The Who Sell Out

The Who Sell Out
Studio album by The Who
Released	15 December 1967
Recorded	May – November 1967 at Talentmasters Studios, New York City, New York IBC Studios, Pye Studios, De Lane Lea Studios, CBS Studios, and Kingsway Studios, London, England Gold Star Studios, Los Angeles, California
Genre	Rock, hard rock, progressive rock, psychedelic rock
Length	38:46
Language	English
Label	Track, Decca
Producer	Kit Lambert
The Who chronology
A Quick One (1966) The Who Sell Out (1967) Tommy (1969)
Singles from The Who Sell Out
"I Can See for Miles" Released: 14 October 1967

The Who Sell Out is the third album by English rock band The Who, released in 1967 by Track Records in the UK and Decca Records in the US. It is a concept album, formatted as a collection of unrelated songs interspersed with faux commercials and public service announcements. The album purports to be a broadcast by pirate radio station Radio London. Part of the intended irony of the title was that the Who were making commercials during that period of their career, some of which are included as bonus tracks on the remastered CD.

The album's release was reportedly followed by lawsuits due to the mention of real-world commercial interests in the faux commercials and on the album covers, and by the makers of the real jingles (Radio London jingles), who claimed the Who used them without permission. (The jingles were produced by PAMS Productions of Dallas, Texas, which created thousands of station ID jingles in the 1960s and '70s). It was the deodorant company, Odorono, who took offense that Chris Stamp made a request for endorsement dollars. In 2003, it was ranked #113 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Packaging

The cover is divided into panels featuring a photograph by David Montgomery of each of the band members, two on the front and two on the back. On the front is Pete Townshend applying Odorono brand deodorant from an oversized stick, and Roger Daltrey sitting in a bathtub full of Heinz baked beans (holding an oversized tin can of the same). Daltrey claims to have caught pneumonia after sitting for a prolonged period in the bathtub, as the beans had been frozen. On the back is Keith Moon applying Medac from an oversized tube, and John Entwistle in a leopard-skin Tarzan suit, squeezing a blonde woman in a leopard-skin bikini with one arm and a teddy bear with the other (an ad for the Charles Atlas course mentioned in one of the album's faux commercials).

Original vinyl copies of Sell Out end with an audio oddity that repeats into a locked groove (In response to the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band). The music in the locked groove is an instrumental version of what was originally intended to be a vocal jingle for the Who's UK label Track Records.

When the LP was released on Track Records in the UK in 1967 (Track 612 002 Mono & Track 613 002 Stereo), a poster was included inside the first 1000 copies (500 stereo and 500 mono). They came with sticker on the front cover stating 'Free Psychedelic Poster Inside'. Due to its rarity, first pressings with poster and sticker have sold for more than £600, and have been known to sell for much more.

Album information

"I Can See for Miles" was released as a single and peaked at #10 in the UK and #9 in the US.

The opening "Radio London" (Days of the Week) jingle makes use of a device called the Sonovox.

This album is notable in The Who discography for not featuring Daltrey as the sole lead singer on most of the songs; he alone provides lead vocals to "Tattoo", "I Can See for Miles" and "Rael". Entwistle sings on "Medac" and "Silas Stingy"; "Odorono", "Our Love Was", "I Can't Reach You" and "Sunrise" by Townshend; on "Armenia City in the Sky" and "Relax", Daltrey and Townshend share lead vocals. "Rael" features melodic and rhythmic ideas that would reappear later in Tommy.

The album is notable for featuring many faux-commercials on and in-between songs. Some of them were real jingles from pirate radio station "Radio London". The majority of the commercial jingles recorded for the album were written and performed by Entwistle and Moon.

Reissues

A single LP was re-issued on 140 Gram Clear blue vinyl as a Special Edition in 2008, by Lilth Records LTD Manufactured in the EU. A two-disc Deluxe Edition of the album was released on 16 March 2009 in the UK and 2 June 2009 in the US.^{[citation needed]}

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Rolling Stone	(favourable) link
Allmusic	link
Uncut	link
Robert Christgau	(A+) link

Track listing

All songs written by Pete Townshend, except where noted. The between song jingles apparently have no official titles and are not listed anywhere on the original album packaging, though they are listed in the inner booklet of the 1995 remaster.

Side one
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Armenia City in the Sky" (John Keen)	3:48
2.	"Heinz Baked Beans" (John Entwistle)	1:00
3.	"Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand"	2:28
4.	"Odorono"	2:34
5.	"Tattoo"	2:51
6.	"Our Love Was"	3:23
7.	"I Can See for Miles"	4:44

Side two
No.	Title	Length
8.	"Can't Reach You"	3:03
9.	"Medac" (Entwistle)	0:57
10.	"Relax"	2:41
11.	"Silas Stingy" (Entwistle)	3:07
12.	"Sunrise"	3:06
13.	"Rael (1 and 2)" (Retitled "Rael 1" on 1995 reissue)	5:44

1995 reissue bonus tracks
No.	Title	Length
14.	"Rael 2"	0:47
15.	"Glittering Girl"	2:56
16.	"Melancholia" (Unavailable on deluxe edition)	3:17
17.	"Someone's Coming" (Entwistle)	2:29
18.	"Jaguar"	2:51
19.	"Early Morning Cold Taxi" (Roger Daltrey, Dave Langston)	2:55
20.	"Hall of the Mountain King" (Edvard Grieg)	4:19
21.	"Girl's Eyes" (Keith Moon)	3:28
22.	"Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand" (US Mirasound version)	3:19
23.	"Glow Girl" (Unavailable on deluxe edition)	2:24

2009 Deluxe Edition

The 2009 Deluxe edition contains the original album in stereo mix on disc one, and the mono mix on disc two.

Disc one bonus tracks
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Someone's Coming" (Entwistle)	2:36
2.	"Early Morning Cold Taxi" (Daltrey, Langston)	2:59
3.	"Jaguar"	2:58
4.	"Coke After Coke"	1:05
5.	"Glittering Girl"	3:00
6.	"Summertime Blues" (Eddie Cochran, Jerry Capehart)	2:35
7.	"Girl's Eyes" (Moon)	2:52
8.	"Sodding About" (Entwistle, Moon, Townshend)	2:47
9.	"Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand" (US Mirasound Version)	3:22
10.	"In the Hall of the Mountain King" (Grieg/arranged by the Who)	4:23
11.	"Rael 1 & 2" (Remake version)	6:35

disc two bonus tracks
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand" (Version 1; US mono single mix)	3:16
2.	"Someone's Coming" (UK single mono mix)	2:31
3.	"Relax" (Early demo, stereo)	3:21
4.	"Jaguar" (Original mono mix)	2:51
5.	"Glittering Girl" (Unreleased version, stereo)	3:17
6.	"Tattoo" (Early mono mix)	2:46
7.	"Our Love Was" (Take 12, unused mono mix)	3:16
8.	"Rotosound Strings" (With final note, stereo)	0:12
9.	"I Can See for Miles" (Early mono mix)	4:00
10.	"Rael" (Early mono mix)	5:43
11.	"Armenia City in the Sky" (Isolated Backwards Tracks, hidden track)
12.	"Great Shakes" (Unreleased US radio commercial, hidden track)

Sales chart performance

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1967	UK Chart Albums	13
1968	Billboard Pop Albums	48

Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1967	"I Can See for Miles"	Billboard Pop Singles	9
		UK Singles Charts	10

Personnel

The Who

• Roger Daltrey - lead and backing vocals, percussion
• John Entwistle - bass guitar, backing and lead vocals, horns
• Pete Townshend - lead guitar, backing and lead vocals, keyboards, pennywhistle, banjo
• Keith Moon - drums, backing vocals, percussion, lead vocals on "Jaguar" and "Girl's Eyes"

Additional musicians

• Al Kooper - keyboards, organ

Further reading

• Dougan, John (2006). The Who Sell Out. Continuum (33 1/3 series), 144 pp., ISBN 0-8264-1743-4

See also

• Petra Haden Sings: The Who Sell Out

See also

• British invasion
• British rock
• Pirate radio
• Psychedelic rock
• Pop art
• Swinging London

External links

• Lyrics from thewho.net, a fansite with forum
• The Who Sell Out liner notes – Song-by-song liner notes for the album from thewho.net
• Guitar tablature from thewho.net