The Who – The Big Bang (1967) Album Edit (Take 1)

For those not in the know, fan albums are the attempts of me and many others to take songs and put them on an album, typically they’re made to improve upon something, such as an existing album or to take non-album tracks and put them on an album.

We are back for part 3 of my Who series. This is another fan album I really wish would’ve actually been made. All of the cuts are excellent and they really show the band’s growth and exploration with this really good material, despite most of the songs being covers. There’s a playfulness here. There’s tracks about childhood happenings, like with “Pictures of Lily”, but then they can rock out on tracks like “In The Hall of the Mountain King.” There are two minor hiccups. After hearing “My Way”, I thought it’d be the more dirty rock and roll sound from the mid-70’s, but it seems it really was a 1967 tune. “Rael Naive” seems a little pointless without the proper Rael, but it doesn’t bother me much. Both of these probably wouldn’t have made it on this record if it was actually released.

Here’s my listening order. All of these are from the 2021 Deluxe Edition release, except for “My Way”

1. Pictures Of Lily (Single Mix / Mono Version)
2. Summertime Blues
3. Under My Thumb (UK Single Mix / Mono Version)
4. Girl’s Eyes
5. Sodding About
6. My Way
7. Doctor, Doctor (Single Mix / Mono Version)
8. Glittering Girl
9. Someone’s Coming (UK Single Mix / Mono Version)
10. Jaguar
11. Early Morning Cold Taxi
12. In The Hall Of The Mountain King
13. Rael Naïve (Full Coda)
14. The Last Time (UK Single Mix / Mono Version)

This listening order isn’t bad, but there’s a weird mix of soft edged songs like “Girl’s Eyes” and “Glittering Girl”, to more meaner rockers like “Sodding About”. The new list gives a more fair balance. The album cover is the single cover for “Pictures Of Lily” with different text. I thought it was a cool look. If you are listening to these albums in order, you should listen to A Quick One, then The Big Bang, then Sell Out.

THE WHO – THE BIG BANG

TRACKLISTING

SIDE A

1. “Pictures Of Lily” (Pete Townshend)
2. “Summertime Blues” (Eddie Cochran, Jerry Capehart)
3. “Glittering Girl” (Pete Townshend)
4. “Someone’s Coming” (John Entwistle)
5. “Jaguar” (Pete Townshend)
6. “Sodding About” (John Entwistle, Keith Moon, Pete Townshend)
7. “Doctor, Doctor” (John Entwistle)

SIDE B

1. “My Way” (Eddie Cochran, Jerry Capehart)
2. “Under My Thumb” (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards)
3. “Girl’s Eyes” (Keith Moon)
4. “Early Morning Cold Taxi” (Roger Daltrey, Dave “Cyrano” Langston)
5. “In The Hall Of The Mountain King” (Edvard Grieg)
6. “Rael Naïve” (Pete Townshend)
7. “The Last Time” (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards)

PERSONNEL

• Roger Daltrey – lead vocals (tracks 1-2, 4, 8-9, 11, 14)
• Pete Townshend – guitar (tracks 1-14), lead vocals (tracks 3, 5, 13), bass (tracks 9, 14)
• John Entwistle – bass (tracks 1-8, 10-13), lead vocals (tracks 2, 7)
• Keith Moon – drums (tracks 1-14), lead vocals (tracks 5, 10)

The Big Bang (1967)

Sell Out (1967)

This is a passion of mine and if one person likes what I do, I’ll feel honored. I like suggestions on what artist to cover next, so if you know of one you’d like me to look at, feel free to suggest ‘em!