My Generation

I really thought we were out of the woods. Are we being punished? Why is our list haunted? Here we are, the fifth (and, God willing, final) Who album on the list at a rate of one every 22 albums. I keep having this recurring nightmare where I wake up to find this project called 1001 The Who Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Not a single Beatles album yet, but five from these wankers. How's the music you ask? It's fine, a strong debut that I'd enjoy more if it didn't follow four albums of diminishing returns. I actually have this one on vinyl but I'm just so tired. If I give this a 4-star rating will you chaps please leave me alone??? I'm sick to bastard death of you!! Favorite tracks: My (list is trapped in an endless loop of Who album) Generation, Please Please Please (stop), I Don't Mind (if I never hear another Who album again) Album art: It's fine, whatever. Stop staring at me, pricks.

I really liked this album more than expected. I’ve always considered myself a fan of The Who (my HS freshman year go to band), but I had always focused on their later work and greatest hits. This album seems transitional for the era - bridging late 50s/early and early 60s pop-rock/ crooning / doo wop with the harder and more experimental sounds coming later in the decade. “My Generation” and “The Kids are Allright” were radio staples from my youth. I also really liked the James Brown cover “Please, Please, Please” and Bo Diddly’s “I’m a Man”. The closing track “The Ox” was a really pleasant surprise! Phenomenal drumming, and I’m thinking that John Bonham picked up some style cues from Kieth Moon here. Overall great, and a solid 4 1/2 stars. Rounding up because it’s The Who.

2 If the Beatles didn’t exist, this would still just be ‘ok’. Genre-wise, it’s all over the place. Never been a Who fan. Still am not.

The kids are alright, but only because this is The Who's generation and not mine. No, had it been mine, the kids would be in the back of SHACK's van and definitely not alright. Footballer = Leighton Baines

I’m rapidly learning that I’m a much bigger Who fan that I thought, and it’s not like my collection is insignificant. After Who’s Next, this sounded exhilarating in ways it never has before. So I say praise be to this little game for forcing me to listen harder. In brief, this album sounds like war. And not just 60’s war—war from the future and war from the past. The guitars in ‘Good’s Gone’ are laser warfare, the drums in ‘La La Lies’ a battle tattoo. Calamity, carnage, and violence runs deep and throughout. Daltrey rips his voice in two on ‘Please, Please, Please’, ‘My Generation’ ends with a near collapse. And ‘The Ox’ is pure metal, no? Virtuosic, fast, and noisy as hell. The drums are a constant pound, but everything else is wiry and erratic. Distortion, feedback—it’s all there. But none of this album is remotely murky or sludgy. The sound is clear as a bell, and the harmonies are often sweet if not soulful. As ever, The Who are thespians, and once Daltrey starts playing dress-up he comes alive, dragging his voice long and wide to match the frequency of the guitar in ‘Good’s Gone’, playing a wrongly accused man in ‘It’s Not True’. As for the title track, it’s hard to overstate its genius. The claps, the stuttering, the ffffff-uck you fake out. So pleased to listen to this afresh.

Okay, it's The Who. Its a classic. I get it. But I do not feel changed, nor do I feel I absolutely needed to listen to that.

You ever look at a record cover and think, “yep, that’s gonna be a 3”?

What often makes the music called proto-punk different from its evolved form is the blend of 60's rock, by then frequently called pop music, and aggressive, distorted instrumentals that, while exciting and innovating, somehow fit in seamlessly with the styles of the era. This album has pretty good examples of that.

This band sucks a hot bag of ass. I clicked the email again and thought, "FUCK the who!"

I apparently had no idea who The Who were my entire life. Like obviously I knew of THE WHO but outside of Pinball Wizard and some other hits in the '70s I guess I couldn't have told you one song. If you had put on My Generation without telling me who it was I would scratched my head confused about why it sounded like the Beatles but wasn't the Beatles. I had a lot of fun with this one. It was definitely a piece of music history that helps make sense of everything else. For instance—the bridge from Blues to Rock is plain as day. Also, they were Mods?! Still some missing pieces there. It's funny b/c they don't sound threatening at all from a contemporary perspective. However, I get the threat when considering their live performances (they popularized smashing their instruments? Really not the music I thought would have set off that trend). Highly recommend watching the Smothers Brothers My Generation performance if you haven't done so already. Generally, this album just works on a lot of levels for me.

I like a lot of The Who’s music, and really love a handful of their tunes. I think Pete Townshend is one of the best guitarists and songwriters in rock history. Love his voice, too. Roger, John, and their drummers and keyboardists, are all excellent. That being said, this is not an album I've listened to a lot. I do get its importance in rock history, and it has some fun mid-60’s “mod rock” songs, but overall I like their later stuff a lot better.

1965. Still hangover from the doo wop era and some of that leaks through unpleasantly. Well, I suppose pleasantly if you are into that saccharine sweetness, but music was changing and The Who snuck in a few more innovative songs here. Keith Moon is a machine, and without his driving beat this would be mostly a collection of forgettable 3 chord pop songs. The Ox and My Generation are both fantastic, but the rest is just filler.

Always ranked The Who as one of my least favorite classic rock bands of all time. This just further cemented that. Just can’t get into them, no matter how hard I try.

I’ve always thought The Who were a brash in your face 60’s British rock band who stuck it to the establishment. Instead I was served up an offering of syrupy rock pop singles straight out of Top Of The Pops. Sappy pre-boy band tracks which if you were to change the bands title to ‘The Beatles’ on this album no one would notice. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out I was severely disappointed. If this is an example of the best of The Who, then I’m very much left wondering ‘The Why’? 1 Star!

As good as it was the first time I heard it!

I would say this is the freshest sounding who album as some of the later ones get bogged down in 'concepts'. On display here is a group with a tough, meaty sound, some great songs and loads of energy. Obviously the title track is the most well known but equally great are the opening 'Out in the Street', and 'The Kids Are Alright'. Also noteworthy is 'A Legal Matter' (a song about divorce was highly unusual for a pop song in 1965) and the powerful crunchy instrumental 'The Ox'. Great stuff.

I can really appreciate classic rock now. Two genres of music I listen to a lot when I was younger metal/grunge from my father. Classic rock from my Grandpa. Just makes me think of being in the car with him. I’m biased but I love it

Three hits and a lot of really fun “others.” “The Ox” shows off Moon’s talent. Rounding up.

Love this collection of early recordings from one of my favorite bands of all time. So many hints of great things yet to come from the group and its individual powerhouse musicians. Makes me smile, end to end.

It might not be the best album ever from the point of view of a modern lense, but it is clear that The Who have a great impact on the development of music. The album has some fun songs, with My Generation being the standout track on the album it shares a name with. However, I will admit that some songs did grate on me a bit because they were repetitive.

Not bad, but really quite boring when compared with their later work; without My Generation this album would really be uninteresting. Fave Tracks: My Generation, I'm A Man 2.8/5

Keeping in mind that this album is from 1965, it is slightly outdated because of the crazy rock stuff that came out 10-20 years later, but it is overall quite nice. I enjoyed it but I would say that it was definitely better listening to this back in the day than now.

I'm pretty sure I've listened to this album before. Some of the tracks on it are genuine timeless classics - the title "My Generation", for example, is wonderful. "I'm a man", though, is almost insultingly bad. As we get further forward we find more cover versions - I guess this is what happened in the 60s. I mean. I get it. I just don't quite get it.

Hmm... classic, but I am getting bored of classic rock... still not bad, but a lot of songs just go on for too long

The who is one of my favorite bands but I never listened to this album much. It's ok but not as good as their later stuff, in my opinion.

Sure, I like this. It's pretty good. Can't say much else, honestly.

Who? The Who.

They clearly got better with time but there is something to this as a debut. If they hadn't evolved this likely would've disappeared but My Generation is a great song and helped make the album feel like it had something more in it. Not their best, based on what they become this is a fun listen to hear their roots.

5/5 for cultural significance. I could hear the seeds of heavy metal and punk, but that’s all they were. From an actual enjoyment rating 3/5. Basic 60s rock

No. 194/1001 Out In The Street 4/5 I Don't Mind 4/5 The Good's Gone 3/5 La-La-La Lies 4/5 Much Too Much 3/5 My Generation 3/5 The Kids Are Alright 4/5 Please, Please, Please 3/5 It's Not True 4/5 I'm A Man Now 3/5 A Legal Matter 3/5 The Ox 3/5 Average: 3,42 Nice debut album. The fundamentals are all there. Ready to achive higher heights in their later releases.

Maybe it's the copy I have but the recording isn't great. A solid 1960s rock album. Other than the hits, I'm not sure this does much more than tease what is to come.

My Generation was a shotgun blast to my chest the first time I heard it, it is one of undeniably perfect songs of early rock n roll eras. I love the who’s early r n b influence and their approach to some classics stands apart from their contemporaries but I feel like this album does not represent them the best and some songs seem rather phoned in. Perhaps capturing more of their manic stage performance of these songs would have suited them better but hey I won’t argue with the resulting career.

3.4 - I liked it, but nothing really grabbed me outside of My Generation. Do I think The Who are over rated? Maybe but I think I need to give them more time also.

More a collection of tracks than an albums. Rocks sits nexts to some fairly decent soul crooning. It sounds a little plodding at times. A decent debut, with a hint of what was to come.

Inutile de vous rappeler que je connais personnellement Robert, l'homme sans qui ce générateur n'aurait jamais vu le jour. Celui que j'appelle familièrement Rob fait d'ailleurs lui-même partie du classement des 1001 contacts à ajouter sur les réseaux avant de mourir. Quand il ne choisit pas un énième album de Costello ou de Morrissey à rajouter à sa liste, il peut nous proposer par exemple un album des Who. Et qu'est-ce que ça donne ? J'ai envie de dire ouais, pas mal. Le morceau My Generation a fait secouer ma tête pleine de savoir, et ça c'est déjà une victoire.

Alright I’m officially tilted at how many boomer rock albums we’ve pulled. I would like to use this album to bring to light the 2010 remix of My Generation featuring Slash and Will.i.am., in which he sings about the war in Iraq and the recession

there isn't even one song about pinball

I listened to the stereo, original version of this album Track 1: good feel, repetitive Track 2: ok singing, interesting Track 3: I liked the intro Track 4: nice drums, nothing special lyrically Track 5: nope Track 6: I really enjoyed this track Track 7: finally a different intro, flows, enjoyed the beat Track 8: meh / Track 9: nope / Track 10: what Track 11: twangy, true to life, interesting Track 12: awesome drumming, what a banger Overall impression: Lousy, whiny vocals, mostly average or below average lyrics, awesome drums. Written by young people. The Ox is an awesome song, and very ahead of its time. 2.5, with the .5 being in honor of The Ox

I like a few Who songs but I’m just not into them.

Being one of my favorite classic rock bands, this album is pretty weak. I don't think it's there fault as every british invasion band seems to have been put into this kind of box when they started. It also did give us "My Generation" which is a classic. As an album though, very late 50's influenced 60's rock which is pretty whatever. "A Legal Matter" and "the Kids are Alright" are fine but most of the tracks are just kind of bland or annoying to me.

I don’t like this type of music but it was good

i don't mind

Thought it was going to be a copycat of the rough sound of the Rolling Stones, you know, laying the groundwork for a successful late 60’s, 70’s golden era. This album however shouldn’t be disregarded as such, it’s a fantastic album in its own right.

love The Who

Very good!

Such a great rock album — three R&B covers, and the rest Townshend originals. Being of a certain age (heard "My Generation" the single played on AM radio when it first came out), this really takes me back to a different time, with all four Who members alive and young, and on this album, foreshadowing greater things to come, plus Nicky Hopkins (the fifth Who member, as it were) throughout, as well as a 21-year-old Jimmy Paige on one track. In some sense, this album marks the birth of "hard rock."

day 200, woohoo 10/10

It was fun listening to My Generation in full. An iconic song on a great album. This was really enjoyable all the way through.

classic who. listened to it in mono. very good while woodworking on chase's shelf commission. will go back in the future to see if there is a stereo recording.

True classic

Awesome 😎

Klassiker men flere fede numre og god rock. Dog lidt tynd lyd

"My Generation" by The Who is a timeless rock classic that captures the rebellious spirit of the 1960s. Released in 1965, this album defined a generation with its raw energy and anthems of youth. The title track, "My Generation," remains an iconic anthem of youthful defiance. The album's relentless guitar riffs and Roger Daltrey's powerful vocals are electrifying, while tracks like "The Kids Are Alright" and "A Legal Matter" showcase the band's songwriting prowess. With its rebellious attitude and groundbreaking sound, "My Generation" laid the foundation for The Who's legendary career and remains an essential listen for anyone craving a dose of rock 'n' roll nostalgia.

While most bands of the "British-Invasion" era debuted with albums full of classic blues covers from the titans of the genre, such as Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley, Robert Johnson, Son House, and myriad others, The Who decided that originality was better. The Who do perform an inspired cover of Bo Diddley's "I'm A Man," with Roger Daltrey's deep, dusky, husk of a voice the main highlight amidst a sonic backdrop that sounds like the fourth album instead of the debut -- a band comfortable in their groove. Their covers of James Brown songs ("I Don't Mind" and "Please Please Please") fall short of their standards, established with the opening track "Out In The Street." "My Generation" is one of the seminal 'Mod Rock' songs, but expands well beyond that to capture the mood and attitude of a decade and several generations. John Entwistle's bassline would become the rocking, rollicking standard for years. The album finishes stronger than it starts, with Keith Moon's hi-hat work on "A Legal Matter" adding a freneticism to the playful tone of the lyrics. "The Ox," named after Entwistle (as it was his nickname), is a masterclass of a bluesy, grooving jam that rolls into the sunset. It's rare enough when "non Jam-Bands" can keep a groove and make it into an enticing song. For a band to do it on their debut album, in such a hypnotic, frantic, groovy, absolutely captivating way is remarkable. And a sign of the things to come.

Bangers

Great!

Keith Moon and good vocal harmony make for an incredible album. 5/5

This is a pretty good album! Not The Who’s best work, but it’s easy to listen to.

Love 💘

Legends. Amazing debut album. Hard Rock at it’s finest.

Note

No mentiré, nunca había escuchado un disco de the Who, tampoco mentiré sobre el hecho de que me prendió bastante. Lo increíblemente digerible y directo que es me hizo escucharlo sin interrupciones. Lo que seguro pasó por rebelde en su época parece ahora mainstream con retazos de sonidos necios y no hay nada malo con ello supongo porque apela a mi búsqueda de lo catchy y de la fácil escucha, lel. Percusiones divertidas, guitarras proto-pesadas (me lo acabo de inventar jaja). Track favorito: The Ox. Mención honorífica: The kids are alright, por el corito pegajoso. Mood: contento y conflictuado después de tomar ácido y una tacita de té negro con leche en la mañana (porque pues no saber si rechazar o no lo inglés) sobre un pastito de Glastonbury o lo que existiera en dicha época en el Reino Unido.

Wow, interesting mix of 60's rock songs, some Beatles like, some rolling stones like. I didn't realize the range of idea they had into properly listening to this album.

Classic. I love The Who and this is a great example of what made them popular and also a window into London at that time. I wish I had a time machine. I’d go straight to 1965.

They sound so different from later tracks. Bluesy.

Iconic.

Awesome

who?

who?

That's a long time again that I listen to that album. Perhaps worth to relisten

I like this album a lot, reminds me a bit of the clash

Every song is great. Top songs are: Out in the Streets, I Don’t Mind, The Good’s Gone, My Generation, The Kids Are Alright (best song), It’s Not True, A Legal Matter, and The Ox. Everyone is amazing here. Alfa drums. Keith Moon is still top 3 drummers ever. The Who are amazing. Idc.

Fantastic. I think this is my favorite phase of The Who.

It's deffinetely my generation. Now the Who is one of my favorite band. Guys played music of the future.

Very enjoyable, lots of new Who for me here.

Classic with much more blues than I realized.

A classic. Standouts include Out In The Street, I Don't Mind, My Generation, I'm a Man, and The Ox.

9/10. I like the Who. Never actually listened to this album, The Kids Are Alright actually confused me so much when it came on because I am more used to hearing the little snippet of it in Quadrophenia then I am just hearing it as a song.

очень ыстро пролетело

Amazing

WOW - several memories an many new listens - a great first work of incredibly talented members of a oft forgotten British Invasion band - the covers of black, blues works are phenomenal!!

great album; you can hear the influences of the blues in the album, just like many of the albums of the time period.

Much prefer this to latter stuff

Really liked this album.

Incredible great debut album by The Who

This album fucking rocks

Just great!! They were so much ahead of their time that they are still on the wave. A classic!

You can hear the Greaser in the Rocker on the expanded singles

Maximum R&B. Surprising number of great covers.

Spectacular classic! The song that made clear the discontent of a generation that was fed up with the past.

I truly enjoyed this album. The vocals and accompanying music were jams!! Maybe one or two songs I didn't care for.

Up through La-La-La-Lies, it felt like they were shoehorning them into The Beatles sound box. However, from there, it very quickly becomes The Who we all know and love. Man, they really hit their stride from that point on. The drumwork on The Kids Are Alright in particular really stands out in this sense, and the whole band really came together strongly for It's Not True. The Ox is pure chaos that also works together almost counterintuitively, which is about the best explanation I can come up with for The Who. Awesome album from an awesome band.

Much more of the blues sound (that the Brit bands were allowed to appropriate) and stuff I love from The Who. It was a long album, but I was never bored.

The original content and the covers are great!

It’s been a long time since I’ve listened to the whole album. You always hear the songs that were hits. But listening to it in context of where they were in their career and the time, you can hear a connection between what they used as their inspiration, the style they developed, and how they influenced others. Many of the the songs clearly build off of rockabilly and blues sounds. But then there are the songs that begin to reveal their own style and the style of the 60’s. Songs like Much Too Much, My Generation, and The Kids Are Alright. The big surprise was The Good’s Gone. It could have easily been a grudge era song and sounds surprisingly modern. All in all, the album has quite a mix of Who sounds without a theme that later albums had. .

yaaaass lord, yaaassss

An album I've already heard, and definitely enjoy. Outstanding sound, especially for the time, and absolutely iconic.

Loved the Beatles vibe

This album provides a telling historical perspective of where The Who came from and also provides a glimpse into where they were to go. They were the original punks and the raw energy and attitude shows why the punk bands to come in the latter half of the 70s viewed The Who as their inspiration and the OGs. There are a few onslaughts of drums, bass and feedback that is their signature.  It's one thing to have this onslaught in The Ox, but to have this in the last minutes of My Generation, their single, shows they wanted the message of who they really were to be LOUD and clear. The more extreme onslaught of noise is in The Ox which was the inspiration for Jimi's experimentations with feedback and also led other OG's, such as Velvet Underground  to experiment with noise on White Light / White Heat. Loud and insane was what The Who was about and this album gives a glimpse into the insanity that would have been a Who concert at the time. Their subsequent albums were toned down as Pete's writing became more sophisticated but their live shows remained more like this album. Live at Leeds was ultimately released to show that their live concerts remained true to their roots. To put this LP in perspective, at the time this album was released, The Beatles released Eight Days a Week. The Who clearly had a different brand. The James Brown covers highlight their branding at the time which was "Maximum R&B. Pete's solo on Please, Please, Please shows his original and underrated abilities. The Kids are Alright was always an enigma. It’s a great song and a lot of Who fans love it. As a single it did well but the band never played it live until at least the 90s (probably their fifth tour after their final tour -  lol) The song was the title of the movie about their live concerts but the song wasn’t played in the movie. I guess the tune was a little too user friendly and not consistent with the loud guitars and sloppy drums attitude that they wanted to be known for.  The modus operandi of the day was to release singles that were never included on albums. From a historical perspective this dilutes the quality of the albums. In this regard The Who released two singles I Can't Explain and Substitute just before and just after the LP. These were the first two songs to start their live shows for decades.

Classic