The Who

Odds & Sods, the new Who album, collects 11 outtakes, most of them cut between 1968 and
1972. It is an uneven lot. "Put the Money Down" finds vocalist Roger Daltrey at the nadir of
an erratic career, while John Entwistle's "Postcard," like several other tracks, will hold
more interest for curiosity seekers than music lovers. But the fumbling is almost as
illuminating as the flashes of inspiration dotting this album. Far from exploiting a r... More >

Although Peter Townshend's genius (well, for once that's what it is) glimmers through on every one of these leftovers, all that glimmers is not gold, which is why most of them have been in the can for between three and seven years. The great exception is "Little Billy," a cheerful, cruel smoking-is-dangerous-to-your-health song that the American Cancer Society chickened out on; it'd make a great public service ad on The Who Sell Out. There are also two pretty fair rock life songs--and "Long Live Rock," a strained variation on that overworked theme. And to balance off the two pretty good devotional songs there's "Faith in Something Bigger," which could serve as Nashville filler. (Grade: B)