45 RPM: The Who’s “Relay” [German 7″]

Here’s your ticket to some of the best (or, perhaps, most infamous) 7″ singles ever released! No adapter is required, although in my opinion the device pictured below is right up there with Little Debbie Swiss Cake Rolls as one of the best inventions of the 20th century.

We all know (I hope) that Al Gore didn’t invent the internet. Pete Townshend didn’t invent the internet either, but Pete can honestly say that he conceived the concept of an information superhighway long before Al and Tipper were secretly cranking up Twisted Sister albums. Just listen to the lyrics of The Who’s 1972 single “Relay”– yep, it’s about (as my wife likes to call it) “the interwebs.”

“Relay” was initially part of Pete’s conceptual Lifehouse piece, but it was left on the cutting room floor when that project was scrapped in favor of a single disc entitled Who’s Next. As great as Who’s Next turned out to be, it’s truly amazing to hear the quality of songs that were left off of the finished album. Many of these Townshend masterpieces were subsequently released as stand-alone singles during the gap between Who’s Next and Quadrophenia, including the prescient “Relay” (and let’s not forget “Join Together,” Let’s See Action,” “Long Live Rock,” and “Pure And Easy”– all of which were released over the next three years).

The Who always alternated their b-side writing credits so that each member could share in the publishing royalties, and it was Keith Moon’s turn to contribute a song for the flip side of “Relay.” As usual, Keith didn’t have anything of substance for the band to perform. No problem for a band like The Who– they simply jammed on a riff and let Keith goof off. The result: “Waspman,” one of the rarer songs in The Who’s entire catalog. “Waspman” was included on the Rarities Vol. II compilation released in the early ’80s, and finally appeared on CD on the 1987 compilation Two’s Missing. Both of these albums are long out of print, yet somehow “Waspman” has not appeared on any subsequent Who reissues. Maybe that’s for the best– I’ll let you decide for yourself…

“STING!”

The Who: Relay [German 7″]

Track Records, 1972

A-side: “Relay” (Pete Townshend)

Relay

B-side: “Waspman” (Keith Moon)

Waspman

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Bonus Tracks!

The first rule of The Analog Kid blog is that if you write about a song on the Analog Kid blog, you share the song on the Analog Kid blog.

The Who: “Dogs Part Two” (Keith Moon)

B-side of the German 7″ Pinball Wizard

Polydor Records, 1979

Dogs, Part Two

The Who: “Join Together” (Pete Townshend) [German 7″]

Polydor Records, 1972

Join Together

The Who: “Let’s See Action” [Dutch 7″]

Polydor Records, 1971

Let’s See Action

The Who: “Pure And Easy” (Pete Townshend)

Pure And Easy

The Who: “Long Live Rock” (Pete Townshend)

Long Live Rock

Both taken from the album Odds And Sods

Track Records, 1974

Twisted Sister: “I Wanna Rock” (Dee Snider)

From the album Stay Hungry

Atlantic Records, 1984

I Wanna Rock