Naked Eye by The Who: MMJ 1972

[rincon2]

    Prior to enlightenment around 2010, The Who was seriously my favorite band since High School in the 70's. Quadrophenia and Live at Leeds solidified that, not to mention everything they did before. I have about 10 live DVD's of them. As a former member of their fan forum, I know that the White Whale was the Texas 1975 bootleg video. I was at Amoeba records in LA yesterday. I found it on legit DVD, released in 2012. Picked it up for $8. I read reviews that primarily complained about quality, but stated how great the performance was. The quality was far better than the best performance ever filmed, Tanglewood 1970. As far as performance goes, most was pretty great, not quite Tanglewood, but it is Real Who. But when it came to the greatest B side song ever, Naked Eye, you guys know about the B sides, it was an awful performance. Sleep walked through it.
       That inspired me to take out my old vinyl of Odds and Sods and listen to the original version of Naked Eye. MMJ is often compared to Neil, The Band, Radiohead, etc. The studio version of Naked Eye is pure MMJ. It really freaked me out. War Begun shit......
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FSZhCKbQZc

[Stevie]

Very cool song but the association between it and MMJ is lost on me.

[johnnYYac]

First time hearing that song. Excellent!

Imagine Jim and Carl trading vocals. I'm thinking Carl doing Daltrey and Jim doing Townsend. Near the end would be an opportunity for Carl to set down his geetah and take a seat at the pedal steel, then that final solo has Jim written all over it.

In fact, we need to see some dual vocals in future MMJ performances. How great would that be?

[Mr. White]

I had The Who - Odds and Sods on 8-Track back when I was in high school in the early 1980's. I loved this song way back then, but I gained a deeper appreciation for it after The Who - Live at the Isle of Wight came out on DVD and CD several years ago. That performance is killer!

http://youtu.be/0AIU-EHSnCc

"Take a little dope
And walk out in the air
The stars are all connected to the brain
Find me a woman and lay down on the ground
Her pleasure comes falling down like rain
Get myself a car, I feel power as I fly
Oh now I'm really in control
It all looks fine to the naked eye
But it don't really happen that way at all
Don't happen that way at all"

I'm sure MMJ could do this song justice!

[rincon2]

Very cool song but the association between it and MMJ is lost on me.

Really? That jam at the end? Sounds like an OBH cover to me.

[APR]

MMJ can cover anything.  This is a must if any Who/MMJ or PJ fan never saw this cover(probably my favorite video in the history of videos)....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpF8Dw_YmL8

Vedder has covered Naked Eye solo a few times over the years.

[rincon2]

MMJ can cover anything.  This is a must if any Who/MMJ or PJ fan never saw this cover(probably my favorite video in the history of videos)....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpF8Dw_YmL8

Vedder has covered Naked Eye solo a few times over the years.

The Who is rarely covered, as their style is so defined by the musicians. A Quick One by MMJ is remarkable, as they NAIL the Who's live version with perfection.

[oistheone]

Great track!!

Not the first time I've heard style similarities between MMJ and the Who. When I first heard "Circuital", my initial thought was 'this is the best Who track in decades'.

[rincon2]

Never noticed the Circuital thing. Maybe a bit of Eminence Front? I have read several reviews that state Gideon takes a lot from the Who.

[oistheone]

Not to say it sounds like a specific Who track, I just found the build in Circuital very Who-esque. The layered acoustics, powerful strums and eventually the bursting electrics definitely heighten that effect.

[justbcuzido]

Not to say it sounds like a specific Who track, I just found the build in Circuital very Who-esque. The layered acoustics, powerful strums and eventually the bursting electrics definitely heighten that effect.

I agree completely. For me it's mainly about the strumming patterns which remind me of Pete's playing completely.

[slappymoe]

lifelong townshend worshipper here.

i always hear late-60's who when i hear "what a wonderful man."  imo it sounds like it could have fit perfectly on "the who sell out."

the cover of "a quick one" with EV was the light bulb moment for me. managed to ignore my hometown greats for almost a decade. borrowed the PJ "cornice" dvd from a friend. after seeing that video, i thought, "you fool, what on earth have you been missing out on for all these years?"

[Mr. White]

lifelong townshend worshipper here.

i always hear late-60's who when i hear "what a wonderful man."  imo it sounds like it could have fit perfectly on "the who sell out."

the cover of "a quick one" with EV was the light bulb moment for me. managed to ignore my hometown greats for almost a decade. borrowed the PJ "cornice" dvd from a friend. after seeing that video, i thought, "you fool, what on earth have you been missing out on for all these years?"

I'm right there with you, slappymoe. I first heard of MMJ for real with my Pearl Jam Live in Cornice DVD. (I am originally from western Kentucky and had only seen posters, record ads, and such referencing MMJ at Ear-X-Tacy and had zero friends who had even heard of them.) It was The Who's "A Quick One While He's Away" that made me curious enough to even bother to record the KET/PBS re-broadcast of the 2008 Austin City Limits show not long before my first show at the KFC Yum! Center in late Oct. 2010. THAT show was the real turning on point for me. I hadn't spent a cent on MMJ up until that concert. Now, ...well...they are getting A LOT of my money these days!...but yeah...The Who/Eddie Vedder/Austin City Limits...I thank them all!

[rincon2]

As wonderful as Odds and Sods is on vinyl, the CD release almost doubled the track list. And it was truly great never before released stuff. If there is ever a third band that could enter the realm of The Who and MMJ for me, I think my head would pop.