The Who, Part Two
The Who's 1966 second album, "A Quick One," is a great Who classic, and the only Who album to feature songwriting contributions from all four band members (which came about due to a publishing deal the band had secured at the time). This remastered edition of "A Quick One" also contains a whopping TEN bonus tracks of various songs the Who also recorded at the time, some previously unreleased. The album also features the band's very first foray into "rock opera" territory, with the brilliant 9-minute mini-opera penned by guitarist Pete Townshend, "A Quick One While He's Away," about a lonely woman who cheats on her hubby while he's out working, regrets it, confesses her sin, and is forgiven. It's a bonafide Who classic, and a great forerunner for the group's full-on rock operas "Tommy" & "Quadrophenia" that would follow in the years ahead. Other great Who tunes on this album are Townshend's "Run Run Run," "So Sad About Us," and "Disguises," bassist John Entwistle's signature song "Boris The Spider" and the equally great "Whiskey Man" & "Doctor Doctor," drummer Keith Moon's instrumental big top insanity known as "Cobwebs And Strange" and his fine popper "I Need You" (with both tracks featuring brilliant skin smashing from Keith), and even singer Roger Daltrey contributes a decent little number with "See My Way." There's also great covers of Martha & The Vandellas' "Heatwave," the Beach Boys fave "Barbara Ann," and the "Batman" theme song! And if THAT wasn't enough, there's also an acoustic version of the hit "Happy Jack," and an alternate version of the Who staple "My Generation," coupled together with the anthem "Land Of Hope And Glory." Whew! For the dedicated Who fan, this CD edition of "A Quick One" is a rock 'n' roll feast, and, needless to say, the band totally rock on this one. "A Quick One" is an absolute must-buy Who album.
I saw ya!
Here we have the Who's second album, which established a non-precedent by having songs written by all four members. All of Pete's contributions are great (no surprise). The showpiece of the album is Pete's first rock opera, the nine minute "A Quick One, While He's Away". John's two songs really show off his dark sense of humor. Keith contributes the not very good "I Need You" and the demented instrumental "Cobwebs and Strange". Roger's sole contribution is the mediocre pop song "See My Way". There is also an adequate cover of Martha & the Vandellas "Heat Wave" that feels a bit out of place here. This CD also features a whopping ten bonus tracks. The Who are just having fun with the "Batman" theme. Then we have two cover songs that demonstrate Keith's love for surf music. "Disguises" is another swell song by Pete. Then we have two amusing b-sides by John. "In the City" is a rather bad song by Keith, with a little help from John. The acoustic version of "Happy Jack" here is great, but why isn't the single version included? After all, it was on the U.S. version of the original album. Then we have a cover version of an Everly Brothers song. Finally, the CD ends with a bizarre medley of "My Generation" and "Land of Hope and Glory". All in all, a fun CD.
Their transition album
For a 1966 sophomore album, this is pretty good. Regardless of each of the bandmembers having to contribute songs to this album, it's still only a sophomore album, and in 1966 the majority of albums, whether they be debut albums, sophomore efforts, or later releases, were nothing more than a couple of hit singles or popular album tracks mixed together with about ten junky throwaways so that an entire album could be filled out and boost the sales of the hit singles. How can you expect most of any band's early songs to be perfection or as classic as their later songs would be?This is one of those albums I had to give a second listen to for the songs to really sink in and for me to fully appreciate what this album is all about, and I wouldn't recommend it to a new fan. Still, perhaps because I'm a female fan and most Who freaks are men, I've always viewed these songs as cute and campy instead of embarrassing or something that makes one want to vomit when listening to it. And you can hear that this is their transition album, going from the bubblegummy sound of the 1966 Pop Art culture that inspired it to more mature things, as evidenced in songs like the title track (how many songs in 1966 were over three minutes in length, to say nothing of nine minutes and ten seconds long?), which was their first mini-opera, as well as the other better tracks like "Boris the Spider," "Whiskey Man," and "So Sad About Us." It wasn't meant to be a masterpiece like their later albums, it was just meant as a fun slice of 1966 pop paradise.
The first Rock opera ever.
This is the badest of All the who albums with Moon, but stil a very good CD with some great songs you must have so it is essential WHO music whatever it is not thier best.
Some great Moon songs are her the only ones he ever wrote and a Deltry song wich is the bades song on the whole album.
And the first rock opera song ever wich is some smal songs put toghter to one great masterpieace. and the extra songs put one here are great. not the album to start with but one you must buy after the ather classics.
How to get
Alot of people have had problems finding "A Quick One" in stereo. Here's the deal, your best bet is to buy the Polydor UK version of the CD. The artwork on the US MCA version is unchanged so it's impossible to know if it's the correct CD without taking the shrinkwrap off. Once you do that, you can't return it if it is the incorrect CD. With the Polydor import, all of the artwork on the package is the same (including the 1995 copyright date) EXCEPT for the catalog number on the binding. This will allow you to see if you have indeed received the correct CD without tearing the shrinkwrap off.
Here are the different catalog numbers:
* Polydor 527758-2 - maily mono
* Polydor 589800-2 - mainly stereo
I hope this helps everybody!
The Who's second album is a mite inconsistent, not least because all four members were encouraged by a business deal to churn out songs. A Quick One nonetheless manages several Who classics, notably "A Quick One While He's Away," Pete Townshend's first longform (10 minutes) piece, and John Entwistle's licensed-to-ill "Whiskey Man" and "Boris the Spider." The band's sense of humor, however, gives way on rote pop tunes like Roger Daltrey's "See My Way." But CD bonus tracks like the great "Disguises" (included in a murkier mix than that on the 30 Years of Maximum R&B boxed set) and the Beach Boys tributes "Bucket T" and "Barbara Ann" are a distinct help. --Rickey Wright
