316. The Who, "The Who Sell Out"

 


If the Beatles were the overachieving, extra credit kids in the late 60's rock and roll school classroom, and the Stones were the back-row, smoking pot behind the gym troublemakers, the Who staked out class clown territory with this album, a loose "concept album" that mimics the offshore, unlicensed pirate radio stations that made them famous, down to fake ads.  In fact, one whole song, "Odorono," a sad tale of unrequited love, turns out to be an ad for deodorant.  Very Monty Python (members of which were already appearing on a satirical BBC show called "The Frost Report" when this album was released, it was a very cheeky time).

The centerpiece of the album is, of course, "I Can See For Miles," a monster hit that became one of the band's best-known songs.  And it's easy to see why; there's an anthemic chorus and ripping power chords that feel a part of, and somehow ahead of, 1967 rock.  Is it about realizing during an acid trip that you're being cheated on?  Sure, why not.  "Armenia City in the Sky," the first song after the faux-radio intro, is another banger (written by Speedy Keen, the only non-band-written song on the album) that reminded me immediately of Guided by Voices, one of the many bands heavily influenced by the Who in general and this album in particular.

On the whole, though, it's a little ... thin?  I mean, it just feels like the band had a few middling songs, one good one, and then came up with a gimmick and threw this together.  (In fact, Townsend said the album gimmick was born from a "rather pathetic selection of tracks." But let them have their fun!  The next album was Tommy, an effort so serious and sincere they performed it in opera halls instead of dirty rock venues.  

Does this album deserve to be in the Top 500? I guess every Who album is gonna be on here so who am I to say?  (I guess if pressed I'd say yes anyway.)

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