The Who Sings Regeneration

Overall Album Score: 8.7 out of 10

The Who basically started out in the same camp as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Kinks ... and, as far as their debuts, The Who's beats all of these bands out with flying colors. However, I'll be the first to point out that this was in 1965, and so The Who did arrive late on the scene. They were also allowed to pen most ... if not all ... of their songs. (There are two covers on this album ... and, I'm guessing that The Who probably opted to do these themselves especially since they're both James Brown covers.) Nevertheless, The Who have the greatest debut of all British Invasion groups. (If I discover something strange later, like the Dave Clark Five had a better debut, then I'll go back and change that, I 'spect ... but right now, I have no reason to suspect that there's anything better.)

However, just because it's the best, that doesn't mean that The Who Sings My Generation is a perfect album ... cause it's not! Just like the debuts of their fellow British Invasion giants, this one is totally evident that Pete Townshend (the lead guitarist who writes most of the songs ... in case you were wondering) was still developing these skills. For the most part, these are derivative songs ... and the best ones on here sound uncannily like Beatles or Rolling Stones songs. Nevertheless, there's something bizarre about them. ...And what's so bizarre about them are the way that these songs are played. Listen to the early Beatles and Stones albums and compare it to this ... Yep! That's some mightily spankin' instrument playing. It's the gusto that Townshend puts into his lead guitar work, the insane glory that Keith Moon pounds into his drums, and the completely unusual and inspired way that John Entwistle executes the bass guitar, which before him was just a boring thing that was used as a sort of musical anchor. Oh yes ... this is what made The Who great ... The Who one of the most influential bands on the planet ... The Who ... the coolest rock-and-roll band in the East Side ... baby.

Overall Album Score: 8.7 out of 10 (As I've said too many times in this review, this is the best and most enjoyable debut of any British Invasion outfit by far.)

Average Song Score: 8.7 (I must say that I was very happy to have heard songs of such high quality ...)

Album Tilt: 8.5 (This is a very entertaining album! I can't really give it a higher score in this category just because the overall album doesn't strike me as anything better than the merits of the individual songs.)

Artist Rating: 9.0 (I'm utterly impressed. Not only do the Who make some really nice impressions of their British Invasion counterparts, but they do it with a different edge ... heck! If this rock-and-roll thing ever amounts to anything, this strange little band might actually *do* something besides destroy lots and lots of musical equipment and run up huge bills.)

Track Reviews

Out in the Street 8/10

Huuuuuagh! Argh! Blarghy blarghy blarghy! (Oops ... I'm stalling, aren't I?) I'm not an utterly huge fan of the album's opening track. The songwriting, while it was certainly above average for the time, is a bit disappointing for Pete Townshend. This song is played with all of the energy The Who were known for at this time period, but the song never really takes off for me. Nevertheless, it does have energy, so ...

I Don't Mind 8/10

A cover! Argh! ... I was so used to complaining until I was blue in the mouth, generally, whenever The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Kinks did covers, but ... Dude! This is about the only album in which The Who does covers! ... And this one isn't really all that bad. They really did a good job executing this one out. Solid!

The Good's Gone 9.5/10

Heeeeeere we go, baby! The riff here is completely awesome and the melody is pretty much to-die-for by 1965 standards. And ... oh man! It was already established that the members of The Who were probably the greatest instrumentalists on the planet. "The Good's Gone" is certainly no exception! ... This sounds wonderful.

La La Lies 8/10

La La La La La La! Um ... Yeah ... Pete Townshend really was still developing his songwriting talent. But, he pretty much started ahead of his game as "La La Lies" is an entirely decent yet unremarkable Beatles-esque track.

Much Too Much 8/10

Oh booyyyyeeeee... I'm giving out these 8s almost as if I was dismissing them! Nevertheless, this is another unremarkable but completely entertaining track! The songwriting here, again by Townshend, shows strength but it's rather feeble in the end.

My Generation 10/10

This is that utterly famous (and utterly GOOD) song where The Who really do a fantastic job mimicking The Rolling Stones. (Oh ... don't hate me for saying that ... you know it's true.) But what other band at the time could make a great song that sounds like The Rolling Stones other than The Stones themselves? ... THE WHO! And this one completely rivals what Mick, Keith, and company were doing at the time! The instruments were very solidly (and menacingly) played and ... Yep. This one deserves all the recognition that it gets. In fact, with that really awesome Entwistle bass-lines, it would be very difficult to picture that The Stones would really have been *capable* of playing this one.

The Kids Are Alright 10/10

And who can not only sound exactly like The Stones but sound exactly like The Beatles, too? THE WHO! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Almost uncannily, the quartet makes a song that has all of the quality of The Beatles ... the melody ... the harmonies ... The only thing that's really different is the drumming. That ain't Ringo! I'd also assume that The Beatles would play this one a bit more lightly. (The Who play it lightly, but they put on this great edge to it.) Another rock-solid classic!

Please, Please, Please 7/10

Another cover ... At the very beginning when Daltry sings *PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!*, it sounds so awful that The Who almost completely blew this one already. Nevertheless, this (a cover) is fairly entertaining, but it's hardly a worthy follow-up of its two predecessors!

It's Not True 9/10

Awww! We're back to those entertaining but unremarkable originals again! Although, I must admit that this time, the songwriting is quite a bit stronger than the similar songs were from the beginning of the album. Ooooh! And check out that completely bizarre use of that bass guitar! That's quite interesting even by today's standards.

The Ox 9/10

Whoah! What a mightily frigged out instrumental jam session. Right here, we can tell the importance of the bass-player (Entwistle) and the drummer (Mooooon) would have on the band. Entwistle's bass here (which, if I'm identifying it correctly) does not act like a regular bass ... And that's not even to mention the drumming ... crazier than a pie. Oh! And there's another member of this band ... Oh yeah! And there's also some mightily screwy Townshend licks on here. Mightily screwy. Daltry, though, must have been out for a beer when this was going on. (Oh wait ... I just read that he was playing the bongos ... but he was probably having a beer while he was playing the bongos.)

A Legal Matter 9/10

Hoaaaaaah! This song is pretty good ... it makes me wiggle my boody in a most festive way. ... The subject matter here is rather odd ... But I don't care. I'm too busy wiggling my boody!

Instant Party (Circles) 8.5/10

Coooooooooooool! They're using a hooooooorn for this one! ... And it sounds pretty darn good! The Who are masters of their sound, you know, and they're really great instrumentalists ... blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah ... Pete Townshend's songwriting talent just wasn't quite in bloom yet ... blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah ... darn tootin' I'm looking forward to reviewing future Who albums ... blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah ... Good thing that they're already made so that I don't have to wait too long for 'em!

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