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this is an iconic,legendary rock band at their absolute peak.this sounds like it could have been recorded yesterday not 42 years ago! - its all here - great songs,great playing,power/glory and two of the whos best ever songs - wont get fooled again + behind blue eyes.the perfect partner album for the who " live at leeds "
Excellent album, thoroughly enjoyed it.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I recently heard 'Won't get fooled again', a track off this album, and although I've heard it over the years, it really struck me this time as a really great track. So, I decided to buy the album. And there's that brilliant first track that's been sampled a lot: 'Baba O'Reily' - so this is where it comes from!! I thought it went under another title - Teenage Wasteland - as those words are repeated in the songs lyrics. Rated to be one of the best Who albums by some, I am rediscovering old numbers and also listening out for 'mad' Keith Moon's drumming knowing what a self-destructive reputation he has. The remastered CD has a 20 page booklet that's full of good info too.
After the hyper reception of My Generation, the velocity of Tommy and the sensory workout of Quadrophenia, the avenues left open to The Who, and more specifically their most prolific writer Pete Townshend, were always going to have to be elephantine in their scale to inspire him again. So Pete retreated to the recording studio fathoming a new concept, and typically, in only the way he can, he dreamt up a new rock opera. Pete's new idea 'Lifehouse' revolved around a complex futuristic, interactive rock opera in the search for the 'one perfect musical note'. The project was trademark Townshend, but by this time the who's guitarist was addled by all manner of addictions, fraught with personal battles and not least the added pressure of having to enlighten the world once again. These personal struggles overspilled into a less-than convivial conflict with The Who's long-time manager Kit Lambert whose protestations over the credibility of Lifehouse, left Townshend spiralling off into a furore that took him months to surface from.Lifehouse unfortunately didn't possess the immediate draw of Quadrophenia, and it certainly wasn't Tommy. Many around Townshend felt that his obsessiveness over the project was unfounded, and the story would be far too complex to convey for an audience to grasp. After a messy debacle Townshend reluctantly abandoned 'Lifehouse'. From the acrimonious ashes left in the wake of the ill-fated 'Lifehouse' came an opportunity for The Who to return to their old method. A shell-shocked Townshend, now began recovering his project by carving up extracts of the 'rock opera' and slotting them all-together in a completely unconnected series of songs.'Who's Next?' was the rechristened result. Having been shaved of it's storyline, the individual songs stirred into life. Baba O'Riely judders with purpose, Behind Blue Eyes is a turbulent timely song that perhaps purges at least some of Townshend's afflictions, and the steadfast power and orginality of 'Won't get fooled again' strike just the right level of that classic Who nervy disillusionment. And 'Bargain' with it's poignant spiritual content all help to redeem what could have been an otherwise condemned album. Even John Entwistle gets in on the act with a wit-fuelled 'My wife'. Each song is transformed into an enterprising new venture, Who's next doesn't feel expedient, but as though the band had well and truly started from scratch. Life did go on for 'Lifehouse' as it was revived by Townshend in the form of a radio play having been stripped back and its cluttered plot rewired into something more coherent. But that is of course another story. With the project salvaged by the skin of Townshend's gritted teeth, and with The bands reputation restored, all that was left to do was package the new songs in a fitting album sleeve, and what better place than a slag heap complete with crumbling debris' with a giant monolith at the centre,( a metaphor perhaps?) take that and then each member of the Who relieving themselves against it, well Townshend for one, must have been relieved in more ways than one!Read full review
This CD is probably the best album that they recorded. Daltreys voice is at his absolute peak and Moons drumming along with the fierce bass of John Entwistle drives the songs forward and its all held together with Townsends lyrics and guitar. The best album of the decade!
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