The Who Sell Out

About

By the summer of 1967, the pirate radio stations that had been so crucial to the development of rock ’n’ roll—and to English counterculture as a whole—were on the chopping block, subject to a new parliamentary edict. At the same time, mod fashion began to fade. Both had been critical to the early success of The Who, whose members were starting to wonder what was next: Could they expand their sound beyond the quick hits of their so-called “Maximum R&B”? Luckily, Pete Townshend’s bigger ambitions had become clear on the group’s second album, <i>A Quick One</i>. That record’s centerpiece, “A Quick One, While He’s Away,” condensed an opera into nine record-closing minute. And Townshend had started writing an opera, <i>Rael</i>, about an imagined future in which Communists take over of the world. Townshend didn’t lack ambition. But what The Who really needed was a hit. So he turned his attention toward another concept: A 40-minute rock record interspersed with commercial jingles and radio-station call sign. The result was 1967’s <i>The Who Sell Out</i>, a parodic tribute to the fading glories of pirate radio. When the members of The Who actually stick to the idea, <i>The Who Sell Out</i> is hilarious: There’s a silly little ditty-slash-sketch about baked beans (“Heinz Baked Beans”) and a compulsive R&B jangle about a woman cursed with malfunctioning deodorant (“Odorono”). These goofier bits are stitched together with strong songs about decidedly non-comedic topics: cheap cheaters (the thundering “I Can See for Miles”), generational friction (the slinking “Tattoo”), and the emotionally frustrated (the charming “I Can’t Reach You.”) .

via Apple Music

The Clerk says

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