Odds & Sods

by

The Who

Edit

Rarely can a band make a consistent, solid album purely out of unreleased material, rarities, outtakes, and all the other names for such precious finds, and this vastly expanded edition of "Odds and Sods" solidifies that ability. This album was originally recorded to curve the bootlegging process going on at the time, not only because The Who didn't make money off bootlegs (that may have been the record company's motivation though), but also because the group wanted fans to have more listenable versions; the late bassist John Entwistle said, "They release really bad bootlegs of these songs all the time...they're really bad quality...We thought it was about time we released a bootleg of our own."

It's a true blessing that "Odds and Sods" is so highly recognized and appreciated as a solid effort, because many of these songs rank among some of Pete Townshend's most articulate songwriting and The Who's best performances in the studio. And we all know the fate of unreleased songs that are released here and there over time, popping up on random "best of" compilations; they become lost in time and labeled as empty-hearted gestures to get people to buy those greatest hits albums. Indeed, some of these songs, some in different versions, later appeared as bonus tracks on the remastered editions of The Who's classic albums (the best studio version of 'Pure and Easy' appeared on the reissue of "Who's Next" for example). But gathered together and focused on as "Odds and Sods," listeners can hear some glorious Who moments, packaged as one sturdy album.

The collection also does much to further prove the already well-established fact that The Who were major contributors in bridging 60s rock-pop to the more progressive harder rock of the 70s. For example there are tracks like the enjoyable naive quality of `I'm the Face' (a song recorded when The Who were known as The High Numbers), the poppy humor of `Little Billy,' the odd story of `Mary Anne With the Shaky Hand' (a different version than the one that originally appeared on "The Who Sell Out") and covers of the likes of `Summertime Blues,' `Leaving Here' and the cheeky `My Way.' But there are also more intricate, personal songs like `We Close Tonight' (based on one of Townshend's schooldays relationships), and `Too Much of Anything' as well as compositions that are self-mocking autobiographies of The Who such as the ego-deflating `Faith in Something Bigger,' and the look at exhaustive touring `Postcard.' And to further round out the progression of this great band's music, there are several tracks that came from The Who's innovation in "rock operas"; `Glow Girl' and `Cousin Kevin Model Child' were early ideas for "Tommy," one of the very first rock operas, and important elements from the infamous, aborted "Lifehouse" album/film such as `Time is Passing,' `Put the Money Down' and most notably `Pure and Easy,' the "Odds and Sods" track that everyone remembers, demonstrating The Who's desire to shed as much light on this unreleased material as that of their most memorable and well-known work.

I loved the original Odds & Sods, and eagerly awaited the reissue. After all, I had known for years that there were dozens of Who outtakes that had yet to be collected (and I owned on bottlegs), so hearing official releases would be a treat.

Of course, I hadn't counted on Jon Astley, Pete Townshend's brother-in-law and the "producer" of the re-issue. I knew from earlier reissues that Astley couldn't leave well enough alone, and had remixed Quadrophenia and Who Are You and other albums to the point where they were *too* different from the original release. But his work here is unbelievably sloppy.

The original album was great; alas, here Astley agains feels the need to fade out "I'm The Face," and play around with "Naked Eye." Still, it is the new tracks which suffer most.

For instance, he includes "Under My Thumb"--and forgot to mix in the electric guitar (easily heard on Who's Missing)! He put on the WRONG studio version of "Young Man Blues"; instead of the dynamic version included on a Track sampler, we get what is obviously an outtake that is too slow and lethargic. And it sounds as if he remastered "My Way" off a bootleg.

On the other hand, we get "Cousin Kevin/Model Child," "Time Is Passing," "We Close Tonight" and a number of great tunes. Still a good album. But it should have been much better.

And where is "Do You Want Kids, Kids?", "Dogs Part II," "Waspman," "When I Was A Boy" and dozens of other Who classics? Who knows. I keep waiting for Odds and Sods II, but it doesn't appear to be coming. On the other hand, I've read that the Shel Talmy tapes are finally going to remastered, and the Who are recording a new record.