We have listened to the luxurious reissue of The Who Sell Out, a psychedelic jewel
Sixties oblige, it started in psychedelic mode, way acid trip, on an “Armenia City in the Sky” irradiated with kaleidoscopic colors – a track composed by a close friend of the group, Speedy Keen, also author of the fabulous “Something in the Air” by Thunderclap Newman, the mysterious project imagined by Pete Townshend of The Who and Kit Lambert, 2 years later.
But it was already taken for granted, at the time, that those devils of Who did nothing like the others.
After this wonder was tumbling down, it’s crazy… an improbable advertising jingle for Heinz beans! A little madness as a Frank Zappa could have laid… Concept album knitted by Pete Townshend around a fake radio show (hence the ads for Jaguar and other deodorants which earned them a few lawsuits), The Who Sell Out is of course one of the jewels of the ex-Mods discography – notably with “Mary Anne with the Shaky Hands”, “Tatoo” and the unmissable “I Can See For Miles”.
It is therefore with jubilation that we welcome this augmented reissue which in its Deluxe version aligns the mono and stereo mixes of the disc, bonuses (including 14 unpublished demos from Townshend) and above all two full CDs of sessions bursting with sound nuggets including one subtitle The Road to Tommy prefiguring the quartet’s future sonic adventures but also including a long version of “Magic Bus”. The cover art in itself is a little gem of quirky humor – with a special mention to John Entwistle in Tarzan flanked by a blonde in a leopard bikini. Did you say essential?
Alain Gouvrion
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