1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die - #59. The Who - My Generation (1965)

The Who - My Generation (1965)

Label – Brunswick
Producer – Shel Talmy
Art Direction – Uncredited
Nationality - UK
Running Time – 36:13

Track Listing (standout tracks listed in bold)

1. Out In The Street
2. I Don't Mind
3. The Good's Gone
4. La La La Lies
5. Much Too Much
6. My Generation
7. The Kids Are Alright
8. Please, Please, Please
9. It's Not True
10. I'm A Man
11. A Legal Matter
12. The Ox

Another explosive debut, Surely the hardest ‘mod’ pop as they were calling it at the time – that had been recorded by anyone. The Who invented the noisier type of rock with this album. Pete Townshend's incredible chord crunches and control of the feedback and distortion jumps out of the speakers on "My Generation" and "Out in the Street"; Keith Moon attacks the drums with a uncontrolled lightning fast ruthless finesse. There are some "Maximum R&B" influenced James Brown covers, but it’s Townshend's original material with it’s power chords in "The Good's Gone," "Much Too Much," "La La La Lies," and especially "The Kids Are Alright" being some of the highlights. "The Ox" was instrumental mayhem that pushed the envelope of 1965 amplification with its guitar feedback and nonstop crashing drum rolls – and would be the nick-name that bassist John Entwistle would adopt. While they would go onto bigger and more ambitious projects – it’s fair to say that the Who never surpassed the pure energy level of this debut record.
The album was made immediately after The Who got their first singles on the charts and according to the booklet in the Deluxe Edition, it was later dismissed by the band as something of a rush job that did not accurately represent their stage performance of the time. On the other hand, critics often rate it as one of the best rock albums of all time: in 2003, the album was ranked number 236 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2004, the song My Generation was #11 in Rolling Stones Magazine's List of the 500 greatest songs of all time. In 2006, it was ranked #49 in NME's list of the 100 Greatest British Albums.
It Is highly recommended.



You can purchase the CD here.

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