The Who: Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy ---Ink Blot Magazine

The Who : Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy

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The Who,
"Pictures of Lily"

at a glance...

Hometown: London, England
Formed: 1963

Members:
Keith Moon -drums
Roger Daltrey -vocals
John Entwistle -bass
Pete Townshend -guitars, vocals

Notes:
The Who began life as The High Numbers, an aggressive R&B band popular with the London mod set of the early '60's. After a name change and a couple of British hit singles ("I Can't Explain," "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere") they became leading figures of the British Invasion, their American popularity surpassed only by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Guitarist/songwriter Pete Townshend steered the group away from its mod roots, taking on a series of more ambitious projects that culminated in the rock opera Tommy in 1969. The band's stadium-friendly dynamics (they were long listed in the Guinness Book as the "world's loudest rock band") ensured touring success for years to come, though the death of wildcard drummer Keith Moon in 1978 effectively ended their credible recording career.

The Who
Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy
MCA, Released 1971

The Who are a cornerstone act in the history of rock; that fact has gone unquestioned since before most of today's rock critics could write. Yet of all the big guns - Elvis, The Beatles, James Brown, The Stones - The Who's legacy is the hardest to circumscribe. This is partly due to big schnozz Pete Townshend's schizophrenic songwriting and public persona. But The Who are also hard to pin down because they never recorded their Sgt. Pepper or Exile On Main St. Strangely, there is no definitive Who album.

That doesn't mean that they weren't an incredible band, and Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy (a comp which roughly marked the end of the band's best years) proves just how great they were. The Who were a singles band, and this record rounds up some of the finest three-minute blasts of intelligent aggression ever unleashed by a rock band. It's all strikingly cohesive - the bassquake rumble of "My Generation" and the psychedelic shuffle of "Magic Bus" transcend their stylistic differences with such ease that they sound as if they were jammed out in a single session. Which means that this is more than a "Best Of" - it's a clear snapshot of a truly powerful band at maximum acceleration.

If you like The Who, check out:
The Who BBC Sessions
The Who Live At Leeds
The Who The Who Sell Out
The Who Who's Next
The Clash London Calling
The Jam Snap
Various Fire and Skill: The Songs of The Jam
The Creation Making Time: The Complete Collection, Vol. 1
The Creation Biff Bang Pow! The Complete Collection, Vol. 2
Robert Pollard Kid Marine
The Zombies The Singles Collection
The Kinks The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society

-- jf

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