The Who - the Studio Albums

[Thenop]

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.

[Slim]

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.

[Thenop]

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.

[Slim]

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.

[Fishy]

Slim... Have you ever seen the film of Quadrophenia?

[Slim]

Slim... 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://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/hartlepool-odeon-dec-2011.66783/



The ABC is currently disused but in better nick.

[Slim]

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

[Fishy]

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

Slim... 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://www.28dayslater.co.uk/threads/hartlepool-odeon-dec-2011.66783/



The ABC is currently disused but in better nick.

Wise choice.. the film is rubbish..

[Slim]

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.

[Thenop]

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).

[Nickslikk2112]

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.

[Thenop]

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.

If you manage to find it we need an reenactment of that iconic photo of course.

[Slim]

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.

[Slim]

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.

[Thenop]

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.