The Wrap Up

Emily: What a journey this has been. Four albums, many months, and the one genre of classic rock. Well, kind of one genre. If this challenge taught me anything it’s that classic rock is rooted in and is the root of so many different breakout genres of rock music. With the Beatles, you have pop and some psychedelic influences, the Stones have blues, the Who are essentially proto-punk, and the Kinks are garage-ish. Each of these iconic bands and their equally iconic albums has left a lasting legacy on music history through this genre-bending prowess, but also by standing out on their own. Revolver and Aftermath showcase legendary bands at their peak, while Something Else and My Generation reveal burgeoning talent from which the best is yet to come. While I still dispute the validity of these bands as a “Mount Rushmore” of classic rock, each one at the very least deserves its own statue.
Ranking: Revolver; Aftermath; My Generation; Something Else

Matt: Which of the British Invasion albums is the best? My natural inclination would be to pick The Who, but to be realistic, the honor has to go to The Kinks. The Who is one of my all time favorite bands, but they were definitely a live act and a singles band until their third album (The Who Sell Out), certainly their fourth (Tommy). The Beatles are phenomenal and got the ball rolling for every other band in the British Invasion, but in my opinion, The Beatles could no longer maintain the size. The Rolling Stones were always for the “outcast” in the 1960s, as they were very crass and played a bit more on the wild side, as shown with Brian Jones dying in 1969. The Kinks were the perfect mix of the 3 big British bands. They had the grooves that The Stones had, the energy The Who had and the charisma of The Beatles. This album was beautifully written, best represents British culture and music, as well as a panorama of the musical transition of the mid to late 60s.
Ranking: Something Else; Aftermath; My Generation; Revolver

Zack: Let me just start by saying this was much harder than I thought it would be. When we set up this little ranking game, we didn’t establish particularly clear rules, preferring to let each writer figure out how to rank the candidates. Kind of like how the NBA MVP voting works. Of course, even in that arena this system isn’t always that effective, as evidenced by Joe Johnson getting a vote this year. For me, it always kept coming back to one question: am I ranking these four individual albums or the bands as a whole? It couldn’t be the latter, since that just isn’t reasonable. For instance, before we started this blog, I had listened to every Rolling Stones and Who album on the list but not a single one of the Beatles or Kinks (a fact I am rather ashamed to admit). Now, to be fair, I had listened to other Kinks albums and a few songs off the major ones here and there. And, of course, I had heard all of The Beatles big singles. But this can’t replace the intimate relationship I have with The Rolling Stones’ and The Who’s music. At the same time, how can I be expected to pass judgment on the four individual albums without positing Aftermath and My Generation in context with both bands development overall? If you look down to my reviews, you’ll even see I did it there. I mention that Aftermath is my favorite Stones album, as compared to three of my other favorites and I compare the Who of My Generation to The Who who made Tommy. I couldn’t separate my fandom there, so how could I possibly be expected to do so here? If you look at the rankings up top, you’ll probably conclude that I couldn’t do it. To some extent, you may be right. But I did try. At first, I thought about devising a ballot, ranking all four in categories like lyrics, concept, instrumentation, et cetera. But this isn’t a homework assignment, so I’m damn sure not going to put in that kind of effort. So, ultimately, I decided just to rank them in order of which album I enjoyed the most. I listened to all four within a span of 17 hours, and I have to say that I had the most run (re)listening to Aftermath. There’s no elaborate reasoning, no analogies, no backstory, and certainly no ballots. Just a shrug, point, and “that one.” And yes, it did take me over 400 words to get to that conclusion. Bite me.
Ranking: Aftermath; My Generation; Revolver; Something Else

#160: The Who - My Generation (1965)

Matt Brune: It is hard for me to not write a dissertation on any aspect of The Who, so I will try to restrain myself from getting too distracted. When people think of The Who, this usually isn't the album that comes to mind. This album is the 1965 debut of four Mods hailing out of Shepherd's Bush. This colorful album of 13(?) tracks has a variety of the bands lesser known songs, several covers from noted black musicians from the States, and two of the best songs Pete Townshend see wrote: My Generation and The Kids Are Alright. Both of these tracks have had a significant impact on music then and now. Other swinging jams on this album include La-La-La Lies and It’s Not True, and the Good Is Gone. It would be a while and a couple albums before the band would achieve its place in music history for creating the first ever rock opera and becoming the icons they are now. But hey, they had to start somewhere.

Favorite Tracks: My Generation; The Kids Are Alright; It’s Not True


Emily: This album surprised me. A lot. You see, I thought I knew about The Who. They’re rock legends, punk before punk was even a thing. That sentiment really comes across in My Generation the song, so naturally I thought My Generation the album would be like that too. Boy, was I wrong – but not in a bad way. I was completely not expecting My Generation to be heavily influenced by R&B and pop. They even cover songs by James Brown and Bo Diddley. My Generation the song is pretty unique, perhaps the best sign of what came next for the band. While the rest of the album is more poppy and listener-friendly (for the time), My Generation is loud, fast, and aggressive – at least for 1965. It’s the best song on the album, and certainly the most important. Less than four minutes of music became a guiding influence for the rest of the band’s music – and without it, there may not have even been punk or hard rock. While I don’t think My Generation (the album…they really need to stop titling these things after important songs) truly encapsulates The Who’s genius as a band, as a debut it is certainly a sign of great things to come.

Favorite Tracks: My Generation; It’s Not True; I Don’t Mind

Zack: As far as I’m concerned, The Who are the first punk band. They practically pioneered youth rebellion way before Patti Smith’s legendary Horses album (which I still haven’t listened to, but hopefully soon!) or the Ramones and the Sex Pistols started being snotty. Hell, they were smashing guitars before bands like MC5 and the Stooges thought to be angry as well. Their most renowned track of “you can’t tell us what to do!” has got to be My Generation, a song which I don’t particularly like. The stuttering just kind of pisses me off. Luckily, this album has a few other generational potshots included, like the megahit The Kids Are Alright and the lesser known, A Legal Matter, bashing the traditional societal institution of marriage. Songs like these are where the Who are at their best. They throw in a few love ballads, more akin to the fellow British Invasion cohorts, which just seem to fall flat. The Who are very, very good at writing songs about how they hate authority telling them what to do or how to feel, but they just don’t seem to have much of a knack for expressing how they feel on their own. Who can blame them? They have as much energy as a megaton of dynamite, something that doesn’t translate to cutesy love songs all that well. The Who are a complex band. One day, they evolved into the group of guys that produced such high-brow concept albums as Tommy and The Who Sell Out. But, before that, they crafted a different legacy as a bunch of angry young guys who played louder and faster than many of their contemporaries. It’s an interesting starting point, considering their career arc, and one that invites the argument over which phase of the band’s development was better. But that’s an argument for another day. Until then, I’ll just say that My Generation kicks a whole slew of asses.

Favorite Tracks: I’m a Man; The Kids Are Alright; I Don’t Mind