The Who "A Quick One" (While He's Away)

[BigmanPigman]

From the Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus

Keith Moon is fanstastic.

[OAITW r.2.0]

1. Thank you for posting this.

The Who, at the top of their game.....

We are all forgiven.......

[yonder]

2. This is on the very 1st LP I ever bought, Happyjack

IMO, that track was kind of a beginning of what they would later do as story rock or rock opera.

[BigmanPigman]

3. It does have the rock opera quality to it,

it is sort of like a story. They blew the Rolling Stones out of the water with this performance. I read that Mick was a little pissed off.

[highplainsdem]

4. Well, if Mick hadn't wanted to risk being upstaged, I don't know what the hell he'd been thinking

with his original plans for that show, which had been for just the Stones, the Who, and the SMALL FACES - with Steve Marriott, of all the frontmen Jagger wouldn't have wanted to follow if he was in his right mind. The idea of a rock and roll circus had been thought up by Mick, Pete Townshend, and Ronnie Lane of the Small Faces, But those plans fell apart, so they went with a different lineup except for the Who and, of course, the Stones.

The Who were very good. And the Stones did their set very late, when they were very tired. Filming all the acts had taken from two in the afternoon through five the following morning. And reportedly Mick was unhappy enough with the results that he didn't allow the show to be broadcast then and it wasn't released for 28 years.

But can you imagine if the Small Faces had been on it, with "All Or Nothing" and "Tin Soldier"? And their psychedelic album Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake had been at the top of the UK album chart for six weeks just months earlier.

I haven't seen anything about what happened to those original plans, whether the Small Faces didn't agree for one reason or another, or Mick changed his mind (came to his senses). Steve Marriott was becoming unhappier with the Small Faces, too, and quit just weeks after the Rolling Stones filmed their special. He didn't like their record label wanting more pop hits, and they couldn't reproduce that psychedelic album very well live, with just the four of them.

There's also another version of where the circus idea came from. The producer said he came up with the idea after drawing a circle on a piece of paper and free-associating from that, after first discussing the special with Mick. Personally, I think it seems more likely that Mick, Pete and Ronnie came up with the idea first.

[BigmanPigman]

5. I have read a couple books about The Small Faces

and that seems to be what happened to the band. Poor Ronnie ended up spending all his money on a traveling musical circus in a bus that kept breaking down. After that his MS developed and he couldn't make music anymore.

If they had been on the show The Stones would definitely have been upstaged by both The Who and The Small Faces (in my opinion).

[highplainsdem]

6. I wish I had more details about the initial plans for that show with just the three bands.

This didn't occur to me last night, when I was under the weather (still am this morning) after falling off my usual wheat-free, low-sugar diet (I occasionally forget how lousy pastry and chocolates make me feel, and the headache that was just starting last night is a full migraine today, along with cold/respiratory symptoms I'd worry are Covid if I didn't know how I react to wheat).

Anyway, it occurred to me (fuzzily) when I woke up this morning that possibly - not sure since I don't have the details - the initial plans for the show with just those three bands had been for a three-ring circus with the bands being treated pretty much equally. (In which case the producer's later "explanation" that he'd been free-associating and got to "circus" from that is BS. Especially since Mick reportedly had always loved circuses.) That show with just three bands could have been a really great show, especially if the bands had alternated songs from the start, rather than Mick treating the others as a supporting act with the Stones - and the audience - being really tired by the time they appeared as headliners. (A problem they ran into following Lynyrd Skynyrd hours too late years later, at Knebworth, with Skynyrd stealing the show at that festival.) The bands might have benefited from one another's energy and performances then.

Re how tragic Ronnie's life was - it should have been so different, at least in terms of finances (the MS, sadly, was inherited). The Small Faces were cheated so badly by management and their record label. As has happened to far too many artists.

[BigmanPigman]

7. They should have stuck with the original idea

With those 3 acts. I read that Marriott tried to join The Stones but Steve couldn't hold back and Mick would never go for a more talented singer.

I hope you are feeling better, I have had a migraine off and on for 3 weeks. Probably due to Covid booster, new glasses and allergies. No fun!

[highplainsdem]

8. I agree. And I'm so sorry to hear about your weeks-long migraine. A relative of mine has also

had a headache for weeks since about the time he got the booster. He isn't sure they're linked, isn't positive the headache started shortly after he got the booster, but he has been wondering about that.

I know exactly what caused my headache and cold/flu symptoms. Stupidity. Which made me think maybe I could get away with pastries and chocolate for just one idiotic binge. Nope.

I'm still feeling woozy despite trying to use rock music to wake myself up. I'll be okay by tomorrow, though, probably. Hope your migraine will finally be gone by then.