The Who : Classic or Dud

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uj0duuXQPi0

The picture of the Who Sellout is a bit misleading on this, as it only came as an extra on the CD issue. It dosen't really fit in with that LP. Nevertheless, one of their finest moments.

I saw the Who in '89. Always loved them.

This is a song I'd somehow overlooked until quite recently (also a bonus track on the CD):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkibmgLoRa0

the bonus tracks on that cd are super great. some of my favorite who moments

this is awesome! live at tanglewood 1970. whooooooooooooweeeeee. guitar heaven, man. for realz.

http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/the-who/concerts/tanglewood-july-07-1970.html

stormy and gorg need to listen to this show. "water" will slay you.

"Apologies mean nothing when the damage is done
But you can't switch off my loving like you can't switch off the sun"

The way they pull off this line is fantastic. Until that point the song remains kinda hazy: there's been a break-up and the narrator is sad about it. But there's something out of whack: why just say that you're sad in such a majestic way? And then this coupled comes, and it's the payoff: it's not really a break-up, because his love is cosmically strong: that's how how strong his love is. But that won't get you back again. I love how the bass swells in the last third of the song after the payoff couplet (I guess it's a bridge?), as though with articulation his love is growing stronger yet. There are lots of little touches to love about the song: the weird way the voices are mixed together: I guess it's Daltrey on lead vocal but it's mixed with at least one other voice, sometimes a little out of time with each other. And after the payoff line, the fusing is done in a way that their individual identities are clouded (whose love are we talking about? not just a person's but a band's, a multiplicity's? no wonder it's so strong!). And the guitar harmonics, just little flourishes here but to be able to use hooks so great as just a flourish reveals such confidence.

just a q: did they play this song on the 1970 tour? I'll look it up but if any of you have recommendation of boots where they pull it off I'm all ears.

So Sad About Us is my favorite Who song. So epic, so orchestral, so wonderful!!

It's my favourite Middle 8, ever. The final 8 bars, with the harmonies, are also astounding

"this is awesome! live at tanglewood 1970. whooooooooooooweeeeee. guitar heaven, man. for realz."

Video exists of the Tanglewood show, parts of which Ive seen. And yes, its incredible.

"Go To The Mirror Boy": this redeems ten minutes of "Underture" and then some: the "ooh, I wish I knew" singing in particular is stunning.

this is awesome! live at tanglewood 1970. whooooooooooooweeeeee. guitar heaven, man. for realz.

http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/the-who/concerts/tanglewood-july-07-1970.html

stormy and gorg need to listen to this show. "water" will slay you.

Listen? Fuck man, I want to SEE it - check this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbk5xXHqShI

A very young Who turn up in this 1965 French documentary about the Mod scene in the UK. http://www.ina.fr/video/CPF86651489/les-mods.fr.html

If anything, you owe it to yourself to fast forward to the 18 minute point.

http://www.uncut.co.uk/pete-townshend-issues-statement-on-one-direction-twitter-storm-news

"No! I like the single. I like One Direction. The chords I used and the chords they used are the same three chords we've all been using in basic pop music since Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran and Chuck Berry made it clear that fancy chords don't mean great music – not always. I'm still writing songs that sound like Baba O'Riley – or I'm trying to!. It's a part of my life and a part of pop's lineage. One Direction are in my business, with a million fans, and I'm happy to think they may have been influenced a little bit by The Who. I'm just relieved they're all not wearing boiler suits and Doc Martens, or Union Jack jackets. The funniest thing is that in Canada this year I met with Randy Bachman once the leader of GUESS WHO who told me that he not only copied Baba O Riley for their hit You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet, but he even called his band after us. Why would I not be happy about this kind of tribute?"
Read more at http://www.uncut.co.uk/pete-townshend-issues-statement-on-one-direction-twitter-storm-news#YZFzc4jqGk7Qbg8w.99

Fine by me. Whatever. But who is he talking about re "boiler suits and Doc Martens, or Union Jack jackets"?

http://www.citizenthought.net/images/SGandPete.jpg
http://lynnrockets.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/who_union_jack.jpg

Oh, ok. So he was talking about himself. I thought he was talking about like, I dunno, Devo and maybe Oasis or someone ultra-British like that.

I think he's being general. Like, "it's fine if One Direction's song sounds a bit like my song, at least they're not also dressing like us, too."

It kinda sounds like he's making fun of his own younger self's sense of fashion too.

I'm happy to think they may have been influenced a little bit by The Who. I'm just relieved they're all not wearing Nazi uniforms and dying in Vegas hotel rooms after cocain binges.

I'm sure One Direction's manager is relieved as well.

was that pic above taken with some kind of special nose-elongating lens?

what is "baba o'riley" about "you ain't seen nothing yet"? the two-note chorus riff?

Yeah the verse riff in "Baba" is the same as the chorus riff in "Ain't Seen Nothin Yet". More of a three-note riff. Always wondered who copied who (I'll see myself out)

The One Direction song is a direct rip of Baba O Reilly, even down to the drums. Its so close that i assumed that had been done with Townshend's consent

50 years! new album on the away, and a long goodbye?

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/the-who-reveal-first-dates-of-50th-anniversary-tour-20140630

"more prog rock than pub rock"

I'm a little dubious that they'll come up with a new record, but yeah, I'll totally go see them again.

"Let's not kid ourselves. We will always sell more tickets if we play the hits…There might be 40,000 total people in America who want to hear 'Slip Kid.' That won't be enough to put us on the road. That's the problem."

If you can play 'Sea and Sand', you can play Slip Kid, guys.

At yesterday's press conference, Pete said "We could do 'Dogs Part 2,' we could do 'Dogs Part 1,' we could do 'Now I'm A Farmer'..."

Pure bullshit, just for laughs.
Seriously, just weave in a couple- at $100/ticket and beyond I'd love to hear something unexpected.
Water, Naked Eye, even Athena for god's sake

They still did "Naked Eye" at a handful of '06 shows.

In '99-'00 they really opened up the catalog: "Anyway Anyhow Anywhere," "The Relay," "I Don't Even Know Myself," "Happy Jack," "Getting In Tune" and a few others.

But yeah, if it's just the early hits, and the usual suspects from Tommy, Who's Next, and Who Are You, I'll be pissed.

And at yesterday's press conference they played "The Kids Are Alright"!

Maybe I'll dummy up a wishlist playlist just for fun. I mean, It's not like I need to hear nothing but the deepest of deep cuts, and god know's I'd be pumped for Won't get fooled again over a stadium sound system, but yeah, I just don't see the point of a hits and nothing but tour.

yeah it's pretty frustrating that someone with that much money and cultural capital can see the end of their career on the horizon and not feel like they have the option of playing whatever the fuck they want in some context or another. at this point i feel like all they really owe anyone is to make whatever album they want, play whatever setlist they want.

Also, if you don't think you can fill a stadium playing deeper cuts, then by all means, don't book stadiums. Cut some of the expense of mounting that size of a production and play a bit smaller of a venue.

looking at the article, it seems like they know they can play stuff like "Slip Kid," that just can't be the whole show.

although, Steely Dan did a 'rarities night' show a few years ago, Billy Joel has bandied about the idea of doing shows based around deep cuts. i'm sure there's a way to do it well, make it a special occasion.

I hope so. In any case I plan to see them. I kick myself for not going to see the Quadrophenia tour, considering how much I love that record.

I'd say Pete might be selling "Slip Kid" a bit short in the US, as I'd say that tune being a bit later recorded has had more of a shelf life on classic rock radio than some bigger 60s hit standards.

I know it's easy to take shots at these things, but honestly, didn't they already have a couple of farewell tours long ago? I saw them in '78, I think, at Maple Leaf Gardens, and even without Moon, that was special; saw them a second time four years later, and that was less special.

"Also, if you don't think you can fill a stadium playing deeper cuts, then by all means, don't book stadiums. Cut some of the expense of mounting that size of a production and play a bit smaller of a venue."

No doubt. Allman Brothers over the years have done those type of shows on and off at the Beacon Theater to stretch out and do different things. Clapton has also done some theme shows like that over the years at the Royal Albert Hall, which included the Cream reunion.

there's definitely a part of me that wishes they'd completely stopped after the drummer died just like Zep. but they didn't, and i'm ok with that, go ahead and be a band for 50 years, that's awesome. xp

Another vote for "Slip Kid."

didn't they already have a couple of farewell tours long ago?

There was only one tour that was specifically billed as their "last" or "farewell" tour, and that was in 1982. They did an awful "reunion" tour in 1989, with a 15-piece band, and they've been consistently active since their 1996 tour.

there's definitely a part of me that wishes they'd completely stopped after the drummer died just like Zep. but they didn't, and i'm ok with that, go ahead and be a band for 50 years, that's awesome. xp

― some dude, Tuesday, July 1, 2014 9:42 PM (49 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I think the key difference is that Moon had become a liability. He could almost cut it live -- the imagination was there, the approach was sluggish -- but was nearly useless in the studio. As good a record as Who Are You is, it's not a standout Moon performance. When he died, it was seen in part as an opportunity to branch out in ways they couldn't have with Moon (and then Pete signed a solo deal, got overworked, became a heroin addict, yadda yadda). With Bonham, while he may have been down on himself near the end, he wasn't dragging the rest of the band down.

do they acknowledge the fact that roger daltrey has no voice anymore? they don't consider that an impediment?

I think if he literally had no voice whatsoever, if he opened his mouth and no sound came out, and yet he was still twirling the microphone around and mouthing the words, I would think they'd consider that to be something of an impediment.

But since his voice has aged better than those of his peers, it fortunately hasn't been an issue.

really? you think so? yeeesh, I think he sounds like a parched warthog.

I think if he literally had no voice whatsoever, if he opened his mouth and no sound came out, and yet he was still twirling the microphone around and mouthing the words, I would think they'd consider that to be something of an impediment.

the obligatory response must be: "I'd consider that an improvement"

I'll grant that if the most recent thing you heard Daltrey sing was "Athena," and then heard him in 2014, yeah, the difference might be a little jarring. But what he's lost in range he's gained in depth/breadth.

Slip Kid and Sea and Sand are both better than anything on Who Are You.

Would love to hear "Dogs" and "Now I'm a Farmer" and those silly 60s rarities live. But not sure I'd want to see an Entwistle-less Who...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUFgqKbu2Fo

On that note, gonna repost the wonderful "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde" that someone clued me into on a Who thread (maybe this one?) last year. Sounds very proto-Mercyful Fate this morning...

Slip Kid and Sea and Sand are both better than anything on Who Are You.