The Who

[Valeyard]

So I was toying with making this thread for a while but figured I'd be the only one interested. But if Kiss can get a thread, so can the Who, I guess.

Brief and informal early days:

Alright so in the early 60s, Roger Daltrey formed a band called the Detours with John Entwistle on bass and Pete Townshend on guitar. After Daltrey drove off the original frontman and took over, and Townshend drove off the original drummer (who was replaced by Keith Moon), they became The Who. As far as joke names go, it isn't the worst.

Their sound was initially more of what was promoted as "maximum r&b," which fits; few pasty white English bands could pull off the blues and soul music of the time, but they could. Stylistically as well this was the sound favored by the Mod movement, which if you don't know was smartly-dressed punk douchebags who rode Lambrettas and listened to things like the Kinks, and were the opposite of the Rockers (American rock-inspired douchebags who wore leather and listened to basically the Elvis-inspired rock of the time). So their manager renamed them the High Numbers, cashing in on Mod terminology meaning Super Cool Dudes. This whole thing is VERY over-simplified but necessary.

Anyway, the real shit.

They became big in the Mod scene, performing random places and garnering a following that never really was shook. The High Numbers stuff is pretty great, by and large. They hadn't come into their own as a band yet but they were still firing on all cylinders, and frankly I think they had an energy (especially on stage) that just wipes out the Beatles and early Stones. More than some of the material deserves, really, because really most of it was quick cash-ins on the Mod trend.

Like this is great and all but it's not exactly depth. That and it's a blatant theft of the Yardbirds, but still.

Objectively the best, I think. It goes much harder than a lot of what was around at the time was, Daltrey sounds like an angry punkass rock demon, and Keith Moon's crazy ability on drums sticks out a lot.

Others worth checking out:
"Here 'Tis"
"Zoot Suit"
"Ooh Poo Pah Doo"

 

[Valeyard]

So they became The Who again when the Mod movement was ostensibly unpopular. Then this one time an accident happened where Townshend or Moon damaged their respective instrument and lead to a gimmick that would define their live act: destroying shit.

First single they release was "I Can't Explain," and it's legit. I mean, sure, it's more Kinks than Who (which Townshend claims was done on purpose for commercial reasons) but that makes it even better.

To this day I think they play it live, usually as an opener, and it's been the opener to practically every "best of" compilation they put out. It's iconic. It's usually paired up with the second single, "Anyway Anyhow Anywhere" which is just as good as far as I'm concerned.

Their first album, My Generation, came out in 1965. It's top to bottom a fantasic rock album and one of the best debuts there is. It's still objectively maybe their third or fourth best album. Lead single was "My Generation" of course and everyone knows that. I always was torn on it just because I'd heard it so many times that it had no real punch (although I dig the drunk blues version they did after they outgrew the sentiment). It's an awesome album that, if the 60s rock scene is of any interest, is mandatory. Also listening to it in context of the time (same year Rubber Soul, Highway 61 Revisited, and A Love fucking Supreme) it gives some great insight into the diverse and generally solid scene, when the whole world was changing.

Songs worth checking out:
"The Good's Gone" in which Daltrey somehow didn't think he had the range to do the vocals so he went down a register. It works but he could've done it better.
"A Legal Matter" which Townshend wrote after losing his virginity and deciding he was a pimp. He has said over the years he's embarrassed by it but fuck off this song rules. It pops in my head at unfortunate moments.
"The Kids Are Alright" which has gone on to be one of their defining songs. Like most of these songs, a measure of personal attachment makes me love it more than I should. It's great, though, and they still play it although they modify it as Townshend and Daltrey are old fucks now.

They also put out "Substitute," which is fantastic as well. The thing is they were a great singles band for most of the decade, I guess.

More later. A quick one.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

As somebody who's never really listened to The Who outside of some of their more classic songs, I'm gonna appreciate this thread!

 

[Valeyard]

In 1966, they put out A Quick One, released in America as Happy Jack because god forbid something sound remotely sexual in popular music.

Unlike My Generation this album has the distinction of not holding up. I guess it isn't bad, however it's extremely dated and definitely the worst proper album they put out in the 60s. It also suffers from having the worst version of the best song the Who has ever done ("A Quick One, While He's Away"), which gives me a lot of bias

It's also the only album to have songs written by all four:

"Whiskey Man" and "Boris The Spider" by John Entwistle. He's my favorite of the group all told and his songs are just by and large goofs, but they rarely fail. Best voice in the band, too, and I will defend that shit.

"Cobwebs And Strange" and "I Need You" by Keith Moon. Moon's shit is always very Moon, but he tries. "Cobwebs And Strange" is an instrumental and sums the dude up perfectly, right down to the promotional music video.

"See My Way" by Roger Daltrey. I love those songs where you can hear their influences and this is so Buddy Holly. Moon drummed on carboard boxes. It's not bad. It does make me wish I was listening to one of the covers on the album, though.

And Townshend wrote the rest of the original material. Of note:
"So Sad About Us", which has been covered a shocking number of times despite me always thinking of it as a deep cut. Here is the Breeders killing it.

"Happy Jack" which has some ultimate Moon drumming. I have never liked the song, though, and I'm in a minority. It's not the kind of thing I want out of the Who, not the kind of song despite everything being on point. I did like it better after seeing the fairly batshit video linked here because it's the most un-Who thing to ever be released anywhere. It's something out of the fucking Monkees.

And then, "A Quick One, While He's Away" which is for my money the best thing they ever did. As the studio version is assholes, this is the legendary performance at the Rolling Stones Rock n Roll Circus. The performance that outclassed the Stones into not releasing the show for nearly 30 years. Again, looking at it as unbiased as I can, this is one of the greatest performances on film and by far the best the Who ever put on. The energy is insane, they keep bashing into each other and mics keep falling because the Stones wouldn't let them use the whole stage, and the song works perfectly. Flawless right down to the shot in the last part of Townshend smugly making a "follow this" face.

The album is worth a look, but it isn't my favorite. You can see the evolution happening, from style experiments to rock operas, though. It's as important as it is just a product of its time, just like American Pie 2.

 

[Valeyard]

1967 had two other huge moments that need to be mentioned. First, some US star-making at the Monteray Pop Festival:

The Who were, and are, a way better live act than a studio one. Old-ass half-dead Who still puts on a great show (when not at the fucking Super Bowl thirty years too late, anyway). Daltrey finding his voice is one of the coolest things for me because by the time Tommy blew up he was amazing, and by the time Quadrophenia happened he was at his absolute peak. I will say, though, that again this version of "A Quick One, While He's Away" is not very good solely based on how close it is to the shit studio version.

The story I love about this show though is Townshend's anger at not going on last, when the final act was Hendrix. That's some legendary Townshend bullshit. Insisted because they destroyed their instruments no one could follow them, and tried to show up Hendrix who busted out the greatest taped performance of his career with teeth and fire and all the legendary parts. I love the Who with all my heart but there is no way they should ever headline a show over Hendrix.

And then, in one of the most famous television moments of the decade, they blew up the fucking Smothers Brothers Variety Hour.

Story is the stuff of legend: they planned for the big theatrical ending, complete with the production department putting some charges in Keith Moon's drumkit...only for Moon to add more charges either intentionally or on purpose depending on the source. But either way no one knew it was going to blow the fuck up, knock things over, set Townshend's hair on fire (and making him deaf in one ear), and ultimately get them ostensibly banned from American television. To top it off I believe the next guests on the show were going to be Mickey Rooney and Bette Davis. I'd like to believe, deep down, Bette got it.

The Who Sell Out was released in late '67, and it's one of their best albums.

The gimmick was, you know, selling out in the form of commercials and jingles for real products (without permission) throughout the album. What should be really annoying is a perfect gimmick that mocks themselves (they recorded jingles) and radio as a whole (although specifically the BBC, of course). It's one of the first real complete concept albums ever, I think; yeah, Sgt. Pepper had some nice fade ins/outs but this whole album is linked up in such a way that there's not the room for error. Also holy shit 1967 had Sgt. Pepper, The Who Sell Out, The Velvet Underground and Nico, and Piper At The Gates Of Dawn just off the top of my head. What an amazing year for music.

Some notable tracks:
"Tattoo" is what Townshend has said over the years is his favorite song that he wrote. It's good stuff, been over-analyzed to death in modern times about all kinds of things but it's a pretty fun song. Lowkey and just funny. I linked the studio version but the Live At Leeds version coupled with "Fortune Teller" is by far superior.

"Sunrise" could legit be the best thing Townshend has done. Just him solo, playing this beautiful song with no bullshit. His voice works better than it probably ever would again with the material. Cynically it's his "Yesterday," I guess, but it's amazing in its own right.

"Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand" is one of the best songs about handjobs you can get. I mean, yeah, I've seen things written about people speculating about everything from a girl with alcoholism to a girl with Parkinson's but having listened to the song and knowing who I'm dealing with, it's about handjobs. The alternate version is way way better, though, and always reminds me Elvis Costello.

"I Can See For Miles" was the last real single the Who would release for the express purpose of being a single. Townshend said this was as good as he could make a commercial song, and when it didn't take over the world (despite doing very well) he decided to focus solely on albums. This is the last of the Who as a hard rock band of the 60s as they began the transformation into the 70s powerhouse, where writing and production meant more than commercial appeal. Also, depending on the source, this was the song that got McCartney to write "Helter Skelter." Townshend ran his mouth, as usual, and talked up a song (likely "I Can See For Miles") as this big loud filthy rock song that had never been heard before, and McCartney skullfucked him. I hate McCartney, but he's one of the greatest composers music has ever known and Townshend is not.

The Who Sell Out Fact: Petra Haden put out a cover version of the entire album, all done in acapella. It's legit, too. It's one of Nick Offerman's favorite albums.

Regardless, after "I Can See For Miles" didn't live up to expectations, they took a year and a half to put together Tommy. It worked out well for them

 

[Valeyard]

Just an assorted '60s singles dump:

"I'm A Boy" was initially part of a rock opera Townshend was working on where parents could pick the sex of their kid, and the kid in this case was a boy being raised as a girl. As far as songs that are misinterpreted in the modern age, it's one of the better ones. I've always liked it, it's infectious and has some great harmonies with some fire drumming. Just needed a summer camp and it would be a cult classic with three lame sequels.

"Pictures Of Lily" is one of their iconic songs, mostly because it's one of the first songs about jerking off to make the charts. What's important, above all else, is Entwistle killing it on bass and French horn. His horn work is one of the band's hallmarks no one brings up. It was special.

"Disguises" is one I wish more people had heard. I always interpreted it as basically a song about a girl basically ghosting someone she had at least slept with, just to oversimplify. Townshend did once, but eventually it drifted into his own gender issues (as he's credited "I'm A Boy") and while I'm not saying that's wrong by any stretch he tends to change his mind about what things mean every ten or so years.

"Early Morning Cold Taxi" is written by Daltrey (or credited as such) and, had it been properly released as a single, would have been huge. Kind of expands on the themes of "The Kids Are Alright," and is insanely catchy. I remember vividly this coming on the stereo at like one in the morning when I was in 15 and being blown away at it not being an actual song, something people had heard a million times. It hits a kind of window that, when you're a kid, makes it a perfect love song that you interpret differenly as an adult. One of those.

"Dogs" is a song that was part of some unfinished project (I've heard Tommy even and goddamn it it might've fit at one point). It's a song about a drunk who bets on dog races and while the chorus is catchy the rest is...I dunno, maybe too 60s British for me. It's mostly known as the song where Townshend says a dog has "lovely buttocks."

"Magic Bus" is fucking "Magic Bus." People either love it or hate it. My attachment is that it was the first Who song I remember hearing, and my brother loved it so I loved it. Unlike a lot of songs, the live versions are all pretty terrible.

"The Last Time" is a Stones cover. After the Stones got busted for drugs in 1967 (the infamous bust where rumor has it Jagger was eating a Mars Bar out of Marianne Faithful's pussy which is fucking gross; Keith Richards on some VH1 show denied it followed by saying "Besides we were right out of Mars Bars," and I just love that mummy) the Who decided to only release Stones songs until they were released. They put out "The Last Time" and "Under My Thumb," which absolutely do not work as Who songs but are worth a look anyway.

"Girl's Eyes" is written by Keith Moon. It's another one that could've been a solid enough hit, I think. Stylistically it fits extremely well with everything out at the time. But Keith Moon has no business writing a potential hit.

 

[AA484]

Good write-ups. Can't wait to see your opinion on "Squeeze Box"

 

[Valeyard]

It's lucky the album it's on is top tier.

 

[AA484]

"I Can See For Miles" was the last real single the Who would release for the express purpose of being a single.

What about "The Seeker"? Seems like there may have been one or two others, too.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Pops Kamala only likes pre-Tommy The Who, which I feel like is only liking pre Rubber Soul Beatles. Idk what triggered it (probably "Squeeze Box" or "You Better You Bet" coming on the local classic rock station while he was washing dishes ) but he startled me and my friends when we were hanging out sometime after school or during lunch by yelling "I HATE The Who!" from the other room.

 

[Valeyard]

What about "The Seeker"? Seems like there may have been one or two others, too.

I'm going off what Townshend has said himself. I assume it was as a pop song, though. The others later were also a lot of Lifehouse songs he couldn't use at the time so they became singles, from what I recall.

 

[Valeyard]

Personally, no album will mean as much to me as Tommy. I quite literally wouldn't be here if I hadn't heard this album when I did, and for that I will always love it unconditionally. I had to track down everything Tommy-related, from alternate versions to information on the movie/play to just articles about it. It was a major, major event for me to have this album.

The story, as it plays out on the album: Captain Walker is called to fight in the war, leaving his pregnant wife. He goes MIA, presumed dead, and several years later Mrs. Walker (now with her son, Tommy) has taken up with another guy. It goes well until one night, Captain Walker suddenly comes home and during the heated exchange that follows, the boyfriend is killed in front of Tommy. His parents then frantically shout at him that he never heard or saw what happened, and he will never say anything to anyone. This traumatizes Tommy, causing him literally go deaf, dumb, and blind. His parents try everything to "fix" him, from questionable religion to drug-addict prostitutes, while at the same time Tommy is physically abused (in every sense) by his cousin and his uncle. Thoughout this the implication (later done in the movie and play) have Tommy only being able to see himself in a full-length mirror. Eventually it's revealed that, despite his disabilities, Tommy can wreck shit at pinball, becoming the top player in the city/world/history of ever. After Mrs. Walker gets fed up and smashes the mirror, Tommy is healed and immediately seen as a messiah-like figure, which is cashed in on by his family. He begins to get followers from all over the world. Tommy's ego is now inflated, as most messiahs are wont to do, and after setting up a religious camp his followers turn on him when they realize he's a dick with nothing to offer them. Then he learns true meaning, that of himself.

That's all very shortened and probably 2/3 subjective (album's in many ways bullet points and I just know too many different iterations at this point), but it's a fascinating and complex story that actually works. The only period I consider slow is the ten minute "Underture" in the middle, solely because ten minutes feels like a long time. The production is insane, a level the Who just weren't supposed to reach if you listen to their older stuff.

Townshend's on point, and if it weren't for Quadrophenia I would call this the best work he ever did, but it's a 1-1a situation. The recurring theme, what I remember out of nowhere at least a few times a day, is Entwistle's Fench horn. Without that horn, so much doesn't work. Moon is a lot of the time on point but honestly the drums are lower than I wish they were, another thing that's unique. Maybe I'm insane, though. Daltrey's vocals are SO close to being there, and they would be by the time the album was out, but he's not quite peak and the weakest part of the album is just his not being at full power. Still fucking great, make no mistake, but if you compare it to anything almost right after (Woodstock, for example) he's just not quite there.

They put out "Pinball Wizard," "I'm Free," and "See Me, Feel Me" as singles but this isn't really an album you can do singles for. I linked the Woodstock version of "See Me, Feel Me" just because you can hear Daltrey's shift and since it honestly should not have been a single anyway a great version needs to be heard and appreciated. Everyone knows "Pinball Wizard," of course, and it's fucking great. Alway has been, always will be. Should never be used in commercials, though. It, and the whole pinball angle, was put in just because the reviewer for the New York Times loved pinball and Townshend wanted to make sure he got a good review. Townshend gets smug about that when it comes up.

It also bears mentioning that the songs dealing with physical and sexual abuse ("Cousin Kevin" and "Uncle Ernie" respectively) were written by John Entwistle because Townshend couldn't emotionally handle it. It was too dark and sadly too familiar, so he asked Entwistle. Entwistle knocks it out of the park, making "Cousin Kevin" fucked up and sinister and "Uncle Ernie" this jovial-evil thing that is fucking creepy. I'll get into the movie in depth when I get closer to it but I cannot say enough how just completely tonally wrong the movie got what are the darkest parts of the album and probably the darkest songs The Who had ever done.

They toured with Tommy practically nonstop for over a year, to where everyone but Daltrey began to hate it. It sold thousands of copies, gold and platinums in the US and across Europe, and would lead to a film (that is a mess I'll get to) and a Tony-winning Broadway play. It turned The Who from the asshole hard-pop band to a major large-venue act. It led to Townshend realizing he could create these sweeping rock operas, and so the concieving of the infamous Lifehouse began.

 

[Valeyard]

As mentioned, they played Woodstock, were in the movie, and I think torched most of the acts save Hendrix (just like Monterey). The energy is what makes it, something the likes of Sha Na Na can only dream of. But the story goes that, as it was Woodstock, they were given something laced with LSD without their knowledge. As such, they were flying. I've heard Daltrey, who was the only one of them that didn't partake in anything (at least with frequency), was especially fucked up.

Show also had the infamous moment where, just as they were changing film in the cameras, Abbie Hoffman jumped on stage and Townshend flung him off.

1970, they put out Live At Leeds.

It's called one of the best live albums ever, and I get it. I don't like live albums as a general rule (bootlegs are different, though, and I cannot justify that mindset) but they were the ultimate live band at their peak. There's a bunch of different versions out there now, and I think I had the 2001 or 2 or whatever latest version of an ultimate edition. Only major difference was a bonus disc that was a live version of Tommy that was fantastic. I can't say enough about how good Keith Moon was, though. Shit.

There was also the classic Isle Of Wight performance that I frankly know more for Entwistle's La Parka jumpsuit.

Now, Townshend in all this had also been working on the next project for The Who: Lifehouse. Another rock opera that took place in the future where rock music did not exist and people would come together for a huge show via pods to hear it at a festival and...fuck it, here's a quote from Townshend stolen from Wikipedia where I know it would translate this into people words:

"The essence of the story-line was a kind a futuristic scene…It’s a fantasy set at a time when rock ’n’ roll didn’t exist. The world was completely collapsing and the only experience that anybody ever had was through test tubes. In a way they lived as if they were in television programmes. Everything was programmed. The enemies were people who gave us entertainment intravenously, and the heroes were savages who’d kept rock ‘n’ roll as a primitive force and had gone to live with it in the woods. The story was about these two sides coming together and having a brief battle.

Under those circumstances, a very old guru figure emerges and says, ‘I remember rock music. It was absolutely amazing—it really did something to people.’ He spoke of a kind of nirvana people reached through listening to this type of music. The old man decides that he is going to try to set it up so that the effect can be experienced eternally. Everybody would be snapped out of their programmed environment through this rock and roll-induced liberated selflessness. The Lifehouse was where the music was played, and where the young people would collect to discover rock music as a powerful catalyst — a religion as it were. "Then I began to feel ‘Well, why just simulate it? Why not try and make it happen?’"

I have read different versions of Lifehouse, heard the different albums of songs intended for use in Lifehouse, heard the fucking radio play of Lifehouse. I even was given the book containing the script. I still have no idea what in the godfuck he's talking about. Neither did the rest of the band. It was their lack of understanding and the lack of technology at the time to produce the project like he wanted that caused Townshend to have a nervous breakdown. His passion project was failing, and wouldn't see the light of day as intended for another 30 years, and even then it's just skeletal. The band fucking HATED each other by then as well, which lead to things like fistfights. I seriously think Lifehouse's failure fucked him up permanently and he's spent so many years trying to make it work that it's broken his brain. I mean there's still story elements creeping into things. He also has taken credit for the internet, of course.

A lot of the Lifehouse material was repurposed, though. Which leads to



Everyone the world over says Who's Next is the best Who album. It's the one that gets almost all the airplay and at some point I think everyone has heard at least three songs off it. Everyone's seen the cover where they're pissin' on the rocks. It might be their most iconic record and the songs Townshend originally wrote for Lifehouse ("Baba O'Riley," "Won't Get Fooled Again," "Behind Blue Eyes,") are some of their most iconic songs. There's not much to say.

The thing is, though, without Lifehouse's narrative certain things don't make much sense. "Baba O'Riley" for instance is kinda nonsense without context. "The Song Is Over" just doesn't work with the rest of the album because it sounds like it's from a completely different project. "Goin' Mobile" just doesn't make sense and is honestly one of the most annoying songs in their catalogue. By contrast "Behind Blue Eyes" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" work so much better without the hinderance of being in a rock opera. That isn't to say anything is really bad ("Goin' Mobile" excluded) because it's a masterpiece. I just have had so many years to think and think about all this shit. The biggest negative it has is the pacing is bizarre. It always reminds me of Led Zeppelin II.

This was the real start of Townshend's songs referencing his guru, Meher Baba. Baba's influence would last most of his career, despite the fact it feels like a lot of that was Townshend deliberately going against the teachings of things like booze, drugs, and fucking. I read Baba's book at one point and it didn't speak to me in the slightest. I think too in a lot of ways he used his association with Baba as a way out when it came later on his career; a lot of songs, despite being about one thing initially, always turned into being about religion. It's jumping far ahead but when his initial answer to why he wrote "Let My Love Open The Door" was that it was a simple pop song evolved into it being about [deity] it feels like a copout. I know it sounds like I have a weird opinion of Townshend, but the guy's a compusive liar when it comes to a lot of things. A lot of things.

I want to single out "Getting In Tune" just because it's the only time Townshend wrote something close to a love song that doesn't feel like it was written by a cynical, reasonably immature dickhead. Maybe I just fell in love with it when I was a cynical, reasonably immature dickhead, though. It's the sleeper track of the album and I love it. Shame they didn't do more. Again it's probably weird when it comes to context but there's just something there.

But the major thing about Who's Next was always the leap in production. Glyn Johns, man. The innovation of synthesizers changed the industry and the way the Who would operate from then on. I can't decide if it helped or hurt the Who long-term, really. I liked the rock band aspect much more than what they were evolving into, and certainly what Townshend's overall style was evolving into. It sounds like no other album of the time, though, and I can't fault the innovation. Sometimes, even if just for a moment, things can be perfect.

Stuff that was cut but very worth looking at:
"I Don't Even Know Myself"
"Pure And Easy"
"Too Much Of Anything"
"Naked Eye"

 

[AA484]

I think the album still works without having a tighter focus. They sound so powerful on the record that I'm willing to give the jibberish lyrics in stuff like "Baba" a pass.

I'll also take the time to say that I'm not sure any major band changed and evolved within the span of a couple of years as much as the Who did, including the Beatles and Stones. The Who went from Mod rockers in 1965 to full-blown arena rockers by 1971. You could say the Stones did the same but Sticky Fingers was just a raunchier take on the blues that they had been doing since the start of their career.

 

[Valeyard]

The stretch from The Who Sell Out to Quadrophenia is insane. It's as good if not better than the Stones' Beggars Banquet to Exile On Main Street run, I think. In terms of innovation it's certainly superior, and they really did get out of their comfort zone a lot more than most bands of the time. I really do feel like they get short-changed in a lot of ways considering the impact they had on production if nothing else. Frankly going through a lot of this stuff again has given me a renewed appreciation and appreciating the context of the era a lot more.

 

[Valeyard]

Quadrophenia is the best thing The Who ever put out. As good as the previous albums were, it was just that much better. It's my favorite album of all time and I think it's one of the best ever made.

The idea of Quadrophenia is a story about young Mod, Jimmy, whose life is pretty much a mess outside of being a Mod and the culture surrounding it. Fitting in, regardless of how natural it felt. The one thing he has going is the desire to be like everyone else, looking up the leader, the Ace Face. He eventually has everything fall apart: his parents throw him out, he loses the shitty job, he loses the girl, and ultimately --after seeing the Ace Face has left the Mod culture to work as a bell boy-- loses his mind as his world is just broken. Ultimately the album ends with him floating out to sea, in the rain, with no real closure to the story. The notion of "quadrophenia" is a play on schizophrenia, with Jimmy manifesting four personalities (Townshend, Daltrey, Entwistle, and Moon) with distinct themes and in some cases coming together or combating. It's a story that also, of course, harkens back to the Who's Mod days.

Due to Entwistle and Daltrey recording solo albums (that I'm frankly, and shamefully, not as familiar with as I should be considering I dove headlong into solo Townshend) and Moon making a movie with Ringo, they were forced to record most of the album seperately only to be mixed together for the finished product. This really helps, I think; it makes the notion of four distinctive voices feel a lot more potent. It also really showcases the strengths of everyone: Entwistle has never sounded better (like scary good) as does his horn work, Townshend's guitar and synths are on point, Daltrey's best vocals are on display, and Moon is full Moon (lol). Somehow they capture almost every sound they had previously in some fashion while inventing a whole new one that they would never hit again. Townshend did practically everything on this record as well, from learning cello to recording ambient beach noises to rain. It's his best work as a producer to such a degree that nothing else he has done matters.

Unlike Tommy, Quadrophenia is very dependent on non-instrument tracks; there's a lot of background sounds and pieces that are the backbone of the album in many ways. As such, performing it live was a bitch. The tapes would fuck up routinely to where they quickly just abandoned performing Quadrophenia for around 20-25 years. When I saw them, even though they played only a couple songs, they still needed the background tapes and in a way it made their actual performing better. Even the karaoke versions of songs depend on those backing sounds, a fact I wish I had known at one point. They perform "5:15," "Love Reign O'er Me," and "Drowned" live, with "Drowned" being Townshend doing an acoustic version. That initial tour is also notable for Keith Moon collapsing on stage at the Cow Palace, fully revealing the extent of his problems, and being replaced by a fan. In a lot of ways, that started the clock ticking.

Also unlike Tommy, they were able to release singles that could stand on their own: "5:15", "The Real Me", and "Love Reign O'er Me". They do a great job of showing the tone of the album, or the story rather, and it makes them that much better in context. "The Real Me" has some of the greatest bass work you can find, though, and I don't say that lightly. One take. "5:15" is so atmospheric you can smell the shitty train car. "Love Reign O'er Me" is one that, by itself, is a great song but in context is a perfect song. The point is, I guess, that you can hear a noticeable change compared to everything else before or since.

This is the one I think people should hear at some point. It has everything that make The Who the stuff of legend.

The demos aren't bad. You can see where ideas were dropped or otherwise modified a few ideas.

"We Close Tonight" is the shit and sounds like the old Who. I understand how tonally it wouldn't work on the album but lyrically it's kind of disappointing it wasn't. Vocals by Entwistle (who times has made my favorite vocalist of the four) and Moon. Moon sounds punk as fuck, too, and Johnny Rotten totally stole his voice.

"Four Faces" is explaining the whole idea in a very pop-friendly way, which has no place on the album as it is but could've been reworked. It got used in the movie. I like it.

"Joker James" was also used in the movie but intended for the album. Listen, for a myriad of personal reasons I have a great deal of affection/sadness about this song so I can't really be completely fair. It's good, but again I don't know how it would fit. The full band's version from the movie is really great. But man.

"You Came Back" just does not work and I'm glad it was cut. That kind of sentimentality doesn't belong here, man. I'm so glad they steered away from over-explaining the concept of four personalities, though. As a song, I think I've heard this over a thousand times and I really don't have an opinion. Sometimes I like it better than other times. It's like a tuna sandwich.

They peaked here. This is the band I think about, the image that pops up in my head when I think of the Who.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Correct me if I'm wrong but did Townshend ever release a version of Lifehouse? Or is there a "track list" that he has said likely would've been the album if Who's Next hadn't come out instead? Stuff like that always fascinates me in a what-if manner and I'm always intrigued by seeing if the track list would've worked or if the replacement album works better.

 

[Valeyard]

I just know of demos that trickled out over time. There's a ton of stuff that wrote later on that he just added to the story, so the whole thing was never really finished to his satisfaction as far as I know. It's kind of a shame because while it sounds insanely confusing it would've been fun to see it play out. Elements were woven into projects after, specifically in his solo album Psychoderelict and the Who's Endless Wire.

 

[Valeyard]

After the shitshow of the Quadrophenia tour, the band went dark in order to film the film version of Tommy.

Directed by Ken Russell, the movie came out in 1975. Listen, I never know what to make of the movie. The casting is odd, the tone is uneven, a ton of artistic decisions don't make sense, and Ken Russell is going full Ken Russell. On the other hand the music is awesome, there's some great performances, there's some great artistic decisions, and when Ken Russell hits he hits right. As a Tommy fan, I have problems, but as a fan of surreal weird shit, this is a masterpiece. The biggest problem I've always had is that there's people who think that this is Tommy and all they'll bother checking out, like those people who see a highly questionable adaptation of a great novel and decide they don't need to read the book despite the movie being very different.

The cast:
Roger Daltrey as Tommy
Ann-Margret as his mother
Oliver Reed as her lover
Robert Powell as Captain Walker
Elton John as the Pinball Wizard
Tina Turner as the Acid Queen
Paul Nicholas as Cousin Kevin
Keith Moon as Uncle Ernie
Eric Clapton as the Preacher/Hawker
Jack fucking Nicholson as the Doctor

Narration performed by Pete Townshend.

The good: Elton is the best part of the movie. Ann-Margret is great, even getting an Oscar nomination. Tina Turner's whole sequence is the best of everything the movie can offer, from music to Ken Russellness, kind of the most bang for your buck segment (original choice for the Acid Queen was Bowie, though, and I'll always wonder how that would've worked). Daltrey is legitimately great and he definitely could've done more as an actor, although admittedly I could not imagine someone more in their comfort zone.

The bad: Oliver Reed's voice is one of the worst you'll ever hear in a musical, a total distraction especially when he's forced into harmonies. Clapton has no business being in this and his segment makes no sense even by the movie's standards (they also waste Arthur Brown in that bit which just annoys me further). Nicholson, bless him, truly has no business in this movie and I kind of forget he's in it until he shows up.

Worst offense by far, and one that takes me out of the movie every time, is how Cousin Kevin and Uncle Ernie work. The former is a dark, evil depiction of physical abuse, while the latter is a fucked up description of sexual abuse. On the album, they are gross and angering. In the movie, they are played for comedy. It's fucking baffling. "Cousin Kevin" gets stupidly literal with the lyrics, but more than anything it's the part where Kevin actually has Tommy on a giant ironing board and is ironing him all while acting like sociopathic Daffy Duck. "Uncle Ernie" is dead right out of the gate solely because Keith Moon is a comedy character as it is, but letting him sing and perform as Uncle Ernie means he's going to play it for laughs. It's just insane in the wrong way. Fuckin' should've been played by Lou Reed and Ozzy anyway.

There's also Ann-Margret's infamous scene where she perform's a song made for the movie, "Champagne." If you know, you know, but spoiling seems like a mistake.

The soundtrack has all the songs redone and in some cases altered to fit the movie. "1921" becomes "1951." "Amazing Journey" has new lyrics. Changes get made everywhere but nothing bad, but a few do get screwed a little bit. The production of the Who part of the soundtrack is really good, though. Daltrey's on fire and the mixing does a lot to make Townshend sound better than normal. The rest feels like it's ripped from the movie sometimes, and it might've been for all I know. "Champagne" especially sounds weird to me.

Townshend was mentally collapsing, the band was falling apart, and Keith Moon kept spiraling.

 

[Valeyard]

Townshend turned 30, and he was never the same.

This is one of my favorite albums, but it's weird. The best and worst thing about it is that Townshend bared his soul, thus the good stuff is powerful in a way and the bad stuff is "Squeeze Box." The whole album is a band just being completely disinterested in themselves, with songs written by a guy who was falling apart because he thought turning 30 meant life was over and he was done with life. The entire thing is a cynical, sometimes uncomfortable album about relevancy and inadequacy. I read a review once that said it's like listening to Townshend's suicide note. I think that's 100% true, unless I've misunderstood things like "All the history of a soul in torment, ingrained in a hand or a face/Ain't it funny how they all fire the pistol at the wrong end of the race?" all these years.

I don't really know of how to sell it because it's a fucking weird listen, especially if it's just someone getting into the band. It's not a happy album. Who's Next is happy, By Numbers is not. It doesn't sound slick or reinvent the wheel, it's just...you know...by numbers. What makes it work is that it has "Squeeze Box." Lemme explain: "Squeeze Box" is, generously, on the low-end of Who songs and arguably their worst single. It's totally stupid, radio friendly garbage done with the sole intention of putting a single out that people will buy because the Who have their name on it. But on the album, it just makes the whole notion of defeat and misery work. It follows "However Much I Booze" for god's sake and it's beautifully tragic. "Squeeze Box" has no place on anything fucking ever but it works and it elevates the theme.

"Slip Kid" is a hidden gem. Maybe the most upbeat song on the album that doesn't suck. I always thought of it as kind of the the fear that punk would destroy the band, that The Who weren't the rebels anymore (The Who were actually one of the very few "old" acts punk bands were cool with from what I can tell). It's applicable for all kinds of things, but like most on this album it seems like fear. But then it was also yet another Lifehouse leftover so who knows.

"Success Story" is the sole Entwistle song and it's a light, funny song about how hard it is being a rock star. It's a total parody of the rest of the album and I don't know if that was intentional or not but it's all the better for it. Entwistle was always the one with the self-awareness.

"Blue, Red, and Grey" is Townshend by himself. It's one of his best, up there with "Sunrise" from The Who Sell Out. Depending on your mood, it's either fucking beautiful or fucking dark.

"Dreaming From the Waist" shows Townshend is horny and jerks off when he can't have sex. It's a great song and he hates it despite the rest of the band liking it. For real so many of his songs end up being about being horny and a paranoia of being sexually inadequate from here on out. I mean he does those songs maybe better than most but it's a unique niche.

Like I said, it's one of my favorites but it definitely is different. Townshend's sense of just inadequacy would permiate almost everything after, though, especially his solo stuff. This is just the start of songs about his fear of being irrelevance, fear of being bad at sex, fear of losing himself, fear of fear.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

“Slip Kid” is probably my favorite Who song (and IIRC also the name of Gary Cherone’s The Who tribute band)

 

[Valeyard]

I know it's Eddie Vedder's favorite as well.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Van Halen should have brought him into replace Sammy Hagar.

 

[Valeyard]

Daltrey might've even done it given the timeline.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Idea of Roger Daltrey becoming the frontman of Van Halen in 1998 is some weird FrankenBand scenario that didn't become realistically possible until the 2010s.

That being said, I love how Daltrey singing "Running With The Devil" and "Unchained" sounds in my head tbh.

(Looking to see what Roger Daltrey was up to in 1998 and found this Letterman appearance where he's plugging appearing as Ebeneezer Scrooge in a production of A Christmas Carol at the Theater at Madison Square Garden. Kind of seems like miscasting)

 

[Valeyard]

The band went on an extended hiatus. Three years, to be exact. By now they all hated working with one another more than they had to, touring included. Add in that Moon was in freefall and Townshend was drinking excessively and it was a bad time for The Who. When the time finally came to record again, they were fucking cursed.



Who Are You is cursed. Moon was past the point of no return and simply no longer able to play reliably to where he had to be replaced on at least one track, and would die a couple weeks after the album came out. Equipment broke down. Daltrey needed throat surgery. Keyboardist (and unofficial band member) Rabbit Bundrick broke his hand. Glynn Johns was tired of their shit and Daltrey punched him, which is on brand enough to count as something consistent. The whole thing was a disaster. The album turned out to be okay, but really safe.

"Who Are You" is the one everyone knows and is likely tired of hearing, but it's the big one. Story goes that it was inspired by Townshend getting drunk with the Sex Pistols and a cop telling him that he could go home if he could walk, and the journey back to his house. He would later absorb "Who Are You" into Lifehouse. The Who's punk cred always struck me as sorta cool because most of their era were outright hated, seems like. Townshend being around any of the Pistols is a total disconnect, though. Pistols did do a solid cover of "Substitute" though.

It's just a really safe album to where it has to be by design. I mean "New Song" is literally about how it doesn't matter what they write, people just want to hear the same song with a couple changes. It has that kind of musty but exhausting smell to it that you get listening to classic rock radio, if that makes sense. Everything I really liked about By Numbers is gone, although there's still some Townshend neuroses.

"Sister Disco" is one of the standouts, but is kinda polarizing. No one is sure what it's even about and Townshend has changed his mind at least twice (fuck disco we're The Who vs The Who were poseurs). I always just figured it was about how clubbing is all bullshit and you wanna go to the dive you like instead, just that realization that you're not the same person you were when you got there, realized people are exhausting, and wanna leave. That could also be some serious projection.

"Trick Of the Light" is by Entwistle and I don't see how it isn't a straight dig at Townshend. Song's about someone worrying about his performance and if he gave a prostitute an orgasm. I don't think it's one of Entwistle's best but it's still pretty good. I won't lie, I think it being on this album might hurt it for me.

"905" is Entwistle's other contribution. He was working on a sci-fi rock opera that was probably going to be fucking awesome but never got off the ground, and this is from the project. Honestly my favorite on the album. Very different than anything else on the album, as well as has Entwistle on vocals which I love. It barely sounds like a Who song at all.

"Love is Coming Down" is more Townshend introspection and talk of suicide. It's a weird song just structurally and as such feels very dated; it's got such a 70s radio feel to it, you can taste the velvet. Daltrey is in great form, though. He's the only one who stepped out of his comfort zone on their solo projects and you can hear it more here than the rest of the album.

I happen to think that this album sucks. It has nothing new to really offer and feels like almost a slight at times to anyone who enjoyed their other records.

Keith Moon died three weeks after the album was released, and that's the end of the best days. Rocky road ahead.

 

[Valeyard]

Moon being dead was the start of a fairly busy time for the Who offstage.



The Kids Are Alright was released in 1979. A documentary chronicling the history of the band, including the last ever performances with Keith Moon, it fills all sorts of gaps while being a pretty light movie. For decades it was the only place to see the Rock n Roll Circus version of "A Quick One, While He's Away," which was my big selling point, however those live versions of "Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" are some of the most iconic in the band's catalog. Like the definitive visual I get for "Won't Get Fooled Again" is Daltrey in front of blue lights and the slow-motion Townshend leap during the scream. "Baba O'Riley" just is always going to be Entwistle's masterclass on bass and Townshend more motivated than I have ever seen him. It's worth watching, not just for Moon, who just looks like a bloated corpse already. But a bloated corpse working hard.

Keith Moon is the heart of the documentary, too; the biggest issues the doc has that it focuses mostly on Moon and Townshend. You can see how the stories were all true and he was insane, or at least someone who lived and died by the "wouldn't it be funny if" philosophy. The volume of Keith Moon antics are worth the whole thing, more than I'm willing to link here quite frankly. Townshend's moments range from interesting to kind of confusing, just because he's a legit interesting guy but also a pretentious twat and that line can be really fucking thin, which is where Moon comes in to make it palatable. But this right here is one of the highlights: The Who goofing on the Beach Boys, with bonus Townshend being Townshend clip. Despite being the MVP and, upon seeing a screening before he passed, happy with the film, though, it sent Moon into a major depression. Seeing yourself go from a handsome young dude into the aforementioned bloated corpse would be hard on anyone, let alone someone as big a star as Keith Moon.

He fucking killed "Who Are You" before he went though.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Its kind of a classic rock Mandela Effect (at least for me) that The Who took time off to regroup after Keith Moon died but in reality ,they were back on the road within nine months. The Cincinnati stampede was 14 months after Moon died. It's amazing how all of that grief didn't manage to kill someone already predisposed to being severely depressed like Townsend.

 

[Valeyard]

He went off the deep end with drugs and alcohol so he tried. In a short period of time his best friend (Moon) died, his marriage began to really fall apart, he drifted into heroin, had issues with the press, and relationships with the band deteriorate. He and Daltrey still aren't really cool from what I understand.

 

[Valeyard]

Also in 1979, Townshend appeared at the Secret Policeman's Ball, a charity event for Amnesty International that also featured a collection of British comedy legends (which is why I got the tape back in the day).



The film version of Quadrophenia came out as well. It's very good and pretty overlooked, and even has a Criterion release. Phil Daniels is Jimmy, who is just the right combination of sympathetic and obnoxious. The major get though is Sting making his debut as the Ace Face. He doesn't do a whole lot beyond look cool and scowl, but it's still Sting. I think it holds up quite well, as pretty much all teen angst movies seem to do. Makes being a Mod seem both cool as hell and really stupid at once, but I say this as someone who would've dug Mod culture.

The soundtrack is mostly songs from the album and old High Numbers tracks mixed with the Ronettes, the Chiffons, and James Brown among others. It's a really really solid soundtrack.

The Who were also touring, now with Kenny Jones of the Small Faces on drums. They've always had this mentality of having to keep going. I've heard Daltrey say that part of that is because, when tragedy occurs, one of the best things you can do is to keep things as normal and stable as possible to show that things will be okay. I get where he's coming from, but it's kind of insane. Kenny Jones is a totally fine drummer, I should say, but you can't replace Keith Moon. I've come to the conclusion that I just didn't ever give him a fair shot because Keith Moon IS the Who in so many ways and Jones is just not Moon. I'm sure I'm not the only person, but it just felt weird. I also associate Jones with the end of the classic Who sound and their weird evolution into more...I dunno, I don't wanna say synth-based because that isn't totally true but definitely into an era of production where the drums are less prominent and guitar less of a priority. The difference between Who Are You and Face Dances is huge.

Regardless of drummers, that December they held a show in Cincinnatti where



The doors opened and everyone ran for them. Festival seating, first come first serve. Regulations have been passed since, but they're still dead. The band didn't know about it until after the show, and they didn't really talk about it for a good 40ish years, right before they made their return to the city. It's a hard situation for me navigate because honestly by not being alive at the time the gravity isn't the same. I didn't have to hear about it as it all was happening. The thing that fucks with me a lot, though, is that these 11 people were killed at what should've been kind of embracing of something they loved. Like, this was supposed to be one of the happiest moments there could be and a time they would remember forever, but it killed them. I just feel bad for everyone. The episode of WKRP hits pretty hard, even now.

Needless to say, that was the end. If Moon's death wasn't, then Cincinnati was.