| The Who's second album, A Quick One, would be a great album by the standards of most bands, but by Who standards, it's merely average. The album definitely has some high points, but it's unfortunately somewhat inconsistent. It is noteworthy because it includes tracks written by all the members of the band, in addition to some covers, and it contains Townshend's first mini-rock opera. Here's a track listing, with the song's writer in parenthesis:
1. Run Run Run (Pete Townshend) - 2:43
2. Boris the Spider (John Entwistle) - 2:29
3. I Need You (Keith Moon) - 2:25
4. Whiskey Man (Entwistle) - 2:58
5. Heat Wave (Dozier/Holland/Holland) - 1:57
6. Cobwebs and Strange (Moon) - 2:31
7. Don't Look Away (Townshend) - 2:54
8. See My Way (Roger Daltrey) - 1:53
9. So Sad About Us (Townshend) - 3:04
10. A Quick One (While He's Away) (Townshend) - 9:11
The following are included as bonus tracks on the new MCA remastered version, several are originally from the Ready Steady Who! EP.
11. Batman (Hefti) - 1:37
12. Bucket T (Altfield/Christian/Torrence) - 2:12
13. Barbara Ann (Fassert) - 1:59
14. Disguises (Townshend) - 3:11
15. Doctor Doctor (Entwistle) - 2:59
16. I've Been Away (Entwistle) - 2:08
17. In the City (Entwistle/Moon) - 2:21
18. Happy Jack (Acoustic Version) (Townshend) - 2:55
19. Man With Money (Everly/Everly) - 2:45
20. My Generation/Land of Hope and Glory (Elgar/Townshend) - 2:04
The album gets off to a good start, with two great songs. Boris the Spider in particular shows Entwistle's skill as a songwriter that unfortunately was not taken enough advantage of, as well as showing The Who's trademark humor with its bassy chorus line. Entwistle's other song on the original album - Whiskey Man - is another high point. Keith Moon's contribution to the album is also interesting, though I Need You is a fairly typical song, Cobwebs and Strange is unique, to say the least. According to the liner notes, he had the band marching around the studio banging whatever they could find, hoping to simulate quadrophonic (surround) sound with a mono microphone. The results are bizarre but enjoyable.
The rest of the original 10 tracks are nothing special, except of course the title track, Townshend's first opera, A Quick One (While He's Away). (There was an even better version of this performed in The Who's Live at Leeds concert).
The bonus tracks include some very interesting material. This includes a cover of the popular Beach Boys song Barbara Ann, as well as The Who's rendition of the theme to Batman! Disguises is a decent single, and the final track is the humorous juxtaposition of The Who's most famous song - My Generation - with a version of the patriotic British song Land of Hope and Glory.
A final note about the bonus tracks is the inclusion of an acoustic version of the great single Happy Jack. While the acoustic version is decent, it is extremely annoying that MCA failed to include the normal version of this great song, especially considering that this was included (instead of the mediocre Heat Wave) in the original American version of the album. Furthermore, the American version was renamed to Happy Jack (in part because of the popularity of the song and also because they feared that Americans would not find the innuendo in the title to be funny). If it's a good enough song to name the album after in one version, how do they justify completely leaving it off this version when there was enough room for 10 bonus tracks, with a total play time of only 56 minutes?
A recommended CD for Who enthusiasts looking to hear the band's earlier works, but not before you have a copy of The Who Sell Out, The Who Sings My Generation, and Live at Leeds. | 
