Band of the week

[Super25Smasher]

Indeed! Any suggestions?

How about the Who?

[Rod in Toronto]

I´ll take it! So far I´ve only heard The Who compilations.

[Super25Smasher]

I´ll take it! So far I´ve only heard The Who compilations.

They have many great albums!

[goose]

Indeed! Any suggestions?

How about the Who?

:goodone:

[Mosher]

I love the idea of this thread!

 

I will play. I don't care at all what band is chosen, even if I don't like them. Maybe I'll discover something on a track I never heard before.

 

The Who is a good restart.

 

Why weren't people playing this?

[Mr. Not]

The Who is a good restart.

 

Why weren't people playing this?

 

Beats me, got tired after a while and there weren't enough active participants, I guess.

 

I'll go for The Who.

 

The time a new band is picked was typically on the weekend, I believe, and then the marathoning started on the Monday? Rinse repeat..

 

Since we picked a new band midway through the week, we might as well go for a week and a half before picking a new one (Nov 5-6)

[djflex]

Sweet thread bump!

[ReRushed]

Damn, I was deep into the Who a few weeks ago.

[catherine]

I would love to see this thread get some activity again. It was fun. I am busy this week and next with my business and so my music listening time is limited but I will do my best to jump in if I can. Edited October 29, 2016 by catherine

[pip65]

Somehow I missed this thread before. Certainly up for giving this a go.

[Mr. Not]

Blue Red and Grey is a great song. It features a ukulele banjo, cool.

 

I can laugh in the snow or rain

I get a buzz from being cold and wet

The pleasure seems to balance out the pain

Edited October 29, 2016 by Mr. Not

[Super25Smasher]

I listened to My Generation (the album) yesterday.

[Super25Smasher]

Face Dances last night. You Better You Bet and Another Tricky Day are two of my favorite Who songs.

[Mosher]

It's clear to me that Who's Next is just a stand up album. I know people love Tommy, the Leeds album, and so many others. And their catalog is great, but Who's Next is their best.

 

I also discovered that I need more Who, I'm missing a lot of material.

[Super25Smasher]

The Kids Are Alright soundtrack today. Lots of great live versions!

[goose]

It'll be the Who for breakfast tomorrow. :cheerleader:

[J2112YYZ]

Why weren't people playing this?

 

It just died off after a bit like a lot of threads do. Then eventually someone bumps it back up and the thread is new again. Sometimes I didn't take part in this because I would be in the mood to listen to other bands than the one suggested for the week.

 

Nothing wrong with bringing it back though.

Edited October 31, 2016 by J2112YYZ

[goose]

Starting with The Who's It's Hard. I remember it coming out, when I really wasn't much into the Who. Over time, the later Who stuff has really grown on me, though. A cool offshoot of my recent road trip with the Lad is that he's become a fan of the Who. Baba O'Reilly set those wheels in motion. :dweez: My thoughts on some of the tracks.

 

Athena is a fun track. All the stuff you'd want from a radio-friendly Who track. So, the lyric is "She's a bomb!" Huh. I never knew what it was before today. Didn't much matter to me. Although knowing that it's not "She's a whore..." does clarify the song's sentiment. :P

 

It's Your Turn is enjoyable. Entwistle may be one of the great underrated guy's in rock. Like John Paul Jones, he's a quiet engine behind a great, great band.

 

Cooks Country has a great groove. Groove. Not what the Who is most know for, perhaps, but it's when I got into listening to the more groove-centered songs of theirs that I started to enjoy them more. This track has a drive similar to Who Are You or The Relay, two of my favorite tracks of theirs. Good guitar work here as well. Punctuated telegraphic notes. "On curving comets track the music makes its way..." Cool line.

 

It's Hard. As in, "Hard to listen to"? Agreed. What a dull effort. Sounds like a Lou Reed song, and I actually thought it was Lou on vocals. That would make it a lot cooler. Funny how that works...

 

Dangerous. More like "safe". Doesn't do it for me.

 

Eminence Front has become a stone cold classic. It's got an iconic Townshend keyboard sequence, great lyrics, and is perfectly suited to Pete's voice. And that guitar riff is so simple, yet infectious...

 

I've Known No War has the band back to form. It never bothers me when a band finds ways to recycle what they do well, as the band's done here. This track has them re-working that classic Who groove from The Relay, with success, I think.

[custom55]

Happy Halloween

 

[custom55]

This is a great DVD of The Who 1969 at the London Coliseum. You could watch the entire show on youtube.

 

 

http://youtu.be/jiDTRO9ubiI

Edited November 1, 2016 by custom55

[goose]

OK, working my way back through the Who's catalog and now...time for Face Dances! :dweez:

 

You Better You Bet is a nice opener. Great melodic pop hook with high sing-along value. Not easy to achieve. And a much better use of "ooo-ooo-ooo" than, say, RUSH manages. Good lyrics from Pete...nice T-Rex reference...subtle brat-ish anger that The Who's known for. What's not to love here? :7up: Maybe longer than it needs to be? I'll give them credit on It's Hard for knowing when to end a song.

 

Don't Let the Coat is...not one that I'll hang onto. Sorry. :zzz: Two-songs and we've already got a truly skip-worthy track?

 

Cache Cache is going for a new wave, Talking Heads vibe, I'm guessing. A decent song ruined by instrument choices that sound as outdated as can be. :boo hiss: Skip.

 

The Quiet One is a rocker! I may have to go back and change my Geddy vs. Entwistle vote based solely on this wonderful jam of a song! :haz: Why was this buried at track #4?

 

Did You Steal My Money? No...but it appears that someone may have stolen your ability to write a decent song.

 

How Can You Do It Alone is a nice recovery, opening Side 2 with a fun little ditty that would fit in with their late 60's hay-day. :yay: Where are my striped pants...?

 

Keeping with the upbeat 60's vibe, Side 2's second track, Daily Records, opens with a Sloop John B riff that sounds lifted straight from the Beach Boys. That's not a bad thing. It sets up the song nicely, and the song takes off from there. Excellent! :cheerleader:

 

You is another Entwistle song, and once again he nails it. A great rocker! :guitar:

 

Another Tricky Day is maybe the strongest song on the album, and they save it for the closer? Fabulous song...just classic Who. Great harmonies, clever song structure, interesting layered parts, and a song that seems ideally built for Roger Daltry. A radio staple for good reason.

 

 

 

This is a good album that suffers from disastrous track ordering.

Edited November 1, 2016 by goose

[goose]

Set the Wayback Machine for 1978... it's time for Who Are You :dweez: :dweez: :dweez:

 

Out of the gate, Roger's voice is in top form. He shines on the opener, New Song. Not totally sold on all of Pete's keyboard choices here, but the rest balance of the song makes them forgivable. Some really heavy guitar parts, and...Moony.

 

Had Enough is a strange song, with a heavy start, then drifting into light harmonies akin to Mommas & Poppas or the Beach Boys. But it works. One benefit in listening to the Who's discography is to discover how critical a role Keith Moon played. He flat out drives this song. A true drum God.

 

905 kicks ass. An Entwistle effort, this song's intro is a real grabber, and the song settles into a wonderful groove, with running lyrics that move it right along.

 

Sister Disco is one of my favorite Who songs...one of my favorite songs period, actually. Just really well crafted. Amazing keyboard lines, amazing bass work by Entwistle, and...did I mentioned their drummer yet? Then there's acoustic outro, So artful...so poetic. this one's a true gem. :ebert:

 

Music Must Change is a lyrical tour de force. Daltrey sells them perfectly. The bluesy atmosphere makes for a perfect Side 1 closer. Great guitar work here. The masterful arrangement of tracks on this album is a complete 180 reverse from the tracking disaster that would be their next album. I wonder what Side 2 will bring?

 

Now this is how you open an album side! Any doubts as to whether the energy of Side 1 could be sustained are put to rest with opening riffs of Trick of the Light. Another kicks-ass rocker by Entwistle. John's lyrics are almost always about some woman, but that's just fine. This is rock-n-roll, dammit! And that hook...straight from the Devil himself. :fury:

 

Guitar and Pen is interestingly theatrical, but this is the side of the Who that I enjoy the least. Tommy has elements that I like, but overall, I'm not crazy about it. Like it's classical grandmother, I dislike rock opera in general. Not a terrible song...just not my bag, baby! And Love is Coming continues in this vein. :zzz:

 

And then...the closing title track. A true rock classic, with everything I love about the Who rolled into one. Cool synth lines, kick-ass drums over a killer bass groove, and perfectly angry vocals. Who Are You? One of the greatest f***ing songs recorded, that's who! :haz: :haz: :haz: Crank this one to eleven, friends!

[goose]

Uno, dos, tres... it's The Who By Numbers!

 

I got a fever...and the only prescription is more Slip Kid! :7up: Put this one on repeat and there's your party soundtrack! "No easy way to be free... " Indeed!

 

How Ever Much I Booze has a delicious hook, one that reminds me of the best Doobie Brothers songs. Daltrey sounds amazing on this one. He doesn't have the best vocal chops, but sometimes Pete finds the perfect vehicle for him, and he's done it here.

 

The Who has a good sense of music history and a great sense of humor. Both are combined on the classic track Squeeze Box. Everybody sing along, now! :musicnote: In and out and in and out :musicnote:

P.S. Best rock use of a banjo ever?

 

With a title like Dreaming From The Waist, you probably have a good idea of what's coming here. Good straight forward rocker, at first at least. But this is the Who, so of course there's a classic harmonizing vocal break tucked nicely in among the jamming verses, briefly taking the listener in another direction. But we get back quickly...then away again. Is this the musical "in and out and in and out" that Pete was writing about?

 

Imagine a Man is a nice enough ballad. But, it's not my bag, at least not when it comes to The Who. I like the guitar work, though.

 

A straight ahead killer guitar riff. This must be an Entwistle song. And sure enough, it is! A nice return to rock after the previous track. I dig this jam... a real Success Story!

 

And then we transition back into ballad mode. They Are All In Love, the title says. Well, that may be the case...but not me. Until the humor comes through... Sarcastic angry ballroom music? I'm in!

 

More banjo. Cool. Or is that mandolin? Wait...ukulele! Anyway, Blue, Red and Grey is a wonderful little track. I may have to learn this on the uke! :ebert:

 

And the easy listening mood continues on How Many Friends. Amazing guitar work, though, and a nice sentiment in the lyrics. "How many friends have I got...that will take me as I am?"

 

Sticking with it through the mellow songs of Side 2 is well worth. The closer is another gem from the Who....In a Hand or a Face. Rocking guitar, and a fade out that recalls I Can See for Miles and Miles.

 

In the end, this is a good album, but too many mediocre tracks for me to consider it great.

Edited November 1, 2016 by goose

[Super25Smasher]

Who Are You

The Who By Numbers!

 

I listened to these two today, as well as A Quick One, which contains my all-time favorite Who song, A Quick One, While He's Away.

[goose]

Ladies and Gents...I bring you...QUADROPHENIA!

 

What a great opening, with the Sea setting a perfect mood...ominously previewing what's to come. And what exactly is that? A tempest...in the form of...

 

The Real Me. This is rock perfection. Entwistle secures his place in the rock pantheon with his work here. Just genius bass playing! And of course, that drummer guy. :haz:

 

I'm often underwhelmed by Townshend's guitar tone. His work on the Title Track here is incredible, but tone-wise it's thin, as Pete's stuff often is. I'd love to hear it carried out with a fuller, warmer effort. Maybe this is a track that RUSH should have put on Feedback...and performed live. As a composition, it is pure genius.

 

Cut My Hair starts as a precursor to 5:15, but releases into pure reckless rock abandon. I can imagine people back in 1973 being mesmerized as this album unfolded for the first time. What a treasure. In fact...

 

...this is something to be lost in. Pardon me for not continuing with this review...but honestly, it's not really necessary. If you're not familiar with the Who and are wondering what to listen to. This is the one. :notworthy: