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The Who - Pete Townshend Albums - Page 1:
LIFEHOUSE DEMOS
Album: Lifehouse Demos
LPs (vinyl) Sampled: Master Room USA
LP Comments: Excellent Sound with the usual acetate issues.
Summary: This 2 LP acetate set appears to be the master source for "The Genius Of Pete Townshend" bootleg LP.
Other Comments: "Classified" (on the Master Room label) is the same version as on the "Glastonbury Fayre" LP, "Baba O'Riley" is the longest instrumental version (13.10 minutes). Note the differences in the (2) two sets of IBC label versions; i.e. one is titled, "Lifehouse" and the other "The Life House". Note: The 2023 acetate replica LPs (offered with a 3 LP version of Who's Next) feature some mix variations as offered with the Who's Next (Super Deluxe Edition) box set.
Track Listing (Master Room): Pure & Easy, Behind Blue Eyes, Love Ain't For Keepin', Mary, Getting In Tune, Going Mobile, Too Much Of Anything, Time Is Passing, Classified, Won't Get Fooled Again, The Song Is Over, Baba O'Riley
Track Listing (IBC, Polydor/UMC): Pure & Easy, Behind Blue Eyes, Love Ain't For Keepin', Mary, Getting In Tune, Going Mobile, Too Much Of Anything, Time Is Passing, Won't Get Fooled Again, The Song Is Over, Baba O'Riley
WHO CAME FIRST
Album: Who Came First
LPs (vinyl) Sampled: Decca (USA), Polydor (UK), CBS/Sony (Japan) UMC (UK)
CDs Sampled: Ryko (USA), Imperial (Japan), Hip-O (USA), UMC (UK)
DVD-A Sampled: "Who Came First" [Classic (USA)]
Non-album Tracks: Pete Townshend songs that didn't originally appear on "Who Came First", but were on singles or only Meher Baba albums: "Mary Jane" (on "Happy Birthday"), "Baba O'Riley"- instrumental version (on "I Am"), "Meher" (on "With Love").
Note: "This Song Is Green", which is a Billy Nicholls song and features Pete Townshend on synthesized flute appears on the Polydor (UK) single, "Forever's No Time At All" (from "Who Came First") and "I Am".
LP Comments: A slight edge to the Decca (USA) pressing.
CD Comments: The "Who Came First" Ryko (USA) sounds excellent. The 2006 CDs sound a bit louder. The 2018 CDs have been remastered.
DVD-A Comments: What started out sounding very good, turned bad very quickly. Tracks 1 & 2 sound just fine. However, the volume drops off on track 3, then dropping even lower on track 4 ("Let's See Action"). This quickly changes again on track 5 ("Time Is Passing") through the rest of the disc - to be completely loud and over-modulated . In completely disbelief, I replayed the disc over and over again to ensure it wasn't my imagination. Unfortunately it wasn't my imagination, but just a poorly mastered disc.
One side of the disc is DVD-A (which requires a machine that will play DVD Audio discs), the other side is playable on any DVD Video player.
Compare for yourself!
Below are 30 second WAV samples from various pressings of "Who Came First" (A) and the (3) Meher Baba albums: "Happy Birthday" (B), "I Am" (C) & "With Love" (D) as described above (and below).
The Seeker (Originally Released on "Happy Birthday" in 1970):
1970 UK LP (B) 1977 UK LP (B) 1992 USA CD (A) 2000 UK CD (B) 2001 UK CD (B) 2006 USA CD (A) 2006 Japan CD (A) 2018 UK CD (A)
Parvardigar (Originally Released on "I Am" in 1972):
1972 UK LP (C) 1972 UK LP (A) 1972 USA LP (A) 1972 Japan LP (A) 1977 UK LP (C) 1992 USA CD (A) 2000 UK CD (C) 2001 UK CD (C) 2003 USA DAT Master (A) 2006 USA CD (A) 2006 Japan CD (A) 2017 UK LP (A) 2018 UK CD (A)
Pure And Easy (Originally Released on "Who Came First" in 1972):
1972 UK LP (A) 1972 USA LP (A) 1972 Japan LP (A) 1992 USA CD (A) 2003 USA DAT Master (A) 2006 USA CD (A) 2006 Japan CD (A) 2017 UK LP (A) 2018 UK CD (A)
Sleeping Dog (Originally Released on "With Love" in 1976):
1976 UK LP (D) 1977 UK LP (D) 1992 USA CD (A) 2000 UK CD (D) 2001 UK CD (D) 2006 USA CD (A) 2006 Japan CD (A) 2018 UK CD (A)
Note: Sound comparisons are only as good as your ears and the equipment you are listening to the music with. Summary: The Ryko (USA) CD is my first choice, both in terms of sound quality and the many bonus tracks which are not on the original LP. The 2018 Deluxe Edition CD Box (UK, USA, Japan) has further extended bonus tracks and should be considered as well.
Other Comments: For the CD release, Pete Townshend added most of his Meher Baba tracks (the Meher Baba albums also feature other artists) as a bonus. Exceptions are listed above (under non-album tracks). The original 1992CD release was issued as a standard release and a deluxe release with a nice book.
If you'd like the complete collection of Pete Townshend tracks and would like to seek out the missing songs, see the "Meher Baba" album section for more details.
About: Who Came First (with the Meher Baba Album songs)
As a newbie Who fan in the late 1970's and approaching the "turning point" of 1982, there were three essential bootlegs which you "had" to have: Who's Zoo (for all the rare b sides and such), Fillmore East (live 1968 Who!) and The Genius Of Pete Townshend (demos for Who's Next and that unfinished album - what was it called... "Lighthouse"? Or maybe... Lifehouse)
Wow. Discovering it all for the first time.
I met a new friend (Phil Cohen) at the Miami Record Show around December 1982. He was a big Who fan and had a recording studio in his bedroom. At that same record show I also got a copy of "Happy Birthday" (the 2nd pressing) for $10! The guy who sold it to me also had "With Love" - but all the way North in Stuart, FL. I ended up I driving there to get it (another $10 and 220 miles). He was another big Who fan. His whole house looked like a record warehouse. Tall, free standing metal record racks everywhere. You had to walk down one of the "rows" to get to his bedroom where he had the record.
I ended up bringing these 2 records to Phil's house where he recorded these two LPs as well as "Who Came First" and the 8 minute "Baba O'Riley" demo (from "I Am") onto a tape for me.
Phil explained some of the history of the "Meher Baba" albums to me as well as telling me that Pete played all the instruments on these albums. He didn't have "With Love" before - so we both had a good time listening to "new music".
I loved "Who Came First" from the very moment I heard it. Great songs, so perfectly performed.
Initially I didn't like "There's a Heartache Following Me" - but it grew on me over time and now I consider it a great song.
I found the Meher Baba songs even cooler and more interesting. When I first heard "The Seeker" I immediately liked it better than The Who version and quite the opposite, I never cared that much for "Time Is Passing" until I heard The Who version and that turned into an "instant Wow". (go figure)
When there was talk of a CD release (of "Who Came First") I wrote Pete Townshend and suggested he combine the album with his songs from the "Meher Baba" albums - which he ending up doing (whether it was my suggestion or his own idea - I don't know. It doesn't matter - what matters is that the results was the same and fans everywhere could enjoy this great music).
My only disappointment was the initial release was missing "Mary Jane" and "Meher". (The latter is a weaker track, but "Mary Jane" is a really good song.) Fortunately "Mary Jane" was added to the subsequent release.
I was always confused by the "story" of how this album came to be.
What was previously written was something to the effect that Decca/MCA asked Pete to release "Happy Birthday" because of the bootlegging of this private LP and that Pete said he would release an album, but wanted to do it "fresh".
That story never made sense to me because... I have never seen a bootleg of "Happy Birthday" - ever!
Some years back I asked Pete about this story since I wanted to know the real story.
(Apparently Decca/MCA had thought that "Happy Birthday" was a bootleg and that's how all that got started...)
My favorite songs...
* Pure and Easy (I recall the first time hearing it thinking "where's the rest of it???" The "Genius" LP had the unedited version which also ended up on the Lifehouse box set. Great song!)
* Lets See Action (if you don't like this song you have to be a "slug")
* There's a Heartache Following Me (went from a "skipper" to a wow)
* Sheraton Gibson (great song. Pete played this live at the Supper Club in NY. He forgot the "ho" !!! What exactly did he mean my "Cleveland ho" ? I have no clue - but when he sang it live - I was like - where did it go???)
* Parvardigar (great song. A bit odd hearing Pete sing it in German. ;) )
* The Seeker (this version seems more personal and raw. Absolutely live it)
* Day of Silence (great song - after getting tinnitus - it's something you wish for and know will never happen)
* Sleeping Dog (the best song from "With Love". How could anyone not love this song?)
* The Love Man (this is such a great song on so many different levels. Soft, romantic, analytical, deep, spiritual, haunting - the kitchen sink. I am in awe of Pete every time I hear this. Such a masterpiece.)
What a great album...Track Listing: Original LP and DVD-A: Pure And Easy, Evolution, Forever's No Time At All, Nothing Is Everything (Let's See Action), Time Is Passing, There's A Heartache Following Me, Sheraton Gibson, Content, Parvardigar
CD (1996): Pure And Easy, Evolution, Forever's No Time At All, Nothing Is Everything (Let's See Action), Time Is Passing, There's A Heartache Following Me, Sheraton Gibson, Content, Parvardigar, His Hands, The Seeker, Day of Silence, Sleeping Dog, The Love Man, Lantern Cabin
CD (2006 - Hip-O USA, Imperial Japan): Pure And Easy, Evolution, Forever's No Time At All, Nothing Is Everything (Let's See Action), Time Is Passing, There's A Heartache Following Me, Sheraton Gibson, Content, Parvardigar, His Hands, The Seeker, Day of Silence, Sleeping Dog, The Love Man, Lantern Cabin, Mary Jane, I Always Say, Begin The BeguineCD (2018 - 45th Anniversary Edition Universal USA): Pure And Easy, Evolution, Forever's No Time At All, Nothing Is Everything (Let's See Action), Time Is Passing, There's A Heartache Following Me, Sheraton Gibson, Content, Parvardigar, His Hands, The Seeker (2017 Edit), Day of Silence, Sleeping Dog, Mary Jane (Stage A Version), I Always Say (2017 Edit), Begin The Beguine (2017 Edit), Baba O’Reilly (Instrumental), The Love Man (Stage C), Content (Stage A), Day Of Silence (Alternate Version), Parvardigar (Alternate take), Nothing Is Everything, There’s A Fortune In Those Hills, Meher Baba In Italy, Drowned (live in India), Evolution (live at Ronnie Lane Memorial)
MEHER BABA ALBUMS
Album(s): Happy Birthday (1970), I Am (1972), With Love (1977), Avatar, Jai Baba (Note: the latter 2 are CD reissues of the former 3.)
LPs (vinyl) Sampled: Happy Birthday [USL (UK), MBO (UK)], I Am [USL (UK), MBO (UK)], With Love [USL (UK), MBO (UK)]
CDs Sampled: Avatar [Eelpie (UK)], Jai Baba [Eelpie (UK)]
Non-album Tracks: n/a
LP Comments: The 3 Meher Baba LPs were originally issued on the Universal Spiritual League (USL) label and then reissued on the Meher Baba Organization (MBO) label. The latter uses a better quality vinyl than the USL pressings and therefore sound better. I have heard of some severe problems with the USL pressings of "Happy Birthday" - reports of off center holes and very noisy vinyl.
CD Comments: Unfortunately, the sound quality could be improved on these reissues. Excessive use of "noise reduction" and compression makes these less desirable than their vinyl counterparts.
Summary: If you're looking for the complete Meher Baba collection of songs, then the 1977 MBO LP reissues are the best choice.
If you just want the best sounding Pete Townshend songs and don't care about the other "Meher Baba tracks", The "Who Came First" CD (see "Who Came First") is an excellent alternative as it is a great sounding CD, which features most of Pete's Meher Baba tracks as a bonus. Unfortunately, that CD is missing, "Mary Jane" (missing only from the 1992 releases), "Meher" and the "Baba O'Riley" instrumental demo, so you would need the Meher Baba albums to be "complete".
Other Comments: From a collector's standpoint, it's nice to have the original USL LPs, which contained various Meher Baba related newspapers, photos, etc. But purely from a listener's viewpoint, the vinyl on the "simple" packaged MBO label reissues, is superior and sounds better.
"Avatar" is a limited edition box set, which includes the 3 Meher Baba albums on CD and some very nice packaging and artwork.
"Jai Baba" is basically a simple packaged reissue of "Avatar".
Track Listing(s):
Happy Birthday: Content, Evolution, Day Of Silence, Allan Cohen Speaks, Mary Jane, Allan Cohen Speaks, The Seeker, Begin The Beguine, With A Smile Up His Nose They Entered, The Love Man, Meditation
I Am: Forever's No Time At All, How To Transcend Duality And Influence People, Affirmation, Baba O'Riley, The Song Is Green, Everywhere I Look This Morning, Dragon, O'Parvardigar
With Love: Hail Avatar Meher Baba, Give It Up, Without Your Love, His Hands, Just For A Moment, Baba Blues, Meher, Contact, Gotta Know Ya, Sleeping Dog, All God's Mornings, Lantern Cabin
Avatar: (Contains the combined track listings of "Happy Birthday", "I Am" and "With Love".)
Jai Baba: Same track listing as "Avatar" (above) and adds "O'Parvardigar" recorded live in India (which can be also found on the "O'Pavardigar" single - with better sound quality. See Pete Townshend singles section).
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