The Who - The Who Sell Out download free

Quite simply the best release of the "concept album" era.Albums centered around a theme have been around as long as records have ever been, but in the aftermath of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," pretty much every pop band that wanted to be "serious" did a concept album of their own. Some were great, many were dreadful, but "The Who Sell Out" is in a class by itself.The concept is London radio, circa 1967, and more subtly, The Who's status as pop stars and sellers of pimple cream and bodybuilding classes --predating "The Great Rock and Roll Swindle" by a decade, and outdoing it in cleverness by lightyears.Loaded with great Who tunes like "I Can See for Miles," "I Can't Reach You" and "Real," the LP is also chock full of hilarious radio cliches of the day, including breezy orchestral ads for "wonderful Radio London," public-service announcements to "drink easy, puh-leeasy," and great original jingles played and sung by The Who themselves for such diverse products as Heinz Baked Beans and Rotosound Bass Strings.The lines between the "real" songs and the product shilling get even more blurred on a track like "Odorono," in which a wonderfully hook-laden Townsend pop tale doesn't reveal itself as a jingle for deoderant until the last line. When they do a serious love song such as "Our Love Was, Is," you're never sure it won't turn out being about bathroom cleaner.This may be The Who's best moment --a claim I don't take lightly. Whenever I have this record on, it immediately becomes the most joyous, ridiculous and wonderful record that could possibly be playing at that moment.