Scoop: Deluxe Edition

Very few artists rejected demos would be interesting. I can think of maybe a handful of artists -Andy Partridge, The Beatles, Ray Davies and Pete Townshend who create demos that are detailed and equal or nearly equal in stature to the stuff they released with their respective bands (or as solo artists). "Scoop" originally released in the 80's features a healthy 25 tracks of Who, solo and unreleased demos from throughout Pete's career. Keep in mind that the sound quality on this set varies depending upon how old the original demo is and how it was recorded so that means often some of this stuff might not measure up to the finished final versions but they have a charm all their own.

This remaster (sadly) doesn't feature any bonus tracks nor did anyone bother to add any special notes to the booklet beyond what was in the original vinyl release/CD release. That along with the fact that BOTH discs could have fit on a single CD (they come out to about 75 minutes total)suggests that this isn't really worth repurchasing if you got the first CD issue.

On the other hand if you don't own this set and are a Who/Townshend fan you're doing yourself a disservice. There's some terrific previously unreleased material contained on this set. As with later sets in his series "Scoop" (which probably inspired The Beatles to do the Anthology series)features some thrilling tracks that were surprisingly rejected for Who albums. Even the "rejects" prove Townshend's depth as a writer with fascinating melodies and thoughtful lyrics.

The sound quality is marginally better in terms of clarity BUT the dynamic range is sacrificed and this is compressed a compared to Barry Diamet's original master (which has a much stronger analog feel). Which will you like? If you're into clarity and and the loudness/compression doesn't bother you, this is the version for you otherwise you may want to stick with your original CD.

The songs cover Who releases (demos for "So Sad About", "Squeezebox" which has quite a bit of charm in Pete's solo version, "Bargain", "Behind Blue Eyes", "Magic Bus", "Cache, Cache" and "Love Reign O'er Me")and rejected demos for both Pete's solo albums ("You're So Clever", "Body Langauge") and The Who ("Popular" which when retooled provided the basis for "It's Hard", "Dirty Water" and "Zelda" demos for "Face Dances", "Mary" originally intended for the double "Lifehouse" album that turned into "Who's Next")as well as odd instrumentals and experiments. Most of it is tuneful and well worth listening to.

In many respects the "Scoop" series inspired other performers/writers to release their rarities/demos (Andy Partridge's "Fuzzy Warbles" series, The Beatles "Anthology" series which included band outtakes as well, Dave Davies' demo releases, etc.)and some of these releases certainly live up to the quality of Pete's first venture into the archives. If you don't have "Scoop" and are a Who/Townshend fan it's well worth picking up. If you have the previous CD edition I'd suggest spending your money on something else as this edition although it is from the master tapes and has a marginal improvement in clarity, loses something in the process of compression applied to make it louder.

Knowing only the classic rock radio staples of the Who and the All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes album by Pete Townshend (hey it was the early, heady days of MTV), I first received this album on double vinyl as a 13-year old back in 1983 and it opened me up to a whole new side of the Who and Pete Townshend that I didn't realize existed.

From the opening "So Sad about Us" (perhaps the Who's catchiest pop song) to "Love Reign O'er Me" sung by Pete rather than Roger, Scoop packs some powerful demos that stand well on their own, or as a necessary footnote to the Who's long & storied career. Pete includes some great liner notes so you can follow along on how he developed his recording studio and his songwriting talents from the 1960s through the 1980s.

Since I wore out the vinyl version of this a while ago, I recommend you get the CD and start searching for the out-of-print sequel, Another Scoop.

I'm surprised this classic album of demos and unused songs is out of print; I found my copy on the $2 vinyl wall at the vintage music store in my college town, along with 'Another Scoop.' There's barely a song on here I skip; the only ones I don't care for are "Squeeze Box," "To Barney Kessell," "Cache Cache," and "Magic Bus." It's unfortunate that not all of the recording dates are provided, but you can guess many of them if it's a demo of a Who song that you know came out in a certain year or if it's mentioned that it was recorded around the time of a certain album. These songs are really fun, happy, and upbeat; despite being demos, it's not something that a new fan would be turned off by, since they're such high-quality demos and such nice songs, not rarities that only hardcore fans and completists would be interested in. It's also interesting to hear the original genesis of some of the songs, like "Bargain" or "LROM," since you get to judge if Roger's interpretation matched Pete's original idea. Sometimes a demo is better than the later song, and sometimes worse. It's particularly obvious in the two abovementioned songs; you can just tell that they were written for someone with a deeper throat, and Pete is straining to hit the notes that Roger makes easily. Someone who has a tenor/low-range falsetto doesn't deliberately write songs requiring deep growly and throaty notes for oneself.

My faves on here are "Zelda," "Politician," "You're So Clever" (EG would have been even better if it had been included there like originally intended!), "So Sad About Us," "Circles," "Unused Piano: Quadrophenia," "Cookin,'" "Body Language," "Goin' Fishin,'" "You Came Back," and "Initial Machine Experiments." There's also a classic comment about the song "Melancholia," "I'm pretty sure The Who didn't even hear this song." Pete often has memory lapses, but this one is the funniest, since we all know that "Melancholia" came out as a bonus track on the remastered 'Sell Out' and as one of the then-new songs on the boxed set. Maybe he really was so melancholic over how "ICSFM" only got to #9 that he really did block out doing the song with the group.