THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
976) The Who — “Rael”
From ’67’s The Who Sell Out, “Rael” is a wonderful “mini-opera, with musical motifs that reappeared in Tommy”. (Richie Unterberger, https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-who-sell-out-mw0000652659) What I didn’t realize until recently was that the song is about Israel. In a time of great sorrow, “Rael” is so comforting. Thanks, Pete.
Seth Rogovoy writes that:
Townshend in his early years was shuffled around among relatives, friends and neighbors while his parents came and went, carrying on relationships outside of their marriage. In his autobiography, Townshend waxes nostalgic not for the comfort of his family, but for the Jewish world that protected him: “We shared our house with the Cass family, who lived upstairs and, like many of my parents’ closest friends, were Jewish. I remember noisy, joyous Passovers with a lot of Gefilte fish, chopped liver and the aroma of slow-roasting brisket.” . . .
Following a visit to Caesarea, Israel in 1966 with his first wife, Karen Astley, and the subsequent outbreak of the Six-Day War, Townshend began work on “Rael,” a song cycle loosely based on Israel’s struggle to survive despite being massively outnumbered by its enemies. “Rael” . . . got sidetracked, partly due to the demands of the Who’s record company for faster delivery of more hit singles, and “Rael” was consigned to the shelf. The only song that has surfaced from that project is called “Rael” and appears on the late 1967 album, “The Who Sell Out.”
https://forward.com/culture/music/306023/pete-townshend-jewish-history-the-who-roger-daltrey-birthday/?amp=1
I had never listened closely to the lyrics before. “Rael the home of my religion To me, the center of the earth . . . . My heritage is threatened My roots are torn and cornered And so to do my best I’ll homeward sail” Now I see.
As to The Who Sell Out, Richie Unterberger tells us:
Pete Townshend originally planned The Who Sell Out as a concept album of sorts that would simultaneously mock and pay tribute to pirate radio stations, complete with fake jingles and commercials linking the tracks. For reasons that remain somewhat ill defined, the concept wasn’t quite driven to completion, breaking down around the middle of side two (on the original vinyl configuration). Nonetheless, on strictly musical merits, it’s a terrific set of songs that ultimately stands as one of the group’s greatest achievements. “I Can See for Miles” (a Top Ten hit) is the Who at their most thunderous; tinges of psychedelia add a rush to “Armenia City in the Sky” and “Relax”; “I Can’t Reach You” finds Townshend beginning to stretch himself into quasi-spiritual territory; and “Tattoo” and the acoustic “Sunrise” show introspective, vulnerable sides to the singer/songwriter that had previously been hidden. . . . The album is as perfect a balance between melodic mod pop and powerful instrumentation as the Who (or any other group) would achieve; psychedelic pop was never as jubilant, not to say funny (the fake commercials and jingles interspersed between the songs are a hoot).
https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-who-sell-out-mw0000652659
Here is Pete’s demo:
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