The celebration of the Who’s 50th anniversary continues on August 14 with the release of, The Reaction Singles 1966.
The Reaction Singles 1966 is volume two of a four-part set of classic Who singles by labels (Brunswick, Reaction, Track and Polydor), containing five 7″ singles from the Reaction label pressed on heavyweight vinyl with paper sleeves (reproducing the period graphics front and back with die-cut center holes).
The singles are housed in a rigid ‘lid-and-tray’ outer box and features a 7″ sized color booklet with liner notes about each release by Who biographer Mark Blake.
In early 1966, The Who broke their contract with producer Shel Talmy and Brunswick Records and signed a temporary deal with their agent and future music mogul Robert Stigwood’s independent Reaction Records. In March, just before Brunswick released A Legal Matter without the Who’s permission, the band issued their own new single, Substitute.
The Who’s bust-up with Shel Talmy meant that the original Substitute single, with Circles on the flipside, had to be withdrawn from sale. The Who reissued the single a week later with Circles re-titled Instant Party.
When Substitute reappeared for a third time, it’s new B-side, an instrumental entitled Waltz For A Pig, was credited to ‘The Who Orchestra, but actually featured another of Robert Stigwood’s clients, the Graham Bond Organization. Despite that legal tug of war, Substitute reached No. 5 in the UK; a timeless snapshot of The Who in their power-pop prime.
The five-track EP Ready Steady Who was released in November ’66, the title of which is a reference to the popular ITV pop show Ready Steady Go on which the band were regular guests.
The EP’s song selection was certainly eclectic, Circles made a re-appearance on the A-side here, and was joined by a new Townshend composition Disguises, a song driven by hypnotic percussive rhythms and jangling guitar. The reverse side of the EP featured The Who in a lighter mood. It included one of their current live numbers, a version of the popular Batman TV show theme, plus two of Keith Moon’s favourite songs: U.S. surf duo Jan And Dean’s Bucket T and Barbara Ann, which had been a hit for The Beach Boys earlier that year.
Track List:
Substitute b/w Circles AKA Instant Party (Reaction 591001, Released March 4, 1966) NOTE: Reaction issued 3 versions of 591001. The first two were as above but the b-side had differing titles.
Substitute b/w Waltz For A Pig (Reaction 591001, Released March 14, 1966) This is version 3 with the unusual b-side credited to ‘The Who Orchestra’.
I’m A Boy b/w In the City (Reaction 591004, Released August 26, 1966)
Ready Steady Who (EP) (Reaction 592001, Released November 11, 1966)
Disguises
Circles
Batman
Bucket T
Barbara Ann
Happy Jack b/w I’ve Been Away (Reaction 591010, Released December 9, 1966)
——————————————————————————————————————————————
Never miss a story! Get your free Noise11.com daily music news email alert. Subscribe to the Noise11 Music Newsletter here
Listen to the Noise11 Music News channel now at iHeartRadio
Follow Noise11.com on Facebook and Twitter
more from vvnmusic.com
