The Who: 47 Years Of Maximum R&B
My Generation
Many critics acknowledge “My Generation” as the most important track The Who would ever record. Despite the fact that it had an intensely different feel from nearly everything else The Who ever performed, "My Generation" projected both a sound and an attitude that was blossoming in 1960's London; a sound that would later culminate in iconic punk bands like The Sex Pistols, The Clash, and The Dead Kennedy. "Why don't you all just f-f-f-f-fade away", rooted the song, anchoring the in-your-face mentality without technically doing anything wrong. "My Generation" also features one of rock music's very few bass solos. Later in his career, bassist John Entwhistle would be famous for hardly moving an inch on stage, amidst the micro-phone slinging, fighting, and explosions occurring all around him. When asked what genre the band performed, the band claimed that they played maximum R&B, which was their take on the African American R&B and soul music growing in popularity in both America and England. The band very famously appeared on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, playing “My Generation” and ending with Townshend breaking two guitars while Moon quite literally blows up his drum set. Legend has it that Moon bribed someone on the crew with a bottle of whiskey, and that the blast was the beginning of Townshend’s long-term hearing loss. [1]
The Ox
Keith Moon takes to what he does best, playing drums like a maniac, in the sprawling drum solo "The Ox". Lasting an immense three and half minutes, the song is essentially the musical equivalent of a brawl between Moon, Entwhistle, and Townsend. The three take turns pouring their energy into their instruments as each one battles for the spotlight. The jangling piano running through the background adds to the overall pandemonium the song is concocting. This sound of mayhem was the one that carried through to the punk bands that would emerge in the coming decade. While the song may have been composed of something most punk would never have, solos, its energy was a phenomenon very fresh to the mid 1960's, and one that is still heard in rock bands today.
Cobwebs and Strange
The band's second studio album finds itself in a period of limbo, struggling to really put their foot down on a specific sound. The effect of this is a jumbled set of tracks with traces of rock genius, such as "Boris The Spider", "Happy Jack", and the album's title track, but also including some strange experimental rock that the band would never look back on. Cobwebs and Strange, while not quite as fluid as the previously mentioned tracks, manages to highlight how hard this band is trying to find a sound that is The Who. The song starts as a raucous marching band piece, transforms into another one of Keith Moon's fantastic drum solos, has a few moments of ska rock before spiraling out of everyone's control; except for Keith, that is. The song is one of the most experimental pieces the band would ever play and it left listeners stunned and frankly, worn out.
I Can See For Miles
The Who Sells Out is the point in The Who's existence where they started to sound like a band that cranked out two of the greatest rock operas of all time. "I Can See For Miles" starts with the epic sprawling sound that many of the band's classics build up with. The harmonies were starting to shapeup, and the songs had more structure than some of the confusing pieces from the first two records. The record would prove to foreshadow the concept albums the band is so well known for today. With the cover featuring pictures of lead singer Roger Daltrey in a tub of Heinz baked beans, and lead guitarist Pete Townsend applying Odorono brand deodorant, as well as playing on various jingles throughout the album, the album would ironically do just the opposite of what the title says. Many of the companies used in the jingles and the cover art sued the band for copyright infringement.
I'm Free
1969 marked the release of Tommy, a first of its kind rock album about a deaf dumb and blind boy who plays the best pinball in town. "I'm Free", the climax of the album, is about a very excited Tommy who has recently shaken all of his ailments to see the world for the first time. The song is not bad, but it is a pretty great example of how a lot of Tommy is simply not as solid work as the rest of the bands discography. At this point in time, Pete Townsend seemed more focused on making his ideas work, than using what the band already had work effectively. The world, however, did not share this sentiment, as Tommy would go on to sell 20 million copies and spawn a movie deal, which featured an incredibly high-heeled Elton John playing inside a giant pinball machine.
Won't Get Fooled Again
"Won't Get Fooled Again", despite being overplayed by the commercial industry, remains to stand as one of the best rock songs of all time. The legendary epic, released in 1971 amidst cries of revolution and corruption in the government in England, was The Who's answer to the whole situation: none of it matters. "And the parting on the left/Is now the parting on the right./ And the beards have all grown longer overnight", yells an ambitiously apathetic Roger Daltrey. The hit appeared on the critically acclaimed Who's Next, along with other hits such as "Baba O'Riley", "Behind Blue Eyes" and "The Song Is Over". Who's Next derived from Lifehouse, another Townsend penned rock opera that actually caused Pete to suffer a nervous breakdown. The album would go on to sell millions and certify triple platinum status.
Love Reign O'er Me
Some consider Quadrophenia to be the last great album by The Who. The album was yet another double-sided rock opera, this time about a mentally unstable young man and his bike in the middle of a vicious street war between the punkish "Rockers" and the new uniform "Mods". The album featured some classics such as the title track "Quadrophenia" and "5:15", but the easy standout is the albums closing song "Love Reign O'er Me". The track, starting out with a very cinematic rainfall and a twiddling piano, churns and churns into a cathartic scream for love. The release of Quadrophenia was also one of the most destructive periods for The Who, which is saying a lot for a band that wrecked thousands of dollars in equipment every night. In one especially noted case, Keith Moon passed out twice during a 1973 San Francisco show, the latter instance leaving a fan in the crowd to fill in for the night. [3]
Imagine A Man
The Who By Numbers is considered my many critics as the beginning of the end for The Who. The album simply doesn’t include the musical gravitas of the music before it. Many of the songs are Townshend experimenting with his songwriting rather than his ability to make music. This resulted in songs like “Imagine A Man” that, while not bad, don’t hold up to the high standards the group had placed with Who’s Next.
Who Are You
When Who Are You was released August 18th, 1978, the album peaked at number two on the U.S. charts and featured the same heavy synth that propelled Who’s Next. This acclamation was, however, silenced, as three weeks after it’s release, drummer Keith Moon passed away in his sleep from an overdose of an alcohol withdrawal suppressant. [4] The news was devastating to the band as much of their music hinged on his frantic schizophrenic drumming. Saddest of all, Keith’s most destructive days appeared to be behind him as he was trying to sober up. “Who Are You”, a song that encompasses the Maximum R&B label the band had given itself, is one of the last great tracks the band would ever produce with Moon.
You Better You Bet
The band was never the same without Moon. The Who did have some success with new drummer Kenney Jones from The Faces and new keyboardist John “Rabbit” Bundrick. This new feel is especially evident in “You Better You Bet”, a track that sounds as much like Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band as The Who. Shortly into the Quadrophenia tour, a few months before the release of Face Dances, the band played a show in Cincinnati that would go down in history. Due to inadequate security measure, thousands of people pushed a crowd forward to get in the arena before the show started, killing eleven and severely injuring eight others. The band was not told until after the show, for fear of a riot if the show was to be cancelled. The concert deeply affected the crew who talked of canceling the tour. The next night in Buffalo, the band dedicated the performance to those that had been involved, stating, “We lost a lot of family last night. This show’s for them.” [5]
Athena
In 1982, after both Daltrey and Entwhistle attempted solo careers and Townshend had become addicted to cocaine, heroine, alcohol, and tranquilizers, the band got back together to record one last album and go on the supposed last tour. It’s Hard had mixed critical success and sub-par ratings on the charts (for The Who). After the tour, the band released Who’s Last, with live recordings from the last tour. The album received the worst criticism of any Who album ever, peaking at 48th on the US charts worst of all being almost universally acclaimed as “dull”. [6] “Athena” is one of the better tracks from It’s Hard, but it still isn't on the same level as the pre-Quadrophenia era.
A Man In A Purple Dress
Endless Wire, complete with yet another mini-opera, as well as the same ambitious song writing and arranging that made The Who one of the most loved bands of all time, is the latest record from the band. Entwhistle had died in 2002; just weeks after another reunion tour began. The album is considered by most critics and fans as the best effort since the original line-up released Who Are You, 28 years prior. However, not everyone believed in the return to form, as Keith Phipps of the A.V. club stated, “In 2006, how much could an album of just the increasingly raspy Roger Daltrey singing songs about how difficult it is to be Townshend matter? The answer: More than you might think, but less than you might hope.” [7] “A Man In A Purple Dress” is not The Who of the 70’s, but how can anyone expect it to be. Townshend focuses on what suits the band best now, songwriting, in this eloquently written ode to the religious hypocrites. As of right now, Endless Wire is the last album from The Who, a band that helped change the face of rock, punk, and even R&B forever.
Works Cited
[1] David Hajdu. (February 12, 2010). The Who on "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour". In tnr.com. Retrieved February 27th, 2011, from http://www.tnr.com/blog/the-famous-door/the-who-the-smothers-brothers-comedy-hour.
[2] Ted Drozdowski. (February 22nd, 2011). The Song isn’t Over: Pete
Townshend’s Who’s Next Tone Still Going Strong After 40 Years. In Gibson. Retrieved February 27th, 2011, from http://gibson.net/en-us/Lifestyle/Features/the-who-0222-2011/.
[3] Sam Whiting. Quadrophenia U.S. Tour 1973. In Quadrophenia.net. Retrieved February 27th, 2011, from http://www.quadrophenia.net/1973tour/us.html.
[4] (September 7, 2008). Remembering Keith Moon 30 years after his death.
In therockradio.com. Retrieved February 27th, 2011, from http://www.therockradio.com/2008/09/remembering-keith-moon-30-years-after.html.
[5] (December 17, 1979). Music: The Stampede to Tragedy. In Time.com. Retrieved February 27th, 2011, from http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,920746-1,00.html.
[6] In chartstats.com. Retrieved February 27th, 2011, from http://www.chartstats.com/artistinfo.php?id=1768.
[7] Keith Phipps. (November 26, 2006). Music In Brief. In avclub.com. Retrieved February 27th, 2011, from http://www.avclub.com/articles/music-in-brief,22600/.
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