THE WHO - FACE DANCES

'You Better You Bet'

Again I think I have posted this before but this song makes me smile and has a conversational tone quite unlike any other . . . funny and clever lyrics
I only got the album Face Dances much later and always though I had left the guys at 'Who's Next' which must stand as one of the greatest albums ever committed to vinyl and is always featuring in top twenty of my favourites!
*I don't think I realised that all those artists were involved in the cover art and I really should have as they feature my favourite pop a]figures from Richard Hamilton who I wrote my thesis on and Blake, Barker and Hockney all feature heavily in my level of interest

On this day in music history: March 16, 1981 - “Face Dances”, the ninth studio album by The Who is released. Produced by Bill Szymcyzk, it is recorded at Odyssey Studios in London from July - December 1980. Having left their longtime US label MCA Records in 1980, the veteran UK rock band sign with Warner Bros. Records. It is The Who’s first new studio album in nearly three years, after the death of original drummer Keith Moon, and introduces former Faces drummer Kenney Jones as his replacement. To produce, the band enlists Bill Szymcyzk, best known for his work with the Eagles and Joe Walsh. In spite of mixed reviews it spins off two singles including “You Better You Bet” (#18 Pop). “You Bet” is the subject of controversy when Warner Bros along with other major labels begin boycotting the use of independent record promotion (aka “The Network”) in the wake of public scandals over the use of various forms of payola used by the promoters. Due to the major influence and power that “The Network” has over many top US radio stations, “You Better, You Bet” which had been rapidly ascending the charts before the boycott, suddenly stalls on the charts once it reaches the Top 20 (in spite of strong airplay and sales), then going into a free fall down the charts in the weeks that follow. The albums cover art features individual paintings of the band members by a number of famed British pop artists such as Peter Blake, Clive Barker, Richard Hamilton, and David Hockney. In 1997, “Face Dances” is reissued on CD in remixed form with outtakes and live performances as bonus tracks. The album is remastered and reissued again in 2011 in Japan, this time using the original mixes from first LP release, also packaging the CD in a mini LP jacket, faithfully replicating the original artwork. “Face Dances” peaks at number four on the Billboard Top 200, and is certified Platinum in the US by the RIAA.

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