"The Who Sell Out" - The Who

Some albums are albums that you go back with a long while, and they never leave you. The Who's "The Who Sell Out" is one of those for me. As with many of the hundreds of albums I own, I can remember when and where I purchased it. I purchased it way back in the summer of 1995 at the flagship Sam The Record Man in downtown Toronto on Yonge Street (miss that chain). The version I picked up is the MCA CD reissue from 1995 which includes 9 bonus tracks, and it's these 9 bonus tracks that really made this a favorite of mine.

Both the snippets which are interspersed between the album bonus tracks and some of the tracks themselves are "ads" which advertise products that are sometimes real ("Heinz Baked Beans") and sometimes made up ("Odorno"). Yet the strongest tracks are completely unrelated to the album's concept of "selling out". The triumphant "I Can See For Miles" combines phenomenal drumming and guitar riffs with a malevolent glee at finally finding out the truth. The ethereal but heartbreaking "Sunrise" is the complete opposite, just Pete Townshend singing and accompanying himself on acoustic guitar, singing about the love of his who he's too afraid to approach.

The bonus tracks on this CD version include both b-sides not included on the album and tracks that were not even released until the 1990's. Standouts include the strikingly despondent "Melancholia," the lovely pop of "Someone's Coming" and the proto-heavy metal instrumental "Hall Of The Mountain King". Another fascinating bonus track is the CD's closer, "Glow Girl" which both musically and lyrically serves as a very important precedent for the upcoming Rock Opera "Tommy".

While this album may not be as influential as "Who's Next" or "Tommy," it definitely ranks as one of The Who's greatest albums and is a lot more 'fun' than either of those later, more serious albums.

They must shop at Costco

"Electric Warrior" - T. Rex

So last week I had $50 worth of gift cards to use at any Cadillac Fairview mall. Naturally I spent it all at an HMV. I decided to look through the entire Pop/Rock section (or whatever they call it these days), A-Z and see what caught my eye. When I got to the 'T' section, this album caught my eye. I had never owned any T. Rex albums. The only song that I could remember hearing by them was their biggest hit ("Bang A Gong (Get It On)," on this album). I knew they were kind of glam rockish and that this was supposed to be one of their best albums.  It was a Rhino special edition with extra tracks, and I'm always a sucker for that. So I took a chance and picked it up.

And you know what? I'm glad I did! The sound on the album is just somehow slightly..... otherworldly. The lyrics are rather on the trippy side. "Girl I'm just a jeepster for your love" anyone?! That's from the song "Jeepster,"an R &Bish romp which is pretty damn catchy. Reading more about T. Rex, it's incredible how absolutely MASSIVE they were in the U.K. while barely denting the U.S. In The U.K. they had #1 hit after #1 hit, whereas the only song to make the top ten in the U.S. is "Bang A Gong (Get It On). I also realized I knew a few more of their songs, such as "Children Of The Revolution" and "20th Century Boy" (both great songs, btw). Listening to the most famous song on the album, "Bang A Gong (Get It On)," it's easy to see why this is the song that broke T. Rex in the U.S.; the groove is undeniable. The bonus tracks on the Rhino reissue are mostly singles from the same period which were not released on the album. "King Of The Mountain Cometh" is the best of that bunch, "Hot Love" was also a big hit. Next thing to do? Get my hand on his next two albums ("The Slider" and "Tanx").

P.S. For those wondering, I spent the rest of the $50 (and a bit more) on U2's "Boy," Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" and "The Essential Guess Who".