Inside the recording of The Who song ‘I Can’t Explain’
‘I Can’t Explain’ was the catalyst in The Who’s career that helped parachute them into a position of becoming one of Britain’s most formidable bands. Within one song, they successfully managed to define their entire sound, and it also operated as a mission statement like no other.
The track was their second single following the release of ‘Zoot Suit’, which failed to chart or land significant radio play, but it was also released under The High Numbers. Therefore, ‘I Can’t Explain’ represented the start of a new beginning as it was their first single as The Who. Understandably, the band was desperate to make everybody notice them after past failures and poured all their power into making it a hit.
Before the recording, The Who had caught the attention of American producer Shel Talmy, who managed to persuade Decca Records to get involved with the group. Once they had the backing of a label and an accomplished producer, the sky became the limit for the group.
The Who were also surrounded by first-class musicians, with the vocal trio, The Ivy League, performing backing vocals on the track. Jimmy Page also worked on the track, but the guitarist’s contribution to the recording didn’t make the final cut. However, his presence did add to the energy and made everybody else step up their game.
Reminiscing about the recording session at Pye Studios at Marble Arch, frontman Roger Daltrey told Uncut: “Well, it’s that thing – ‘I got a feeling inside, I can’t explain’ – it’s rock’n’roll. The more we try to explain it, the more we crawl up our own arses and disappear! I was very proud of that record. That was us, y’know – it was an original song by Pete and it captured that energy and that testosterone that we had in those days. It still does.”
Interestingly, Daltrey also explained The Kinks were the main influence behind the track. He continued: “Yeah, it was very Kinks derivative because we were huge fans of theirs, we supported them on so many shows. But as a producer, Shel Talmy just stood and watched a lot; he didn’t communicate with the band. When we turned up to record it there was this other guitarist in the studio – Jimmy Page. And he’d brought in three backing vocalists, which was another shock. He must have discussed it with our management, but not with us, so we were thrown at first, thinking, ‘What the fuck’s going on here?’ But it was his way of recording.”
The recording process of ‘I Can’t Complain’ and B-side, ‘Bald Headed Woman’ was brief, and within one afternoon, it was completed. Daltrey recalled: “We were in that studio for no more than two hours. A-side, B-side, played the thing four times and that was it. Obviously, if we’d had to do our own backing vocals that would’ve meant overdubs and more studio time, so that was how Shel worked. Pete could’ve played the lead but in a way it was a privilege having Jimmy Page on one of our records… he ain’t a bad guitarist, y’know?”
One month after recording the anthem in November 1964, ‘I Can’t Explain’ was released into the world and became a top ten hit for The Who. It set a foundation they built upon with their forceful debut album, My Generation, which stamped their flag into the ground of rock ‘n’ roll.
