Run Run Run (Shepperton Tour Rehearsal / 1978)

This album has been added to 1 public list:

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  Seven Songs for the Week #138 - 26th Nov 25

  Jason Carty

  Ok, so when box set season began at the end of August, I was going to have to prioritise and economise. I'm fortunate enough to be able to buy some. The Monkees Pisces box was a no brainer, that was never not going on the shelf. The John Lennon set was also going to have to be bought eventually and I was able to pick that up. All the others would be streamed: Stones, Dylan, Broooce, Split End and Bowie. Bowie is so expensive. Then there is Who Are You. A Who album I never rated having bought the CD 35 years ago. When the track listing was announced, the absence of Pete's demos seemed like a terrible idea - they've been the highlight of earlier Who sets. Apparently Universal wouldn't pay Pete to include them. It's a pity but as it turns out, we're going to be ok. Listening to the box on streaming, and seeing the packaging - excellent use of colours and fonts, tipped this into the buy pile. And it's very good, because Who Are You is an album that became an inflection point in the Who's history, so the box set and the music gets to tell a story. Rehearsals with Keith, the slow assembly of the record, the collapse of the Glyn Johns' work and mixes, the album itself, the death of Keith, the arrival of Kenney, his rehearsals and the emergence of a very different band in 1979. The whole thing is quite compelling. Recommended!