My Generation

640/1089 - I generally don't like the Who but this is good because the songs are shorter.

As much as I like The Who, I don't often listen to their earlier stuff. When I was more into classic rock in general, I usually went for Live at Leeds or Who's Next and then of course Tommy and Quadrophenia. That said, this record is quite good. I also took the time to listen to both the stereo and mono mixes, and while I would normally be inclined to prefer the original track list and mix, I think this album actually benefits from a little bit of dimension, so I would choose the stereo version. The US version has a slightly different track list which includes Instant Party (Circles) to close out the album; a Bo Diddley cover is dropped (I prefer this version).

Classic who album … do I feel I absolutely needed to listen to that? No

Was this album distinct enough to create a whole sub genre - mod … apparently. I understand why the rockers were all worked up - it’s average and acceptable but nothing more . The style and looks are more important than the music.

“The goods gone” is pretty apt. An aptly titled song that is perfect exemplar of the album .

“My generation” is a great song but has dated like milk . The generation is now boomers … now I understand why they wanted to die befor getting old .

5
Love The Who, and this was a great debut, feel like they don't get the respect they deserve because of the Stones and Beatles

Not my favorite by these guys, but they were just starting out. For my personal taste it’s probably a 2.5 but I can happily round up to three stars for the song “My Generation” and for how good they sounded when rock was still in its early stages.

I was pleasantly surprised by much of this record; it sounds a lot more messy and garage-y than what I expected from my experience with later Who albums, none of which I particularly like. It's got a couple of James Brown covers and some other noisy stuff. I think it sounds a lot like 90s garage rock, though I recognize the absurdity of saying that, since it's 90s garage rock that sounds like records like this.

I thought I was going to be tempted to skip "My Generation" since it's been played to death in the intervening 60 (!) years, but it worked in context with the rest of the album. (Though now it's stuck in my head, which I kinda wish would just g- g- g- go away.)

I think 3?

Half the album had me tapping my toes and impressed with the blues-y nature of the songs, and half of the album was annoying and sounded like the Beatles and Buddy Holly had a baby. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it - and I thought I was going to hate it.

Sounds like a 3.

Honestly, better than I imagined. really tight. There's a mastery of the music that borders on farce? We are so good lets play these songs as a laugh. I just listened to the Kinks and I think they are both way overqualified for the music they play and they both have a similar feel, where the kinks play it in earnest perfecting the pop tune, this album is I got drunk one night and played this for a laugh for my friends.

Here we have a genius, an incredible vocalist, a crazily good drummer and the Ox more than showing what they were capable of. What must it have felt like to be a teenager when it came out hearing those stuttering ffffs. In turn, sounding like the Beatles and the Stones they in fact didn’t need to emulate, they were fantastic then and still are.

A cracking title track, a few alright songs for the kids, and the rest is just utterly unnoteworthy

I only listened to disc one of the Super Deluxe edition for this review, which is the original track listing.

After getting three later Who albums of varying degrees of quality, I got their debut album. I consider My Generation to be a solid record. Some genuinely strong original compositions showcase Pete Townsend's penchant for ferocious songs with strong guitar hooks, as the rest of the band followed suit on their respective instruments. Included in that notion are the likes of the raucous intro "Out in the Street", the band-defining title track, the equally classic "The Kids Are Alright", the jaunty "A Legal Matter", and the bombastic instrumental outro "The Ox". Sure, not every song hits as hard as some of their later material, and a couple of inclusions are covers that come off as if they are imitating the original artist, such as with James Brown's "I Don't Mind" and Bo Diddley's "I'm a Man". But overall, this is a respectable debut from what would become one of the biggest acts to come out of England.

They got better, but this is still great.

The big songs are amazing, and I liked the r&b side.

Great debut, mix of genres here, I can imaging at the time of its release it was a big deal. It’s no Who’s Next but it’s a great start.

It was okay!

Perhaps it's unfair to judge them based on their debut when they were still in their Mod sound, but a lot of this album just doesnt "feel" like The Who to me. There's some songs that are definitely The Who, namely My Generation (and some even when they're still in their mod sound, like The Kids Are Alright and I Can't Explain, although the latter isn't on the original tracklist, so I won't grade the album with I Can't Explain included). Keith Moon isn't quite as manic and explosive as he will become a lot of the time. Feels like on some songs he's being handcuffed from doing what he wants to do, mainly because the music on this record wouldn't compliment his insane style.

The music can be a bit too "pretty" or standard sounding compared to their monstrous dinosaur rock they'd develop later on. The covers don't feel quite right for them either, even though they were definitely influenced by those bands, it wouldn't really be indicative of their later sound.

Overall, still a good album, but it mostly hints at what's to come, which is some of the best rock music ever produced and my favorite classic rock band.

As a side note, Quadrophenia being left off this list is unforgivable.

My Generation is a pretty good album. This album seems to take a lot of inspiration from The Beatles just like a lot of the other psychedelic rock bands from this time period did but this album sounds quite a bit better than all of the Beatles albums i have currently listened to since this sound just happens to click with me a decent bit more. I also like this more than the other Who album i did due to just having less iffy songs on it's track list. The recording quality is a bit off but other than that, this album is a solid one even if it isn't doing anything that revolutionary.
Best Song: My Generation
Worst Song: The Good's Gone

For its time this album seems a lot more heavy than other albums being released. That being said, if The Who had stopped after this one they would be a footnote in the history of rock music. Most of this album is forgettable, there are a couple songs that have stood the test of time and the rest have rightfully been ignored. Aside from being heavier most of the album is standard fare for what was being released at the time. It is not The Who at a creative peak, it is them working out what they would someday become. I don’t think this album should be on this list. If there was a list of singles to hear before you die, I could see My Generation being on it, it’s an iconic song. But this album is just ok.

2.75 per track. I didn’t really care for this but can hear why it’s important l.

3 or 4 great songs with a lot of forgettable stuff including a blatant Kinks rip-off.

The great songs are remarkably good though.

Their later stuff is so much more inventive and exciting that it's tough to objectively listen to this album for me. It's fun though and showcases their strong songwriting fundamentals that would continue on their career.