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THE WHO

Proto-Prog • United Kingdom


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The Who biography
Formed in 1964, Hammersmith, London, UK - Split in 1982 (occasionally re-formed for live appearances)
Resumed regular touring in 1999 and recorded a new albums in 2006 and 2019

One of the greatest of all rock and roll bands and one of the most influential of all time, The Who formed in 1964, when drummer Keith Moon left the Beachcombers and joined The Detours, who included singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, and bassist John Entwistle. The Who arrived on the scene at a crossroads in the English music scene: The Beatles were still king but were beginning to turn from the bubble gum pop of previous albums, the Merseybeat boom was fading and London was becoming the center of English music. A residency at London's famed Marquis club gave them a stage to make their impression: above all, The Who were a live band that had to be seen as well as heard. There first hit, "I Can't Explain", led to regular TV appearances and a tour with The Beatles. It also got them signed to Decca Records, where they recorded their first album, "My Generation". The album was a hit in England, reaching #5 on the charts, while the title track became an anthem of sorts for the times and still perhaps their best known song.

The Who were very original in that their arrangements were far from the normal in rock those days. Pete was more of a rhythm player who had Keith and John playing around him instead of
merely holding a beat, an influence acknowledged by the way Prog rock turned conventional rock idioms on their ear with regards to arrangement and traditional roles of the instruments. Keith's drumming was described as 'lead' drumming and John was having bass solos as early as 1965 in rock music.

Success out of the gate gave the group some measure of creative control on their next album which they lacked on the first. Pete and manager Kit Lambert had been talking about extended themes and ideas in rock and roll for some time. When The Who went into the studio for their second album in 1966 each group member was to contribute songs to help generate more revenue in royalties for the group, the group having a rather high overhead in terms of destroyed guitars and drum kits. When the others were not able to meet their quota of songs for the new album, Pete and Kit stepped in to fill the album out, and came up with what would be one of the trademarks of prog music in the future, the extended song cycle "A Quick One", which would be the title o...
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THE WHO discography


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THE WHO top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

3.04 | 235 ratings
My Generation
1965
3.08 | 222 ratings
A Quick One
1966
3.59 | 306 ratings
The Who Sell Out
1967
4.01 | 675 ratings
Tommy
1969
4.43 | 712 ratings
Who's Next
1971
4.50 | 710 ratings
Quadrophenia
1973
3.51 | 245 ratings
By Numbers
1975
3.42 | 256 ratings
Who Are You
1978
2.49 | 148 ratings
Face Dances
1981
2.61 | 138 ratings
It's Hard
1982
2.87 | 109 ratings
Endless Wire
2006
3.59 | 52 ratings
WHO
2019

THE WHO Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

4.03 | 195 ratings
Live At Leeds
1970
4.06 | 62 ratings
The Kids Are Alright (Original Soundtrack of the Film)
1979
2.66 | 28 ratings
Who´s Last
1984
3.16 | 19 ratings
Join Together
1990
2.86 | 5 ratings
The Who Live (Golden Age serie)
1993
3.43 | 44 ratings
Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970
1996
3.06 | 35 ratings
BBC Sessions
2000
3.93 | 25 ratings
Live At The Royal Albert Hall
2003
3.57 | 7 ratings
Greatest Hits Live
2010
4.03 | 18 ratings
Live At Hull
2012

THE WHO Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

3.93 | 38 ratings
The Kids are Alright
1979
3.75 | 12 ratings
Who's Better, Who's Best
1988
3.63 | 21 ratings
Live at the Isle of Wight Festival
1998
3.97 | 15 ratings
Who's Next - Classic Albums
1999
3.89 | 18 ratings
Live at the Royal Albert Hall
2000
2.86 | 7 ratings
Live & Alive
2003
0.00 | 0 ratings
Tommy and Quadrophenia Live with Special Guests
2005
2.71 | 7 ratings
The Vegas Job
2006
3.18 | 18 ratings
Amazing Journey
2007
3.79 | 18 ratings
The Who at Kilburn: 1977
2008
3.51 | 16 ratings
Maximum R&B Live
2009
3.87 | 12 ratings
Live in Texas '75
2012
3.26 | 12 ratings
Quadrophenia: Live in London
2014
3.84 | 6 ratings
Live in Hyde Park
2015
3.92 | 3 ratings
Tommy: Live at the Royal Albert Hall
2017

THE WHO Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

2.27 | 21 ratings
Magic Bus: The Who on Tour
1968
3.44 | 43 ratings
Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy
1971
3.72 | 49 ratings
Odds & Sods
1974
3.00 | 1 ratings
Hooligans
1981
3.43 | 7 ratings
Who's Missing
1985
0.00 | 0 ratings
Two's Missing
1987
4.14 | 16 ratings
Thirty Years Of Maximum R&B
1994
3.80 | 28 ratings
My Generation - The Very Best of The Who
1996
2.26 | 4 ratings
The Who (budget compilation)
1997
4.05 | 31 ratings
The Ultimate Collection
2002
3.27 | 16 ratings
Then and Now
2004
1.90 | 12 ratings
Greatest Hits
2009
5.00 | 9 ratings
Live At Leeds 40th Anniversary Super-Deluxe Collectors' Edition
2010
4.86 | 7 ratings
Quadrophenia - The Director's Cut (Super Deluxe Limited Edition)
2011
3.57 | 7 ratings
The Who Hits 50!
2014

THE WHO Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

3.00 | 1 ratings
I Can't Explain
1965
0.00 | 0 ratings
A Legal Matter
1966
2.76 | 13 ratings
I'm a Boy
1966
2.79 | 11 ratings
Happy Jack
1966
3.00 | 1 ratings
The Last Time / Under My Thumb
1967
3.00 | 1 ratings
Pictures of Lily
1967
3.00 | 1 ratings
I Can See for Miles
1967
5.00 | 1 ratings
A Quick One, While He's Away
1967
4.50 | 2 ratings
The Seeker / Here for More
1970
3.71 | 7 ratings
Summertime Blues
1970
3.10 | 10 ratings
Let's See Action / When I Was A Boy
1971
5.00 | 4 ratings
Won't Get Fooled Again / Don't Know Myself
1971
3.80 | 5 ratings
Relay / Waspman
1972
4.10 | 10 ratings
5.15
1973
5.00 | 1 ratings
Substitute
1976
3.50 | 2 ratings
Long Live Rock / I'm the Face / My Wife
1979
2.50 | 2 ratings
Athena
1982
3.50 | 2 ratings
Ready Steady Who
1983
3.05 | 3 ratings
Thirty Years Of Maximum R&B sampler
1994

THE WHO Reviews


Showing last 10 reviews only
 Live in Texas '75 by WHO, THE album cover DVD/Video, 2012
3.87 | 12 ratings

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Live in Texas '75
The Who Proto-Prog

Review by Finnforest
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

4 stars Last Stand

I really wasn't expecting much when I stumbled on this video. It had a rather low-budget look about it coming from such a high profile band. Turns out, this is an excellent document of the band at the end of their period of peak ability and relevance. Just around the corner, Moon's decline and Pete's apathy towards the band would render them far less vital in my opinion, but that is not yet an issue here in Houston in November, 1975. Moonie is still working magic and Pete is still very much engaged, both appearing to be delightfully sober and in good spirits, although Pete has a few moments where one detects that moodiness. This is very much an exciting and powerful and well-rounded performance of a variety of their material.

The presentation and visual of this show is going to divide people. What you are going to see here is remarkably bare-bones, nuthin' fancy, basically zero "stage show." You will see four men standing on a stage that is no more extravagant than a high school gymnasium. It feels like it was filmed by a high school theater group using their cameras from a perch in maybe the 10th row. Almost zero lighting, almost zero fast-edit shifts, almost zero....everything, except music. For some viewers who are used to concerts having to be huge "events" with a big show and lots of excitement from things beyond music, this show may turn them off or bore them silly. If you *need* a show, you will be bored. For those of us who don't give two sh-ts about the stage show nonsense, this is exactly what a concert should be, a document of musicians playing together. The focus is the music, the quality of interplay, and to a lesser extent, how much you relate or connect with the band.

So having established that this is an old school, no-nonsense gig that is only about music, the question becomes how well do they deliver. Quite well, actually. The reviews of the tour were mostly positive, and Entwistle noted that "Moon and the Who reached their live performance peak during the tour." This film pretty much proves that to me: gutsy, aggressive, emotional, raw, and even playful at times. There are some nice moments captured here where Keith playfully badgers John, jokes around, and where Pete gives his "little speech" announcing the end of his drinking career. Sadly, while Keith was very good and behaved on this night, the wheels would begin coming off the wagon as the next year went on. His behavior became more erratic and dangerous, and his final public concert was less than a year away. They should have hung it up when Keith died and moved on, as Zeppelin had the class to do when Bonham died. Instead, Townshend/Daltrey chose to keep milking the name in a situation they've admitted wasn't very enjoyable. This wasn't the Grateful Dead where all of the members enjoyed each other and enjoyed jamming for their fans each night in a positive communal setting that made sense to continue. Anything but, yet they chose to continue the charade.

All that said, this last stand on film transcends such criticisms as they clearly deliver the goods, a well-chosen mix of material dating back to the '60s right up through the current album. In my view, there's too much Tommy, my least favorite, and not enough Quadrophenia and By Numbers, but that's just a taste thing. I love the chunky punch that Pete gives the old '60s hits, and I loved the reserved yet committed performance John gives to "Boris the Spider." I loved the defiant embellishment they still managed to find on material they've played a million times. I truly was surprised at how good this video ended up being given that it flies below the radar of some of their other projects. If you are a Who fan and you don't mind the lack of a "stage show," then this really is an essential title to own.

 Tommy by WHO, THE album cover Studio Album, 1969
4.01 | 675 ratings

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Tommy
The Who Proto-Prog

Review by Hector Enrique
Prog Reviewer

4 stars Pete Townshend's obsessive quest to express his concerns about the feeling of not fitting into a harsh and aggressive world, ends up giving life in "Tommy" (1969), the Who's fourth album, to a traumatised child who from birth suffers terrible situations that make him retreat deep inside himself, falling into a kind of post-traumatic autism until his amazing ability to play pinball games among other things helps him return to the outside world and become a massive phenomenon.

And beyond a few thematically nonsensical episodes, "Tommy" has an enormous instrumental and harmonic fluidity, appreciable from the very introduction with the orchestrated "Overture", a medley that functions as a teaser for the following tracks, with a solvent and very loquacious Townshend with the acoustic guitar in songs of overflowing musicality even in their acoustic simplicity as in the brief "Its a Boy" and "Tommy Can You Hear Me", or in the medieval- scented opening chords of "Welcome", and an impeccable band that backs him up to generate countless moments of melodic brilliance, as in the tragic "1921" (excellent vocal interplay), the suffocating and urgent "Eyesight To The Blind (The Hawker)" and "Christmans" (heartbreaking Roger Daltrey), the painful "Cousin Kevin" (another great choral set), the incredible "Pinball Wizard" (fantastic acoustic and electric riffs by Townshend), or the energetic "Go to the Mirror!" (another great electric guitar riff).

And after tracing the life of the troubled character, "Tommy" reserves for its closing section the imperishable "We're Not Gonna Take It / See Me, Feel Me/ Listening To You" with the stupendous rhythm that Keith Moon and John Entwistle structure for the chorus and Daltrey's singing, in one of the pieces that helped install The Who in the definitive Olympus of rock heroes.

One of the many examples of the repercussions of an album that transcended frontiers is the detail of the father of former Spanish tennis player Tommy Robredo (number 5 in the ATP world ranking in the 2000s), who named his son in honour of the English rock-opera.

Indispensable.

4/4.5 stars

 The Who Sell Out by WHO, THE album cover Studio Album, 1967
3.59 | 306 ratings

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The Who Sell Out
The Who Proto-Prog

Review by DangHeck
Prog Reviewer

3 stars From my viewpoint, The Who Sell Out is a great display of how at-the-right-place-and-time The Who truly were. Released at the end of 1967, this artsy Psych-Pop-Rock aesthetic--am I gonna sound like an *ssh*le in this review, or what[?]--blazed the way for their continued, ever-improved and amalgamated form: earliest-possible, and weightiest, Power Pop and Art Rock out there. It's the album, next to the even-more trailblazing Who's Next ('71), which always jumps to the fore when I think of "The Who". If this is a representation of them as artists, even in its playful silliness, I can't see that being all that bad. I'm feeling good; let's do this thing [not like I've been putting this review off for nearly a year...]. Rating on a track-specific basis, those moreso poppy tunes, less progressive or compositionally adventurous--perhaps fairly inconsistent of me from album to album, honestly--if a track is in some way excellent despite this, I'm allowing for a range of 2.5/5.0 to 3/5.

DON'T DELAY!!! A barrage of Radio London adverts are coming your way! "Armenia City In The Sky", a concept I certainly haven't considered before, opens us up (and closes...) with a supposedly 'sonovox' vocal effect, one of a number of simultaneous wall-to-wall effects, including a back-tracked guitar melody at the end. John Entwistle, just one of the multi-instrumentalists present, plays the horns (here and throughout). Who knew this was so timely and specifically appropriate the sort of sound one might've heard for those most classic of radio ads? I mean, I didn't. "Heinz Baked Beans" poses a rather current-era-sounding question--and seemingly totally unrelated to its title-- 'What's the tea?' They don't skip a beat, and four times we get a rapido 'MORE MUSIC!' leading to the Folk Pop classic "Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand"; it's Simon-and-Garfunklesque (but more exciting and non-demestic, a la castanets?). Verily, people should know this one.

We get a style and lead-vox switch-up (Pete Townsend) on the really great "Odorono". It's some Power Pop Lite, k? Roger Daltrey then exchange vocals duty on "Tattoo", a [Who-specific]track[type] I feel must have influenced Yes to some degree. The Sunshine-Jangle of "Our Love Was" reveals some really spectacular psychedelia; very delicious to mine ears, and with a strikingly beautiful guitar solo. Overall, an expertly crafted tune. Next is a track which, by name alone, is so well-known, nay, so iconic, I actually might not've been able to reliably identify the band were you to ask me: "I Can See For Miles". But of course, hearing it, y'know, there's no mistaking this is L'Who, and part of that is the trademark BOOM from naughty-nun Keith Moon working behind the kit. Bolded this'n because, in its relatively experimental psychedelic display, it is technically proto-Prog in fine form. The cool Country Western advert is so charming hahaha. You TOO can 'turn into a Beast of a Man!' So funny, personally.

The cutesy "I Can't Reach You" is yet another lead by Townsend. Entwistle then takes up the charge, much to my surprise, on "Medac", yet another charmer (better than the one prior). I feel I can only think of him as singing "Boris the Spider" (Fake fans: please report) [like the Ringo of the group, but, no offense to the wonderful Starkey, far more talented]. "Relax" to follow is quite lovely--I did chuckle to myself at the boyish chirp from again-lead vocalist Petey--and I think interesting in the use of an organ, another contribution from Mr. Entwistle. The keyboard role then continueth next... I sort of see why, but I don't recall the unusual Chamber Pop of "Silas Stingy". Great ideas herein, but other groups at the time and thereafter sonically succeeded far more. Then we get, in stark (quieted) juxtaposition, the classically-informed folksy nicety of "Sunrise", the softest entry as one of the album highlights for me. And here we are, the final statement of the (original) LP, "Rael [1]" . Roger Daltrey is the obvious choice for front man, as many of us know; in his sweetest contributions he still shows great power. Yet another iconic force from the most excellent The Who; another, more sure entry in Proto-Prog should-hears. The last minute+ has so much to offer your ears.

Again I repeat, especially to those of you in the back, DON'T DELAY! THE WHO SELL OUT TODAY! Peace be with you and yours.

Finally, returning a week later, here are my recommends from the bonus material (1995 version): "Melancholia" (slick, dark and then moody Garage-Psych), "Someone's Coming" (playful Pop Rock), "Early Morning Cold Taxi" (some great early Power Pop), "Hall of the Mountain King" (a fun, truly Proto-Prog rendition; the second moment after "Melancholia" that reminded me of early Pink Floyd), "Mary Anne With the Shakey Hand" (seriously so charming version with a very prominent organ, and it's a tad longer than the album version, replete with key change), "Glow Girl" (just some good ol' fashioned The Who The Whoin')

 The Who Sell Out by WHO, THE album cover Studio Album, 1967
3.59 | 306 ratings

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The Who Sell Out
The Who Proto-Prog

Review by siLLy puPPy
Special Collaborator PSIKE, JRF/Canterbury, P Metal, Eclectic

4 stars The premise of the THE WHO's third album THE WHO SELL OUT was to create an entire concept based around the idea of mocking pirate radio stations by crafting songs completely about commercial products along with jingles however the reality of the situation became more of a continuation of the psychedelic mod rock leanings that had launched THE WHO into the top ranks of the British Invasion. Intended to produce a touch of irony given that THE WHO really was making real commercials at the time, the album showcased an early concept album that along with The Beatles' "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" amongst other releases of the era would propel the rock music paradigm into the ever greater sophistication culminating in the progressive rock era of the early 1970s.

As a concept album, THE WHO SELL OUT features faux commercials and jingles which found THE WHO pummeled with lawsuits for using snippets of Radio London jingles without permission as well as using trademarked branding such as Odorono without the company's expressed legal consent. Legal matters aside THE WHO SELL OUT continued the band's smashing success that it had been building since it's mod rock debut only steering its style into the more contemporary sounds of psychedelia. The result was the acid trip opener "Armenia City In The Sky" and the top 10 hit (both US and UK) "I Can See For Miles" which would become the band's highest chart hit in the USA. Musically speaking THE WHO SELL OUT is a 60s psychedelic pop rock album through and through with catchy hooks and jangly guitar riffs laced with psychedelic icing on the cake.

Primarily an album written by Pete Townshend who was becoming bolder and more experimental in his songwriting approach, THE WHO SELL OUT served as that transition album between the band's early mod rock years and the more sophisticated art rock that would soon follow with the rock opera "Tommy." While the album retains the immediacy of its predecessors with short snappy songs, the lyrics presented a humorous side to the band as heard on the tracks "Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand" which infers to the double entendre of female masturbation to the more overt tribute to skin art as Daltrey tenderly sings to his "Tattoo." The tracks end in radio jingles with the track "Heinz Baked Beans" entirely dedicated to the album's theme. "Odorono" poses are a real psychedelic rock track but reveals itself to be a hidden parody of the deodorant which was apparently popular during the day.

The album's diversity is its strength with "Armenia City In The Sky" opening and serving as the only track not written by the band but by Speedy Keen who also guests as the second vocalist. Likewise Townshend, Entwhistle and Moon all find moments of lead singer glory as Daltrey takes a backseat presumably adding some of the extra percussion he is credited for. The album flows together remarkably well although some tracks like "Silas Stingy" seem a little too silly for their own good, a trait that Entwhistle delivered to the band's persona and while some tracks like "Boris The Spider" were welcome comedic relief, "Stingy" seems more like an unnecessary kids' song added for prosperity. The album closes with the nice double tracked "Rael" which features the most arty rock mix of the album and paves the way for what the band would dish out in the future. The overall effect is an interesting glimpse into the commercial world of 1960s Britain and a taste of what the public was exposed to in the mass media on a daily basis which is something most band's tried to escape.

Overall this album was a grower for me. While a few songs stuck out initially it took me a while to "tune in" to the time and place to get the proper context of the music at hand. After letting it all soak in and not unfairly comparing it to modern bands and recording techniques, the album is surprisingly endearing and ranks as one of THE WHO's earliest success stories as well as the first album to feature some sort of consistency from beginning to end. Even the lesser tracks hold up fairly well despite the silly lyrics. The album achieved a stream of consciousness approach that was developing in 1967 and would become the standard for many rock albums of the future. While not the peak of the band's career, it's certainly one of the more entertaining earlier editions, at least one that has grown on me substantially over the years.

 A Quick One by WHO, THE album cover Studio Album, 1966
3.08 | 222 ratings

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A Quick One
The Who Proto-Prog

Review by siLLy puPPy
Special Collaborator PSIKE, JRF/Canterbury, P Metal, Eclectic

4 stars After taking the world by storm as a part of the British Invasion of the USA and abroad, THE WHO didn't lose any traction after a series of singles and its debut release "My Generation" which catapulted the band up to the top of the charts. The band didn't waste any time with a proper followup which came in the form of A QUICK ONE which slipped in the calendar year 1966 in December exactly a year after the debut. The album finds THE WHO moving beyond its mod R&B style of the debut and unusual in that guitarist Pete Townsend who was the primary songwriter stepped down and let the other members contribute songs, presumably due to time constraints resulting from touring schedules.

There are actually two versions of this album. As was the case with all the big acts coming from the UK, this album features a US release that was retitled HAPPY JACK and the original UK release titled A QUICK ONE. The only difference is that the US version featured the top 40 song "Happy Jack" whereas the UK version lacks this song and instead has the unusual cover song "Heat Wave" which was a huge hit for Martha & The Vandellas. Other than that the album pretty much follows the same track order and same quirkiness which found the band stepping out of its streamlined 60s mod pop and started experimenting. While not a full blown art rock album that the band would become famous for, A QUICK ONE certainly is a quirky and unexpected sophomore release from one of the British Invasion's most popular acts.

The album starts innocently enough with the catchy "Run, Run, Run" which implies a return to the same mod pop rock that was the staple of "My Generation" but the album throws a curve ball with the second track "Boris The Spider" which was written by bassist John Entwhistle when he was drunk and wrote a song about a scary spider in his room. The song was so off the wall that it became one of THE WHO's concert staples. The other Entwhistle oddity is the instrumental track "Cobwebs and Strange" which not only reinforces his obsession with the world of arachnoids but also demonstrated how THE WHO could turn a traditional polka into a bonafide 60s psychedelic rock tune. The oom-paa-paa beat along with the trombone and tuba add another layer of absurdity to the album.

Many of the other tracks are more standard in that they could be released as pop tracks or hit singles. The track "Whiskey Man" was released as a single and hit the top 10 and the track "Happy Jack" on the US version also hit the top 40 but other than that A QUICK ONE really didn't generate the hit singles action that would begin with the band's next album "The Who Sell Out." THE WHO also activate their proto-prog instincts on A QUICK ONE with the six movement closing title track which narrates the story of a girl who had gone missing for period of time. The track includes a harmonized a cappella segmented basically a bunch of different songs stitched together. The track exceeded 9 minutes long and was sort of a proto-rock opera that wouldn't be fully realized until "Tommy."

For my tastes this second release by THE WHO is a much more interesting one than the debut. I love the quirky, even silly tracks that just show up when you least expect it. They add a pizazz to the otherwise more standard mod freakbeat style THE WHO was going for at this stage. Really no bad tracks on here except i highly recommend the US version titled HAPPY JACK with its title track rather than the UK version with the ridiculous Martha & The Vandellas cover. That song sounds totally out of place and THE WHO were not even close to sounding like a Motown band from Detroit. Luckily the 60s would see the bigger bands writing all original material with THE WHO being no exception. Sure, this isn't the best that THE WHO ever created but it's an interesting second step in their canon before they hit the big time. Personally i like this one.

 Face Dances by WHO, THE album cover Studio Album, 1981
2.49 | 148 ratings

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Face Dances
The Who Proto-Prog

Review by SeeHatfield

3 stars Tiptoeing into high school, around fourteen going on fifteen, I had a bedside clock radio with embedded cassette player: a little box in faux wood veneer that sang me to sleep, woke me in the morning, and kept me tapped into Top Forty pop on the AM band. I followed the hit parade for a while, listened out for singles I especially liked, and began, slowly, to buy mainstream pop albums. This was the early 1980, and I'm still embarrassed by some of the records I liked back then. When I was not quite sixteen, one single I keenly listened out for was The Who's "You Better, You Bet," or its abridged AM version anyway, a song that has been on my mind ever since. I couldn't wait for that song to come round on my clock radio again and again. Frankly, I didn't understand the lyric; it was a hymn to hedonism with a desperate edge, a giddy, decadent thing about nightlife and sex and things I knew nothing about. Very adult. I might have thought I understood the lyric (I prided myself on getting the reference to a razor line), but no way could I have understood what it took to get Pete Townshend to write it. It's a song about a man who's a mess, after all.

The record sounded great to me at the time, and so Face Dances became my first Who album (unless it was Who Are You, which I got around the same time?). The Who may not be a prog band, but to my mind much of their work is progressive rock, and my interest in them helped nudge me out of Top Forty pop into album rock, so that, between sixteen and seventeen, I became a prog devotee. I listened to Face Dances a lot -- though, again, I'd say that I didn't really know where it was coming from, or what it made it so decadent and weird. I knew it had to do with Pete Townshend being unhappy, even unhappy with the business of being a rock star, but what could that possibly have meant to me?

In hindsight, I think Face Dances' main value was that it got me to listen to The Who. Alas, as an album it doesn't hold up. I started to figure that out long ago, and for years, I've faulted the production by American AOR ace Bill Szymzyk (of Eagles and Joe Walsh fame). The record sounds muffled and airless, deadened. But I have to admit that the songs too are a problem: a mixed bag, including several well-polished duds. Elaborately arranged, and awash in Townshend's and John (Rabbit) Bundrick's keyboards, the songs swirl and bubble, but percolating synths can't hide the general air of dissipation and anomie. Nor can the muscular playing of bassist John Entwistle and new drummer Kenny Jones, who ought to cut through the enveloping fug but can't, quite. The sound is bland and felted over, but more importantly, the songs are often wan, bemused, and self-regarding -- fatally self-conscious navel-gazers, at a time when Townshend was nearly killing himself with drink and drugs and clubbing, all to the tune of damn, I really hate being in this band that made me famous.

Tellingly, Townshend's solo albums from this period, produced by Chris Thomas, are way better than Face Dances or the Who albums that came right before and after it. They sound tighter and punchier despite Pete's self-absorption, and they boast many grand and piercing songs (Empty Glass is one of the great rock albums of the early 1980s). What's more, the demos for Face Dances that can be heard on Townshend's Scoop compilations are better than the final Who versions: Pete's "You Better, You Bet" sounds drunk and nuts (the piano glisses are insane), his "Don't Let Go the Coat" sounds like effervescing indy pop (so much more rhythmically exciting than The Who's take), and so on. At this point, even when Pete is losing it, he makes better tracks on his own than with his old band.

Pete's version of "You Better" outpaced The Who's in my heart years ago.

Townshend's reflexive, self-pitying lyrics here may not plumb the depths of bathos reached on Who Are You (whose outtake "No Road Romance" has got to be one of his most pitiful). But "Daily Records" gives the earlier record a run for its money: They say it's just a stage in life / But I know by now the problem is a stage. And when Townshend is not making his discontent obvious, the hermetic lyrics of "Cache, Cache" and "Did You Steal My Money" still sound like complaining, albeit through a filter of eyebrow-cocking irony. The latter song joins the cod-epic wanking anthem "How Can You Do It Alone?" on the list of Townshend's most obnoxious novelties, right up there with "Squeeze Box." It's embarrassing, the more so for touches of musical grandeur like the martial, pipe-and- drum (synth-and-drum) interval in the break. For a song about masturbation, it's, well, proggy.

Entwistle's two songs here are crusted with cliches, but "The Quiet One," a right snarler, spins the cliches to advantage, snapping at the hands that feed with vengeful irony (Still waters run deep / So be careful I don't drown you). It's a song about Entwistle's own taciturn reputation, suitably nasty, delivered in Entwistle's own harsh rasp. Musically, it slashes away nicely -- a quick burst of big chords and febrile drumming, seesawing among a very few notes while Pete works variations in the simple riff. This gives Pete a chance to let rip, and the record could have used more of that -- the wet blanket of Szymzyk's sound can't smother it. Entwistle's other number, "You," is draggier, a lumbering catalog of misogynistic rock 'n' roll chestnuts. In a word, bad.

Let's be honest: The Who were hell to work with in the studio at this point. Really, they weren't a functional band. Szymzyk, who has criticized the album's sound and called the job the worst of his career, tells stories about singer Roger Daltrey avoiding sessions with the other members of the band. The whole Who were hardly ever present together, as Daltrey's straight-edge careerism and hardheadedness put him at odds with the boozy fecklessness (frankly, alcoholism) that hovered round the rest of the group. Everything was a mess. Townshend was drinking like a sponge and offering Szymzyk and the band songs of either confessional or trivially humorous bent. Entwistle and Szymzyk fought over the bass parts; Entwistle would later complain of Szymzyk's numbing perfectionism and lack of spontaneity, and Szymzyk would complain of Entwistle overplaying. As for Kenny Jones, he was in the unenviable, post-Keith Moon drummer's stool, playing for keeps but in the very definition of a no-win situation. The Who had outlived itself and its members were half-broken. Szymzyk's brand of meticulousness -- comping vocals, insisting on multiple takes, trying to tamp down the craziness -- turned out to be no savior.

It's not all bad, of course. Face Dances is a Who album, so it features one of the smartest songwriters and arrangers in rock. The fact that Townshend was writing synth-pop at this point, rather than anthemic rock, maybe bugged some fans, but Pete was eager to do new things even when he was killing himself by degrees. The arrangements could have shimmered had they not been (by Szymzyk's own admission) compressed to death. "You Better, You Bet" is still a good single. And dig the chiming twelve-string guitars that anchor that song and "Daily Records" (the latter reminding me of the way The Beach Boys open "Sloop John B"). Meanwhile, Entwistle's bass, sometimes galloping, sometimes hopscotching, does great service. The way he works under and around the verse is the one good thing about "How Can You Do It Alone?" Jones, underrated, is a powerhouse, drumming solidly with occasional explosive fills. Granted, Jones would sound better if not recorded like Don Henley -- the big kit and high toms are very 70s, with little snare and no sizzle, and the mix is turgid. Jones, in other words, gets Szymzyked.

Daltrey works as hard as anyone, with a deliberate, at times droll delivery, as when he caresses some of the sleazier lyrics in "Did You Steal My Money" and "How Can You Do It Alone?" (They simply relax and lay back, etc.). He works over these lines theatrically; I bet he thought carefully about how to deliver them, and then sang them the same damn way, over and over. He probably didn't know what to think of the insular "Daily Records" and "Cache, Cache," but he sang them anyway. Daltrey by this period strikes me as a mannered rather than spontaneous singer: he works hard to make Townshend's lyrics scan, comes up with phrasing and asides to fill the empty spaces, and then replays the same seemingly tossed-off bits over and over, on demand. Though in life Daltrey was far from sympathizing with Pete's excesses, he interprets the lyrics here with a professional's patience and a certain lusty hamminess (and a bit of wink-wink-nudge-nudge, know what I mean?). Roger, the sane and settled pro, ends up play-acting through Pete's sybaritic overkill. The results, which are mannerist and funny, will appeal to some listeners and repel others. Daltrey does try.

It's strange to feel grateful for an album that you don't think is very good. I do feel grateful, though I find myself daydreaming about Townshend leaving The Who after Moon's death, or even earlier, and following his muse into other things. Above all, Face Dances feels like a determinedly adult (hell, middle-aged by rock standards) delaying action that thematizes growing up and the inevitability of compromise but also sounds, well, sadly compromised. Kudos to Townshend and the band for not sitting still thematically -- but this one sounds like it's coming well after the fire. Pete's next album, All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes, is much better.

 Quadrophenia by WHO, THE album cover Studio Album, 1973
4.50 | 710 ratings

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Quadrophenia
The Who Proto-Prog

Review by The Anders

4 stars Being their proggiest release, it should be no surprise that Quadrophenia is the most popular Who album on ProgArchives. The symphonic structure of many tracks obviously does the trick, and indeed Quadrophenia is a very well constructed suite, at least from a solely musical point of view. The album as a whole feels like a cohesive musical journey, and it may be one of their strongest efforts in that respect.

However, an album is the sum of all its parts, and - unfortunately for a concept album - the concept just isn't very interesting. For one thing, the story is set in the mid 60's mod culture in Britain, and that harmonizes very badly with the synth-driven and symphonic nature of the music. In fact, the only mod-like sound is the short glimpse of "The Kids Are Alright" at the beginning of "Is It In My Head?". Moreover, the story itself is a rather banal piece of social realism: Jimmy is the stereotype mod kid who tries to balance himself between the social norms of his parents and the group pressure of the mod environment. As I have never been a mod myself, and as I have never truly been able to relate to the macho ideals of such cultures, I can not really identify with the story, but of course this is a highly personal and subjective thing. Others might have different experiences.

Once you are familiar with the story, there is not much left to uncover. This is especially sad, because the concept of Tommy was much more universal, and it was more open to interpretation. I still uncover layers in Tommy, but I have never had that experience with Quadrophenia.

One aspect of the concept, however, is very strong, and that is the idea of Jimmy's four-sided personality (hence the album title), each side reflecting the personality of the four members of The Who. They each have their own theme: Roger Daltrey as the tough guy ("Helpless Dancer"), John Entwistle as the quiet romantic guy ("Is It Me For A Moment?"), Keith Moon as the lunatic ("Bell Boy"), and Pete Townshend as a self-declared hypocrite ("Love Reign O'er Me"). The themes each pop up on several occasions during the album, like Wagnerian "leitmotifs", and, with the exception of "Is It Me?", they all have their own song.

And this leads me to the music itself which is by far the strongest part of the album. The symphonic element is of course very dominant, for instance in the instrumental tracks "Quadrophenia" and "The Rock" (both containing variations of the four themes), as well as in a song like "Doctor Jimmy", but overall there is a fine balance between these complex compositions and some more straight forward tracks like "I'm One", "Is It In My Head?" or "Cut My Hair". The tracks I enjoy the most are often the more emotionally intense ones. These include the two instrumentals as well as "I'm One", "The Punk and the Godfather" and especially "Is It In My Head?" - the latter is probably my favourite song on the album, especially as it also has a romantic sentiment to it.

Overall I think I enjoy The Who's 1960's recordings better. After Tommy, they moved towards stadium rock, and their sound became heavier. Whether one likes that or not, is of course a matter of taste, but I always felt that their 60's sound was a bit more subtle - the combination between, on one side, the aggressive playing, and on the other side a pop sensibility in the compositions, is a fascinating one, and that aspect somehow faded away as they turned the amps up to 11 and Daltrey became a hard rock screamer. Thus, I often find his singing rather tiresome, especially in the more macho-driven numbers, for instance "The Real Me", "Helpless Dancer", "5:15" and "Doctor Jimmy". The playing on the album is, as always, excellent, and for instance I think there's a lot of poetry in Keith Moon's drumming - he is not just showing off, he is actually communicating through his drums. And then of course there is a very creative use of synthesizers, even though they can become a bit too bombastic at times.

All in all, Quadrophenia is a strong album, at least musically, but it is not one that truly grips me anymore. I was crazy about it, when I first heard it as a teenager, but in recent years I have found myself listening to it less and less - whereas Tommy continues to fascinate me. I will give Quadrophenia 3,5 stars for its musical brilliance, but the other aspects prevent me from giving it a full house.

 A Quick One, While He's Away by WHO, THE album cover Singles/EPs/Fan Club/Promo, 1967
5.00 | 1 ratings

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A Quick One, While He's Away
The Who Proto-Prog

Review by Matti
Prog Reviewer

— First review of this album —
5 stars This really could be the most progressive 7" singles recorded in 1966! When The Who were making their second album that eventually was to be titled A Quick One, their producer and manager Kit Lambert encouraged Pete Townshend to write a longer piece to fill up the album length. 'A Quick One, While He's Away' (9:10) is a suite of six song fragments, and it tells about a girl who has an affair while her lover is away but is forgiven.

The intro 'Her Man's Gone' is a multi-vocal a cappella piece lasting only about 25 seconds, followed by an uptempo rocker 'Crying Town'. 'We Have a Remedy' is a charming movement with its la-la-la-la-la-laa harmonies, and the hilarious 'Ivor the Engine Driver' introduces the other man in the first person. 'Soon Be Home' has a laid-back country feel and The Beach Boys reminding vocal harmonies repeating the title's words. The cathartic finale 'You Are Forgiven' starts the B side of the single. The Who wanted cellos there, but Kit Lambert could not afford it so the band ended up singing "Cello, cello, cello" at the beginning of the movement.

In the performance on Live at Leeds Townshend calls the song a mini-opera and introduces it as Tommy's parents. Indeed it is a clear precursor to the seminal "rock opera" Tommy (1969). Within nine minutes you hear many things that stylistically have an equivalent somewhere along the 2-LP of Tommy. It sure feels very hectic and tightly packed, but that's an essential part of its peculiar charm. The movements follow each other in a hurry, and yet the whole is very coherent. The production is very good for its time.

'A Quick One, While He's Away' has a tragic background underneath its cheerfulness. It was inspired by Townsend's childhood experiences, as he reveals in his 2012 autobiography Who I Am. (I am citing the Wikipedia article.) The song "briefly refers to his molestation as a child, but not explicitly. 'Ivor the Engine Driver' is said by Townshend to be a metaphor for the possible abuser. The 'Her Man's Been Gone' section refers to Townshend's separation from his parents and spending time with his grandmother, Denny. The crying in the 'Crying Town' portion is his own, for his parents to pick him up and to leave Denny, who is said by Townshend to have been the person who brought in unknown men into her home. The 'little girl' referred to in his song is actually a make-believe 'imaginary constant friend' and 'twin girl who suffered every privation I suffered'. 'You Are Forgiven' presents someone coming to Townshend's rescue: his mother. The lyric about sitting on Ivor the Engine Driver's lap 'and later with him had a nap' also hints at what may have happened. The song ends with the verbal chant of 'you are forgiven', which Townshend states that when The Who performed the song, he would always get into a frenzy. He states that those who were being forgiven was everyone referred to in the song's lyrics, including himself."

In 2016, Rolling Stone ranked 'A Quick One, While He's Away' number 4 on its list of the 50 greatest songs by The Who.

The single's B side continues with 'So Sad About Us' which on A Quick One album comes before the epic final piece. It's a good lesser known song from The Who, combining the raw rock energy and The Moody Blues reminding melodicism. I'm tempted to give the breathtaking musical contents of this unique single five stars. The Who definitely were ahead of their time in 1966.

 My Generation by WHO, THE album cover Studio Album, 1965
3.04 | 235 ratings

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My Generation
The Who Proto-Prog

Review by DangHeck
Prog Reviewer

3 stars [Hello from the future! I really don't know how it used to be, but it must be said: We aren't judging Proto-Prog on its merits as being "Progressive Rock", but simply as "Rock Music", per the rating standards. I also must acknowledge here and now that I not only rated this before I was actually reviewing (a grave sin, I know), but that perhaps my mind can, by appearance, change in admittedly a very short period of time; hopefully more a reflection of me honing my ratings and therefore overall personal standards. Generally speaking, perhaps the greater Prog fandom genuinely doesn't care for early The Who. On second thought, "the greater Prog fandom" seems to be right on the money here.]

The Who started off here, I always thought most strongly, in 1965, in the midst of the British Invasion (John Entwistle already sporting the Union Jack...et... with pride). Reps of the Mods with their contemporaries The Small Faces, they and plenty other Brits of the era nerdily inspired by Black American culture (whether Soul-loving Mods or Merseybeat R&B-obsessive Rockers), straddle the line between the cool 'n soulful and the booming 'n searing. [This will be a review for the... apparently 2002 Remaster edition... selected most selectively, just so I can talk about "I Can't Explain" even briefly haha.]

A tell of the time from certain tracks, we get straight-ahead, early Garage Rock in the opener, "Out in the Street" (ballsy for the time, for sure); and "The Good's Gone", featuring some Proto-Punky chillout, to my ears a la Iggy Pop-esque vocals (maybe? Lou Reed?). I definitely enjoy this'n, despite its momentary indifference to the guns-blazing Rock of The Who's most memorable numbers. "Much Too Much" is a bit of a mix of these two modes, even expressing the first moments of their brand of genre-defining Power Pop with bright drums and a simple melody. The Garage-ready "It's Not True" is just fine. Back in this mode from a quick hiatus is "A Legal Matter", a decent track with obviously lesser vocals from our primary songwriter, the otherwise fantastic Pete Townsend. Rolling drums blast into our ears on "The Ox", by far the heaviest song of the whole, featuring, though too, some striding keys.

Yet another sign of the time was the to me now-somewhat-surprising presence of R&B, heard prominently on the second track(?!) of this album, "I Don't Mind". This track has some real heft in the midst of classic, melodic B.A.M. observance. It's fine haha, but it has something. This sound results specifically in a soft dance number in "La-La-La Lies", reminiscent to me immediately of The Beatles' "Tell Me Why", released a year and a half earlier on A Hard Days Night (1964). The Soul continues on "Please, Please, Please". "I'm A Man" is a... poorly aged rendition of a sort of Howlin' Wolf Blues number; decent ideas, but nothing that drives it to anything great. The final track of this Afro-American mode is the wonky "Daddy Rolling Stone", the final bonus track. Pretty cool, pretty funky, with some sort of honky-tonk piano.

Squarely in the middle of the release, the title track, "My Generation", is of course a must-hear, an era-defining moment in music history. It's hooky, punky, and, frankly, daringly cool as hell. We have unique, stuttering vocals from Daltry and the insane, flailing drumming from Keith Moon. Right up next, starting the second side, is one of the strongest on the album, the best example of early Power Pop present here, "The Kids Are Alright". Excellent melody, great and memorable instrumentation. And the bridge!!! Good God Almighty! Another highlight/must-hear is the Garage-Pop of "Circles". Awesome melody, and heavy instrumentation. It's pretty much got it all. What I can say is that I would actually recommend the Freakbeat cover of this by Fleur De Lys all the more. Absolutely fantastic stuff. As mentioned in my intro, I had to take time for the bonus track "I Can't Explain", a single backed with "Bald Headed Woman" (a bombastic White R&B track, which only gets better as it goes). "I Can't Explain" is yet another quintessential Power Pop tune, to be sure.

Overall, a solid debut LP (better to my ears than, say, Please Please Me, for instance). See my [super]boldings for the best of the best. Other slight standout tracks are "The Good's Gone" and "The Ox". A lowered re-rate was certainly in order.

 The Who Live (Golden Age serie) by WHO, THE album cover Live, 1993
2.86 | 5 ratings

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The Who Live (Golden Age serie)
The Who Proto-Prog

Review by Prog123

3 stars The world of budget compilations is truly a world that can be very interesting. But it is also a risky world. Many budget compilations are only of modest quality. Others end up being real bootlegs. Other times they allow you to listen to songs in live version with not always good quality. And, in the latter case, it is not uncommon that given the success they have, they end up obtaining a restoration and a 100% official publication. With the arrival of the CD or, better still, CDs for everyone (late 80s / 90s), these budget compilations multiply. Often because the rights on the recordings expired or because certain labels decided to sell off their catalogs. Other times it happened that there was no interest on the part of the labels for certain artists who, however, were in great demand. Thus were born several labels that bought the recordings of those artists or had new versions of famous songs recorded and put them on the market. This budget live compilation is at the limit of legality since there are recordings of Leeds 1970 that are already contained in the official live of The Who and because the others are from 1968 and 1969 and, therefore, at the limit of exercising copyright on the recordings. In any case, if you were lucky enough to find it, I would recommend it. After all, there is no Progressive here, just Hard Rock (they are all 60s songs) but very valid also for a Progressive lover, given that Hard Rock, at the time these songs were written and recorded, was an innovative genre and played the role of the Progressive of the following decades. Some (I think of "Boris The Spider", for example) have a certain appeal to a Progressive lover for the structure of the writing, for example. But, in general, you can hear great Hard Rock and Proto Metal here.

What to say, to conclude? That this budget live compilation is a good example of what The Who was like at the time. But don't look for a (live) compilation for audiophiles or true Progressive lovers here.

Thanks to micky for the artist addition. and to Quinino for the last updates

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