Rating: 4 out of 5.
A difference must be noted between classic songs and songs featured on classic albums. For bands like The Who, and this extends to their peers, The Rolling Stones and The Beatles, too, time is on their side. Anything sounds outstanding if you are the first to do it, the wider context of what you do next is just as important, if not more so. For the Roger Daltrey-fronted band, My Generation stands as a two-pronged success story. It cut through the sound of the times with a series of songs speaking to, as its title would suggest, the new generation. But it also provided a foundation for The Who to work from, to better in the releases to follow My Generation. That is what makes it such a thrill to return to, and while Daltrey may not be keen to perform these early numbers, they are as crucial to the history of the band as the best songs they released in the 1960s and 1970s. My Generation has a surviving vitality.
But crucial to the ongoing strength of My Generation is, beyond the title track, a series of songs which capture the essence of rock and roll during this period. Mods were the new age who still cut their hair like Paul Weller, rockers were those who believed stabbing their gums with cocktail sausage sticks was cool. What a time to be alive. My Generation is best engaged with as a time machine to the days of simpler, angrier splits between cultural choice. Punchy rock and roll meant making catchy, simple-to-understand songs. Out in the Street is exactly that. A riotous opener which precedes some of the band’s best works. I Don’t Mind doesn’t get as much credit as it deserves. Daltrey and the band bring about a soulful style, that Elvis Presley-like rock momentum with their instrumental work. Pete Townshend and Keith Moon are in brilliant form here.
The Who don’t quite manage to continue that mood on The Good’s Gone but they do bring on a similar tempo, a no frills track with seriousness as the driving force. Strong instrumental work, again, is the important part of this one. Each band around this time sounds somewhat behind The Beatles when it came to making instrumentally upbeat and romantically inclined songs. The Who would break into their own with the albums to follow, but La-La-La Lies is a slice of very generic pop of the times, a radio-friendly sound which doesn’t suit them. Sharp lyrical work is the key here though, and the harsher than most guitar work from Townshend is crucial to these songs being remembered. It also helps La-La-La Lies and Much Too Much precede My Generation. They were hardly going to be the focus with that in place.
Everything from the vocal work Daltrey offers on My Generation to the guitar work from Townshend, the backing vocals, it’s a perfect song. A simple song, sure, but one of the best around from this period. Moon and John Entwistle make sure of that, and their work carries across to the B-side, where their volatile playing brings out the best on The Kids Are Alright and album closer, The Ox. Daltrey has a brilliant vocal range for the likes of Please, Please, Please. He makes a song of obvious intent feel lived-in, as though it’s about ready to burst with those blues tones. That is the charm of My Generation. It’s the basics done well, and crucial to that, consistently. A few moments of deeper meaning come through on My Generation, an album where the title track and first song of the B-side are the focus. But dig a little deeper and you find an incredible influence amid those comical misfires like I’m A Man.
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