Armenia City in the Sky

"Armenia City in the Sky" is a song by the English rock band the Who, released on their 1967 album The Who Sell Out. It is the only song on the album not written by any members of the band, as it was instead written by Speedy Keen, a friend of the band. Both Keen and Roger Daltrey sing the song through effects filter.[3]

"Armenia City in the Sky"
Song by The Who
from the album The Who Sell Out
Released15 December 1967
Recorded20 October 1967[1]
Genre
Length3:48
LabelTrack
Songwriter(s)Speedy Keen
Producer(s)Kit Lambert

Background

The song was recorded and mixed by 20 October 1967.[1]

John Atkins in the book The Who on Record: A Critical History, 1963–1998 wrote that the song's title is "merely a eupheism for the 'destination' of an acid trip". He also wrote: the basic hard rock performance is laden with overdubs: backwards guitars, raga drones, feedback and even backward horns. Beneath this dazzling array of effects lies a pleasant but average song in an impossibly high key for Roger Daltrey's voice". Atkins also felt that the song could be taken as a parody of a song by a psychedelic group, "especially when toward the end we can hear chanted 'freak out, freak out' in a silly voice".[4]

Sterling Whitaker of Ultimate Classic Rock wrote that the song "was an innovative sonic production that made use of the Who's instrumental and vocal abilities, along with groundbreaking sound effects that pointed the way to much of the group's later work".[5] Rolling Stone wrote that the song has "orchestrated fuzz".[6] John Dougan thought that because "Armenia City in the Sky" sounded like a Pete Townshend song, it ended up on the album.[7]

Reception

Richie Unterberger of AllMusic thought that the song was one of the four highlights on the album.[8] Robert Christgau picked "Armenia City in the Sky" as one of his three favorites from the album.[9] Ultimate Classic Rock thought that it was the band's 37th best song.[10]

Covers

American alternative rock band Sugar released a live cover of the song as a b-side to their single "A Good Idea." Petra Haden covered "Armenia City in the Sky" on her 2005 album Petra Haden Sings: The Who Sell Out. AllMusic writer Tim Sendra chose her version as one of the highlights on the album.[11]

Personnel

Adapted from the liner notes of the 1995 reissue.[12]

The Who

Additional musicians

References
  1. Neill & Kent 2002, p. 179.
  2. BBC review
  3. Charlesworth, C. "The Who Sell Out Liner Notes". thewho.net. Archived from the original on 10 December 2011. Retrieved 13 April 2019.
  4. Book
  5. Ultimate Classic Rock
  6. Rolling Stone
  7. Book
  8. AllMusic
  9. Christgau
  10. Ultimate Classic Rock
  11. "Petra Haden Sings: The Who Sell Out – Petra Haden – Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.
  12. "Liner notes of The Who Sell Out (1995 reissue)". Discogs. Retrieved 13 April 2019.

Works cited
  • Neill, Andy; Kent, Matt (2002). Anywhere Anyhow Anywhere: The Complete Chronicle of The Who. Virgin Books. ISBN 978-0-7535-1217-3.
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