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Review by Tom August 8, 2006 (1 of 1 found this review helpful)
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Performance: Sonics: |
I'm somewhat biased. I saw The Who live in 1968 and have always liked them.
Still, I've never owned this album -- until now.
Unbelievable 13 cut album -- with 17 bonus cuts!
I'm impressed with the clarity of the music. You can easily hear the individual instruments. It's not a crystal clear recording, but it's one of the best "rock" recordings in regards to clarity. The dynamics, however, are only average.
The performance reveals the blues influence of The Who's early days -- like most other rock British bands of the era. I don't like all the songs -- some are a little too traditional blues for me, but overall I like this album.
Also comes with a 30 page, readable and interesting booklet.
I'm disappointed that this SACD is not a hybrid. I cannot listen to it in my car.
I judge the performance as a 4, but added .5 extra credit because it has so many bonus cuts.
I judge the sonics as a 4 as well, but added .5 extra credit because very few rock albums are better and because of the age of its master circa 1965-1966. The Rolling Stones SACDs, however, are better.
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Review by bdautch July 15, 2003 (1 of 1 found this review helpful)
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Performance: Sonics: |
Ah, the strange and legendary sound of The Who's "My Generation." It is perhaps one of the most difficult SACD recoveries of all time. Sonically, I'd say that the "unique" nature of My Generation has been preserved and enhanced, which is no small feat. Far more important, though, is the whopping 30 tracks that appear on this SACD. Take the entire original lineup from My Generation, add a number of B-sides and previously unreleased material, and you've got 2 and 1/2 dozen of The Who's earliest efforts. If you can even fathom this, the band covers such tunes as "(Love is Like a) Heat Wave" and James Brown's "Shout and Shimmy." Before The Who found their original voice, they performed variations on the R&B they often listened to. Still, gems such as "The Kids Are Alright," "I Can't Explain," and, of course, the title track give the listener a glimpse into the great journey the band was about to embark upon.
While the material on this disc may not be ideal for those who own some sort of "The Who's Greatest Hits" compilation, their true fans are likely to find the material priceless and the sonics pleasantly familiar.
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Review by Stratman672001 July 1, 2004
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Performance: Sonics: |
A classic finally rears it head after seven years of waiting. I've had to put up with a very bad sounding MCA vinyl with mock stereo for many years so this is a breath of fresh air (I don't think I would have been as quick to get this if I had an original mono Brunswick pressing). The performance is, of course, stellar. The sonics... Well... While not terrible anren't as good as they could be. The SACD at least doesn't suffer from the horrible digital compression that plagues the standard redbook. The problem is more with the mix. The stereo image is so narrow I wonder why Shel even bothered to remix. It may be a more technically correct mix but it isn't historically correct. In '66 it was either hard left, center, hard right or mono and it would be more representative to reflect that ethos. The digital delay on certain trcks makes the remix even more pointless. The original mono, although a bit grungy, still sounded very immediate and powerful.
Also with the stereo mix you lose alot of overdubbed parts (which were done direct to mono) like the lead guitar on "My Generation" and "A Legal Matter", the doubletracked vocals on "The Good's Gone", "La La La Lies", "The Kids Are Alright" and "Circles" and the horn on "Circles".
There are also tracks here that are just superfluous as well. Although the instrumental of "My Generation", the acapella version of "Anytime You Want Me" and the full length "I Don't Mind" and "The Good's Gone" are cool to hear but they are just taking up space here. The ideal here would have been to stetch this one out to two SACD's, have the original mono album and singles on the first disc and have the stereo remix and bonus tracks on the second disc... But then again, I'm not Shel Talmy and it's his baby and it's better than nothing.
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