1. My Generation [December 1965]
Well well, what a very good record!
Because they were at this point part of the same British R&B movement, comparisons with the earliest Rolling Stones material are irresistible. Or I couldn't resist them anyway, but I found this first Who album much more convincing.
To be fair Mick, Keef and friends had already put out three albums in eighteen months by the time the debut Who long player arrived and the times they were a changin' pretty quickly. But this record is so much more powerful, so much more dynamic, so better endowed with catchy hooks and most of all so much more original. The earliest Stones albums consist mainly of covers whereas most - and mostly the best - of the songs here were written by Townshend.
The throbbing, driving bass, the rattling, insistent drums, Daltrey's big, throaty vocals, the crashing, stabbing, ringing rhythm guitar - it all adds up to what must have been a pretty devastating statement of intent for 1965. But it's not only powerful, it's tuneful as well - there are some lovely vocal harmonies and memorable melodies. It hints at power pop as well as R&B.
It's not a sophisticated production job by any means but it's well recorded. The copy I listened to was remastered for the Japanese market straight from the master tapes supposedly; it sounds big and full.
To the best of my knowledge I'd only ever heard My Generation and The Kids are Alright, famously banging tunes of course. But I also especially liked The Good's Gone, which reminds me of The Byrds and the sprightly, uptempo A Legal Matter which Pete sings, and which to be fair borrows from the Stones' The Last Time.
I must say Daltrey's impersonation of a black soul singer on Please, Please, Please is uncanny. You'd honestly think it was James Brown or Little Richard.
Nicky Hopkins tinkles the ivories on one or two tunes, to great effect - including the remarkable The Ox, named for Entwistle of course, an instrumental piece. Hard to know how to categorise this one but whatever it is it's rock music of a sort. Not R&B. Prototype heavy rock over a hyperactive tribal drum part. Townshend's manic, feedback-laden, growling, distorted anarchic guitar predates the first Hendrix and Cream recordings by over a year. Remarkable.
From the first moment the Who blasted onto the scene they were different. Instead of the frontman being the center of attention, I saw a guitar player & drummer battling for the position. I really like Pete Townshend as a song writer all those open chords, I feel he has strong signature.
I think the musicianship on this one has set a standard for lot of other bands to follow. I think apart from maybe the Kinks - but I hesitate to mention them because they were much more of a Stones band as in: guitar player & singer act - I find it difficult to think of an act with 4 such different individuals. Sure there's the Beatles, a phenomenon in itself, but a real band-band, I don't believe I can think of.
My main take away from the Who will always be Keith Moon, he singlehandedly invented a new style of playing. It is amazing how he does it. His style sounds like he falls of the stairs, but somehow manages to get it back together before he hits the floor. The liveband Who (very different from the studio Who!) was at their peak the best live and in the world. The tension on that stage was electrifying - it felt like it could fall apart at any time, and then it didn't. Like an athlete performing at the top of their game, like a balancing act without a net.
Anyway: about the album, it's good. It's a good introduction but a bit too 60s for me. There are too many 'nice songs' on this one, even though they are loud and have an intent to wreck every place you place them. I do like the Kids are Alright a lot. And some of the lyrics are so in contrast with the music, it's just funny.
Anyway, looking forward to this thread because there is a lot to appreciate!
I always loved The Who. Only managed to see them once, at Celtic Park in the mid-seventies, although many would say that The Sensational Alex Harvey Band stole the show that day. I was on my way to see them at the Hydro a while back but took ill before I got there and had to go home. I've never understood why they didn't receive the same accolades as the Stones. I believe they were (are) the better band.
I'll be interested in this. Always liked their well known stuff Substitute, My Gen, Pinball, Baba, Won't Get Fooled even You better.
Shout out to The Seeker too, which I only got to know when Rush covered it.
But whenever I delved below the fine icing I was distinctly unimpressed with the cake. Perhaps this will cause me to try again
I think you nominated most of the well-known Who tunes there - I'd also say I Can See For Miles, Squeezebox, Pictures of Lily maybe, Magic Bus definitely. Who Are You and The Real Me as well.
Similar to my Rolling Stones experience before I embarked upon a Stonesathon, I know some of the albums well (only Quadrophenia and Tommy actually now I think about it), I know some songs from the other albums from rock radio, TV etc but there's a lot of stuff I've never heard.
Never liked The Magic Bus but Who are you and I Can See For Miles are fine tunes that i forgot to mention.
I recognise the titles but can't say I'm overly familiar with the others
I'll be interested in reading this.. quite like the who..quadrophenia .. who's next ..who are you all great.. also the later stuff endless wire and the last album are top notch...
My Generation: The Very Best Of The Who is a superb collection with all the essentials on there.
Thinking about it now, my proper introduction to The Who was Meaty Beaty Big And Bouncy. Released 1971. Quite early for a compilation.
2. A Quick One [December 1966]
A bit of a mixed bag, this one. A slightly indigestible mix of '60s pop / R&B and English whimsy, with a prototype rock opera in several parts tacked on the end.
Relations in the band were fractious in 1966 apparently, and perhaps to address this, or perhaps merely to cope with it, the band's manager Kit Lambert pushed for each member to contribute as equally as possible to the album - meaning that less of the album is written by Townshend than would otherwise have been the case. I think it does suffer as a result.
In the end Daltrey only wrote one song for the album called See My Way and actually it's not bad at all.
Entwistle sings really nicely on his two pieces. If he was adept at singing and playing bass at the same time, they could have been a three piece band. But Whiskey Man is unexceptional and Boris the Spider is of course really a novelty piece. It's certainly enjoyable though, with the big man's bass being used as a clanging, growling lead instrument. Sounds like a Rickenbacker to my untutored ear but as far as I can make out from reading around it was a rare slab-body Precision. I wonder if Chris Squire was influenced by this tune. I remember hearing it for the first time myself while visiting a school pal in the early '70s. Like myself, he had an older brother with an ear for rock music. Handy.
Moon's Cobwebs and Strange is an oompah-brass band number. His I Need You is terrible: messy in the composition, the execution and the recording. There's a spoken section that's supposedly a Lennon pastiche.
Townshend's Run Run Run and So Sad About Us are really very good, albeit both redolent of that British '60s 'beat' sound that aged very quickly - echoes of The Searchers, The Dave Clark Five - you know the sort of thing. This album came out a few months after Revolver so it's evident that Pete's band was well behind the curve in some respects.
And yet - famously this record contains what is considered in some quarters to be the first rock opera - the forebear of Tommy, a nine minute oddity in six movements entitled A Quick One, While He's Away. A heartwarming tale of adultery and forgiveness. I liked it. Daltrey, Entwistle and Townshend all sing lead. But it's more old-time Music Hall than prog rock, somehow. Very theatrical.
As a Who fan giving this a spin for the first time in the winter of 1966, I think I'd be disappointed. Very interesting, for sure. But mostly not playing to their strengths.
3. The Who Sell Out [December 1967]
This is a wonderful record. Actually I have a certain sentimental attachment to this album, because its cover art was one of the more memorable images printed in the NME Encyclopaedia of Rock, a book I spent many happy hours immersed in as a teenager. But I'd never actually listened to it before today. What a shame I waited 45 years.
(https://i.ibb.co/G9C2V90/whosellout.jpg)
This is an early concept album. Some of the songs are spoof commercials. Some start or end with a mock radio jingle. The whole thing has a wonderful sense of motion. To me this is everything that A Quick One wasn't - very cohesive and focused, a proper whole album statement. It's a big step forward in songwriting, performance and production. It leans in to accessible, melodic rock music and away from their R&B beginnings.
I have to suppose that Sergeant Pepper was an influence on this record. It's certainly not out-and-out Beatles-style cinematic psychedelia though there are hints of that but the way it flows, the recurring themes and the sense of a journey are similar.
Entwistle writes and sings three songs here, all really good. Silas Stingy especially is remarkably harmonically sophisticated. Townshend writes most of the album of course and I suppose I'd have to say that I Can See for Miles, the only tune on the record I was familiar with, is the highlight. Pete plays some beautiful acoustic guitar on Sunrise, he sings very nicely on it too.
Curiously, the album opens (after a brief radio jingle) with a song written by Speedy Keen called Armenia, City in the Sky. Speedy also wrote Thunderclap Newman's Something in the Air (actually Thunderclap Newman was a band put together by Townshend, who plays bass on that song). I first became aware of Speedy Keen as producer of the first Motorhead album, personally. He did a terrible job. But I digress.
Anyway - everyone should have a copy of this.
I have always liked A Quick one.. (the song) not cared much for the rest of the album to be honest, Boris the Spider is a good bit of fun, but the real fun started with Sell Out. A brilliant album, conceptually almost perfect. There are a lot of fun lyrics on here, Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand of course and I have always been a big fan of Tattoo.
The Who does a trick on this album, and they do it several times. They go from 60s tunes to the deeper early 70s vibe in one song. The verse/chorus part of Tattoo is like that (in the opposite direction) but the best song on here is of course I Can See for Miles that sounds like the exact turning point from the 60s to the 70s. As if the whole album can be summed up in one song - and it can. It is utterly brilliant.
Having said that Armenia is a majestic opener and Rael the perfect closer, being the precursor to Tommy.
Luckily nowadays the streaming services have most versions of this album up, which is great since the stereo mix for this one is not very good. I much prefer the mono version for the album.
Quote from: Slim on April 27, 2024, 03:04:46 PMThis is a wonderful record. Actually I have a certain sentimental attachment to this album, because its cover art was one of the more memorable images printed in the NME Encyclopaedia of Rock, a book I spent many happy hours immersed in as a teenager.
Same here, the Who page from that book is burned into my brain.
4. Tommy [May 1969]
I have long held this album to be a masterpiece, but I do have ambivalent feelings about it. First of all - to call it a classic would be an understatement; it's a landmark in the history of popular music. I don't think Townshend's achievement here can be overstated. He came up with a idea of huge scope and ambition, conceptually and musically, and it works. It's worth noting here that Entwistle contributes a couple of songs as well. One of the tunes is a Sonny Boy Williamson cover (The Hawker) that conveniently fits the theme perfectly. But this is Pete's brainchild.
The quasi-orchestral format, with recurring musical motifs and themes, the way it's paced, the light and shade, the tension and release - it all works really well. It's all played, arranged and produced really nicely. Townshend makes a lot of use of his own voice, which I like. He plays some fantastic acoustic guitar on this record as well.
But - I think it's overlong, and that's probably why I've only ever played it four or five times. I really appreciate it for what it is, and its place in 20th century popular culture. But it sags a bit here and there, especially during Underture and I think that's why I've only rarely had the necessary attention span for it. Also - I have to say, taken as a rock album, it doesn't have that many really powerful, memorable songs. Yes, Pinball Wizard is brilliant and timeless, so is I'm Free . The "See Me, Feel Me / Listening to You" part of We're Not Gonna Take It is positively anthemic as well but really, while the rest of it works in context, we're a bit low on powerful rock bangers.
Even so, if this album had never existed, I'm pretty sure 2112 wouldn't have either. I can hear future echoes of Rush in a lot of the material here. Before and After from the first album definitely borrows from Go to the Mirror! and I can hear Red Barchetta in one of the tunes as well.
This was my favourite part of the
Tommy film, because I was a big Clapton fan as a teenager. Only the 1970s could have given birth to a film like this, and only Ken Russell could have directed it.
Of course
Tommy is a stone cold classic, perhaps the definitive concept album. And that means it has it drawbacks: everything should fall into place, the story needs to coincide with the music which means one or the other sometimes has be suited to tailor the needs of the other.
Having said that: I really like the album.
Like, not
Love.
Yes I think the concept is brilliant as is most of the music, the
Overture is a grand entrance and it literally sets the tone. Like
Underture it repeats many of the musical patterns the album displays. And therein, you said it already, lies the crux: it is all a bit much.
I don't consider it being a rock album at all, not of the rock opera albums really are. The variety of styles and the fat the story is leading makes for a less concise collection of songs. That particular collection, as it would be, was just around the corner.
Anyway, my favourite tracks here (of course)
Pinball Wizard,
Acid Queen,
I'm Free and of course
We're Not Gonna Take It with the
See Me, Feel Me part being the obvious highlight.
It is to me a bit like
the Wall: I can listen to it as a whole, but am happy when it's over.
One thing that the album brought out though: The Who toured it so extensively that they became the ultimate live band at the time. Not sure whether you'll cover live albums, (or at least just the one) but if ever there was one that deserves all the praise it gets, it's
Live at Leeds.
The last thing: ever since I heard it I have been a huge fan of the edit of
Sparks for the movie
Almost Famous. It combines
Amazing Journey and
Sparks and makes for a fantastic listen under 4 minutes of brilliant music.
Who's Next [August 1971]
Although I'd known about Townshend's abandoned (or long-postponed) Lifehouse project for a long time, I didn't realise until I did a bit of background reading that this album had been salvaged from it. It doesn't feel like a concept album, still less a rock opera. Although it flows nicely, it comes across as a collection of songs in the usual manner.
Glyn Johns was brought in to produce it and I think he does a brilliant job, mostly - Daltrey's vocals have a bit of reverb and sound full, powerful and clear. Townshend's trademark power chords sound great, plenty of attack and gain but musical at the same time. Everything sounds powerful and lush.
Interestingly on Baba O'Riley and Bargain Pete's guitar is a little bit subdued in the mix, it sounds a little bit atmospheric and distant and this works really well to bring the bass and drums to the fore.
I really liked all the tunes on here but the classics are the standouts for sure - Baba O'Riley, Behind Blue Eyes - and the brilliant Won't Get Fooled Again where Pete's crashing power chords are much more prominent, emphasising the inherent astringent anger of the song.
If the album has a weak spot, perhaps it's Entwistle's My Wife. It's a spirited ditty that the big man sings himself, but really it's crying out for two things - for Daltrey to sing it instead, and for Pete's guitar to be a bit louder and more in-yer-face. They really could have squeezed more juice out of it.
Here and there the synth parts on the album sound very dated.
I was really interested to hear The Song Is Over, which has a pleasing '80s stadium rock feel to it - definitely ahead of its time.
Surely the most distinctive element of the whole album is the long, hypnotic, repeating intro to Baba O'Riley. It sounds like a sequencer but apparently it's a late '60s Lowrey "home electronic organ" with some sort of auto-note-repeating function built in, hooked up to a synth. Years ago on his Saturday morning show on 5 Live, Danny Baker interviewed Glyn Johns, who described how Pete had recorded it as a demo at his home studio. Glyn was so impressed with it that he didn't attempt to redo it, he just transferred the demo recording to 16-track tape and that's what you hear on the record.
I think it's a good thing that the band put out a relatively straightforward album in the time-honoured format, rather than another concept album. It's a strong selection of powerful, melodic and in some cases brilliant songs, with subtly contrasting styles and plenty of light and shade.
I also listened to some of the bonus tracks that come with the CD edition. There's a live cut called Water that's very good - it's remarkably reminiscent of Led Zeppelin - but the most notable thing is that Townshend is right in the zone, he plays some really tasty blues lead guitar as well as bringing it with the usual crisp power chordage. Jimmy Page would have been proud, and Daltrey clearly tries to channel Robert Plant at one point. Great stuff.
I need to do a deep dive again here. I have the Lifehouse Chronicles boxset Townsend had for sale on his Eel Pie website. It's a 6cd set. It has all the original demos for the project, orchestration and even a radio play. I can imagine it drove him insane..
The album then: it's one of the my all time favourites, a classic example of what Arena rock sounds like.
Moons opening break to Bargain is to me perfection in how to play an opening break. In timing it's only rivaled by the Back in Black riff, but thats guitar..
I don't think Roger ever sounded better than on this album, he is so incredibly powerful it feels like he could full a stadium with his voice alone.
It has only 1 flaw this album: the omission of Pure and Easy. It's on most of the latter day Re releases though.
Quadrophenia [October 1973]
Townshend's intent with this album was to create a landmark record to mark The Who's tenth anniversary, but also to come up with something to replace Tommy in their stage act.
I've listened to it a few times since I first heard it back in the mid '70s, courtesy of a friend with an older brother. But I've never really been convinced by it, and listening to it more critically yesterday, I tried to analyse why.
Since it's a successor to Tommy in essence it's only fair to compare them, and for me the later album doesn't have anything like the same sense of occasion. To a point this is deliberate because Townshend was trying to make a powerful, accessible rock record to please the fans. It's certainly a coherent piece overall but it's not what you'd call quasi-orchestral.
It does have some good moments, some strong songs. But really, in the bigger picture there's nothing as strong as the best stuff on the previous couple of records.
However, I think my biggest problem is the production and the recording. Townshend goes into huge detail in his book about the studio preparation and the engineering of this record. But to me it sounds a bit half-baked, the band don't really sound that tight, the bass isn't as punchy as it ought to be. The synthesiser parts haven't aged well and the horn parts, all played by Entwistle, somehow sound a bit thin, tinny even.
Compare and contrast to Dark Side Of The Moon, released about six months earlier. A grandiose comparison perhaps because that's one of the best-recorded albums of all time, even to this day - but the Floyd record is exquisitely atmospheric, every note in exactly the right place, every instrumental part beautifully enhanced by a clever production. An album as ambitious in scope as Quadrophenia surely deserved a similar treatment. If they'd got Glyn Johns in again instead of producing it themselves, perhaps it would have. It does have some nice touches to be fair. I really like the ambient sound captures that join some of the tracks together.
I love the idea of the record. I love the story. But the tunes that are its vehicle just aren't that strong, and the execution lets it down. A clever record but a disappointing one.
Townshend admits in his autobiography that Quadrophenia failed to replace Tommy as the backbone of their live shows. But he says that "it has come to be seen as superior to Tommy both musically and conceptually". I don't know if that's true but I'd only go along with the second claim myself.
By the way he also says that he was rushed into getting it finished for the Christmas market in 1973, so perhaps that's a contributing factor.
Slim... Have you ever seen the film of Quadrophenia?
Quote from: Fishy on June 14, 2024, 09:21:28 AMSlim... Have you ever seen the film of Quadrophenia?
Back in 1980, my first girlfriend Janet and I went to see a showing of
The Song Remains The Same at the Hartlepool Odeon cinema. Except that we'd come to the wrong cinema. The Zeppelin concert opus was actually on at the ABC cinema, half a mile away.
We watched the first 15 minutes of
Quadrophenia then decided to stick with Plan A, so we left and walked to the ABC. To this day I've never seen the rest of it.
The Odeon was a beautiful big, grand art deco cinema, I went there many times as a kid. Both cinemas had closed by the mid '80s (I suppose the home VHS boom must have contributed greatly to this). The ABC became a Bingo venue. The Odeon reopened briefly in the '90s as a nightclub with a bar in the stalls. It's a filthy old derelict building now with trees growing out of the brickwork. I believe it's listed so it can't just be knocked down. Some "urban explorers" broke in and took pics in 2011, it must be even worse now:
(https://i.ibb.co/yWfcMGg/hpoolodeoninside.jpg)
https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/hartlepool-odeon-dec-2011.66783/
(https://i.ibb.co/58n2GHS/odeonoutside.jpg)
The ABC is currently disused but in better nick.
Really off topic now but I've just read that there were nine cinemas in the town in 1957. Wow.
https://www.hhtandn.org/relatedimages/11530/choice-of-cinemas-1957
Quote from: Slim on June 14, 2024, 12:50:19 PMReally off topic now but I've just read that there were nine cinemas in the town in 1957. Wow.
https://www.hhtandn.org/relatedimages/11530/choice-of-cinemas-1957
Quote from: Slim on June 14, 2024, 12:45:50 PMQuote from: Fishy on June 14, 2024, 09:21:28 AMSlim... Have you ever seen the film of Quadrophenia?
Back in 1980, my first girlfriend Janet and I went to see a showing of The Song Remains The Same at the Hartlepool Odeon cinema. Except that we'd come to the wrong cinema. The Zeppelin concert opus was actually on at the ABC cinema, half a mile away.
We watched the first 15 minutes of Quadrophenia then decided to stick with Plan A, so we left and walked to the ABC. To this day I've never seen the rest of it.
The Odeon was a beautiful big, grand art deco cinema, I went there many times as a kid. Both cinemas had closed by the mid '80s (I suppose the home VHS boom must have contributed greatly to this). The ABC became a Bingo venue. The Odeon reopened briefly in the '90s as a nightclub with a bar in the stalls. It's a filthy old derelict building now with trees growing out of the brickwork. I believe it's listed so it can't just be knocked down. Some "urban explorers" broke in and took pics in 2011, it must be even worse now:
(https://i.ibb.co/yWfcMGg/hpoolodeoninside.jpg)
https://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/hartlepool-odeon-dec-2011.66783/
(https://i.ibb.co/58n2GHS/odeonoutside.jpg)
The ABC is currently disused but in better nick.
Wise choice.. the film is rubbish..
The Who by Numbers [October 1975]
Well - on the whole I like this album. It's definitely not a classic Who record. There's nothing here with the power or passion of a Pinball Wizard or Won't Get Fooled Again, not by a long way. Actually the record sounds a bit lightweight for the most part. It's not an ambitious record, there's no defining theme or grand purpose.
But its well-recorded (Glyn Johns was brought in again) and the songs and performances sound heartfelt.
I don't believe I'd heard any of these songs before except for Squeeze Box which is a brilliant, sprightly pop ditty and deservedly one of the band's classic singles. Curiously, Townshend considered it a "rank outsider as a song" and didn't want to include it.
The other highlight for me is another tune he didn't want to include called Blue Red and Grey which is a charming piece performed by Pete on ukelele and vocals, accompanied by Entwistle's overdubbed horns in Sally Army mode. Just lovely.
Pete barely mentions the recording of this album in his autobiography which I find odd, because elsewhere he's quoted as saying the following:
"Glyn worked harder on The Who by Numbers than I've ever seen him. He had to, not because the tracks were weak or the music poor but because the group was so useless. We played cricket between takes or went to the pub. I personally had never done that before. I felt detached from my own songs, from the whole record. Recording the album seemed to take me nowhere".
Despite all that, to me it's a refreshingly unpretentious, elegant if unexceptional record with an appealing sense of introspection and sincerity running through it.
Slip Kid is partly written from the perspective of a 63 year old chap who is later referred to as an "old man", so if I was awarding points here I'd deduct one for that.
Listening to Quadrophenia, just acquired a well preserved German pressing. I have heard it before, many times even but my "Who period" was a bit ago. But I always remember this as a highlight in their catalogue. It's not as good as Who's Next the again, I rate it quite a bit higher than Tommy.
I think this is because the latter is a bit too Sixties sounding to me, and this is the natural predecessor to Who's Next.
I feel Daltrey is really strong on this one and there are more standout tracks for me than on Tommy.
I'd even argue Love Reign O'er Me is a contendor as best Who song for me.
I do like the production actually, maybe it's because the drums are quite upfront and Moon is really giving it his all here. Also the sound effects, mainly the sea crashing into the shore, is very well recorded and comes across as the thunder as I'd expect it to be - at least over my speakers it is.
Special mention goes to the grand opening of The Punk and the Godfather, those chords are epic, in the best sense of the word.
After Who's Next, my number 2 Who album then.
So, as of now I am venturing into unknown territory apart from Face Dances (a small story is there).
Not a critique of any of the Who's albums, but it seems as if the cover of Who's Next was photographed in Derbyshire :) Further proof that Derbyshire is the origin of all that is good - including bananas.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/travel/news/i-sat-on-this-for-years-film-crew-visits-derbyshire-field-to-unearth-truth-of-classic-who-album-cover/ar-BB1oO0EI
Haven't quite pinpointed the spot, but the old colliery site where it was is not far from a regular cycling route of mine and not far from where one of my Great Great Grandfathers was Post Master and Cow Keeper.
Quote from: Nickslikk2112 on June 28, 2024, 09:30:42 PMNot a critique of any of the Who's albums, but it seems as if the cover of Who's Next was photographed in Derbyshire :) Further proof that Derbyshire is the origin of all that is good - including bananas.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/travel/news/i-sat-on-this-for-years-film-crew-visits-derbyshire-field-to-unearth-truth-of-classic-who-album-cover/ar-BB1oO0EI
Haven't quite pinpointed the spot, but the old colliery site where it was is not far from a regular cycling route of mine and not far from where one of my Great Great Grandfathers was Post Master and Cow Keeper.
If you manage to find it we need an reenactment of that iconic photo of course.
Who Are You [August 1978]
I listened to this a few weeks ago while out on a bike, with the intention of typing a few words into this thread. Then I sort of forgot about it, which perhaps tells its own story. I didn't dislike it but it didn't leave a strong impression. But I listened to it again this afternoon and it grew on me a bit the second time around.
Although I'd never heard it before save the well-known tunes, I do remember this album coming out in 1978, shortly before Moon's death of course. Nearly three years had passed since they'd released an album and the musical landscape had changed, with the advent of Punk and the 'New Wave'. The first Sex Pistols rehearsal occurred three weeks after the release of The Who by Numbers.
It's a good album, all the songs are pretty good. Actually I could copy & paste the first paragraph from the last one of these that I did, it's similar in some respects - a bit lightweight, no grand theme, none of the trademark power or passion (or very little). It does sound quite different from its predecessor, though. For one thing it's very accessible - maybe even wilfully commercial, as though it were written with rock radio in mind.
I quite like the initiative to make more use of synths on this album but they do sound a bit inelegant and intrusive on the first few songs. I'm not that keen on the production. Glyn Johns had to go off and make a Joan Armatrading album before it was finished, and I'm guessing that this would be a better record if he hadn't. This album seems to have been beset by difficulties, not least caused by Moon's health. It was recorded in a few goes, at different studios and with more than one producer. As it happens the drums sound just a little bit weak and half-baked throughout.
Some of the songs have a light prog feel, with choppy synth chords faintly reminiscent of '80s Genesis. There's some clever composing by Townshend, with chord changes here and there that you wouldn't find on most rock albums. I especially liked: Sister Disco (despite the awkward synth), Music Must Change and of course the title track. Entwistle contributes two songs, one sung by himself called 905, surely inspired by Dylan's (and Manfred Mann's) Mighty Quinn. It's very lightweight. I could imagine Strawbs doing it on Top of The Pops. But I liked it.
Here's an interesting thing - In the title track, Townshend writes the following lyrics:
I know there's a place you walked
Where love falls from the trees
My heart is like a broken cup
I only feel right on my knees
I spit out like a sewer hole
Yet still receive your kiss
How can I measure up to anyone now
After such a love as this?
.. about his devotion to Meher Baba. Apart from being a bit incongruous to the rest of the song, they're obviously very personal and I find it odd that he'd include these in a tune to be sung by Daltrey. I recall Geddy saying that he sent lyrics back to Neil on occasion, to make them a bit more general and less first-person. I guess Rog wasn't so hung up about that.
Face Dances [March 1981]
Three years later it's the '80s already and here comes another Who album. By this time Kenney Jones is a full time member of the band.
Once again it's an album I like, no grand theme, a bit lightweight, none of the defining passion or anger. So it's clear that by now the band had settled into a bit of a comfort zone, releasing good quality, accessible, worthy but ultimately undemanding albums every few years.
All the same this really is pretty good stuff. There's a sharpness and punch that was absent on Who Are You and the songs and performances have a nice upbeat energy. But there are no anthemic bangers.
Daltrey was unhappy with the album and blamed Kenney Jones for what he saw as a "lack of fire", even wanting him to be dismissed from the band. Townshend acknowledges this shortcoming in his autobiography but blames it on the songs. Interestingly the other two were both pleased with the new version of the band. Townshend had felt that Moon was holding the band back and Entwistle enjoyed Jones' way of keeping time without messing about. I think it's to the new drummer's credit that he doesn't try to impersonate his deceased predecessor.
I think Bill Szymczyk does a pretty good job of producing the record - it does sound polished and it's aged well. The blend of guitar and keyboards are just right. Maybe it's a bit conventional-sounding; there's no experimentation, no moody atmospherics. I did wonder if he could have got a bit more out of some of the songs with a more aggressive guitar sound, or even by slowing them down a bit.
I'd say that the best thing on here is the best-known of these tunes, Better You Bet although the autobiographical lyrics are arguably a bit shallow. Clever chords in that one. I also like You which builds nicely to a surprisingly caustic guitar solo. Pete should have played lead guitar more often.
My brother was born in 1981, July 31st. My mom wanted one more trip before she had to tend to new mom duties. I was 11 turning on 12 in April and my stepfather, mom and I set off to London.
These are random memories:
- The tube was wallpapered with posters for Scanners, a horror film, the image showing a man having his face being ripped off. It haunted me for months after that.
- I bought a Kiss T shirt on a market, it had the Love Gun cover on it. I went into a growspurt shortly after, I outgrew it pretty quick.
- Me walking up to the counter of the hotel's restaurant and asking in my best English: "do you also have strawberry?" (looking for jam for my toast) at the breakfast buffet and the lovely lady smiling at me.
- Hearing You Better You Bet everywhere, up to the point of wanting the LP (I was never a singles guy, not even at 11 years old). They bought it for me.
I played that album probably a million times, I wore it out. I don't have it anymore, it must have disappeared over the past 43 years somehow. I won't say it's my favourite Who record, but I have such fond memories of it. I really must secure another copy.
Listening to Face Dances right now, I had forgotten how John's voice had changed over the years. The Quiet One is a great track but he doens't sound one bit like he did on Boris the Spider or My Wife.
I only have one clear Who memory of this time, and again it's the single which Nop has mentioned. I turned 21 that year. My present was a VHS recorder, an Akai I believe. This was a very big deal at that time. Probably due to the present I got talking to a guy in the pub one Saturday night. He was a smaller, clean shaven, George Best sort of look-alike. He went out with the girl everyone considered to be the best looking in my hometown, but he always seemed to be the worse for wear with alcohol, which unfortunately became a major issue in his life.
Anyway, we got talking and I mentioned The Who had been on Tiswas that morning and I'd taped it. The Who were his heroes. A bunch of us procured the necessary carry-out, probably the dire Draught Packs back then, and went to mine to watch it. We watched the clips with the band and then the video for the single. I seem to remember there was a part where Pete's head suddenly appeared in profile at the mic to sing a backing vocal, but he got the timing wrong and I think it was left in for comic effect. I might be wrong about this.
Sadly, the last time I saw my Who loving pal was outside a local convenience store where I gave him a fiver for a bottle of cider. He always kept a glass in his deep coat pocket. He considered it uncouth to drink out of a bottle. I heard a few months later that he had died in an accident at his home. He had been evicted from the house in his hometown due to his issues and placed a few miles away which caused him huge distress. Makes me sad to think of his plight, struggling with his demons. RIP.
It's Hard [September 1982]
Released only eighteen months after its predecessor surprisingly. But whatever the reason for that was (I can't remember if Pete has much to say about it in his book), I'm pretty sure it's not because the band were bursting with inspiration and energy. Because unfortunately, this is pretty thin gruel.
Roughly speaking it follows the same pattern as the previous three albums in being an unpretentious collection of lightweight songs. But whereas those were at least decent albums, I don't think this one is. It's just limp corporate pop-rock.
I was really surprised to find that Glyn Johns had produced this because it sounds a bit half-baked and hamfisted. The synth parts especially sound very inelegant and amateurish here and there.
I have to except the excellent Eminence Front from the above criticism. It's the only tune I was already familiar with, a bit of a rock radio hit. It has a bit of the old purpose and intent and it sounds great. Absolutely head and shoulders above everything else on the album.
Interestingly Entwistle contributes three tunes. One of them, Dangerous has a bit of energy but it's very '80s keyboard rock. I don't think it's aged well.
This was the last Who album for twenty-four years, until Endless Wire in 2006.
Endless Wire [October 2006]
Many years later, Townshend and Daltrey record another Who album. Kenney Jones is no longer in the band. John Entwistle has been dead for a few years.
This is actually quite an interesting record, it feels heartfelt and sincere - and there are two or three really good songs. There are nineteen songs in all, though six of them are less than two minutes long.
Is it a Who record, really? I don't think so. For one thing the various bass players and drummers aren't actually in the band, except where Townshend plays bass or drums himself. Townshend also sings a lot more of the songs than usual - no bad thing.
That said some of these tunes do sound like The Who, especially Black Widow's Eyes for example, but they aren't great. Actually the opening tune starts with a sentimental homage to the Baba O'Reilly intro.
I think I could accept this as a Townshend solo album. It's really eclectic, there are some exceptional moments. I wonder if he really teamed up with Roger just so he could sell this as a Who album and make loads more money. But Roger's voice sounds tired and I could do without the pair of them trying to disinter the spirit of their old band's heyday.
Either way, it's overlong and feels a bit too fragmented and bitty. It doesn't really flow like an "album journey". But when it's good, it's very, very good. It's also very well produced and allegedly Pete took care of that himself (curiously, separate producers were used specifically for Roger's vocals. Perhaps he recorded them remotely or something).
Highlights: a glorious Tom Waits pastiche called In The Ether with some very clever chord changes and harmony, and Trilby's Piano, beautifully orchestrated and off-the-scale poignant. Both sung by Pete and neither trying to sound anything like The Who.
I bought Endless Wire upon release and immediately liked it. Haven't heard it for a while now so will have a listen tomorrow. Actually quite enjoying the trip through Who country so far.
Need to see about that last one, never heard it before.
Despite having the opportunity several times, including recently when they played locally, I've never bothered to see them live.
As I'm a regular gig-goer who has seen hundreds of bands including their peers, the Stones and the Kinks, that makes it quite unusual.
I found it impossible to obtain tickets for their Glasgow Apollo concerts, but saw them at Celtic Park in June, 1976. That was a long day! I have to admit that I enjoyed Alex Harvey the most from that long bill of bands I had no knowledge of.
Who [December 2019]
Another thirteen years pass, Townshend and Daltrey record another Who album. Is that really what it is? Well the same comments as last time apply, it's really a Pete Townshened project with Rog recording vocals separately assisted by anonymous session musicians. The biggest difference is that for the most part, Pete is clearly trying to make a Who record here.
And actually, the opening tune All This Music Must Fade has more of the old Who vigour and attitude than any Who tune since Quadrophenia. I liked it. I could have done without Pete's little Johnny Rotten-style spoken affectation at the end. It would have worked better if he was 19 or 20. But it's a banging rocker.
Unfortunately all of the other Who-style tunes really just sound like fillers and some are a little bit hamfisted. I didn't really like any of them.
But: there is an absolutely exceptional tune that sounds nothing like The Who, sung by Pete called I'll Be Back. It sounds so deeply heartfelt and poignant. And it's incredibly cleverly composed. You could argue that it's really very sophisticated smooth jazz. I loved it.
Gordon Giltrap plays acoustic guitar on one track, interestingly. No idea why, it's pretty standard stuff, not virtuouso baroque folk.
Roger's voice sounds a bit tired throughout and I'm not keen on the way it's been produced, with a bit too much presence and possibly slightly too loud in the mix.
I listened to the bonus tracks as well; only one is realy worthy of note: Got Nothing To Prove. It sounds exactly like a pastiche of a '60s Who or Kinks tune, the same vocal style, the same low-fi doubletracked vocal production. A bit of Googling told me why: it's an old demo that Pete recorded in 1966 with new instrumentation added.
The whole thing does have a theme running through it - it's a sort of wistful retrospective; old men at the end of their career. It's OK. It's probably better than I expected. It has a couple of splendid moments, which I definitely didn't see coming.
And that concludes my odyssey through the studio canon of The Who. It's been a bit patchier and less consistent than I expected. But there's some good stuff in there, that's for sure.
I'd say that the band's classic material, their heyday, is covered by three consecutive albums: Tommy, Who's Next, Quadrophenia. Everything else could be regarded as a bit superfluous.