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== Writing and recording == According to music critic [[Richie Unterberger]], ''The Who Sell Out'' featured "jubilant" [[psychedelic pop]] music that veers between "melodic [[Mod (subculture)|mod]] pop and powerful instrumentation",<ref name="Unterberger"/> while [[Edna Gundersen]] from ''[[USA Today]]'' said the album's style was [[power pop]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2003-12-04-album-list_x.htm|access-date=2 July 2013|title=Top 40 albums β the USA TODAY way|work=[[USA Today]]|last=Gundersen|first=Edna|date=5 December 2003}}</ref> On 24 April 1967 (three weeks after recording "[[Pictures of Lily]]") the band entered [[De Lane Lea Studios]] in London to cut several songs meant for a projected instrumental EP, including a cover of "[[In the Hall of the Mountain King]]" and "Instrumental No-Title", the working title for a song renamed "Sodding About" when both tracks appeared as bonus tracks on CD reissues of the album.{{sfn|Neill|Kent|2002|p=160}} Two commercials for [[Coca-Cola]], "Coke after Coke" and "Things Go Better With Coke", were also recorded when the sessions concluded on 28 April.{{sfn|Neill|Kent|2002|p=160}} The EP was soon abandoned and sessions for their next album began in earnest from 8-16 May at CBS in London with the outtakes "Girl's Eyes" (penned by Moon) and "Early Morning Cold Taxi" (co-written by Daltrey).{{sfn|Neill|Kent|2002|p=162}} On 24-29 May they returned to De Lane Lea to tape a version of the live staple "[[Summertime Blues]]", earmarked as a possible single, and a backing track for the Entwistle B-side "Someone's Coming", along with the recording of backing tracks for "[[Armenia City in the Sky]]" and "[[I Can See for Miles]]".{{sfn|Neill|Kent|2002|p=163}} "Armenia City in the Sky" was written by a friend of the band, [[Speedy Keen]],{{efn|Keen later found fame as a member of [[Thunderclap Newman]] whose smash hit "[[Something in the Air]]" features production by Pete Townshend and bass playing from Townshend under the pseudonym Bijou Drains.}} while "I Can See For Miles" had been demoed by Townshend in 1966 but saved for a time he thought the group would need a big hit.<ref name=whoiam>{{cite book |last1=Townshend |first1=Pete |title=Who I Am: A Memoir |date=2013 |publisher=HarperCollins |location=New York}}</ref> After a brief trip to America which included a notable appearance at the [[Monterey International Pop Festival]], they entered De Lane Lea from 1-4 July to tape early versions of "I Can't Reach You", "Relax" and "Rael", with Kit Lambert making mono mixes of them on the 5th.{{sfn|Neill|Kent|2002|p=170}} A return to America included a stop at Talent Masters Studios in New York from 10-12 July to finish the multi-sectional mini-opera "Rael". After initially recording a satisfactory version of the song, the multi-track tape was accidentally thrown in the trash by a janitor, rendering the intro unusable; when Townshend was informed of the situation, he allegedly threw a chair through the glass in the control room.<ref>''The Who Sell Out'' 1995 re-release liner notes</ref> Nonetheless, engineer Chris Huston was able to save the take by patching the mono version in to replace the damaged section, which is why the intro and first line of the stereo version are in mono; this version was ultimately chosen for the album over an October remake. Both Talent Masters and Mirasound were used from 6-7 August where the US single version of "[[Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand]]" (featuring Al Kooper on organ), "Our Love Was", another attempt at "Summertime Blues" (which would remain an outtake) and overdubs to "I Can See For Miles" (lead vocals) and "Relax" (organ) were laid down.{{sfn|Neill|Kent|2002|p=174}} At this time, Townshend began to question some of Lambert's technical decisions in the studio, feeling their records didn't sound clean enough.<ref name=whoiam/> On 15 August they stopped at Bradley's Barn Studio in Nashville to add horn overdubs to "Someone's Coming" and vocals to "Our Love Was" and "Relax". On 5 September, Lambert took the four-track tapes of "I Can See For Miles" and "Rael" to Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles to utilize its famous echo chamber.{{sfn|Neill|Kent|2002|p=177}} When the group returned from America in late September, Chris Stamp approached Townshend with a proposed track list for the new LP using the songs that had been recorded to that point. Townshend objected, as the group had been slowly stockpiling an eclectic collection of songs and hadn't seriously considered turning them into an album yet.<ref name=whoiam/> He asked Stamp for more time to fashion an album and it is at this point that the idea of connecting the songs with a pirate radio theme, including commercials, was considered. Townshend himself claims to have come up with the idea in his memoir, although Richard Barnes and Kit Lambert have also claimed credit.<ref name=whoiam/>{{sfn|Marsh|1995|p=5}}<ref name=maximum/> Once the decision was made, the group spent 11 October at De Lane Lea recording several commercials for the concept including "[[Odorono]]", "Heinz Baked Beans", "John Mason Cars", "Bag O'Nails", "Rotosound Strings", "Medac" and the song "Silas Stingy".{{sfn|Neill|Kent|2002|p=180}} Entwistle had penned "Heinz Baked Beans", "Medac" and "Silas Stingy", while he and Moon came up with most of the short ad interludes like "John Mason" and "Rotosound Strings". The next day, "[[Tattoo (The Who song)|Tattoo]]" and "Glittering Girl" (first attempted at sessions for "Pictures of Lily" back in early April and considered a possible single, though ultimately left an outtake) were recorded. "Tattoo" had been penned by Townshend in Las Vegas just before the trip back to England, concerning the outraged reaction the group received by reactionaries in the deep South who questioned their masculinity.<ref name=whoiam/> On 20 October "Jaguar" and a rejected remake of "Rael" were attempted at IBC along with lead vocals for "Armenia City In The Sky", finishing the song.{{sfn|Neill|Kent|2002|p=181}} With time running out to complete the album, 24 October was spent at De Lane Lea finishing the rest of the commercial interludes including "Premiere Drums", "Speakeasy", "Charles Atlas" and "Track Records" along with an acoustic remake of "Mary Anne With the Shaky Hand" which would find its way on the album. On the 26th, a new mono master prepared for "Rael" chopped off the final portion of the track, which would not first see release until it appeared as "Rael 2" on the ''[[Thirty Years of Maximum R&B]]'' box set. Finally, an old Townshend ballad named "Sunrise" written for his mother,<ref name=whoiam/> originally demoed with different lyrics in 1965 was taped at IBC on 2 November, although Moon did not want it on the album.{{sfn|Neill|Kent|2002|p=184}} With the addition of "Sunrise", it was decided to leave "Jaguar" as an outtake and the sessions were complete. The album was mixed by Lambert and Damon Lyon-Shaw intermittently throughout November, coming up with a finished master at IBC on 20 November.{{sfn|Neill|Kent|2002|p=184}} While the concept of the album with its song-commercials and mock jingles is maintained through the first side, it disappears midway through the second side after "Medac", although the band had recorded many other jingles they could have used to complete the side.{{sfn|Marsh|1983|p=279}} The album was scheduled for release on 17 November until Odorono deodorant threatened to sue over their image on the album's cover art, prompting Stamp to negotiate with all four products seen on the front and back covers to ensure their permission for use.
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