One of the Boys (Roger Daltrey album)

One of the Boys is the third studio solo album by the Who's lead vocalist, Roger Daltrey. It was released in 1977, on Polydor in the UK, and MCA in the US. The sessions were recorded at the Who's Ramport Studios during the winter of 1976[6] (vocals were recorded at Pathe Marconi Studios in Paris, due to tax complications), and Daltrey allowed students from the local Battersea technical school to film them as an educational project. This also marked the first time that Daltrey had written or co-written a song since "Here For More" (released as the B-side of the Who's "The Seeker") in 1970, and Lisztomania in 1975.[7] Daltrey's original choice for producers were Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, but they declined.

One of the Boys
Studio album by
Roger Daltrey
Released13 May 1977
RecordedNovember 1976-March 1977
StudioRamport Studios, London and Pathe Marconi Studios, Paris
Genre
Length39:19
LabelPolydor – 2442 146 (UK)
MCA – MCA 2271 (US)
ProducerDave Courtney, Tony Meehan
Roger Daltrey chronology
Ride a Rock Horse
(1975)		 One of the Boys
(1977)		 McVicar
(1980)
Singles from One of the Boys
  1. "Written On The Wind"
    Released: 15 April 1977[1]
  2. "One Of The Boys"
    Released: 24 June 1977[2]
  3. "Avenging Annie"
    Released: 1 October 1977[3]
  4. "Say It Ain't So Joe"
    Released: 21 October 1977[4]
  5. "Leon"
    Released: 1978[5]

When Leo Sayer launched his own career as a singer, Daltrey called on a widening group of friends to write for and perform on his albums. Paul McCartney contributed the new song "Giddy" to One of the Boys, where the band included Hank B. Marvin of the Shadows, Eric Clapton of Cream, Alvin Lee and Mick Ronson, as well as calling two members of the Who, John Entwistle and Keith Moon.

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Rolling Stone(favourable)[9]

Album cover art

On this cover, after releasing Ride a Rock Horse with Daltrey as a rampant centaur, another visual trick is played with Daltrey's mirror image, with reference to Magritte's famous painting Not to Be Reproduced, photographed and designed by Daltrey's cousin Graham Hughes[10]

The album cover art depicts Daltrey standing in front of a mirror, but he can see only the back of his head.

Tracks background

"Parade" is a cover song originally released on Phillip Goodhand-Tait's sixth solo album, Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks, in 1976.

"Single Man's Dilemma" was written by Colin Blunstone for Daltrey. Blunstone is the lead vocalist for The Zombies.

"Avenging Annie" is a cover song originally released on Andy Pratt's second solo album, Andy Pratt, in 1973. The song was released as a single (by Daltrey) in October 1977, reaching #88 in the US, but was not released in the UK.

"Leon" was written and recorded by Phillip Goodhand-Tait in 1972 and originally released on his third album Songfall.[11] The song was released as a single (by Daltrey) in April 1978 but did not chart and was not released in the UK.

"One of the Boys" was written by Steve Gibbons about Daltrey. Gibbons did his own version live in 1977; a recording was released on his live album, Caught in the Act. The song was released as a single (by Daltrey) in June 1977 but did not chart; the song was not released in the US.

"Giddy" was written by the Beatles' Paul McCartney for Daltrey, The song started off as a demo called "Rode All Night"; the refrain was later incorporated into "Giddy".[12]

"Written on the Wind" was written by Paul Korda for Daltrey. The song features Korda playing piano; it was released as a single in April 1977, reaching #46 in the UK, but was not released in the US.

"Say It Ain't So, Joe" is a cover of song originally released on Murray Head's second solo album, Say It Ain't So, in 1975. The song was released as a single (by Daltrey) in July 1977 but did not chart; it was not released in the UK. The song was rereleased in February 1978 with a different B-side.

Critical reception

Writing for AllMusic, critic William Ruhlmann said that "Roger Daltrey called on a wider circle of friends for his third album and came up with a more varied collection of songs ... But Daltrey was never in danger of getting lost in the all-star session. Nevertheless, the album was not treated as a major release and found only modest commercial success."

Track listing
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Parade"Phillip Goodhand-Tait3:41
2."Single Man's Dilemma"Colin Blunstone3:03
3."Avenging Annie"Andy Pratt4:32
4."The Prisoner"David Courtney, Todd, Daltrey3:32
5."Leon"Goodhand-Tait4:47
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."One of the Boys"Steve Gibbons2:45
7."Giddy"Paul McCartney4:47
8."Say It Ain't So, Joe"Murray Head4:16
9."Written on the Wind"Paul Korda3:23
10."Satin and Lace"David Courtney, Tony Meehan, Daltrey4:06
11."Doing It All Again"Murray Head2:27
Total length:39:19

Bonus tracks (2005 reissue)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."You Put Something Better Inside Me"Gerry Rafferty, Joe Egan3:48
2."Martyrs and Madmen"Steve Swindells4:17
3."Treachery"Swindells4:58
Total length:12:23

Personnel
An advert for the album.
Engineering
Album cover art
  • Graham Hughes - Photography, Design
  • Ian Murray - Typography

Sales chart performance

Album

Year Chart Position
1977 NME Charts (UK) 45
Billboard Charts (US) 46
Singles
Year Single Chart Position
1977 "Avenging Annie" Billboard Charts (US) 88
Year Single Chart Position
1977 "Say It Ain't So, Joe" MegaCharts (NZ) 20

See also

References
  1. "Roger Daltrey - Written On The Wind" – via www.45cat.com.
  2. "Roger Daltrey - One Of The Boys" – via www.45cat.com.
  3. "Roger Daltrey - Avenging Annie" – via www.45cat.com.
  4. "Roger Daltrey - Say It Ain't So Joe" – via www.45cat.com.
  5. "Roger Daltrey - Leon" – via www.45cat.com.
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 19 June 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-19.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. Wawzenek, Bryan. "When Roger Daltrey Enlisted Famous Friends for 'One of the Boys'". Ultimate Classic Rock.
  8. William Ruhlmann (13 May 1977). "One of the Boys - Roger Daltrey | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 24 February 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-27.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  10. "The René Magritte Collection". Rate Your Music. 15 August 1967. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
  11. "Phillip Goodhand-Tait - Songfall". Discogs.
  12. "THE MACCA'S SECRET VAULT (4th Vault)". Maccafan.net (in French). Retrieved 27 July 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.