My Generation

My Generation
album cover (Brunswick LAT 8616)
Studio album by The Who
Released	3 December 1965
Recorded	April 1965 and October 1965
Genre	Rock, R&B
Length	36:13
Label	Brunswick LAT 8616 (UK) Decca DL (7-)4664 (U.S.)
Producer	Shel Talmy
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link PopMatters (positive) link Rolling Stone link
The Who chronology
My Generation (1965) A Quick One (1966)
Singles from My Generation
"My Generation" Released: 5 November, 1965 "A Legal Matter" Released: 7 March, 1965 UK 12 August, 1965 USA "The Kids Are Alright" Released: 12 August 1966 (U.K.) July 1966 (U.S.A.) "La-La-La-Lies" Released: 11 November 1966 (U.K.)

My Generation is The Who's first album. It was released in the U.S. in 1965 under the title The Who Sings My Generation, with a different cover and a slightly different track listing than the UK version. The album was made immediately after The Who got their first singles on the charts and according to the booklet in the Deluxe Edition, it was later dismissed by the band as something of a rush job that did not accurately represent their stage performance of the time. On the other hand, critics often rated it as one of the best rock albums of all time in the 1970s and 1980s when such list-making was common. In 2003, the album was ranked number 236 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2006, it was ranked #49 in NME's list of the 100 Greatest British Albums.^[1] The album is also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.^[2] The title song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 and remains one of The Who's best known songs and, indeed, one of the most acclaimed songs in rock and roll history.

Contents 1 History 2 Track listing 2.1 My Generation (UK release) 2.2 The Who Sings My Generation (U.S. release) 2.3 The Who Sings My Generation (Deluxe Edition) 2.3.1 Disc one 2.3.2 Disc two 3 Charts 3.1 Album 3.2 Singles 4 Personnel 5 Editions 6 References

History

The album was made during The Who's early "Maximum R&B" period and features several covers of popular R&B tunes, in addition to the R&B leanings of the tracks written by the band's guitarist Pete Townshend. According to the booklet in the Deluxe Edition, "I'm a Man" was eliminated from the U.S. release due to its sexual content. The U.S. release also excised a brief solo laden with manic drum rolls and guitar feedback before the final verse of "The Kids Are Alright", hiding some of the group's sonic pop-art leanings. Many of the songs on the album saw release as singles. Aside from "My Generation", which preceded the album's release and reached #2 on the UK Singles Chart, "A Legal Matter", "La-La-La Lies", and "The Kids Are Alright" were also released as domestic singles, though none were as commercially successful as "My Generation". "The Kids Are Alright" was a top 10 single in Sweden, peaking at #8. "My Generation" and "The Kids Are Alright" in particular remain two of the group's most-covered songs; while "My Generation" is a raw, aggressive number that presaged the heavy metal and punk rock movements. "The Kids Are Alright" is a more sophisticated pop number, with chiming guitars, three-part harmonies, and a lilting vocal melody, though still retaining the driving rhythm of other Who songs of the period. Along with other early Who numbers like "I Can't Explain" and "So Sad About Us", it is considered an important forerunner of the "power pop" movement.^[3] "Circles" was notably covered by contemporaries of the group, British freakbeat outfit Les Fleur de Lys. The cover version has found some notice after its inclusion on Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from the British Empire and Beyond, 1964-1969. The U.S. release also substituted a portrait of the band with Big Ben in the background for the original UK cover depicting the band standing beside some oil drums and looking upward to the camera, with splashes of color added by the red and blue stenciled letters of the title and a jacket patterned after the Union Flag thrown over John Entwistle's shoulders.

Track listing

All songs composed by Pete Townshend except where noted.

My Generation (UK release)

Side 1

1. "Out in the Street"
2. "I Don't Mind" (James Brown)
3. "The Good's Gone"
4. "La-La-La-Lies"
5. "Much Too Much"
6. "My Generation"

Side 2

1. "The Kids Are Alright"
2. "Please, Please, Please" (Brown/John Terry)
3. "It's Not True"
4. "I'm a Man" (McDaniel)
5. "A Legal Matter"
6. "The Ox" (Townshend/Moon/Entwistle/Hopkins)

The Who Sings My Generation (U.S. release)

1. "Out in the Street"
2. "I Don't Mind" (Brown)
3. "The Good's Gone"
4. "La-La-La Lies"
5. "Much Too Much"
6. "My Generation"
7. "The Kids Are Alright"
8. "Please, Please, Please" (Brown/Terry)
9. "It's Not True"
10. "The Ox" (Townshend/Moon/Entwistle/Hopkins)
11. "A Legal Matter"
12. "Instant Party"

The Who Sings My Generation (Deluxe Edition)

Disc one

1. "Out in the Street"
2. "I Don't Mind"
3. "The Good's Gone"
4. "La-La-La Lies"
5. "Much Too Much"
6. "My Generation"
7. "The Kids Are Alright"
8. "Please, Please, Please"
9. "It's Not True"
10. "I'm a Man"
11. "A Legal Matter"
12. "The Ox"
13. "Circles (Instant Party)"
14. "I Can't Explain" (bonus track) [features the lack of tambourine]
15. "Bald Headed Woman" (bonus track)
16. "Daddy Rolling Stone" (bonus track)

Disc two

The second disc contains additional bonus tracks.

1. "Leaving Here"
2. "Lubie (Come Back Home)"
3. "Shout and Shimmy"
4. "(Love Is Like A) Heat Wave"
5. "Motoring"
6. "Anytime You Want Me"
7. "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" (alternate take)
8. "Instant Party Mixture"
9. "I Don't Mind" (full length version)
10. "The Good's Gone" (full length version)
11. "My Generation" (instrumental version)
12. "Anytime You Want Me" (a cappella version)
13. "A Legal Matter" (monaural version with guitar overdub)
14. "My Generation" (monaural version with guitar overdub)

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1965	UK Chart Albums	5

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1965	"My Generation"	Billboard Pop Singles	74
1965	"My Generation"	UK Singles Charts	2
1966	"A Legal Matter"	UK Singles Charts	32
1966	"The Kids Are Alright"	UK Singles Charts	41

Personnel

• John Entwistle – bass guitar, vocals
• Roger Daltrey – lead vocals, harmonica
• Keith Moon – drums, percussion
• Pete Townshend – 6 and 12 string acoustic and electrics guitars, vocals
• Nicky Hopkins – piano (except on "I Can't Explain")
• The Ivy League – background vocals on "I Can't Explain" and "Bald Headed Woman"
• Perry Ford – piano on "I Can't Explain"
• Jimmy Page – guitar on "Bald Headed Woman"

Editions

[1965] Brunswick Records LAT 8616 

Original UK LP release. Titled as My Generation, with the UK cover and track listing as described above. Producer: Shel Talmy

[1966] Decca DL4664 (mono) / DL 7-4664 (stereo) 

Original USA LP release. Retitled as The Who Sings My Generation, with alternate cover and variant track listing as described above. Producer: Shel Talmy

[1988] MCAD-31330 (7673-11330-2) 

Original CD release (AAD). Titled as The Who Sings My Generation. Original USA release cover on the front; simple track listing on the back. Standard MCA silver label with title and track listing. The tracks are as on the original USA release, with "Circles" listed as "Instant Party (Circles)". The front insert folds out for the original liner notes, another copy of the CD's track listing, and some spam-like advertisements for other MCA CDs. Producer: Shel Talmy.

[2002] MCA - no catalog number (08811-29262) 

Two-disk Deluxe Edition remixed CD release (ADD). Title reverts to My Generation (Deluxe Edition). Original UK release cover on the front; small photos of band members along with band name and album title on the back. The package is in a digipak-style case, with a transparent vinyl sleeve. The paper cover folds out into four panels, with the original liner notes, photos from the two original album cover photo shoots and reproductions of the labels on some of the songs' tape boxes inside. The disc 1 label is a facsimile of an old Brunswick single label ; disc 2 has a facsimile of an old Decca single label. The tracks are as on the original UK release, plus 3 bonus tracks on disc 1. Disc 2 consists entirely of bonus tracks. All songs are remixed, with digital effects not found in the original release. Included is a 14 leaf booklet with the original USA release cover on its front and including articles by Mike Shaw, Shel Talmy, and Andy Neill, a detailed track listing, period photos of the band, facsimiles of period posters and single covers, and extended credits. Producers: Shel Talmy and Andy McKaie. Executive Producers: Bill Curbishley and Robert Rosenberg.

References

Many of the details in this article are derived from the deluxe edition of the CD, released in 2002.

This box:  •  • edit The Who
Personnel
Current members: Roger Daltrey - Pete Townshend
Other official members: John Entwistle - Keith Moon - Kenney Jones
Other personnel: John "Rabbit" Bundrick - Pino Palladino - Zak Starkey - Simon Townshend Simon Phillips - Doug Sandom - Colin Dawson - Gabby Connolly - Tim Gorman - Steve "Boltz" Bolton - Brian Kehew
Discography
Studio albums	My Generation - A Quick One - The Who Sell Out - Tommy - Who's Next - Quadrophenia - The Who by Numbers - Who Are You - Face Dances - It's Hard - Endless Wire
Live albums	Live at Leeds - Who's Last - Join Together (1990) - Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 - The BBC Sessions - Blues to the Bush - Live at the Royal Albert Hall - Encore Series 2002 - Encore Series 2004 - Encore Series 2006 - Live from Toronto
Compilations	Magic Bus - Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy - Odds & Sods - The Kids Are Alright (soundtrack) - Hooligans - Join Together (1982) - Rarities Vol. I 1966-1968 - Rarities Vol. II 1970-1973 - Who's Greatest Hits - Who's Missing - Two's Missing - Who's Better, Who's Best - Thirty Years of Maximum R&B - My Generation: The Very Best of the Who - The Ultimate Collection - Then and Now
Filmography
Rock operas	Tommy - Quadrophenia
About The Who	The Kids Are Alright -
Other appearances	Monterey Pop - Rock and Roll Circus - Woodstock - McVicar - Buddy's Song
Related articles
Production	Peter Meaden - Kit Lambert - Chris Stamp - Bob Pridden - Duncan Nimmo - Bill Curbishley	Other	Influence - Performance - In the studio - Lifehouse - Track Records - 2006-07 Tour - The Boy Who Heard Music - Scott Halpin - A Tale of Two Springfields