Who Came First
Encyclopedia
Who Came First is the first major-label solo album by Pete Townshend
, released in 1972 on Track Records
in the UK and Track/Decca
in the US. It includes demos
from the aborted concept album
Lifehouse, part of which became Who's Next
. The original release had a gatefold cover
and included a poster with additional photos of Meher Baba
from the Louis van Gasteren
film Beyond Words
. It peaked at #30 on the UK album chart and at #69 on the US Billboard 200
.
Meher Baba, Happy Birthday
and I Am
. These albums were privately distributed in very small quantities between 1970 and 1972 in the UK. Soon after Decca asked Townshend for release rights, as inferior copies were circulating in the US as bootlegs
. Rather than re-issuing the original albums Townshend decided to change the track list substantially for his first "official" solo album.
The songs were recorded at Townshend's home studio, which was among the most advanced home studios in England at the time. Two songs each from the earlier albums appear on Who Came First, including the contributions by Ronnie Lane
and Billy Nicholls
, "Evolution" and "Forever's No Time at All". Townshend's "Content" had been issued on Happy Birthday and "Parvardigar" had appeared on I Am.
The demos "Pure and Easy" and "Let's See Action" had been recorded by The Who
for Lifehouse, but were not used for Who's Next. Both versions by the Who would be released, "Let's See Action" as a single
in 1971, making it to #16 on the British singles chart, and "Pure and Easy" on Odds & Sods in 1974. "Evolution" by Lane is a reworking of the track "Stone" which had appeared on The Faces'
debut album First Step in 1970. "There's a Heartache Following Me" had been a UK #6 hit in 1964 by the American country singer Jim Reeves
. Townshend does not appear on the Nicholls track, but does play guitar on the Lane track; he plays all other instruments on the remainder of the album. One dollar from each sale of the 1972 album went to charities.
after Track ceased operations in 1978. The first US issue appeared on the silver Track/Decca label. In 1973 it was reissued in the US on the MCA Records
black with rainbow label, but without the gatefold cover or the poster.
The first compact disc
release by Rykodisc
appeared in 1992 with six bonus tracks taken from the privately distributed albums, also issued in a limited edition deluxe version with extra artwork. A remastered edition appeared in 2006 on Hip-O Records
, the legacy division of the Universal Music Group
, with nine bonus tracks, the first six being the ones from the Rykodisc reissue. The Hip-O version includes all the Townshend performances issued on the Happy Birthday tribute album.
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career...
, released in 1972 on Track Records
Track Records
Track Records is an English record label founded in London in 1966 by Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp, then managers of hard rock band The Who. The most successful artists whose work appeared on the Track label were The Jimi Hendrix Experience, The Who, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Thunderclap...
in the UK and Track/Decca
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
in the US. It includes demos
Demo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
from the aborted concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
Lifehouse, part of which became Who's Next
Who's Next
Who's Next is the fifth studio album by English rock band The Who, released in August 1971. The album has origins in a rock opera conceived by Pete Townshend called Lifehouse. The ambitious, complex project did not come to fruition at the time and instead, many of the songs written for the project...
. The original release had a gatefold cover
Gatefold
A gatefold is a type of fold used for advertising around a magazine or section, and for packaging of media such as vinyl records.- LP covers :...
and included a poster with additional photos of Meher Baba
Meher Baba
Meher Baba , , born Merwan Sheriar Irani, was an Indian mystic and spiritual master who declared publicly in 1954 that he was the Avatar of the age....
from the Louis van Gasteren
Louis van Gasteren
Louis Alphonse van Gasteren is a Dutch director and documentary filmmaker. He is the son of the actor Louis van Gasteren Sr. and the concert-singer Elise Menagé Challa.- Biography :...
film Beyond Words
Beyond Words
Beyond Words is a 1997 documentary film directed by Louis van Gasteren.Shot in India partly in 1967 in 35mm film and partly thirty years later in 1997 in video, Beyond Words is one of only three or four films ever shot of the silent master Meher Baba that include synchronized sound and the only...
. It peaked at #30 on the UK album chart and at #69 on the US Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
.
Background and content
Townshend had already participated with other artists on two previous albums in tribute to his AvatarAvatar
In Hinduism, an avatar is a deliberate descent of a deity to earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being and is mostly translated into English as "incarnation," but more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation"....
Meher Baba, Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday (1970 album)
Happy Birthday is a collaboration album by Pete Townshend and friends including Ronnie Lane, pressed and released in 1970 by Universal Spiritual League. The album was originally released in February 1970 as the first in a series of tribute albums dedicated to Pete Townshend's spiritual mentor...
and I Am
I am (Pete Townshend album)
I Am is a collaboration concept album by Pete Townshend and friends pressed in 1972. The album includes the original version of "Baba O'Riley" played by Townshend alone without lyrics, which, at 9:48, is almost twice as long as the augmented version which opens Who's Next. I Am was produced as a...
. These albums were privately distributed in very small quantities between 1970 and 1972 in the UK. Soon after Decca asked Townshend for release rights, as inferior copies were circulating in the US as bootlegs
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
. Rather than re-issuing the original albums Townshend decided to change the track list substantially for his first "official" solo album.
The songs were recorded at Townshend's home studio, which was among the most advanced home studios in England at the time. Two songs each from the earlier albums appear on Who Came First, including the contributions by Ronnie Lane
Ronnie Lane
Ronald Frederick "Ronnie" Lane was an English musician, songwriter, and producer who is best known as the bass guitarist and founding member of two prominent English rock and roll bands; the Small Faces where he was nicknamed "Plonk", – and, after losing the band's frontman, Faces, with two new...
and Billy Nicholls
Billy Nicholls
Billy Nicholls is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and musical director, who first gained fame in the 1960s while still a teenager with his Pet Sounds influenced album, Would You Believe, originally released on Immediate Records.Nicholls' compositions have been covered by many...
, "Evolution" and "Forever's No Time at All". Townshend's "Content" had been issued on Happy Birthday and "Parvardigar" had appeared on I Am.
The demos "Pure and Easy" and "Let's See Action" had been recorded by The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
for Lifehouse, but were not used for Who's Next. Both versions by the Who would be released, "Let's See Action" as a single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
in 1971, making it to #16 on the British singles chart, and "Pure and Easy" on Odds & Sods in 1974. "Evolution" by Lane is a reworking of the track "Stone" which had appeared on The Faces'
Faces (band)
Faces are an English rock band formed in 1969 by members of the Small Faces after Steve Marriott left that group to form Humble Pie...
debut album First Step in 1970. "There's a Heartache Following Me" had been a UK #6 hit in 1964 by the American country singer Jim Reeves
Jim Reeves
James Travis Reeves , better known as Jim Reeves, was an American country and popular music singer-songwriter. With records charting from the 1950s to the 1980s, he became well-known for being a practitioner of the Nashville sound...
. Townshend does not appear on the Nicholls track, but does play guitar on the Lane track; he plays all other instruments on the remainder of the album. One dollar from each sale of the 1972 album went to charities.
Release history
Original UK copies were on Track Records, reissued by Polydor RecordsPolydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
after Track ceased operations in 1978. The first US issue appeared on the silver Track/Decca label. In 1973 it was reissued in the US on the MCA Records
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
black with rainbow label, but without the gatefold cover or the poster.
The first compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
release by Rykodisc
Rykodisc
Rykodisc Records is an American record label. It is owned by Warner Music Group, operates as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance.-Company history:...
appeared in 1992 with six bonus tracks taken from the privately distributed albums, also issued in a limited edition deluxe version with extra artwork. A remastered edition appeared in 2006 on Hip-O Records
Hip-O Records
Hip-O Records is a record label, currently part of Universal Music Group, which specializes in reissues and compilations. Their Hip-O Select label is currently in the midst of releasing the Complete Motown Singles, a series of fourteen box sets which include both sides of every 45 from Motown...
, the legacy division of the Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
, with nine bonus tracks, the first six being the ones from the Rykodisc reissue. The Hip-O version includes all the Townshend performances issued on the Happy Birthday tribute album.
Side one
Side two
2006 bonus tracks
Personnel
- Pete TownshendPete TownshendPeter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career...
– vocals, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s, keyboards, bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Ronnie LaneRonnie LaneRonald Frederick "Ronnie" Lane was an English musician, songwriter, and producer who is best known as the bass guitarist and founding member of two prominent English rock and roll bands; the Small Faces where he was nicknamed "Plonk", – and, after losing the band's frontman, Faces, with two new...
– vocals, guitar on "Evolution" - Billy NichollsBilly NichollsBilly Nicholls is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and musical director, who first gained fame in the 1960s while still a teenager with his Pet Sounds influenced album, Would You Believe, originally released on Immediate Records.Nicholls' compositions have been covered by many...
– vocals, guitar on "Forever's No Time at All" - Caleb QuayeCaleb QuayeCaleb Quaye , is an English Afro-European rock guitarist and studio musician best known for his work in the 1960s and 1970s with Elton John, Mick Jagger, Pete Townshend, Paul McCartney and Hall & Oates...
– guitars, bass guitar, percussion on "Forever's No Time at All"