Odds and Sods

Album origins

In the autumn of 1973, while Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend and Keith Moon were preparing for the Tommy film, John Entwistle was put in charge of compiling an album to counter the rampant bootlegging that occurred at The Who's concerts. "I tried to arrange it like a parallel sort of Who career - what singles we might have released and what album tracks we might have released," Entwistle explained. He and the producer of his solo albums, John Alcock, compiled Odds & Sods from various tapes. Two LPs of material were collected, but only one was released. "It could have been a double album, there was that much material," Entwistle said at the time of the album's release. The material from the second unreleased LP was later included on the 1998 remastered CD version. Townshend wrote liner notes for the album which included frank opinions of the quality of the songs. The notes were omitted from some copies of the original LP but included on the reissued CD. The album reached No. 10 on the UK charts and No. 8 in the US.

2011 CD Reissue

In December 2011, Universal Japan issued the original analog mix for the album on CD with the songs reflecting the order of the original vinyl. The bonus tracks that were issued previously on the 1998 CD remix reissue were added after the original running order of the album. These bonus tracks used the original analog mixes where possible rather than the remixes prepared for the 1998 expanded CD reissue. The reissue was remastered by Jon Astley.

Song backgrounds

"Little Billy" was written by Townshend for the American Cancer Society, but it never saw the light of day because it never left the office of the record executive Townshend submitted it to.

"I'm the Face" (which is a reworking of the Slim Harpo classic "Got Love If You Want It") was The Who's first record release, when they were still performing as the High Numbers. It was recorded in 1964.

"Put the Money Down", "Too Much of Anything" and "Pure and Easy" were from the aborted Lifehouse project.

The mix of "Under My Thumb" on the 1998 remastered CD is a special stereo remix produced but not used for the Thirty Years of Maximum R&B box set that omits the original fuzzbox guitar part.

The studio version of "Young Man Blues" on the re-issue is not the sampler version of The House that Track Built but a slower out-take (seemingly due to the tape playing at the wrong speed) from the same sessions as the Sampler Version, which was finally released in an alternate mix on the 2013 deluxe version of "Tommy". The iTunes American Store lists this version "Young Man Blues" as an "Alternate Studio Version" and at the end Kit Lambert is heard to remark: "No, that one didn't really work".

The 2011 reissue featuring the original analog mixes has some different takes than the 1998 version. "Young Man Blues" is a different take than the 1998 remix.

Track listing

All songs written by Pete Townshend except where noted.

Sales chart performance

Personnel