Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3hcMgp6FCR9e8mjlFZ3o3H?si=c058db749f644b1f

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHW0lj3hODI

I was reading "Record Collector" magazine and learned that there's a 50th anniversary version of "Captain Fantastic," which I immediately pulled up on my phone, I needed to hear the demo version of "Tell Me When the Whistle Blows," one of my favorite, if not my absolute favorite, tracks on the album.

But this was more of a personal experience, if you weren't a hard core fan I didn't think you needed to know about it.

And they also wrote about the new Dylan Bootleg series, "Through the Open Window - 1956-1963." The opening track is positively revelatory, Dylan's version of "Let the Good Times Roll," recorded in the Terlinde Music Shop in St. Paul back in 1956, when Bob was only fifteen years old. This demonstrates his roots. As Dylan claims, he was always a rocker. He wanted to be Elvis. But you ultimately have to find your own path. Yet, few know Dylan's roots. They're all here in this package, as well as his development in plain sight when no one was paying attention. Acts don't emerge fully-formed, they develop.

And then I wondered what other acts had released albums full of demos/rare recordings.

I found a "Deluxe Edition" of the Cars' "Heartbeat City," their Mutt Lange return to form, and it had "Just What I Needed" from Live Aid, but that stuff is not truly rare, and even though I bought it, "Heartbeat City" was never one of my favorite albums...can we all agree that it's really all about the first?

And then I saw an expanded version of "Who Are You." The title track is now a Who standard, but the song that always moved me was "Music Must Change," however, by this point the band was running out of gas, it was really about Pete's dawning solo career. And one of the gems on this package is a band version of "Empty Glass," which is more of a curio, but interesting.

And the Who have been repackaged ad infinitum. They've been on the road so much that many shrugged when their final tour was announced, at these prices they didn't need to see them once again. And I kind of get it. The act hasn't changed. And how many times has the band retired anyway? I remember taping their final show, which was simulcast (in stereo!) on the radio in 1989. A monumental event. Not really. The band came back. And came back. And...

Somewhere along the line we lost touch with what the Who were really about. ENERGY! Sure, Pete is an intellectual, sure there are messages in the songs, sure, at this point no classic rock act is truly dangerous, is pushing the envelope, but when you listen to THIS, you'll be shocked into submission, because this is IT!

Today "Quadrophenia" is legendary, but it was a bit of a disappointment upon release back in 1973. There was no hit single, there wasn't even an obvious FM track. No, you purchased "Quadrophenia" and digested it personally, turned the pages of the included booklet, as the album revealed itself to you track by track.

For me it was always about side 3, with "Sea and Sand."

"The girl I love is a perfect dresser
Wears every fashion, gets it to the tee"

And the closing cut, the majestic "Love Reign o'er Me."

Then there was the first side, which started out with Pete's synthesizer opus, "I Am the Sea"...I always thought that recording the real ocean would have been better. But after two minutes of noodlling, the guitar riffs, the bass dances underneath and Roger starts singing about "The Real Me."

Now in truth, if you want to listen to "Quadrophenia," you're better off listening to the John Entwistle remix for the movie (the best rock flick ever, if you're asking me)... The original was a bit dull, but Entwistle stripped away the flat exterior, the result was more in your face, more rock and roll, with louder, more prominent bass (what did you expect?)

Now Pete revisited the bookend to "The Real Me," "I'm One," on his 1986 album, "Deep End Live!," there's a ton of meaning, gravitas, but it's not the Who.

But this performance of "Real Me" from the deluxe "Who Are You"...it's most certainly the Who, and it's a STUNNER!

Recorded at the Philadelphia Spectrum on December 10, 1979, not long after the tragedy in Cincinnati, it closed the show and closes this seven album package.

The Who... You've got to remember, it was a trio with a vocalist. Making a glorious noise, with holes in the live sound, inevitably...there was only one guitarist.

But John Entwistle rivals Paul McCartney as the most melodic bass player in rock, and his role is even larger with only three instruments in play. Entwistle is not only holding down the bottom, he's pirouetting all over it, he's not buried in the mix, he's RIGHT THERE!

And sure, it's not Keith Moon on drums, but Kenney Jones...he's not far off...you can hear the individual hits, it's not a whirlwind where the plot is lost in the process.

As for Pete... He always claimed to be a rhythm guitarist... He's not constantly playing here, but throwing in chords here and there, picking a few notes...he doesn't see a need to carry the tune, he's just part of the ensemble, occasionally dropping out.

And there you have the glorious noise.

But sitting on top of it all is Roger Daltrey's vocal, WHEW! The man in his prime. Not singing from deep in his chest, but from his head and heart with no limits...there's energy, but there's also power, AND ANGST!

"Can you see the real me, doctor, doctor?"

That was the thing, THEY COULDN'T SEE US!

We'd cut loose, we'd disconnected. Our parents couldn't understand our music, and oftentimes couldn't understand us.

And the music spoke to our alienation.

And it was loud and noisy and uncontrolled and...

Many say "Live at Leeds" is the best live album of all time. I don't agree, because there's no crowd noise...sure, there's great playing, but in a vacuum it doesn't work for me.

But this...

Sure, the Who have recently been on the road, but it's not the same thing.

You can go see Paul McCartney, he plays your favorites, but it's not the same thing. Once upon a time it was fresh, groundbreaking, but that's no longer the case.

As for the Stones? They haven't been dangerous for a long time.

Maybe you can feel the energy from an act from back when that never broke through, but those who had success...they've been to the mountaintop, now the money is as important as the adulation, whereas way back when THEY HAD TO DO IT! Had to express themselves, they worked out their frustration live, and if you were in the audience you felt it, you were transfixed. The music penetrated you and sparks emanated from your body. No one was shooting selfies, not because there were no smartphones, but because everybody was focused on the music, we were all Tommy, maybe not deaf, dumb and blind, but in tune with the music. Which was more than the music. More than commerce. It was life itself. And if you listen to this track, you'll get it.

What once was.

It's gone now.

And it doesn't seem to be on its way back, because today's acts are self-conscious, money-oriented, whereas back then the acts were less interested in being brands than changing the world...or at least sticking a finger in the eye of the world. We live like Gods, we trash hotel rooms, our road manager has a roll of c-notes, women are clamoring for us, our gigs sell out, we're the other, our own context, which you can either accept or not.

But back then the youth was all in. Music was the basis of the culture. Its power was undeniable.

And as time marched on, acts shaved off their rough edges. They were concerned with replicating the record live, with extra players and tapes, but the Who were still doing the same act from the sixties, it was still powerful, undeniable, JUST LISTEN!

P.S. Listen LOUD!


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