I believe Entwistle remixed or even replaced the bass tracks for the soundtrack. A lot more like his powerful live bass sound They usually tone his sound down in the studi9o because of the more dense arrangements on the records.
@@kennethbenson2931 Not sure there's ANYBODY wasn't heavily influenced by The Who. "Talkin' 'bout my generation!" Unless they say, "What was Woodstock?" which case, Next question: Heard of Elvis? How about Mohamed Ali? Well, supposedly was "This guy named Jesus, the Christ I think he went by, may have even wrote a book about him." Then, er, ahem ... Try some of these gummier bears ... more gummy than ever! Maybe not QUITE that apocryphal, but c'mon. They have this sporting event, I think it's called the Super Bowl. Word is this band called The Who, well, made it on a Halftime Show. Wasn't THAT long after these things called "The Towers," apparently looked like twins, then "some people" did "something" to knock them down. Happened in a country called The United, since it was made up of a cooperative group of States. No tellin' ... not everybody was the born day before yesterday, is all. Gave me a great big Rush, right up my left cerebrum, to think all that up, so hope it's all in good fun. Is my ride here?
@@ChickenatorJr So we're all in violent agreement that Daily Doug, Rick Beato, and The Charismatic Voice are the giants of music reaction/analysis videos? 😀
Few albums bring chills down my arms, and tears to my eyes. Every song on this record is a masterpiece. Pete and Roger's voices contrast each other so well
I turned seventeen in the summer of '71. This was the album of this and the next summer. Bob Dylan writes poetry and anthems. So does Pete Townsend. If you've ever lost your soul to someone, "Bargain" is for you. "My Wife" is Ox, check out "Trick Of The Light". Big-time adult rock and roll, L+G.
@@ransbarger Seventy-one was the summer of LSD for me. Twice-three times/week, occasionally. It was the East Coast version of the "Summer of Love", which would actually continue for a few more years, thank God. All the big songs of FM radio that summer are literally burnt into my memory.
For my bucks, Quadrophenia beats Tommy hands down. Both are great, but Q reveals what Townsend learned from composing Tommy. Then of course there is Sell Out...their first truly great album.
Quadrophenia has aged MUCH better than Tommy. Tommy's got good stuff in it, sure. But Q just absolutely represents the pinnacle of the Who as a band, of Townshend as a songwriter. It is the ultimate example of something being greater than the sum of its parts; it all flows so well together as a unified whole.
Since Doug likes to dig into the backstory of songs/albums and since this is a concept album, I'm sure he would love reading the album liner notes (the story) for Quadrophenia.
Townshend is a conductor of pure energy, Daltrey the epitome of youth, health, power & wonder, Entwistle a dark brooding shadow god of music, & Moon ... Moon ....well, a demonic grinning hyperactive playful insanely talented imp drummer maybe? What a band!
Masterpiece album. To realize how great of a band they were, they were voted favorite band in my high school yearbook. I graduated in 1984! Years and years after their greatest works.
I graduated in 1979, and I remember there was a constant debate in our high school over which was the greatest band - The Who or Led Zeppelin. To me there was no contest. The Who was, by far, the greatest band to see live. And, sorry Robert Plant, no one came close to the power of Roger Daltrey’s singing. The Who were on fire in the 70’s and I was so lucky to be there for it!
The piano in "The Song Is Over" was played by the late/great Nicky Hopkins, one of the best piano session players. Check out his piano in the Who song "They're All In Love" on the album Who By Numbers.
Or "We Love You" "She's a Rainbow" ,"Sympathy for the Devil" , "No Expectations", "Monkey Man" ,"Sway", "Loving Cup" and "Ventilator Blues" with the Stones.... Jefferson Airplane (Volunteers album), Quicksilver Messenger Service, the Kinks, first two jJeff Beck albums..Nicky was one of the best!
@@daddyboy3546 Nicky also played on The Who's 1971 non album single Let's See Action, the late 60's outtake Now I'm a Farmer which was collected on the Odds and Sods rarities album and wrote the arrangement for the outro of Christmas in the film version of Tommy with all the overlapping Christmas carol melodies. He played piano on that as well.
'My Wife' is one of my secret favorite Who tracks. Not sure many Who fans would concur, but I just find it hilarious and charming. The Ox is (was) one of a kind.
Check out The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again" - the Shepperton Studios version is particularly fascinating. It was also the last performance of Keith Moon.
Also there were a number of songs left over from the Life House project that didn't make this album but served as a number of singles. Join Together, The Relay and Pure And Easy.
The whole album is a masterpiece. Baba O Riley is always in my top 5 favourite tunes of all time (and that's from a music collection of over 50,000 tunes....and from every era from the 40's 50's 60's onwards)
While driving a limo in NYC back in 1987, I was dispatched to the Penta Hotel to pick up a Mr. Daltrey and take him to JFK Airport. He was very friendly, talked to me the whole 45 minute trip and he gave me 2 of his latest CDs, one signed to my 5 year old daughter and one signed for ME. $65 tip, too. RockOn, Doug. (PS: I looked up JUST as I was finishing this post and, you showed us your pipe. BlazeOn, Doug. I'm WAY ahead of you.) PPS: MY WIFE was written and sung by John Entwistle. Sort of like The Beatles letting Ringo do OCTOPUS'S GARDEN. It was an old song of John's and wasn't written specifically for the album. Done. FINITO.
Thank you for this Doug. The Who is my favorite band, Who's Next is my favorite album, and The Song Is Over is my favorite song of all time, the one I always get emotional when I revisit, and seeing you dig the song that means so much to me through all my life was something nice to watch
This is easily one of the greatest rock albums of all time. What I love about The Who, is that they can create something really powerful that is simultaneously beautiful. Baba O'Riley is exhibit A. I love every song on this album.
Doug, you have to do the double album "Quadrophenia" by THE WHO. Mind blowing! When I saw them in 2012 they performed the entire Quadrophenia album from start to finish. It was Phenomenal !! Have a great day!
Saw that tour in Providence in February of 2013. It was the first time that The Who returned to Providence since our Mayor at the time cancelled their show in 1978 a week after the incident in Cincinnati.
Rogers voice in this album was just so phenomenal and clear and powerful, love the commentary and well deserved use of the word "iconic"!! Funny I have loved THE WHO my whole life and was really drawn to Pete's voice lol - they are all so gifted!!!
"Song is Over" was originally the final song of "Lifehouse." The last verse is from a song called "Pure and Easy" which Pete said was the first song written for the projected opera. He does a nice version of it on a solo album he produced in late 1972 dedicated to Meher Baba, called "Who Came First." You're one of the first reviewers I've seen who's tapped into Pete's spiritual depth.
Interesting note....the theme songs for all five TV shows in the CSI franchise use remixed Who songs. "Baba O'Riley" was used on CSI:NY. "Who Are You"was on the original CSI show.
That cover photo was a moment where they were driving past a quarry with the photographer in tow and saw the block standing up by itself like the monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey. This was a sort of cheeky response to that iconic ;) film.
It's hard to believe but the keyboard at the beginning (and throughout) Baba O'Riley is not a synthesizer, nor a sequencer controlling a keyboard. It's actually a Lowrey home organ with a built-in arpeggiator preset called "marimba repeat". Instead of notes repeating in regular fashion when played, certain notes are repeated either on or off the beat, creating the complicated pattern. For example when the notes F, F#, G, B, C and C# are played they repeat on the beat, while notes G#, A, A#, D, D#, and E when played repeat off beat (i.e., a dotted note). Obviously there is a preset tempo, but when Pete plays chords, the on-beat and off-beat repeats create the incredible pattern. ( believe Pete found a way to control the repeat tempo by modifying a component inside the Lowrey.) Yes, it's true that Pete had ARP 2500 and 2600 synthesizers at the time, but he was just learning how to get sounds from them when Baba O'Riley (and Won't Get Fooled Again) were created. He also had a simpler synthesizer called the Putney. Some gentle filtering sweeps were applied by one of the synths to Won't Get Fooled Again, but you can barely hear that affect. The songs on Who's Next that really feature Pete's synthesizer work are Bargain, The Song Is Over, and Goin' Mobile. You can really hear the rich one note melodies Pete used synth for on those songs.
Wow Doug where to start? Your analysis is always brilliant thanks you've breathed some fresh air in a time where great music needs to be reconsiderd in a good way. John Entwistle did some great solo work he worked with Frampton alot. Entwistle's tour de force was his work on Who Are You he was at his very best as a song writer and bass player that Townshend gave him room to stretch out. Give it a listen. Thanks again.
Another great video!! I'm quite envious of that pipe of yours, I used to love what having a smoke used to do my perception of music. I can't do it anymore though, or I daren't, to be more precise. The last time, only a couple of months back, scared the crap out of me! I literally felt like something was trying to take my life, I was pacing back and forth, marching on the spot...anything just keep moving because I "knew" that if I stopped I was going to fall dead! Absolutely terrifying! Anyway, more than anyone wanted or needed to know, sorry about that. Love your work, Doug, thanks!
Who's Next and Quadraphenia are great lazy rainy day albums. These guys did the biggest trippiest turnaround in rock going from the original punk rock band to progressive rock geniouses. Tommy was jaw dropping. Who's Next was top 5 all time and Quad is the most untalked about masterpiece in rock history. Pete Townsend took that group way beyond what I thought they'd evolve as. The '70s where such a great time for new music. So good it got ya hooked for life!😉 The piano player on "The Song is Over" is Nicky Hopkins a great british session player of his time. RIP
'Song is Over' refrains back in reflection to the song "Pure n Easy", done by both The Who and later off Pte Townshend's solo album Who Came First (worth a listen!).
Loving all your videos so far, Doug. So interesting to hear you analyse so many songs for the first time that I know so well and often own (I'm 49, born in 1972). The great thing for me in all of this is how you make me re-evaluate my own interpretations and memories of a song. Suggestions? Ever thought of Gene Clark's masterpiece from 1974: 'No Other'? Pink Floyd's 'The Division Bell? Talk Talk's 'Spirit of Eden'? Being British (Welsh, actually), a Britpop classic would be interesting, too. Radiohead is a band I would love to hear you analyse. Keep up the good work, Doug. Really, really pleased I discovered your reactions and analyses. Much love.
"Excepting one note, pure and easy Playing so free, like a breath rippling by" As you probably know this was the album salvaged from a multi-media concept by Pete (Lifehouse). This refers to a song from that concept that did not make Who's Next. It is on Odds and Sods, a album of songs that didn't make albums. The song is called Pure and Easy.
In every one of the dozens of household moves I've experienced, once the stereo is set up and the listening room ready, THIS is the first album that christens the new home
Re: The Album cover. I asked ChatGPT what the story was with this album cover and here's what it said... The cover of The Who's album "Who's Next" is a photograph of the band members urinating on a large concrete piling protruding from a slag heap, which was taken by photographer Ethan Russell. The idea for the cover came about when the band members were traveling in a convoy of cars on their way to a recording studio in Wales. They stopped to take a break at a service station, but found the facilities were closed. The band members then spotted the slag heap and concrete piling nearby and decided to relieve themselves there. The original concept for the cover was a more elaborate design involving a stonehenge-like structure, but the band members ultimately decided to go with the simpler, more provocative photograph. The image has become iconic in rock and roll history and is often cited as one of the most memorable and controversial album covers of all time. Despite its initial shock value, the cover has come to be regarded as a symbol of the band's rebellious spirit and irreverent attitude.
You were curious as to the singer on, 'The Song is Over'. Without reading through 200+ comments, Pete Townsend sang the verses, followed by Roger Daltery on the refrains.
I'm a bit older than you and I got to see The Who on that "last" tour in September 1982. I was 18 and just starting my freshman year of college. I had a very early Walkman that had a stereo mic and I recorded the show on cassette tape (don't tell anyone). I've since lost that old tape, but I remember on the tape you could hear me and my friends yelling "PETE!" during each song break.
As a kid, I was totally obsessed with the chord progression in My Wife. And yes, Entwhistle played the brass parts. He also played the French horn parts in Tommy.
Quadrophenia is my favorite Who album....excellent cranked to 7 on my early 80's pioneer rack through my JBL studio monitors. I have to wait til wife is out to do it.
According to Glyn Johns Pete turned up with demo tapes that were perfect and all he had to do was just let the band do their bit. He also said that PT was one of the few people who could work an ARP let alone get a tune out of it
BTW, The Who is my favorite band by Miles & Miles. Pete is Brilliant. The Bargain he’s looking for is God. Oh heck I could breakdown this entire album for you. Quite a bit of references to women are really to God & enlightenment.
Lol. I suddenly realized it as a 15 year old kid sitting next to my Mom in the car on the way back from the record store. When Mom saw it she exclaimed "Those pigs!"
I made a previous comment about another of your reactions that was rather terse, about you continual interruption, you took time out to respond which I respected. Listening to your reactions to "Who's Next" ( ...to pee against the monolith), first to side two of this album and then side 1, I can now appreciate where you are coming from. Loved you reactions to one of the most intelligent bands (lyrically & musically) of all time ..... Love to hear your appraisal of the Rock Opera "Quadrophenia" some time. Thanks
Wow Doug! Let's see side 2 please! This was a large part of the soundtrack of my college life circa 1972-1976. Come back from class, light up a bowl, put on Who's Next. This was the absolute best Daltrey ever sounded, and as you say Entwistle was a great bass player without really standing out. Now after side 2 let's move on to Quadrophenia. More proof that Townsend is an awesome songwriter and Entwistle is one of the greatest bassists ever. And let's not forget Moon, who did fills way more than keeping time, and that's what made him great.
Houston '75 is a great DVD and that's just an average night from the 1975 tour, Detroit '75 was an even better show but only footage of the second half circulates.
LOL - You're the first youtuber I've seen notice that album cover. Good job. It captures the early Who attitude pretty well. Both Tommy and Quadrophenia are great period piece listens (in addition to being flat-out rockers), Tommy for its' post-war England themes and Quadrophenia as an exploration of 60s English youth culture... "Are you a mod or a rocker?" (To which Ringo Starr famously answered, "I'm a mocker").
Just by accident, I saw the WHO in Dallas, in 1973 as a teen. The warm up band was a band I had never heard of called Lynard Skynard. So, proudly, I heard Free Bird for the first time live in Dallas in 1973, it stood out to me as a awesome song with the double lead, it was crazy, I hardly remember the Who...LOL. I would see the WHO a second time in 1982 in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Before the encore I kept yelling "Magic Bus," "Magic Bus" and the Who came out for the encore and opened with Magic Bus, people everywhere started passing me joints and patting me on the back, like I willed the song to happen... great days of my youth. Big Who fan for over 50 years!!
Doug back in1974 at the (Charlton FC concert) no violin in Baba, Roger played it on the Harmonica one of the best concerts I have witnessed, (yes, I'm old)
I played this so many times when I was a teenager - along with Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Yes snd some southern fried rock. Also, some Black Sabbath, Rush and The Allman Brothers. I forgot about Bargain it is one of my favs although this whole album was amazing.
Obviously a great time for that studio owners. Deep Purple recorded the track Fireball in the studio next to The Who the day after they finished the album. And since Ian Paice wanted to play with two bass drums he went in and borrowed Keith Moons.
A perfect album from front to back. The 1995 remaster is even better, with deleted track “Pure And Easy” added. This was alluded to at the end of “The Song Is Over”: “Excepting one note, pure and easy, playing so free like a breath rippling by.”
The Who remains my favorite group after over 50 years of listening to them. i have seen them 9 times (would have been 10 but last concert cancelled due to covid), 8 of those times with my wife, 3 of those times with our daughters, and two of those with kids and their spouses. Great memories!
Wow, I never noticed that either and I'm 65 years old. I always for some reason just as soon it was their shadows and never paid close attention. I have learned something today! 👍🏻
One spring party in the job I had one of my colleague passed out so i and another colleague just carried him to a chair in an empty room to sleep it out. I and that other colleague of mine had volunteered to be the cleaning crew. So after everybody else had left we squandered all the left over booze, cleaned places up and checked our passed out friend who was snoring in the chair. To our relief he hadn't thrown up so we returned to the kitchen and started to drink and talk. When all the left over booze was drank it was morning. So we woke up our friend and called him a cab. I started to go home but before I got to the bus stop I felt kinda sleepy. So I went to the beach that was just 100m from the road and went to sleep in the sunshine. I woke up when my phone rang. It was our drunken friend who asked me to talk to his wife and tell her where he was during the night. The wife came to the phone and I told her what had happened. She didn't believe me and it took just few months before they were divorced, If your woman is a jelous type you can't even drink with your friends. So don't marry one.
You're not listening to drumming as a compositional element. "Bargain" is very simple from the point of view of chords and melody, but Moon's drumming elevates everything. And I don't just mean his manic, flurry-of-toms style at the climaxes--it's the way he holds back when the song needs him to hold back, and only unleashes when it's appropriate. My favorite example of this is "Who Are You?". Listen to that just for the drums. I don't think a drummer transforms songs in this way again until Jimmy Chamberlin in Smashing Pumpkins. And yes, I'm including John Bonham in that, who was more a piece in a collective rather than someone who could lift a song up on the back of his drumming...
The Who owned the night of that first-responders concert! Never has there been a more exultant, cathartic reaction from an audience like the world witnessed during this set. The band really fed off that emotion and returned the favor during that set. MAGIC! A little trivia: The drummer is Ringo Starr's son, Zack Starkey.
Key of B - I bet theres a good chance the brass was recordered in B-flat and had it sped up slightly to be in B. That sort of thing became pretty common after the Beatles were messing about editing tunings and tempos in the studio. (In fact most likely after the main parts of the song was recordered, it was slowed down to B-flat for the brass to record their accompaniment to).
I Can't tell you how many copies of this Great Album I wore out since it was released! I really appreciate your approach to Reaction Videos, and I've even begun listening to some of your original liturgical music. Very soothing stuff, so far. I don't know if you're familiar with The Who/London Symphony Orchestra recording of "Tommy", but the vocal performances are magnificent! Vocal performances by Sandy Denny ; Graham Bell; Maggie Bell; Steve Winwood: Richie Havens; Merry Clayton; Rod Stewart; Ringo Starr; Richard Harris (Narrator) and of course, Pete Roger and John! I'd love to hear you break that recording!
"Lifehouse" was a future dystopian tale about the powers that be use Virtual Reality technology as a distraction. The hero rediscovers music, and the Lifehouse itself is a space that is going to trigger a revolution. "the Song Is Over" and "Pure and Easy" were key plot points in the story.
When I was a teenager, Who's Next was the first LP I ever bought. I still have it. I have seen The Who perform live twice in Sydney, 2004 and 2009. One of the greatest thrills in a live concert is the conclusion to Won't Get Fooled Again. The slow, high tension build up from the synth, the rolling and banging drums (Moon or Starkey, it doesn't matter, they're both great), Daltrey's scream and Townshend's crashing guitar chords and then the race to the end. I never tire of it. A masterpiece song on a classic album. Doug, many have said that Quadrophenia is the band's greatest work and I would agree. The growth in Townshend's writing and composition from Tommy is significant and the story is much more mature and nuanced. Side four, with Dr Jimmy, The Rock and Love Reign O'er Me is arguably one of the greatest set of songs ever put on the one side of a rock album.
Love the way Roger and Pete's voices work off each other. Roger is all "Rock God" with the grit and gravel blasting through the melodies (not to mention the odd scream at the top of his lungs) while Pete is much softer and much more vulnerable. He always sounds to me like he's only just hanging onto the tune by his fingernails and any minute now he's gonna fall off the edge. They sound so good together it is a shame they haven't always got on with each other! Their back catalogue is so impressive as it is - imagine what they could've done if they'd liked each other!! As for The Ox not doing anything fancy, I beg to differ. One of the less well known tracks here had him doing all sorts of twiddly bits, and I give you the BASS SOLO (yes, BASS SOLO) in My Generation as further evidence. I think he suffered from "standing still on stage" syndrome (much like fellow Bass Player Bill Wyman.) Daltrey was swinging the mic around on a 40 ft long wire, Townsend had the windmill and thr knee slide and the less said about Moon the Loon the better. Entwistle couldn't compete so took a back seat on stage. By all accounts he was a different beast off stage (hence "The Ox"). All in all, I'm delighted you chose this for an "Extended Play Friday" Thanks Doug & keep up the good work! I've yet to hear a bad song in the last year. (Although I'm 58, so most of the stuff you're featuring is from my youth, when music was music, written and performed by really people NOT computers!)
Since you have the remaster, you need to keep going into the bonus tracks. "Pure and Easy" was meant to be the centerpiece of the "sci-fi" story, and it's masterful. And the live version of "Naked Eye" is sublime. (Pete and Roger duet as the couple breaking up.)
This was always one of my top 5 albums. It wasn't until I heard Pete say that Keith's drumming always went “ba-dum-pum, ba-dum-pa-dum” that I realized it for the first time. I almost fell out of my chair laughing. The realization has only endeared me to Keith more. Then Roger did an iso of Keith's drumming on “Behind Blue Eyes.” That only endeared me to that track even more. For my money, “The Song Is Over” is the best song on the album, and my favorite Who song. But then I was always a Nicky Hopkins fan. His syncopations here are spot on as usual. The song’s crescendo is phenomenal.
I saw The Who in 2001 ( think). It was right before John Entwistle died. Great show. It was my third time, my first being in 1979. So I never got to see Keith Moon. I think they are still around. The drummer is Ringo Starrs son. I always jokes that the surviving Beatles and surviving Who should get together. You have a guitarist, bass guitarist, drummer, and vocalist.
The thing about this album is that pretty much EVERY SINGLE TRACK was played to some extent or another on Album/Rock radio stations (a popular station format from the late '60s through mid '80s. I was born in '64 and so was a little young for their heyday but when I finally got around to buying this LP in the early '80s I had heard all nine tracks on it many times over. Friends who I introduced to it at the time thought it was a greatest hits album...
The Who was the first concert I ever went to, way back in 1968, the opening act for Herman's Hermits - weird, eh? This is my favorite album by the Who, great memories of senior high school, cruising around town with friends - the songs are so inventive and cool. Love Pete's vocals, nice contrast with Roger. Also, my 2nd favorite Who album, which deserves a reaction IMHO, is "The Who Sell Out" (their 3rd album), great and creative, and has their radio hit "I Can See For Miles" - they also use parts of songs in between albums, as in the end of "The Song Is Over". Great job, Doug!
My first "REAL" rock concert was The Who at Shea Stadium in 1982 (David Johansen and The Clash opened). Saw them several times after but only once after John died. Not quite the same anymore.
Another vote for Quardophenia. Read the liner notes, watch the movie. Entwistle and Moon shine throughout. My favorite album of all time.
Totally agree about the music. Lyrics - ah.. not so bad either, but :)
I believe Entwistle remixed or even replaced the bass tracks for the soundtrack. A lot more like his powerful live bass sound They usually tone his sound down in the studi9o because of the more dense arrangements on the records.
Agree!
For me, Who's Next was their best sounding album but Quad was their best work as a band. Paradise would be having Glyn Johns produce Quadrophenia.
Yes please Quadrophrenia (at least the instrumentals)
Geddy Lee said Who’s Next is his desert island record. So there’s that.
desert island disc ;)
Was going to mention this too! Rush was heavily influenced by The Who and we're all better for it!
@@kennethbenson2931 Not sure there's ANYBODY wasn't heavily influenced by The Who. "Talkin' 'bout my generation!" Unless they say, "What was Woodstock?" which case, Next question: Heard of Elvis? How about Mohamed Ali? Well, supposedly was "This guy named Jesus, the Christ I think he went by, may have even wrote a book about him." Then, er, ahem ... Try some of these gummier bears ... more gummy than ever! Maybe not QUITE that apocryphal, but c'mon. They have this sporting event, I think it's called the Super Bowl. Word is this band called The Who, well, made it on a Halftime Show. Wasn't THAT long after these things called "The Towers," apparently looked like twins, then "some people" did "something" to knock them down. Happened in a country called The United, since it was made up of a cooperative group of States. No tellin' ... not everybody was the born day before yesterday, is all. Gave me a great big Rush, right up my left cerebrum, to think all that up, so hope it's all in good fun. Is my ride here?
Geddy is the man
@@susandavidson3344 Hello, Ranty McRanterson.
All hail Doug Helvering and Rick Beato and those who are making music even more interesting.
Absolutely!!! Both Doug and Rick are great to watch.
Here here!
Yes and also check the Channel called 'the charismatic voice' so good
Don't forget The Charismatic Voice ua-cam.com/video/gGKgklIV7Ko/v-deo.html ua-cam.com/video/owoYY-CR-Dc/v-deo.html
@@ChickenatorJr So we're all in violent agreement that Daily Doug, Rick Beato, and The Charismatic Voice are the giants of music reaction/analysis videos? 😀
Few albums bring chills down my arms, and tears to my eyes. Every song on this record is a masterpiece.
Pete and Roger's voices contrast each other so well
My favorite rock album. No flaws!
In my humble opinion Their best album. Not a bad track to be found.
I turned seventeen in the summer of '71. This was the album of this and the next summer. Bob Dylan writes poetry and anthems. So does Pete Townsend. If you've ever lost your soul to someone, "Bargain" is for you. "My Wife" is Ox, check out "Trick Of The Light". Big-time adult rock and roll, L+G.
@@TheCenteroftheUniverse Oh what a summer that was! We wore this cassette out real quick.
@@ransbarger Seventy-one was the summer of LSD for me. Twice-three times/week, occasionally. It was the East Coast version of the "Summer of Love", which would actually continue for a few more years, thank God.
All the big songs of FM radio that summer are literally burnt into my memory.
Imagine being a young teenager when this album came out . . . good times, good times
Doug Helvering, check out Quadraphenia by The Who. Since been turned into an orchestral work. It's just awesome.
For my bucks, Quadrophenia beats Tommy hands down. Both are great, but Q reveals what Townsend learned from composing Tommy. Then of course there is Sell Out...their first truly great album.
Yes! Quadraphonic! Brilliant, brilliant album.
Quadrophenia is an epic drum and bass tour de force! Absolute masterpiece. Saw the band perform it in 2013!
Quadrophenia has aged MUCH better than Tommy. Tommy's got good stuff in it, sure. But Q just absolutely represents the pinnacle of the Who as a band, of Townshend as a songwriter.
It is the ultimate example of something being greater than the sum of its parts; it all flows so well together as a unified whole.
Since Doug likes to dig into the backstory of songs/albums and since this is a concept album, I'm sure he would love reading the album liner notes (the story) for Quadrophenia.
Townshend is a conductor of pure energy, Daltrey the epitome of youth, health, power & wonder, Entwistle a dark brooding shadow god of music, & Moon ... Moon ....well, a demonic grinning hyperactive playful insanely talented imp drummer maybe? What a band!
Masterpiece album. To realize how great of a band they were, they were voted favorite band in my high school yearbook. I graduated in 1984! Years and years after their greatest works.
Damn...what a difference a few years makes. I graduated in 1990 and I think the biggest band of that year was New Kids on the Block. lol.
I graduated in 1979, and I remember there was a constant debate in our high school over which was the greatest band - The Who or Led Zeppelin. To me there was no contest. The Who was, by far, the greatest band to see live. And, sorry Robert Plant, no one came close to the power of Roger Daltrey’s singing. The Who were on fire in the 70’s and I was so lucky to be there for it!
"My Wife" is one of my favourite Who songs, and I love the dark humour in it, too.
The Who rarities compilation Two's Missing (Who's Missing volume two) has a killer live version recorded in San Francisco in late '71.
The piano in "The Song Is Over" was played by the late/great Nicky Hopkins, one of the best piano session players. Check out his piano in the Who song "They're All In Love" on the album Who By Numbers.
Or "We Love You" "She's a Rainbow" ,"Sympathy for the Devil" , "No Expectations", "Monkey Man" ,"Sway", "Loving Cup" and "Ventilator Blues" with the Stones.... Jefferson Airplane (Volunteers album), Quicksilver Messenger Service, the Kinks, first two jJeff Beck albums..Nicky was one of the best!
@@daddyboy3546 Nicky also played on The Who's 1971 non album single Let's See Action, the late 60's outtake Now I'm a Farmer which was collected on the Odds and Sods rarities album and wrote the arrangement for the outro of Christmas in the film version of Tommy with all the overlapping Christmas carol melodies. He played piano on that as well.
He also let it loose in “Getting in Tune”.
One of my very favorite pianists. His work on the Stones' "Angie" is beautiful.
Nicky was an incredible talent. He played in Quicksilver Messenger Service, a great band. Check them out.
Live at Leeds has always been my go to Who album....
Best ever. My Generation the looooong version. We wore out three of those albums in a year.
It’s the best live album of all time.
Along with Led Zeppelin IV and Deep Purple's Machine Head, one of the three most consistent and best hard rock albums of the seventies... IMHO
'My Wife' is one of my secret favorite Who tracks. Not sure many Who fans would concur, but I just find it hilarious and charming. The Ox is (was) one of a kind.
Boris
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Actually my favorite. Period. Love to just blast this… drumming is as good as I’ve ever heard
I’m gonna buy a tank and an aeroplane….
mine too, best song on the record for me.
Keith Moon is my all time favorite drummer. He played fills over the main vocal. No one did it before or since.
One of those very rare “perfect” albums, no sub-par tracks, to be listened to in one go, phenomenal stuff. Then go for Quadrophenia.
Check out The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again" - the Shepperton Studios version is particularly fascinating. It was also the last performance of Keith Moon.
It's one of the best live performances in the history of music.
It's on side 2 of this album, so I suspect we'll be hearing it next week.
The isolated bass tracks from that show are INSANE - ua-cam.com/video/80dsyo2Ox-0/v-deo.html and ua-cam.com/video/3Lf10U0yZrs/v-deo.html
Also there were a number of songs left over from the Life House project that didn't make this album but served as a number of singles. Join Together, The Relay and Pure And Easy.
Join Together is definitely underrated, agree with your other comment Entwistle was a bass beast, his playing at times was astonishing.
The whole album is a masterpiece. Baba O Riley is always in my top 5 favourite tunes of all time (and that's from a music collection of over 50,000 tunes....and from every era from the 40's 50's 60's onwards)
That is the best álbum rock has ever produced .
Power ,excitement and beauty in less than 45 minutes.
Unbeatable .
For a band that did not have a dedicated keyboard player, they had some memorable keyboards on their songs.
Nicky Hopkins is all over their albums. Especially this one. IMO, no one did it better.
While driving a limo in NYC back in 1987, I was dispatched to the Penta Hotel to pick up a Mr. Daltrey and take him to JFK Airport. He was very friendly, talked to me the whole 45 minute trip and he gave me 2 of his latest CDs, one signed to my 5 year old daughter and one signed for ME. $65 tip, too. RockOn, Doug. (PS: I looked up JUST as I was finishing this post and, you showed us your pipe. BlazeOn, Doug. I'm WAY ahead of you.) PPS: MY WIFE was written and sung by John Entwistle. Sort of like The Beatles letting Ringo do OCTOPUS'S GARDEN. It was an old song of John's and wasn't written specifically for the album. Done. FINITO.
Thank you for this Doug. The Who is my favorite band, Who's Next is my favorite album, and The Song Is Over is my favorite song of all time, the one I always get emotional when I revisit, and seeing you dig the song that means so much to me through all my life was something nice to watch
Doug did that?
This is easily one of the greatest rock albums of all time. What I love about The Who, is that they can create something really powerful that is simultaneously beautiful. Baba O'Riley is exhibit A. I love every song on this album.
Doug, you have to do the double album "Quadrophenia" by THE WHO. Mind blowing! When I saw them in 2012 they performed the entire Quadrophenia album from start to finish. It was Phenomenal !! Have a great day!
My wife and I saw them on that tour at the Allstate Arena near Chicago.
Yes it was!! The Garden in New York
I would love it if Doug did that!
@@elvwood Wow. Doug dig that. Did dug that? Dig dug that. Dig it? Dug it, like all dugout. Doug's dig out. Done that, ...
Saw that tour in Providence in February of 2013. It was the first time that The Who returned to Providence since our Mayor at the time cancelled their show in 1978 a week after the incident in Cincinnati.
Nicky Hopkins plays piano on "Song is Over" Doug, he's also on "Getting in Tune" on side 2. Townshend offered him a spot in the band too.
Rogers voice in this album was just so phenomenal and clear and powerful, love the commentary and well deserved use of the word "iconic"!! Funny I have loved THE WHO my whole life and was really drawn to Pete's voice lol - they are all so gifted!!!
That Concert For NY performance by The Who - they absolutely crushed it. What an incredibly cathartic show.
"Song is Over" was originally the final song of "Lifehouse." The last verse is from a song called "Pure and Easy" which Pete said was the first song written for the projected opera. He does a nice version of it on a solo album he produced in late 1972 dedicated to Meher Baba, called "Who Came First." You're one of the first reviewers I've seen who's tapped into Pete's spiritual depth.
“The Song is Over”is one of my favorite Who songs, one of the greatest albums, along with Quadrophenia, ever made. Townsend is a musical genius.
Interesting note....the theme songs for all five TV shows in the CSI franchise use remixed Who songs. "Baba O'Riley" was used on CSI:NY. "Who Are You"was on the original CSI show.
That cover photo was a moment where they were driving past a quarry with the photographer in tow and saw the block standing up by itself like the monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey. This was a sort of cheeky response to that iconic ;) film.
It's hard to believe but the keyboard at the beginning (and throughout) Baba O'Riley is not a synthesizer, nor a sequencer controlling a keyboard. It's actually a Lowrey home organ with a built-in arpeggiator preset called "marimba repeat". Instead of notes repeating in regular fashion when played, certain notes are repeated either on or off the beat, creating the complicated pattern. For example when the notes F, F#, G, B, C and C# are played they repeat on the beat, while notes G#, A, A#, D, D#, and E when played repeat off beat (i.e., a dotted note). Obviously there is a preset tempo, but when Pete plays chords, the on-beat and off-beat repeats create the incredible pattern. ( believe Pete found a way to control the repeat tempo by modifying a component inside the Lowrey.) Yes, it's true that Pete had ARP 2500 and 2600 synthesizers at the time, but he was just learning how to get sounds from them when Baba O'Riley (and Won't Get Fooled Again) were created. He also had a simpler synthesizer called the Putney. Some gentle filtering sweeps were applied by one of the synths to Won't Get Fooled Again, but you can barely hear that affect. The songs on Who's Next that really feature Pete's synthesizer work are Bargain, The Song Is Over, and Goin' Mobile. You can really hear the rich one note melodies Pete used synth for on those songs.
Wow Doug where to start?
Your analysis is always brilliant thanks you've breathed some fresh air in a time where great music needs to be reconsiderd in a good way.
John Entwistle did some great solo work he worked with Frampton alot. Entwistle's tour de force was his work on Who Are You he was at his very best as a song writer and bass player that Townshend gave him room to stretch out.
Give it a listen. Thanks again.
I was at that concert you missed in 2002. They sold soundboard recordings of the concert and I proudly have a copy.
Another great video!! I'm quite envious of that pipe of yours, I used to love what having a smoke used to do my perception of music. I can't do it anymore though, or I daren't, to be more precise. The last time, only a couple of months back, scared the crap out of me! I literally felt like something was trying to take my life, I was pacing back and forth, marching on the spot...anything just keep moving because I "knew" that if I stopped I was going to fall dead! Absolutely terrifying! Anyway, more than anyone wanted or needed to know, sorry about that. Love your work, Doug, thanks!
Who's Next and Quadraphenia are great lazy rainy day albums. These guys did the biggest trippiest turnaround in rock going from the original punk rock band to progressive rock geniouses. Tommy was jaw dropping. Who's Next was top 5 all time and Quad is the most untalked about masterpiece in rock history. Pete Townsend took that group way beyond what I thought they'd evolve as. The '70s where such a great time for new music. So good it got ya hooked for life!😉
The piano player on "The Song is Over" is Nicky Hopkins a great british session player of his time. RIP
'Song is Over' refrains back in reflection to the song "Pure n Easy", done by both The Who and later off Pte Townshend's solo album Who Came First (worth a listen!).
Listening to The Who, I always love the interaction between Moon and Entwhistle.
Entwhistle is one of the greatest bassists in history
Loving all your videos so far, Doug. So interesting to hear you analyse so many songs for the first time that I know so well and often own (I'm 49, born in 1972). The great thing for me in all of this is how you make me re-evaluate my own interpretations and memories of a song. Suggestions? Ever thought of Gene Clark's masterpiece from 1974: 'No Other'? Pink Floyd's 'The Division Bell? Talk Talk's 'Spirit of Eden'? Being British (Welsh, actually), a Britpop classic would be interesting, too. Radiohead is a band I would love to hear you analyse. Keep up the good work, Doug. Really, really pleased I discovered your reactions and analyses. Much love.
"Excepting one note, pure and easy
Playing so free, like a breath rippling by"
As you probably know this was the album salvaged from a multi-media concept by Pete (Lifehouse).
This refers to a song from that concept that did not make Who's Next. It is on Odds and Sods, a album of songs that didn't make albums. The song is called Pure and Easy.
In every one of the dozens of household moves I've experienced, once the stereo is set up and the listening room ready, THIS is the first album that christens the new home
Aug 12, 1969- The Shed at Tanglewoord- BB King opens, then Jefferson Airplane, then the Who, with the Joshua Light Show. It was so cool.
Re: The Album cover. I asked ChatGPT what the story was with this album cover and here's what it said...
The cover of The Who's album "Who's Next" is a photograph of the band members urinating on a large concrete piling protruding from a slag heap, which was taken by photographer Ethan Russell. The idea for the cover came about when the band members were traveling in a convoy of cars on their way to a recording studio in Wales. They stopped to take a break at a service station, but found the facilities were closed. The band members then spotted the slag heap and concrete piling nearby and decided to relieve themselves there.
The original concept for the cover was a more elaborate design involving a stonehenge-like structure, but the band members ultimately decided to go with the simpler, more provocative photograph. The image has become iconic in rock and roll history and is often cited as one of the most memorable and controversial album covers of all time. Despite its initial shock value, the cover has come to be regarded as a symbol of the band's rebellious spirit and irreverent attitude.
You were curious as to the singer on, 'The Song is Over'. Without reading through 200+ comments, Pete Townsend sang the verses, followed by Roger Daltery on the refrains.
I'm a bit older than you and I got to see The Who on that "last" tour in September 1982. I was 18 and just starting my freshman year of college. I had a very early Walkman that had a stereo mic and I recorded the show on cassette tape (don't tell anyone). I've since lost that old tape, but I remember on the tape you could hear me and my friends yelling "PETE!" during each song break.
As a kid, I was totally obsessed with the chord progression in My Wife. And yes, Entwhistle played the brass parts. He also played the French horn parts in Tommy.
Entwistle acted like a one man brass orchestra on several occasions. That, and the use of synthesiser, saved the band a lot of money when recording.
Quadrophenia is my favorite Who album....excellent cranked to 7 on my early 80's pioneer rack through my JBL studio monitors. I have to wait til wife is out to do it.
According to Glyn Johns Pete turned up with demo tapes that were perfect and all he had to do was just let the band do their bit. He also said that PT was one of the few people who could work an ARP let alone get a tune out of it
Pete Town sends Scoop albums have his demos on them.
"Excepting one note, pure and easy" is a direct exerpt from a previous release titled Pure and Easy.
BTW, The Who is my favorite band by Miles & Miles. Pete is Brilliant. The Bargain he’s looking for is God. Oh heck I could breakdown this entire album for you. Quite a bit of references to women are really to God & enlightenment.
"Miles & Miles"
I see what you did there. 😎
I don't even want to say how long it took me to realize that they had all just pissed on the concrete box.
Who's next?
Lol. I suddenly realized it as a 15 year old kid sitting next to my Mom in the car on the way back from the record store. When Mom saw it she exclaimed "Those pigs!"
I made a previous comment about another of your reactions that was rather terse, about you continual interruption, you took time out to respond which I respected. Listening to your reactions to "Who's Next" ( ...to pee against the monolith), first to side two of this album and then side 1, I can now appreciate where you are coming from. Loved you reactions to one of the most intelligent bands (lyrically & musically) of all time ..... Love to hear your appraisal of the Rock Opera "Quadrophenia" some time. Thanks
Wow Doug! Let's see side 2 please! This was a large part of the soundtrack of my college life circa 1972-1976. Come back from class, light up a bowl, put on Who's Next. This was the absolute best Daltrey ever sounded, and as you say Entwistle was a great bass player without really standing out. Now after side 2 let's move on to Quadrophenia. More proof that Townsend is an awesome songwriter and Entwistle is one of the greatest bassists ever. And let's not forget Moon, who did fills way more than keeping time, and that's what made him great.
It‘s a Lowrey home organ set to Marimba Repeat on Baba O‘Riley.
That live clip was fine, but you’ve got to find some old footage when Keith Moon was still alive. He’s in the top 5 rock drummers of all time.
The videos of Baba O'Riley and Won't Get Fooled Again from Shepparton Studio are iconic
The one of them on Rock and Roll Circus is great. He's throws a tom behind him.
Houston '75 is a great DVD and that's just an average night from the 1975 tour, Detroit '75 was an even better show but only footage of the second half circulates.
This guy spoke through just about drum fill on bargain, he listened to it and never even noticed the excellent drumming
He was a great drummer indeed. I saw The Who live in 1972 (together with The Golden Earring) in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
The Concert for New York was also John Entwistle's last American show before his death. I was also at this show.
LOL. My Wife. Such a funny song wrapped in such adventurous, kick-ass music.
I wore this album out back’n the day!
The cover art ties in w/title……”Who’s Next”…….get it?😆👍🏼
The stories behind Keith Moon (drummer) are legendary!!
LOL - You're the first youtuber I've seen notice that album cover. Good job. It captures the early Who attitude pretty well. Both Tommy and Quadrophenia are great period piece listens (in addition to being flat-out rockers), Tommy for its' post-war England themes and Quadrophenia as an exploration of 60s English youth culture... "Are you a mod or a rocker?" (To which Ringo Starr famously answered, "I'm a mocker").
Just by accident, I saw the WHO in Dallas, in 1973 as a teen. The warm up band was a band I had never heard of called Lynard Skynard. So, proudly, I heard Free Bird for the first time live in Dallas in 1973, it stood out to me as a awesome song with the double lead, it was crazy, I hardly remember the Who...LOL. I would see the WHO a second time in 1982 in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Before the encore I kept yelling "Magic Bus," "Magic Bus" and the Who came out for the encore and opened with Magic Bus, people everywhere started passing me joints and patting me on the back, like I willed the song to happen... great days of my youth. Big Who fan for over 50 years!!
Keith’s drums on the last 20-30 seconds of the song is over are awesome. I can listen to that over and over.
Doug back in1974 at the (Charlton FC concert) no violin in Baba, Roger played it on the Harmonica one of the best concerts I have witnessed, (yes, I'm old)
U're totally correct. This album its ICONIC to the Rock & hard rock history
"Tommy" is epic. Both the original and the movie soundtrack with Eric Clapton, Tina Turner, etc
Rod Argent, from The Zombies and Argent is credited with playing piano on 2 tracks on this album, but he actually played on 3.
I played this so many times when I was a teenager - along with Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Yes snd some southern fried rock. Also, some Black Sabbath, Rush and The Allman Brothers. I forgot about Bargain it is one of my favs although this whole album was amazing.
Your taste in music is impeccable 😁
Obviously a great time for that studio owners. Deep Purple recorded the track Fireball in the studio next to The Who the day after they finished the album. And since Ian Paice wanted to play with two bass drums he went in and borrowed Keith Moons.
A perfect album from front to back. The 1995 remaster is even better, with deleted track “Pure And Easy” added. This was alluded to at the end of “The Song Is Over”: “Excepting one note, pure and easy, playing so free like a breath rippling by.”
The Who remains my favorite group after over 50 years of listening to them. i have seen them 9 times (would have been 10 but last concert cancelled due to covid), 8 of those times with my wife, 3 of those times with our daughters, and two of those with kids and their spouses. Great memories!
I have read that at this time, Pete Townshend was exploring minimalist music, and the synthesizer in this song is his little homage to John Cage.
Wow, I never noticed that either and I'm 65 years old. I always for some reason just as soon it was their shadows and never paid close attention. I have learned something today! 👍🏻
One spring party in the job I had one of my colleague passed out so i and another colleague just carried him to a chair in an empty room to sleep it out. I and that other colleague of mine had volunteered to be the cleaning crew. So after everybody else had left we squandered all the left over booze, cleaned places up and checked our passed out friend who was snoring in the chair. To our relief he hadn't thrown up so we returned to the kitchen and started to drink and talk. When all the left over booze was drank it was morning. So we woke up our friend and called him a cab. I started to go home but before I got to the bus stop I felt kinda sleepy. So I went to the beach that was just 100m from the road and went to sleep in the sunshine. I woke up when my phone rang. It was our drunken friend who asked me to talk to his wife and tell her where he was during the night. The wife came to the phone and I told her what had happened. She didn't believe me and it took just few months before they were divorced, If your woman is a jelous type you can't even drink with your friends. So don't marry one.
You're not listening to drumming as a compositional element. "Bargain" is very simple from the point of view of chords and melody, but Moon's drumming elevates everything. And I don't just mean his manic, flurry-of-toms style at the climaxes--it's the way he holds back when the song needs him to hold back, and only unleashes when it's appropriate. My favorite example of this is "Who Are You?". Listen to that just for the drums.
I don't think a drummer transforms songs in this way again until Jimmy Chamberlin in Smashing Pumpkins. And yes, I'm including John Bonham in that, who was more a piece in a collective rather than someone who could lift a song up on the back of his drumming...
Since it was only 2 or 3 years after Space Odyssey 2001, I always thought this is what they would have done if they found that damn Monolith...
The Who owned the night of that first-responders concert! Never has there been a more exultant, cathartic reaction from an audience like the world witnessed during this set.
The band really fed off that emotion and returned the favor during that set. MAGIC!
A little trivia: The drummer is Ringo Starr's son, Zack Starkey.
Is it on YT?
@@johnricercato740 Not sure I never looked
Baba O'Rielly is a tribute to Terry Riley. Just a brilliant homage to a minimalist legend.
The Who was part of the soundtrack of my high school days....
This is one of the very best rock albums ever. Every track is *gold*.
Key of B - I bet theres a good chance the brass was recordered in B-flat and had it sped up slightly to be in B. That sort of thing became pretty common after the Beatles were messing about editing tunings and tempos in the studio. (In fact most likely after the main parts of the song was recordered, it was slowed down to B-flat for the brass to record their accompaniment to).
Yes, they're urinating on a symbol of the Establishment - I saw that on my brother's album cover when it first came out.
I Can't tell you how many copies of this Great Album I wore out since it was released! I really appreciate your approach to Reaction Videos, and I've even begun listening to some of your original liturgical music. Very soothing stuff, so far.
I don't know if you're familiar with The Who/London Symphony Orchestra recording of "Tommy", but the vocal performances are magnificent! Vocal performances by Sandy Denny ; Graham Bell; Maggie Bell; Steve Winwood: Richie Havens; Merry Clayton; Rod Stewart; Ringo Starr; Richard Harris (Narrator) and of course, Pete Roger and John!
I'd love to hear you break that recording!
Im pretty sure that is the Tommy version i'm most familiar with. Amazing stuff
"Lifehouse" was a future dystopian tale about the powers that be use Virtual Reality technology as a distraction. The hero rediscovers music, and the Lifehouse itself is a space that is going to trigger a revolution. "the Song Is Over" and "Pure and Easy" were key plot points in the story.
When I was a teenager, Who's Next was the first LP I ever bought. I still have it.
I have seen The Who perform live twice in Sydney, 2004 and 2009.
One of the greatest thrills in a live concert is the conclusion to Won't Get Fooled Again. The slow, high tension build up from the synth, the rolling and banging drums (Moon or Starkey, it doesn't matter, they're both great), Daltrey's scream and Townshend's crashing guitar chords and then the race to the end. I never tire of it. A masterpiece song on a classic album.
Doug, many have said that Quadrophenia is the band's greatest work and I would agree. The growth in Townshend's writing and composition from Tommy is significant and the story is much more mature and nuanced.
Side four, with Dr Jimmy, The Rock and Love Reign O'er Me is arguably one of the greatest set of songs ever put on the one side of a rock album.
This album imo can be thought of a collection of their greatest hits.
John Entwistle was a horn player before picking up the bass. His horn appears on some earlier works as well.
Love the way Roger and Pete's voices work off each other. Roger is all "Rock God" with the grit and gravel blasting through the melodies (not to mention the odd scream at the top of his lungs) while Pete is much softer and much more vulnerable. He always sounds to me like he's only just hanging onto the tune by his fingernails and any minute now he's gonna fall off the edge. They sound so good together it is a shame they haven't always got on with each other! Their back catalogue is so impressive as it is - imagine what they could've done if they'd liked each other!!
As for The Ox not doing anything fancy, I beg to differ. One of the less well known tracks here had him doing all sorts of twiddly bits, and I give you the BASS SOLO (yes, BASS SOLO) in My Generation as further evidence. I think he suffered from "standing still on stage" syndrome (much like fellow Bass Player Bill Wyman.) Daltrey was swinging the mic around on a 40 ft long wire, Townsend had the windmill and thr knee slide and the less said about Moon the Loon the better. Entwistle couldn't compete so took a back seat on stage. By all accounts he was a different beast off stage (hence "The Ox").
All in all, I'm delighted you chose this for an "Extended Play Friday"
Thanks Doug & keep up the good work! I've yet to hear a bad song in the last year. (Although I'm 58, so most of the stuff you're featuring is from my youth, when music was music, written and performed by really people NOT computers!)
Since you have the remaster, you need to keep going into the bonus tracks. "Pure and Easy" was meant to be the centerpiece of the "sci-fi" story, and it's masterful. And the live version of "Naked Eye" is sublime. (Pete and Roger duet as the couple breaking up.)
Thanks for paying attention to the lyrics!
Saw them in '67 with Fleetwood Mac at the Shrine Expo Hall. Magic Bus meets Shake Your Moneymaker.
This was always one of my top 5 albums. It wasn't until I heard Pete say that Keith's drumming always went “ba-dum-pum, ba-dum-pa-dum” that I realized it for the first time. I almost fell out of my chair laughing. The realization has only endeared me to Keith more.
Then Roger did an iso of Keith's drumming on “Behind Blue Eyes.” That only endeared me to that track even more.
For my money, “The Song Is Over” is the best song on the album, and my favorite Who song. But then I was always a Nicky Hopkins fan. His syncopations here are spot on as usual. The song’s crescendo is phenomenal.
Yes!!! 'Quadrophenia', please, Doug.
I saw The Who in 2001 ( think). It was right before John Entwistle died. Great show. It was my third time, my first being in 1979. So I never got to see Keith Moon. I think they are still around. The drummer is Ringo Starrs son. I always jokes that the surviving Beatles and surviving Who should get together. You have a guitarist, bass guitarist, drummer, and vocalist.
Pete Townshend is the singing the vocals at the start of The Song Is Over. Then Roger comes in. Their vocals are very distinctly different.
I was injected, also with early songs from The Who, like "Happy Jack", "The Magic Bus",.... , by my parents & their friends! I was born in 1969.
That one is precious! Wonderful reaction to that legendary piece of music! Thank you, i enjoyed it a lot!
The thing about this album is that pretty much EVERY SINGLE TRACK was played to some extent or another on Album/Rock radio stations (a popular station format from the late '60s through mid '80s. I was born in '64 and so was a little young for their heyday but when I finally got around to buying this LP in the early '80s I had heard all nine tracks on it many times over. Friends who I introduced to it at the time thought it was a greatest hits album...
Pete was really a master of rock and pop songcraft. Such lovely melodies and harmonies.
The Who was the first concert I ever went to, way back in 1968, the opening act for Herman's Hermits - weird, eh? This is my favorite album by the Who, great memories of senior high school, cruising around town with friends - the songs are so inventive and cool. Love Pete's vocals, nice contrast with Roger. Also, my 2nd favorite Who album, which deserves a reaction IMHO, is "The Who Sell Out" (their 3rd album), great and creative, and has their radio hit "I Can See For Miles" - they also use parts of songs in between albums, as in the end of "The Song Is Over". Great job, Doug!
I really see this video blows up in a couple of days, just like wish you were here. you're amazing Doug!
My first "REAL" rock concert was The Who at Shea Stadium in 1982 (David Johansen and The Clash opened). Saw them several times after but only once after John died. Not quite the same anymore.