Various Artists – Who Are You – An All-Star Tribute To The Who (2012)

Stars of Progressive Rock, Classic Rock, Punk Rock, and Country gather together to pay tribute to one of the most successful and influential bands of all-time, The Who!

I have been a great fan of The Who for about 50 years so I was a bit hesitant to buy this tribute album as some of these type of records can be very ordinary, but this is a great one. Most songs are pretty faithful to the original songs while obviously stamping the guest artists own sound and style on them, with a 2 or 3 of horrendous exceptions (I won’t say which, you be the judge). And I reckon Leslie West’s guitar on The Seeker is worth the price alone. An enjoyable listen. One issue though – Don’t know what happened on, if I recall correctly, Eminence Front, the music just cuts out before the end unfortunately as this is a great song. An error in production no doubt that should never have made the final product. (by Mr. M)

Who would have thought that Peter Noone (Herman’s Hermits) and Peter Banks (Yes, Flash) would render a performance of Magic Bush nearly equal to the original. Todd Rundgren and Iggy Pop fans need this album ! (by Brent W. Cook)

Indeed … a real unique tribute album for one of the most important bands in the history of rock … look at the line-up … unbelieveable …

Alternate front + back cover

Personnel:
See booklet

Tracklist:

Derek Sherinian, John Wetton, K. K. Downing:
01. Eminence Front 5.32

Nektar & Jerry Goodman:
02. Baba O’Riley 5.23

Mark Lindsay & Wayne Kramer:
03. I Can See For Miles 4.07

Huw Lloyd-Langton, Joe Elliott, Rick Wakeman:
04. Love Reign O’er Me 6.17

Dave Davies, Knox & Rat Scabies:
05. My Generation 3.29

The Raveonettes:
06. The Kids Are Alright 2.32

Sweet:
07. Won’t Get Fooled Again 7.41

Carmine Appice & Todd Rundgren:
08. Anyway Anyhow Anywhere 2.38

Iggy Pop:
09. I Can’t Explain 2.07

Pat Travers:
10. Behind Blue Eyes 3.43

Ginger Baker, Peter Banks & Peter Noone:
11. Magic Bus 3.20

Gretchen Wilson, Randy Bachman:
12. Who Are You 5.05

Brad Gillis, Mike Pinera, Terry Reid:
13. Pinball Wizard 3.03

David Cross, John Wesley:
14. Squeeze Box 2.49

38 Special, Ian Paice & Ted Turner:
15. Bargain 5.24

Joe Lynn Turner & Leslie West:
16. The Seeker 2.43

All songs written by Pete Townshend

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The Sweet – The Outtakes (1994)

The Sweet (also referred to as Sweet, and originally called Sweetshop) are a British glam rock band that rose to worldwide fame in the 1970s with their most prolific line-up: lead vocalist Brian Connolly, bass player Steve Priest, guitarist Andy Scott, and drummer Mick Tucker.

The band was formed in London in 1968 and achieved their first hit, “Funny Funny”, in 1971 after teaming up with songwriters Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman and record producer Phil Wainman. During 1971 and 1972, their musical style followed a marked progression from the Archies-like bubblegum style of “Funny Funny” to a Who-influenced hard rock style supplemented by a striking use of high-pitched backing vocals.

The band achieved notable success in the UK charts, with thirteen Top 20 hits during the 1970s alone, with “Block Buster!” (1973) topping the chart, followed by three consecutive number two hits in “Hell Raiser” (1973), “The Ballroom Blitz” (1973) and “Teenage Rampage” (1974). The band turned to a more hard rock style with their mid-career singles, like 1974’s “Turn It Down”. “Fox on the Run” (1975) also reached number two on the UK charts. These results were topped in West Germany and other countries on the European mainland. They also achieved success and popularity in the US with the top ten hits “Little Willy”, “The Ballroom Blitz” and “Fox on the Run”.

The Sweet had their last Top 10 hit in 1978 with “Love Is Like Oxygen”. Connolly left the group in 1979 to start a solo career and the remaining members continued as a trio until disbanding in 1981. From the mid-1980s, Scott, Connolly and Priest each played with their own versions of Sweet at different times. Connolly died in 1997 and Tucker in 2002. The two surviving members are still active in their respective versions of the band; Scott’s is based in England and Priest’s in Los Angeles. (by Wikipedia)

And here´s a rare bootleg from their most sucesssful years …

If you are a Sweet fan, there’s really nothing more to say except “Too bad” if you’re into the bubblegum phase of the group [Co-Co, Funny Funny, Poppa Joe] – these are from the glam/rock side of Sweet.

Excellent audio recordings !

Personnel:
Brian Connolly (vocals)
Steve Priest (bass, background vocals)
Andy Scott (guitar, Keyboards, Background vocals)
Mick Tucker (drums, Percussion, Background vocals)

Tracklist:
01. Teenage Rampage (previously unreleased outtake from 1973) (Chinn/Chapman) 3.19
02. She Gimme Lovin’ (outtake version) (Connolly/Priest/Scott/Tucker) 4.04
03. Hell Raiser (previously unreleased outtake from 1972) (Chinn/Chapman) 3.10
04. Hard Times (outtake version) (Connolly/Priest/Scott/Tucker) 4.36
05. Block-Buster! (previously unreleased outtake from 1972) (Chinn/Chapman) 3.13
06. Laura Lee (previously unreleased ‘Off The Road’ version from 1977) (Connolly/Priest/Scott/Tucker) 6.42
07. Be With You Soon (previously unreleased track recorded 1972) (Connolly/Priest/Scott/Tucker) 3.31
08. Done Me Wrong Alright (previously unreleased BBC session from 1971) (Connolly/Priest/Scott/Tucker) 2.41
09. Ballroom Blitz (previously unreleased outtake from 1973) (Chinn/Chapman) 3.58
10. Rebel Rouser (previously unreleased ‘Funny Adams’ outtake from 1974) (Connolly/Priest/Scott/Tucker) 3.32
11. 4th Of July (previously unreleased ‘Give Us A Wink’ version) (Connolly/Priest/Scott/Tucker) 3.46
12. Need A Lot Of Lovin’ (previously unreleased BBC session from 1973) (Connolly/Priest/Scott/Tucker) 2.58
13. Action (previously unreleased ‘Give Us A Wink’ version from 1977) (Connolly/Priest/Scott/Tucker) 3.25
14. Love Is Like Oxygen (extended instrumental version) (Scott/Griffin) 6.58

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