THE WHO
My Generation (Deluxe Edition)
(MCA/Chronicles)
We take our classic rock groups for granted these days. There's a huge section of the rock audience for whom artists like Neil Young, Led Zeppelin, etc. have always been there, ubiquitous presences on the radio since before we were born. Sure, there are still plenty of folks around who heard these bands when they were just babies, but for the punters who watch MTV and listen to Hits Mix radio, the Stones' career began with "Start Me Up" and the Beatles have existed since the beginning of the recording industry. It's often hard to imagine these groups as youngsters, still in unpolished form, not the accomplished hitmakers and overarching influences they would become.

The Who is a prime example. Everybody knows Tommy and "Won't Get Fooled Again." Everyone also knows "My Generation," but how many of the band's fans, outside of the true hardcore, have actually heard the album from which it comes? 1965's My Generation, the group's first full-length record, is a perfect portrait of a band in the raw, rushed into the studio to capture its explosive live show on tape for the kids, just tasting the fruits of success with its first single "I Can't Explain." This isn't the sleek classic rock machine of "Who Are You" or Quadrophenia—this is a band of young punks with a serious R&B jones and a penchant for noise running through its budding repertoire with power and gusto. "Out in the Street" and "It's Not True" fairly tear their way out of the speakers, the rough fury a calling card the band would revise and expand on throughout its career. "La-La-La Lies" and "The Good's Gone" show chief songwriter Pete Townshend developing his pop sense as much as his rock instincts; they may not be masterpieces but they're utterly charming. "A Legal Matter," featuring Townshend's first recorded lead vocal, and the droning "Circles" remain two of the Who's underrated classics. The instrumental "The Ox" lets drummer Keith Moon indulge his surf music fantasies under Townshend's gnarly guitar lines and guest Nicky Hopkins' busy piano. The band's R&B roots show through with crude but effective versions of James Brown's "Please Please Please" and "I Don't Mind," both of which show singer Roger Daltrey already in possession of his impressive chops, and a crushing take on Bo Diddley's "I'm a Man" with an extended feedback coda. And, of course, there are the massive hits, the pop anthem "The Kids are Alright" and the still-stunning title track, featuring the late John Entwistle's string-busting bass theatrics. My Generation holds up not only as the origin of a great band but also a heaping helping of primal rock & roll.

But that's not all. The Deluxe Edition includes a slew of bonus tracks of great interest to Who fans. Included as extras on the first disk are the great "I Can't Explain," a cover of Otis Blackwell's "Daddy Rolling Stone" and the bizarre "Bald Headed Woman," written by My Generation producer Shel Talmy and featuring then-session king Jimmy Page on second guitar. The second disk features another album's worth of tracks, including alternate mixes of "A Legal Matter" and "My Generation," the instrumental backing track of the latter, untruncated versions of "The Good's Gone" and "I Don't Mind" and an alternate take on the then-forthcoming single "Anyhow, Anywhere, Anyway." Also present are remnants of the band's soul-based stage setlist, with hard rocking but respectful versions of obscure Motown songs like "Leaving Here" and "Motoring," James Brown's "Shout and Shimmy," Martha & the Vandellas' "Heat Wave," Jerry Ragavoy's "Anytime You Want Me" (in both full-band and a cappella versions) and a breathless "Lubie (Come Back Home)," from Paul Revere and the Raiders. Plus there's the curious "Instant Party Mixture," a doo-wopping in-joke about the drugs currently in vogue at social gatherings.

Besides the music, this edition contains an essay on the making of the album from Who biographer Andy Neill, reminiscences from Talmy and road manager Mike Shaw, the original liner notes ("So far, since starting the Who, he [Townshend] has smashed fourteen guitars.") and an extremely cool package, with reproductions of the different album covers used in different territories. But it's the music that makes this record a classic worth revisiting. When My Generation rolled into record shops like a two-ton boulder, the Who was very nearly a garage band, which just happened to be honing its craft with a weekly residency at the infamous Marquee Club. Revisit those carefree days with this Deluxe Edition and maybe you'll feel like smashing a guitar or two yourself. Michael Toland [buy it]

For fans of: early Kinks, the Rolling Stones, the Superbees