The Who's on First

The beards and long locks will come later, right, lads?

The Who have survived the ever-changing musical landscape since 1964. The Beatles had already assumed the rock'n'roll throne, having racked up several hit singles and released their movie A Hard Day's Night. Beatlemania was in full force. But something else was happening in the UK: The Who emerged and carved their own niche in the music world with a more colourful and rebellious reputation. While the Stones were simply the "bad boys" of rock, The Who entertained via manic performances, usually concluding by destroying their music equipment. 

The band's first single Can't Explain shot to the top ten, followed by a string of successful songs like My Generation and Substitute. While I loved these songs when I first heard them in the mid-seventies over the radio, I was absolutely blown away by their later, more expansive anthemic rockers like Won't Get Fooled Again and Baba O'Riley. Even their relatively early ('67) I Can See For Miles had a big, heavy sound that won me over. Their more experimental work, like the album Who Are You, which employed newer electronic instrumentation, was equally engaging... crafted by masters of the form while retaining that angry energy that made Who music "Maximum R&B". These guys were developing hard rock before Led Zeppelin made their first album. They foreshadowed punk, too, since The Who brought so much attitude to the stage. Their anti-establishment messages were often delivered through loud, raucous songs, though key songwriter and guitarist Pete Townshend also penned intelligent, biting lyrics for sonically lighter tunes. 

Townshend has always been among my favourite guitarists, his unique style more important than blistering chops. Yes, Clapton and Van Halen may forever be considered superior axe men, but Townshend's distinctive sound and a technical ability sufficient for The Who's brand of rock still place him in good stead among his peers. 

John Entwhistle has always impressed me with his melodic and thunderous bass playing... his influence on prog rock bassists Chris Squire and Geddy Lee is obvious... and much appreciated. I even did a painting of Entwhistle, bedecked in his spider-themed bling, for a project in art school. 

While Who's Next is often considered the band's crowning achievement, The Who By Numbers boasts many of Townshend's most accomplished songs. Dreaming From the Waist, Success Story, and Blue, Red and Grey are among my favourites on this collection. And then there is Quadrophenia, The Who's magnum opus; its 2-disc format isn't a bit overwrought, every song essential to the story laid out in this early concept album. The Real Me, 5:15 and Love, Reign o'er Me are faves from this ambitious project, though it's rare that I'd just pick out a few songs to listen to - it always made more sense to play Quadrophenia from start to finish.

Though I've sort of tired of The Who's 60's songs, I can still appreciate pretty much everything from the 70's onward. That may partially be because I heard so much of that earlier music for so many years of my life, though it took a little while to get around to the later stuff. And I can blame rock radio stations for playing such a small selection of Who songs over and over again, sadly neglecting a lot of great music that never hit the top ten. Radio programmers be damned!

I was never fortunate enough to see The Who in concert. I do, however, have a fond memory of their televised farewell concert (the first of many) of 1982. I recall joining a group of friends to watch the concert together. And my DVD of The Kids Are Alright movie makes a fine substitute for the real thing whenever I'm in the mood for some mic swinging, windmill guitar chords, and drums of mass destruction. 

A few little Who-ish bits I found lying around