Sunday, November 02, 2008

A pop-art masterpiece

I am cooking a big pot of SPAGHETTI SAUCE while listening to one of my favorite albums of my youth.
I have had "THE WHO SELL OUT" on LP since high school. I recently added the 1967 album to my iPod, and the third album by THE WHO sounds as good as I had remembered.
THUNDERCLAP NEWMAN star "Speedy" Keene contributes the opener, the psychedelic sing-along "Armenia, City in the Sky." After the second track (the advertising satire "Heinz Baked Beans"), the album follows with six Pete Townshend compositions that show his astounding songwriting ability.
"Mary Anne With the Shaky Hands" sounds like a lost pop classic, overshadowed by the band's great singles of the mid-1960s. "Odorono" is meant as another satire on the commercialization of pop, but is so catchy, I think it stands on its own.
"Tattoo" and "Our Love Was" are both beautiful songs.
"I Can See for Miles" is the track everyone remembers from "The Who Sell Out," but the sixth and final Townshend song of the series, "I Can't Reach You," might be one of the most beautiful songs The Who guitarist wrote and sang.
The remainder of the album is fine, too, and the faux radio spots are funny to hear these days.
Rock critic Manish Agarwal describes "The Who Sell Out" as "a pop-art masterpiece."
"The songs are sensational," Agarwal wrote.
Listening while cooking, I couldn't agree more.

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