“I Can See For Miles” by The Who

"I Can See for Miles" was the one single pulled from The Who Sell Out in 1967, and Pete Townshend had been sitting on it for more than a year. He demoed it in the spring of 1966, rated it the best thing he'd written, and held it back as his ace in the hole for the day the group really needed a smash. By Townshend's account the lyric started on the back of his affidavit in Shel Talmy's legal case against the band, and it's pure jealousy, sparked by watching his girlfriend Karen with other men.

What a racket it makes. Keith Moon batters the kit like he's trying to break through the floor, John Entwistle's bass rumbles underneath, Townshend's guitar drones and slashes, and Roger Daltrey sings it with ice in his throat. Kit Lambert produced, piecing it together from sessions on two continents.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.