Ready Steady Who is the first
7" EP by
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...
, released on 11 November 1966, about a month prior to their album ''
A Quick One
''A Quick One'' is the second studio album by the English rock band the Who, released on 9 December 1966. A version of the album with an altered track listing was released under the name ''Happy Jack'' on Decca Records in April 1967 in the Unit ...
''. The title refers to a ''
Ready Steady Go!
''Ready Steady Go!'' (or ''RSG!'') was a British rock/pop music television programme broadcast every Friday evening from 9 August 1963 until 23 December 1966. It was conceived by Elkan Allan, head of Rediffusion TV. Allan wanted a light enter ...
'' TV special the band had recently appeared in, but the EP contains different recordings from those performed on the TV show.
EP profile
The record consists of two original songs by
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s.
Townsh ...
, as well as covers of the theme from the ''
Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
'' TV series and
Jan and Dean
Jan and Dean was an American rock music, rock duo consisting of William Jan Berry (April 3, 1941 – March 26, 2004) and Dean Ormsby Torrence (born March 10, 1940). In the early 1960s, they were pioneers of the California Sound and vocal surf mu ...
's "Bucket T". Also included is a cover of
The Regents' "
Barbara Ann
"Barbara Ann" is a song written by Fred Fassert that was first recorded by the Regents as "Barbara-Ann". Their version was released in 1961 and reached number 13 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. The more famous version was recorded by the ...
", a song whose famous arrangement by
the Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...
the Who follows more closely. Despite what the title implies, the EP was not recorded on ''
Ready Steady Go!
''Ready Steady Go!'' (or ''RSG!'') was a British rock/pop music television programme broadcast every Friday evening from 9 August 1963 until 23 December 1966. It was conceived by Elkan Allan, head of Rediffusion TV. Allan wanted a light enter ...
''; it is a studio recording and is unaffiliated with the television show.
All of the songs are available as bonus tracks on the 1995 reissue CD of ''
A Quick One
''A Quick One'' is the second studio album by the English rock band the Who, released on 9 December 1966. A version of the album with an altered track listing was released under the name ''Happy Jack'' on Decca Records in April 1967 in the Unit ...
'', except for "Circles", which differs from the version on the 2002 deluxe version of the ''
My Generation
"My Generation" is a song by the English rock band the Who, which became a hit and one of their most recognizable songs. The song was named the 11th greatest song by ''Rolling Stone'' on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It becam ...
'' LP, and can be found on ''
Two's Missing
''Two's Missing'' is a compilation album by English rock band The Who.
Album content
Released in 1987 on vinyl, cassette and CD, ''Two's Missing'' gathered singles and EP tracks that hadn't appeared on album or CD. The album cover design is b ...
''.
The original EP credits the song "Batman" to
Jan Berry
Jan and Dean was an American rock duo consisting of William Jan Berry (April 3, 1941 – March 26, 2004) and Dean Ormsby Torrence (born March 10, 1940). In the early 1960s, they were pioneers of the California Sound and vocal surf music styles ...
, Don Altfeld (misspelled as "Altfield") and Fred Weider. The song was actually written by
Neal Hefti
Neal Paul Hefti (October 29, 1922 – October 11, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger. He wrote music for ''The Odd Couple'' movie and TV series and for the ''Batman'' TV series.
He began arranging professionally in his ...
, and is not a cover of the Jan and Dean-embellished version. The credit was corrected in the liner notes to the 1995 CD release of ''
A Quick One
''A Quick One'' is the second studio album by the English rock band the Who, released on 9 December 1966. A version of the album with an altered track listing was released under the name ''Happy Jack'' on Decca Records in April 1967 in the Unit ...
''.
An abridged version of "
My Generation
"My Generation" is a song by the English rock band the Who, which became a hit and one of their most recognizable songs. The song was named the 11th greatest song by ''Rolling Stone'' on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It becam ...
" was recorded for the EP, but was not included. This version was later included as a bonus track on the 1995 remaster of ''
A Quick One
''A Quick One'' is the second studio album by the English rock band the Who, released on 9 December 1966. A version of the album with an altered track listing was released under the name ''Happy Jack'' on Decca Records in April 1967 in the Unit ...
''. The main difference between this version and the original is that it is heavily abridged and that the hail of feedback that ends the original serves as a transition into a chaotic rendition of
Edward Elgar
Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...
's "
Land of Hope and Glory
"Land of Hope and Glory" is a British patriotic song, with music by Edward Elgar written in 1901 and lyrics by A. C. Benson later added in 1902.
Composition
The music to which the words of the refrain 'Land of Hope and Glory, &c' below ar ...
." In the album's liner notes the song is credited to both Townshend and Elgar.
Release and reception
The EP was released on 11 November 1966 exclusively in the United Kingdom in mono only. It reached number one on the British EP chart, a position it would hold for four non-consecutive weeks on 17 December 1966, and once again on 7 January 1967.
As the EP was not issued in the United States at the time, the tracks were long considered rare collectibles. Although the tracks "Disguises" and "Bucket 'T'" saw a release on the 1968 compilation album ''
Magic Bus: The Who on Tour'', the remainder of the tracks would not see official US releases until the deluxe edition of ''
A Quick One
''A Quick One'' is the second studio album by the English rock band the Who, released on 9 December 1966. A version of the album with an altered track listing was released under the name ''Happy Jack'' on Decca Records in April 1967 in the Unit ...
'' and ''
Two's Missing
''Two's Missing'' is a compilation album by English rock band The Who.
Album content
Released in 1987 on vinyl, cassette and CD, ''Two's Missing'' gathered singles and EP tracks that hadn't appeared on album or CD. The album cover design is b ...
.''
"Bucket 'T'" was released as a single in several European countries. It fared well especially in Sweden, where it stayed on the charts for seven weeks, and peaked at number one for a week in February 1967.
Upon its release, it garnered mixed to positive reviews. In a retrospective review,
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
critic
Richie Unterberger
Richie Unterberger (born January 19, 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing.
Life and writing
Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' ...
states that "it seemed undecided as to whether it was a joke cover record, or a home for leftovers" and thought that "it ended up a little bit of both"
Track listing
Side one
#"
Disguises" (
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s.
Townsh ...
)3:10
#"
Circles
A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is const ...
" (Townshend)2:27
Side two
#"
Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
" (
Jan Berry
Jan and Dean was an American rock duo consisting of William Jan Berry (April 3, 1941 – March 26, 2004) and Dean Ormsby Torrence (born March 10, 1940). In the early 1960s, they were pioneers of the California Sound and vocal surf music styles ...
, Don Altfeld, Fred Weider)1:22
#"Bucket 'T (Altfeld,
Roger Christian,
Dean Torrence
Jan and Dean was an American rock duo consisting of William Jan Berry (April 3, 1941 – March 26, 2004) and Dean Ormsby Torrence (born March 10, 1940). In the early 1960s, they were pioneers of the California Sound and vocal surf music styles ...
)2:07
#"
Barbara Ann
"Barbara Ann" is a song written by Fred Fassert that was first recorded by the Regents as "Barbara-Ann". Their version was released in 1961 and reached number 13 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. The more famous version was recorded by the ...
" (
Fred Fassert)1:59
References
External links
The Who Official Band Website - Ready Steady Who (EP)
{{Authority control
1966 debut EPs
Albums produced by Kit Lambert
The Who EPs
Reaction Records EPs