The Who

Odds And Sods, Track MCA-2126. 

This is an album of ideas that didn't get off the ground. Pete Townshend, the man who brought us the Mod era, the Rock Opera and Meher Baba, has more irons in the fire than a conflagration in a Sunbeam factory. Well, according to the liner notes written by Townshend, John Entwistle was rummaging through a bunch of old forgotten tapes and put this disc together. The cuts range chronologically from 1964 ("I'm The Face" which was their first record release) to May 1972 and the Who 's Next sessions. Consequently, what we have here lacks continuity and unity. We have a smorgasbord of Who styles, remixed by Entwistle and dished out to get our money while we are waiting expectantly for the next opus by The Who.

However, this is not to say that it isn't worth it. There are no outrageous dogs here, any song could have found its way onto Happy Jack or Who's Next and fit itself in without a seam. There is also considerable historical perspective here, much in the same way that Meaty,Beaty, Big and Bouncy was more than a greatest hits album; it was a documentary, and so is this one.

Townshend's liner notes tell exactly what each song was designed for, and I can only summarize. "Postcard", the kickoff rocker is an Entwistle number about touring. "Put The Money Down", "Too Much Of Anything" and "Pure And Easy" (which is not the same version as is on the Who Came First album, although it is the same song) are all songs trom the Who's Next era that were sliced. "Little Billy" and "Glow Girl" are little stories, the first about cancer and the second about an airplane crash. They evoke such memorable oldies as "Pictures of Lily" and "A Quick One While He's Away."

The only excess is an excess of spirituality. The two weakest cuts are "Faith In Something Bigger" and "Too Much Of Anything." The rest are all good songs, better than good in perspective. These are roadmaps into the soul, second thoughts that produced the third thoughts that produced Tommy, Who's Next and Quadrophenia. And side one ends with the lines 'It's a girl Mrs. Walker, it's a girl." If that doesn't mean sexual equality for all, what does?

"Naked Eye" and "Put The Money Down" are the two strongest cuts, and there's liberal sprinkling of good clean fun. While waiting for the next one, this is a pretty good entr'acte.