The Who Spell "Out"

Overall Album Score: 9.2 out of 10

Well, folks! This is the very first genuinely super Who album. The main reason for this is probably due to Pete Townshend's songwriting and how he finally started to significantly breathe some major life and creativity into them. (Oh man ... there are A LOT of wonderful songs in here ... A LOT ...) It also has a bit to do with the strange radio tribute that makes the album a conceptual one of sorts. (Although, the All-Music Guide points out that this concept wasn't actually seen until completion ... if it really wasn't then it was rather close.)

Other than that, I don't have a whole lot to say about this album. The songs are the best ... I think a few songs on here are slightly overrated ("Armenia in the Sky") a few are underrated ("Our Love Was") and a few more are, agreed by everyone, ultimate classics ("Mary Anne With the Shaky Hand," "I Can See For Miles"). The peculiar commercial jingles are usually crazy enough to make me laugh out loud. (At first they made me laugh out loud, at least.)

There's another mini rock opera type thing in "Rael 1" that, like the mini-opera in A Quick One While He's Away is also a bit disappointing! Indeed, "Rael 1" is even more disappointing than "A Quick One While He's Away," even though The Who would end up reusing the track for Tommy!

At any rate, The Who Sell Out is the first genuinely super Who album, and it makes headway to the wonderful accomplishment they would soon see for their aforementioned upcoming rock-music landmark (Tommy).

Overall Album Score: 9.2 out of 10 (This is THE PLACE where The Who start metamorphosing into a band that would be capable of something as grandiose as Tommy and Quadrophenia. This is an album for all!)

Average Song Score: 9.0 ("Mary Anne With the Shaky Hand," "Our Love Was," and "I Can See For Miles" are among the finest songs of the British Invasion era. The rest are notable, too, for the most part.)

Album Tilt: 9.5 (The whole radio theme of this album was a creative way to really makes it click as an organism. It's not just a collection of tunes.)

Artist Rating: 9.0 (Hmmm... Yes, the Who are a creative and skillful band. Although, for some reason, I want to keep the Artist Rating quiet this time around. While they have creativity, The Who Sell Out doesn't strike me, really, as an 'artistic achievement.')

Track Reviews

Armenia City in the Sky 8/10

The album doesn't start out with the most inspiring musical track in the bunch! Although, it goes without saying that this quasi-psychedelic anthem makes an interesting listen. It starts out with a radio-message spouting off the days of the week, and then it fades into the actual song that features wavy synthesizers ... and ... hmmm ... Like I said earlier, it's just not that inspired. Just the same, the album has plenty of moments that are better than this.

Heinz Baked Beans 9/10

...Starting with this one. This track is part of the radio parody. It features a nicely done brass-band tune (sort of music-hall-ish) and during the breaks, someone chimes in and says "What's for tea, mum?" ... "What's for tea, darling?" etc. It's really quite humorous in its own crazy way!

Mary Anne With the Shaky Hand 10/10

Wonderful! This one's a light pop tune that has a slight Spanish edge to it. The melody is absolutely splendid! ... And, of course, it's performed very nicely. It wasn't groundbreaking, I suspect, but it's very enjoyable! A nice one.

Odorono 8.5/10

This track has a nice rhythm section, I'd say, but the tune and the otherwise arranging is less-than-inspired. Oh well! It's still enjoyable. The song is funny, though, if you listen to the lyrics! It's about the importance of deodorant in a young lady's life!

Tatoo 9/10

Gorgeous! The melody here is greatly memorable ... Although, I can't say that I've given this track a special place in my heart or anything. It's still very nice, and it points its tatooed finger to the wonderful stuff they would do in Tommy. It's kind of theatrical and semi-nostalgic.

Our Love Was 10/10

Another gorgeous melody! ... Except this time, it's one of those tracks that would win a special place in my heart, if I would let it. Not only is the melody tuneful, but the instrumentation is utterly breathtaking! ... Ooooooh! "Our Love Was" wonderful! "Our Love Was" one of the sheer highlights of the album! It's a bit underrated as well.

I Can See For Miles 10/10

Now HERE'S a song for the kiddies. This isn't one of the most famous songs by The Who for nothing! It's an utterly soaring track that'll inevitably bring your soul along with it. The instrumental interludes, which account for much of this track's running-time, reek of greatness! Yay!

I Can't Reach You 9/10

Not bad whatsoever ... but it really fails to rub noses with the likes of "Our Love Was" and "I Can See For Miles." Nevertheless, "I Can't Reach You" completely benefits from the fact that it was penned by Pete Townshend and was performed by the rest of The Who.

Medac 8.5/10

Another strange radio-esque advertisement tune. Um... he, he?... I certainly won't claim that The Who weren't being utterly creative!

Relax 8.5/10

It was certainly performed nicely. I'd even go so far to say that it was expertly written. But compared to these other songs, it really pales! Oh well ... that's compared to the other songs ... Nevertheless, it does manage to stand on its own two feet.

Silas Stingy 8.5/10

This one is a rather entertaining British-folk song. It's kind of fun ... but it's also uninspired. Sorry. It's still quite cool, though. Again, I have to compare this to the bigger giants on here.

Sunrise 9.5/10

This one is a quiet and beautiful tune! In fact, it's so quiet and beautiful that it's almost instantly lovable! ... Although, it's not immediately infectious. You'll get to loving this one maybe after hearing it three times.

Rael 1 8.5/10

Laah laah! Oi, there! It's another mini-rock opera! Daaaat's cool. Although, I dare say that it's a whole lot more impressive than "A Quick One While He's Away." It's entertaining, certainly, but that's all. Oddly enough, they would recycle much of this track for Tommy!

BOOOOONUSSSSSSS TRACCCCCCKSSSSSSSS! (These are not counted toward the album total.)

Rael 2 7/10

I'm taking a wild stab in the dark when I'm assuming that this was either the end of "Rael 1" that was cut from the original track ... or it was somewhere in the middle of it. I understand why it was cut!

Glittering Girl 8.5/10

Hey! This is a very pleasant British Invasion, sort of Kinks-ian, tune! Entertaining! It would have gone great on A Quick One.

Melancholia 9.5/10

I want to know how anyone can't appreciate The Who? If any other band had their grummy little hands on this BEAUTIFUL tune, it would have been one of the utter centerpieces of their entire careers. All good it does the Who is a mere bonus track!

Someone's Calling 7.5/10

Alright, well this at least wasn't a forgotten gem that was uncovered for the CD edition of this album. Although, it's still pretty good, I guess. But it's not memorable. (This was written by Entwistle.)

Jaguar 7.5/10

This one definitely sounds like something that was meant for the album, because it starts and ends with brief automobile firm advertisements. (Although, the ad sounds rather raw compared to the other advertisement things in the album.) This track is entertaining, but you'll quickly see why it wasn't included! This one's not very memorable, either.

Early Morning Cold Taxi 8.5/10

Hey! Roger Daltry co-wrote this song with somebody, and it doesn't suck whatsoever! Whoah.

Hall of the Mountain King 8.5/10

You guessed it right! This is the Who's rendition of that famous Edvard Grieg song! ... And it's pretty fun! Although, it's hardly essential. Everyone ought to find it interesting, though. Those sinister laughs in here are kind of spooky, ya know ... There's also an obvious reference to "Boris the Spider" at the end.

Girl's Eyes 9/10

Holy moly! A Keith Moon song! And it's not utterly insane ... in fact, it's a nice and pleasant British Invasion thingy. At the end of this, we get part of "Odorono."

Mary Anne With the Shaky Hands 9.5/10

This is an electric version of the original song, which unless you haven't been paying attention AT ALL, you should know already appeared in this album. The original is much better! But this alternate version is good, too.

Glow Girl 8.5/10

Glow girl? I didn't know that you could do that to girls! The next time I'll see one, I'll look for that little button that you're supposed to press to make them glow. This is another song that The Who would later use for Tommy. (Instead of saying "It's a boy, Mrs. Walker," they change it to "It's a girl, Mrs. Walker." Just think: Tommy could have been called Tomina. Oh, how different this world would have been! And Roger Daltry would have had to wear false breasts in the movie. And, I'm not sure if "Tomina can you heaaaaaaaaaar me!" would have sounded quite as nice ... but I suppose that it would have worked.)

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