"Let's See Action" is a

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

written and composed by

Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is the co-founder, guitarist, keyboardist, second lead vocalist, principal songwriter and leader of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s an ...

and recorded by

the Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

. It was released as a single in the UK in 1971 and reached #16 in the charts.

Song notes

The song is the first of three non-album singles by the Who, that were intended for the aborted '' Lifehouse'' project. Pete Townshend's demo version, which appears on his first major label solo

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

'' Who Came First'' as "Nothing Is Everything (Let's See Action)", is longer than the version on the single and contains the additional lines, "Rumor has it minds are open. Then rumors fill them up with lies." The band's

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low br ...

John Entwistle John Alec Entwistle (9 October 194427 June 2002) was an English musician, best known as the bass guitarist for the rock band the Who. Entwistle's music career spanned over four decades. Nicknamed "The Ox" and "Thunderfingers", he was the band ...

, said that the track was Pete Townshend "Trying to talk to the kids in general." According to The Who's biographer John Atkins, the song takes ideas from the teachings of

Meher Baba Meher Baba (born Merwan Sheriar Irani; 25 February 1894 – 31 January 1969) was an Indian spirituality, spiritual master who said he was the Avatar, or God in human form, of the age. A spiritual figure of the 20th century, he had a following o ...

, encompassing "Soul searching and the utilization of positive impulses from within."

B-side

The B-side of the single was "When I Was a Boy", which was written and sung by John Entwistle. According to John Atkins, this song is a lament about lost childhood and coping with adulthood that follows.

Charts and releases

The single was released in the UK on 15 October 1971. It reached #16 in the charts. "Let's See Action" was also released as a single in several other countries, but not in the U.S., where it remained unreleased until its inclusion on the '' Hooligans''

compilation Compilation may refer to: *In computer programming, the translation of source code into object code by a compiler **Compilation error **Compilation unit *Product bundling, a marketing strategy used to sell multiple products, such as video game co ...

in 1981. "Let's See Action" was also remixed by

Jon Astley Jon Astley (born 1951) is a British record producer and mastering engineer. He is best known for his co-production work with Glyn Johns on the Who's eighth studio album ''Who Are You'' (1978), and later remastering supervision for all of the grou ...

and Andy Macpherson for the '' 30 Years of Maximum R&B'' box set in 1994. "When I Was a Boy" was released on CD on Polydor's '' Rarities 1966–1972 Vol. 1 & 2'', and MCA's '' Who's Missing''. "Let's See Action" has since been included on the

s '' My Generation: The Very Best of The Who'' and ''

The Who Hits 50! Billed as The Who Hits 50!, the Who's 2014–16 tour was a tour celebrating the 50th anniversary of the band. Roger Daltrey has referred to this tour as the band's "long goodbye" hinting that it will be the final tour for the Who. The tour co ...

''. A 5:11-length "unedited original mix" appears on the fifth disc of the ''Who's Next: Life House Super Deluxe'' edition released in 2023.

Live performances

"Let's See Action" was performed at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

in 2000 with

Eddie Vedder Eddie Jerome Vedder (born Edward Louis Severson III; December 23, 1964) is an American singer, musician, and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist, primary lyricist, and one of three guitarists for the rock band Pearl Jam. He was previously a gues ...

sharing

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

with

Roger Daltrey Sir Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is the co-founder and lead vocalist of the Rock music, rock band the Who, known for his powerful voice and charismatic stage presence. His stage persona ear ...

. This performance later appeared on the live album '' Live at the Royal Albert Hall''.

Personnel

– lead vocals (verses) *

–

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

, lead vocals (bridge) *

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

horn Horn may refer to: Common uses * Horn (acoustic), a tapered sound guide ** Horn antenna ** Horn loudspeaker ** Vehicle horn ** Train horn *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various animals * Horn (instrument), a family ...

Keith Moon Keith John Moon (23 August 1946 – 7 September 1978) was an English musician who was the drummer for the rock band the Who. Regarded as one of the greatest drummers in the history of rock music, he was noted for his unique style of playing and ...

–

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

Nicky Hopkins Nicholas Christian Hopkins (24 February 1944 – 6 September 1994) was an English pianist and organist. He performed on many popular and enduring British and American rock music recordings from the 1960s to the 1990s, including on songs recorde ...

–

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

References

{{authority control The Who songs 1975 singles 1975 songs Song recordings produced by Glyn Johns Songs written by Pete Townshend Track Records singles Polydor Records singles