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The Who | My Generation:

Album: My Generation, The Who Sings My Generation, My Generation - Deluxe Edition, My Generation Box

LPs (vinyl) Sampled: "My Generation" [Brunswick (UK), Virgin-reissue (UK), Decca (Germany), Polydor-reissue (Germany), Decca (Japan), Festival (Australia)], "Who Sings My Generation" [Decca - stereo (USA), Decca - mono (USA), Life - stereo (Hong Kong)], "The Kids Are Alright" [Brunswick (Holland)], "Big Hits Like Who" [Brunswick (Holland)], "Music Fur Alle: The Who The Beat" [Decca-reissue (Germany)]

CDs (original mix) Sampled: "The Who Sings My Generation" [MCA-1st pressing (USA), MCA-2nd pressing-denoted "NM" in a circle on the disc face (USA), MCA (Canada)], "My Generation" (Japan)

CDs (remix) Sampled: "My Generation - Deluxe Edition" [Polydor (UK) - Promo "Acetate", Polydor (UK), MCA (USA), Universal (Japan), Universal (China), MCA (USA - SACD)

CDs (remastered) Sampled: "My Generation Box" [Universal (Japan)], "My Generation" [Universal (Japan)]

LP Comments: Each of these seems to have their own distinct sound and variations. I like the Virgin (UK) the best, which is sonically equivalent to the Brunswick (UK), but doesn't have all the noise in-between the tracks. This is a well-recorded record. Unfortunately, all the versions of "The Who Sings My Generation" are in simulated stereo (one channel heavier on the bass, the other on the treble), whether they are marked "stereo" or "mono" and don't sound all that good. The (Holland) LP sounds similar to the UK, but with a little less frequency response (i.e. "duller" sounding). The Decca (German) LPs are in simulated stereo, but have an annoying reverb/echo effect. The Polydor (German) (commonly found in the 1981 "Phases" box) is "dull".

CD (original mix) comments: The 1st pressing MCA was just horrible--a real tin can effect! They later went back and redid it, making it somewhat listenable, but very thin sounding. Canadian copies of this CD are plentiful, but they sound just as bad. The Japan (2007) faithfully recreates the sound of the mono LP, but "Out In The Street" seems to have a little too much compression on the lead vocal.

CD (remix) comments: Wow! At long last, "My Generation" - The Who's very first album remixed and remastered in true stereo! This is a great CD - it's loud, dynamic and for the most part, crystal clear with excellent sound quality throughout - like a great live Who performance. This version certainly "blows away" all other versions of the album that came before it. All of these above versions (including the SACD) sound just about the same, except for the Japan Mini-LP version (the regular Japan version is simply an MCA USA pressing with a Japanese OBI). The Japan Mini-LP version sounds like it was additionally processed and doesn't sound "quite right" (very nice packaging though).

CD (remastered) comments: The box set includes fantastic packaging includes mini-LP covers of: My Generation (Japan), Musik fur Alle: The Who The Beat (Germany), Instant Party (Holland), The Kids Are Alright (Holland), Big Hits Like Who (Holland), My Generation (UK), The Who Sings My Generation (USA Mono) and mini-Single covers of: I Can't Explain (Denmark), I Can't Explain (Germany), I Can't Explain (Italy), Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere (Germany), My Generation (Belgium), Les Who My Generation (France/Belgium), My Generation (Denmark), My Generation (Sweden), The Kids Are Alright (Italy), A Legal Matter (Denmark), A Legal Matter (Italy), A Legal Matter (Japan), Out In The Street (Japan), La La La Lies (Italy), My Generation (France EP), Out In The Street (France EP), The Kids Are Alright (France EP), Les Who My Generation (France EP), I Can't Explain (France EP), Dance Session (Australia EP).

Despite the nice packaging, the CDs fall short in terms of sound quality. Both <mono and stereo> CDs sound somewhat muffled as if there's a good mastering job buried beneath, but "too much wax" was applied, making the surface somewhat dull. It appears that there is an extra, previously unreleased bonus track - an alternate mono mix of "Circles" (both mono mixes of "Circles" have the horn parts intact).

Note: The single CD mono version has the same sound quality as the mono disc from the box set <above>.
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Prior to the Deluxe version, all the Shel Talmy Who recorded tracks have been only available in mono, with the exception of: "Leaving Here", "Lubie", "Motoring", "Heatwave", "Daddy Rolling Stone" and "I'm A Man". These tracks were previously released on "Who's Missing" and "Two's Missing" and. were originally mixed in 1965/66 and feature wide stereo separation.

The true stereo tracks on this "deluxe" album are mixed differently than the above ones. For the most part, the stereo separation is fairly narrow - almost giving you the impression that the recordings are wide-mono. With a 3 track recording, there aren't a lot of options how to place the instruments in the sound field and I think their goal was to recreate more of the band sound (with Keith Moon set up in the middle of the band) vs. a great wide stereo mix (but less technically correct for how the band actually played - with Keith off to one side). Personally, I prefer wide stereo separation at the expense of "artistic correctness", but it certainly can be argued both ways.

Regardless of mix preferences, the sound is overwhelmingly good and everyone who listens to it should enjoy it immensely. There are no noticeable sound variations between any of the current releases. Some interesting things to note...

It was discovered that a few songs had overdubs added to them directly into the mono mixes and therefore, those overdubs were not recorded on the original master tapes. Two of the these songs ("My Generation" and "A Legal Matter") had additional guitar parts added to the mono mixes and that's why they are added to the end of the track listing (see below). "La La La Lies" had additional backing vocals added to the mono mix, and these vocals are noticeably absent on the stereo mix - but not in a bad way. "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" has a similar story. Apparently the vocal track that was used on the 1965 French "I Can't Explain" EP was the original recorded vocal, and the common version (which appears everywhere else) seems to have had its vocal recorded directly into the mono mix, and therefore absent from this collection of songs

Additionally:.

	"I Can't Explain" and "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" sound magnificent in stereo.
	"Leaving Here" is different than any previously released version.
	"Daddy Rolling Stone" is a different version than either previously released versions.
	"Circles". On the copy from the master tapes (below), it is super clean and has a very prominent French Horn - which can just bring tears to your eyes. On this version, there's additional distortion and the French Horn seems to be almost mixed out completely. A real shame, because the horn was a real treat. This was apparently done because the French Horn was recorded "out of tune" and very noticeable in the stereo mix. Perhaps it can be released in the future on another Who rarities album, by adjusting the pitch of the horn to bring it back in tune?
	"Instant Party Mixture" is a previously unreleased song. For some reason, back in 1965 "Circles" got re-titled to "Instant Party", but they are completely different. The "Mixture" is a blend of "Instant Party" and a change over to a "Johnny Be Good" instrumental. Unfortunately, this released version fades out too quickly - the unedited master tape plays 8 seconds longer and has no fade, making it seem even longer.

Summary: The "Deluxe Edition" remixed CD is clearly the best version. However, if you're looking for the original, mono mixes, I recommend finding a nice, clean Virgin (UK) LP. It's a great sounding album and there's no real comparison to many of its other variations. The track, "Instant Party" (which is actually the Shel Talmy produced version of "Circles" with the incorrect title) was not included on the UK versions, so you'll have to "borrow" that from another source—the best one being the 1965 Brunswick (Holland) LP of the same name, but you'll most likely have trouble finding it. The 2nd best source would be from a clean UK or European single as it was featured as a "b" side of "A Legal Matter" in several countries. Alternately, the 2007 Japan CD recreates the sound of the original mono LP and includes "Instant Party", but does not include "I'm A Man".

Track Listing(s):

UK: Out In The Street, I Don't Mind, The Good's Gone, La La La Lies, Much Too Much, My Generation, The Kids Are Alright, Please, Please, Please, It's Not True, I'm A Man, A Legal Matter, The Ox

USA: Out In The Street, I Don't Mind, The Good's Gone, La La La Lies, Much Too Much, My Generation, The Kids Are Alright (drum solo edited out), Please, Please, Please, It's Not True, The Ox, A Legal Matter, Instant Party (Circles)

Deluxe Edition (remix): Out In The Street, I Don't Mind, The Good's Gone, La La La Lies, Much Too Much, My Generation, The Kids Are Alright, Please, Please, Please, It's Not True, I'm A Man, A Legal Matter, The Ox, Circles, I Can't Explain, Bald Headed Woman, Daddy Rolling Stone, Leaving Here, Lubie, Shout And Shimmy,  Heatwave, Motoring, Anytime You Want Me, Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere, Instant Party Mixture, I Don't Mind (Extended version), The Good's Gone (Extended version), My Generation (Instrumental version), Anytime You Want Me (A Cappella version), A Legal Matter (Mono version), My Generation (Mono version)

Holland (Instant Party): Instant Party, Bald Headed Woman, My Generation, Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere, The Kids Are Alright, The Ox, I Can't Explain, A Legal Matter, Daddy Rolling Stone, Much Too Much, Shout And Shimmy, It's Not True

Japan (LP and 2007 CD): My Generation, Please, Please, Please, It's Not True, The Ox, The Kids Are Alright, Instant Party, A Legal Matter, Out In The Street, I Don't Mind, The Goods Gone, La, La, La, Lies, Much Too Much

Japan (2008 Box Set):
Disc 1 (Mono): Out In The Street, I Don't Mind, The Good's Gone, La La La Lies, Much Too Much, My Generation, The Kids Are Alright, Please, Please, Please, It's Not True, I'm A Man, A Legal Matter, The Ox, I Can't Explain, Bald Headed Woman, Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere, Daddy Rolling Stone, Anytime You Want Me, Shout And Shimmy, Circles, Leaving Here, Lubie (Come Back Home), Heatwave, Motoring, Circles (alternate mix)
Disc 2 (Stereo): Out In The Street, I Don't Mind, The Good's Gone, La La La Lies, Much Too Much, My Generation, The Kids Are Alright, Please, Please, Please, It's Not True, I'm A Man, A Legal Matter, The Ox,  Can't Explain, Bald Headed Woman, Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere, Daddy Rolling Stone, Anytime You Want Me, Shout And Shimmy, Circles, Instant Party Mixture, Leaving Here (alternate version), Lubie (Come Back Home), Heatwave, Motoring

The Who - The Shel Talmy Sessions

Apparently this is a pre-mastered 3 CD MCA test pressing set (CDs 1 & 2 pictured on previous page) with 51 tracks of final mixes, alternate mixes, count-offs, etc. Interesting variations in sound quality due to the pre-mastering. Often fans like to second guess why a song was mastered one way or another. By listening to these CDs, you get a feel for some of the decisions that were made. For example, in some cases, Keith's cymbals are so loud that they crash right through your ears - they're too loud. The released version's mastering "fixes" that, giving the same section a smooth sound.

Track listing:

Disc 1: Daddy Rolling Stone, Bald Headed Woman, Lubie, Motoring, Instant Party Mixture, Heatwave, Shout And Shimmy, Leaving Here, I Can't Explain (alt. mix), The Good's Gone (full length version), My Generation (instrumental version), Out In The Street (alt. mix), Anytime You Want Me (a cappella mix), Lubie (alt.), Motoring (alt.), Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere (alt. mix without backing vocals), Instant Party Mixture (a cappella mix)
Disc 2: Lubie, Lubie (alt.), I Can't Explain, I Can't Explain (alt. mix), Bald Headed Woman, Out In The Street, Out In The Street, Motoring, Motoring (alt.), I'm A Man, Heatwave, Daddy Rolling Stone, Please, Please, Please, Shout And Shimmy, I Don't Mind, The Ox, A Legal Matter, Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere, Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere (alt.), Circles, Instant Party Mixture, Instant Party Mixture (a cappella mix), Leaving Here, Anytime You Want Me, Anytime You Want Me (a cappella mix)
Disc 3: Out In The Street, The Good's Gone (edited version), La La La Lies, Much Too Much, My Generation, The Kids Are Alright, Please, Please, Please, It's Not True, Anytime You Want Me

The Shel Talmy Tapes

I've had the fortunate privilege of listening to a copy of Shel's master tapes (some of which are included in the "My Generation Deluxe" CD release). There's about 2 hours and 45 minutes of material, which includes released versions of the songs, outtakes of the same, and one previously unreleased song (see track listing #49 below). The sound quality of all of this material is excellent.

Track listing of the master tapes:

Note: the information in the brackets [ ] are relevant to the take and mix #. Not every track had one described or I just wasn't able to distinguish what they were saying. The comments below the tracks reflect the description that I wrote down as I was listening to the music. There may be some errors as I didn't actually a/b these versions to each other (in the case of multiple takes), or the released versions (except with "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere").

1. "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" [???] No backing vocals. French EP version.

2. "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" [mix 2] Sounds similar, but different mix of French EP version.

3. "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" [mix 1, take 1] Seems to be the French EP version

4. "Out In The Street" [mix 2, final, take 1] Different drumming and guitar parts (complete song)

5. "Out In The Street" [mix 1, take 2] Stops shortly after start.

6. "Out In The Street" [3] Stops shortly after start.

7. "Out In The Street" [4] About ¾ of the song, then stopped.

8. "Out In The Street" [6] Stopped almost immediately after start.

9. "Out In The Street" [7] Cool "feedback" guitar part. (complete song)

10. "Out In The Street" [???] Seems to be LP version, but backing vocals are mixed down.

11. "Lubie" [???] Seems to be the same as on "Who's Missing".

12. "Lubie" [Final Mix] Much higher guitar and much lower drums than above version. Pete Townshend would like this one!

13. "Please, Please, Please" [???] Vocals upfront mix.

14. "Please, Please, Please" [mix 1, take 1] Seems to be the same as the LP version.

15. "Heatwave" [mix 2, take 4] A bit more upbeat than the "Two's Missing" version.

16. "Heatwave" [mix 2, take 4] Seems to be the same as the "Two's Missing" version. Some tape wobble at song's end.

17. "Heatwave" [mix 2, take 1] Compressed mix.

18. "Heatwave" [edit take 1] Edited version. Starts near end of song.

19. "Heatwave" [2 edit] Edited verson. Starts near end of song.

20. "I Don't Mind" [take 1, mix 1] Roger banter before song start. Blusier version than LP. Vocal changes and different extended ending as well.

21. "I Don't Mind" [mix 2, take 1] Different mix of take 1 (above).

22. "Shout And Shimmy" [???] Similar/Same as released version.

23. "Shout And Shimmy" [???] Different backing vocals and no backing vocals in other parts.

24. "Daddy Rolling Stone" [???] No backing vocals. Different vocal and guitar parts.

25. "Daddy Rolling Stone" [take 2] No backing vocals. Longer ending than released version.

26. "Daddy Rolling Stone" [take 2, mix final] This version has backing vocals and longer ending than released version(s).

27. "Motor-Vating" ("Two's Missing" title, "Motoring") [Take 1] No backing vocals. Voice on tape says, "Motor-Vating, take 1"]

28. "Motor-Vating" [mix 2, take 1] Compressed mix with backing vocals.

29. "It's Not True" [3] LP version.

30. "La La La Lies" [take 4] LP version.

31. "Much Too Much" [???] LP version.

32. "The Good's Gone" [4] LP version with extended guitar ending.

33. "Anytime You Want Me" [mix 2, take 1] False start.

34. "Anytime You Want Me" [2] Roger sings end part in a higher octave.

35. "Anytime You Want Me" [take 3] Roger forgets lyrics and song stops. Some band banter follows. Tape wobble in the middle.

36. "Anytime You Want Me" [take 4] Roger singing ending in higher octave.

37. "Anytime You Want Me" [mix 1, take 1] Same/Similar to released version.

38. "Anytime You Want Me" [take 1, mix 2] Same/Similar to released version.

39. "Anytime You Want Me" [???] Edited ending only.

40. "Anytime You Want Me" [take 2] Cut short after start. Pete Townshend discusses Roger's vocal part.

41. "Leaving Here" [3] Same as "Who's Missing" version.

42. "I'm A Man" [mix 1, take 1] 2nd ½ of the song is instrumental only.

43. "I'm A Man" [take 2] Same/similar to "My Generation" LP version.

44. "My Generation" [???] Seems slightly different to released version.

45. "The Kids Are Alright" [???] Same/similar to released version.

46. "My Generation" [???] Same/similar to released version.

47. "The Kids Are Alright" [take 1] Pete tunes his guitar before start. Compressed vocal mix.

48. "Circles" (released as "Instant Party") [mix 1, take 4] Same/similar to "Who Sings My Generation" version, Dutch LP "Instant Party" version and Euro & Japanese "b" side versions of "A Legal Matter".

49. "Instant Party Mixture" (unreleased song) [???] The demo of this song, originally titled as "Instant Party" appeared on a bootleg joined with "La La La Lies" and titled (incorrectly) as "Party & Lies". The Who version features Roger on lead vocals. It also features Pete, Keith and John each singing one verse each. The song ends with a "Johnny Be Good" instrumental jam at the end.

50. "The Ox" [take 1] Similar/Same as released version. Voice before song says, "Instrumental, take 1."

51. "A Legal Matter" [take 5] Similar/Same as released version, but with a longer ending.

52. "Lubie" [take 1] No backing vocals.

53. "Out In The Street" [first mix, 2] Seems to be a different take than released version.

54. "I Can't Explain" [???] Same as released version, but much cleaner sound.

55. "Bald Headed Woman" [???] Same as released version, but much cleaner sound and extended ending.