORLD ...

Disguises 8.5/10

Odd! This is a Townshend original ... that sounds more original than most of the Townshend compositions in the regular album. There's this strange sweeping sound going off in the background for starters ... the tune is a well-composed one ... Yep! This is another worthwhile bonus! Although, the song isn't really that enjoyable. I'm just giving an 8.5 for effort. It's a little bit muddled and sloppy, too.

Doctor, Doctor 9.5/10

Entwistle! He writes another song! And ... DUDE ... this is an actual GOOD composition with a GOOD melody ... and we hear his GOOD bass ... Therefore, I have nothing left to conclude except that this is a GOOD song ... GOOD ...

I've Been Away 9/10

This is another Entwistle song! ... And it has a MELODY! Though, it's not really a rock song ... it's more of a music hall type thing ... It's pretty entertaining ...

In the City 8/10

This is another interesting song! It was penned by both Entwistle and Moon ... I ain't utterly impressed with this one. Though, it does sound like a lost Beach Boys song ... I guess that's pretty cool ...

Happy Jack 9/10

This is a famous song, isn't it ... I thought so ... It's alright ... I guess ...

Man With the Money 8/10

An Everly Brothers coverrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! It's not as fun or entertaining as those "Bucket T" or "Barbara Ann" covers, but it's still quite nice.

My Generation/Land of Hope 8.5/10

Hey! I recognize "My Generation!" It was in that previous Who album! ...Well, I still think that song is entirely wonderful ... but then, for some reason, they combine it with that patriotic song called "Land of Lots of Pies" ... interesting ...

Write a quick one about your thoughts of this album here!