THE WHO

“We were liberated from the fold, that's all

And the world looks just the same

And history ain't changed

'Cause the banners, they are flown in the next war”

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"B+"

Main Decade:

60's - 70's 

Main Ages:

Rock & Roll II, Early Sixties (1960-1966)

Psychedelia (1966-1969)

Hard Rock (1968-???)

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Miembros Clave:

Pete Townshend, Guitar

Roger Daltrey, Singer

John Entwistle, Bass

Keith Moon, Drums

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Key Songs:

My Generation, Baba O'RIley, Behind Blue Eyes, Won't Get Fooled Again, Summertime Blues, Pinball Wizard, Tatoo, Amazing Journey/Sparks, The Ox, Happy Jack, I Can See For Miles, 1921, Love Reign O'er Me, We're Not Gonna Take It, A Quick One While He's Away, I'm Free, Quadrophenia,  The Acid Queen, Who Are You?, Can't Explain, I'm Free, Shakin' All Over, Young Man Blues,  Sunrise, Heaven and Hell, Bargain, The Real Me, Pure and Easy, The Kids Are Alright

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The Who are definitely among the greatest in the history of rock, although unfortunately they haven't had as much exposure and recognition in Latin America as they have in English-speaking countries, save for a handful of songs that occasionally appear here as themes for some American TV series. It's extremely rare to see someone walking down the street wearing a Who T-shirt, and for that very reason, their last tour of Latin America didn't draw as many people as this band should have. But what the heck, this isn't a popularity contest. The Who are huge, period. This is one of the first dream teams created, with musicians who practically played alone on their instruments throughout the entire song, founding a school and revolutionizing the way rock was made. They could even be credited with directly initiating hard rock, even before Jimmi Hendrix and Clapton, the first concept albums, and the first mainstream rock opera. Possessing a wild yet highly refined style, they always took care of extremely complex musical structures, majestic vocal harmonies, incisive lyrics, and imbued the prodigious rock scene with a capital-A art flavor.

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During their existence, The Who released a series of albums that would transcend history, timidly beginning to show what they were capable of with "Sell Out" and moving on to masterpieces like Tommy and Quadrophenia, as well as "Live at Leeds," considered by many (and I agree) to be the best live album of all time. Likewise, the band was a riot of energy live, a true four-headed spectacle, with Pete Townshend strumming guitar, Roger Daltrey jumping all over the stage, Keith Moon smashing his drums and delivering impressive rolls at the most unexpected moments, and John Entwistle, more discreet in concert, but faster and more powerful on bass. And of course, the classic destruction of guitars and drums in the moments of ecstasy of each concert could not be missing, a totally Whodian trademark later copied by numerous metal bands.

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I thought about my rating for a bit. Frankly, I don't think they're good enough to be placed alongside the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. And while they have a lot of cult-level material, they also have their fillers and sometimes become repetitive. It's not that the musicians don't impress with their brilliance, but the melodies, being almost all Townshend's, can sound monotonous and similar. I don't recommend listening to the entire discography in one sitting, as one might end up with a headache, but listening to each album separately gives a better appreciation for the artistry these guys were capable of. Well, this made me think about giving them a C, but on the other hand, you have to accept that the guitar is extremely powerful, very creative and innovative, and above all, it's based on guitar playing rather than on brutal guitar riffs à la Hendrix or Page, creating a totally different school of thought. For his part, Keith Moon also set a new standard on the drums, creating impressive arrangements with rolls and bass drums without ever using the old drum solo trick, which Ginger Baker used with Toad and Bonzo Bonham with Moby Dick. Moon, on the other hand, launched mini-solos throughout the song, lending a mammoth and dizzying power to the songs. John Entwistle is my second favorite bassist of all time, impossibly fast, machine-like in precision, and at times making his bass sound like a lead guitar while Pete busily wrecks his guitar with his arm twirling around it. Something I remember in detail is an occasion when they lent me a CD with various songs from the sixties, without the band names. Some tracks had been lost in the recording process (pirated, oscors), and a version of "Summertime Blues" appeared with only the drums, bass, and vocals. The bass filled the spaces so masterfully that I was convinced it was some crazy sixties band that dared to play without a guitarist. Later, I'd listen to the song with Townshend's backing track and be surprised to realize Entwistle's ability to play with melodies, making the song sound so good even without a basic lead like the lead guitar. There are plenty of songs to prove it, but listen to the extended live versions of My Generation to hear what can be done with a couple of base tones, the brain of a genius, lightning-fast fingers, and a bass guitar. I'm not kidding. Daltrey, for his part, is a good vocalist, but he's always seemed like the band's weak link. When I listen to the band's entire discography, like this week when I didn't listen to anything else to write this review, I became so saturated with Roger's voice that I ended up hating him. Of course, they could have gotten a better voice; he's not exactly gifted, but I must admit that as he gains confidence, especially after Tommy, he imbues himself with a fury, intensity, and sincerity that are hard to find in anyone else. While not naturally high-pitched like Plant's, he knows how to take it perfectly to the extreme, to a perfectly pitched, sung scream, without ever losing control. His voice, then, is an integral part of the band's sound, to the point that covers like Limp Biskit's "Behind Blue Eyes" sound lifeless even though they're not bad musically. For all these reasons, I couldn't rate them as a C.

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Although they can sound annoying at times, and many of their songs have harmonies so far removed from the mainstream that they sound tedious, and at the same time so far removed from progressive that they sound boring, most of their material is worth listening to IF there's no overexposure. Pete isn't Hendrix, but he's a genius of almost the same stature, and unlike him, he knew how to surround himself with people who could support him in creating the music he wanted. So, placing three virtuosos on the same level as Jimmi Hendrix, and even having more recorded material, seemed unfair to me. Therefore, a B+. No more, no less.

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The group started back in '63 with Pete Townshend and John Entwistle as their founders, initially playing rhythm and blues, calling themselves The Confederates. It's worth noting that while these guys were just forming the embryo of The Who, groups like the Beatles and the Stones had already conquered England and were preparing to cross the Atlantic in pursuit of immortality. Then, by chance, Entwistle was walking one day with his bass on his back and bumped into a stranger, who was the lead guitarist of another band. This guy turned out to be Roger Daltrey, who invited him to meet the band, and eventually Entwistle joined, later recruiting Townshend as second guitarist. That group was called The Detours. After the vocalist's departure, Roger decided to replace him, leaving Pete as the sole guitarist. In '64, after the drummer's departure, Keith Moon joined, and the lineup we know as The Who was formed. After a frugal name change, The Who were on the verge of dismissing Daltrey, blaming him for their lack of success. Fate intervened again when, during a performance at the Railway Tavern, Pete, in his savage guitar playing, accidentally broke his guitar by hitting it on the venue's low ceiling. Such was his rage, given that he barely had the money to buy another instrument, that he began banging the floor with the rest of the guitar in frustration, prompting the audience to applaud, believing it was part of the show. Thus, by pure chance, they began filling clubs with people eager to see them smash guitars or drums at the end of the concert, and thus began to air singles on English radio. By 1965, they had a strong fan base of "Mods," a kind of British evolution of the mid-1960s beatniks. In 1965, when the Beatles were no longer heard on the stages of world tours and the Stones already had intergenerational anthems, the Who released their first LP, My Generation. Although it was a rather weak album with too many covers for the time, there were already signs of the band's potential power, producing aggressive sounds yet full of a spirit that was difficult to find in any average band of the time. In '66, they released their second album, "A Quick One While His Away." They still lacked a distinct identity, but above all, maturity: Daltrey seemed to want to imitate many styles, and there's more than one song that sounds identical to the Beach Boys. But at least Townshend's idea of ​​creating something conceptual is evident. It's supposed to be a mini-opera, but I'm not entirely convinced by the idea, or it wasn't developed adequately enough for the album to be considered that way. With this album, some of Pete's guitar playing and some daring moves from Keith were already noticeable, and they managed to establish themselves strongly in the United Kingdom and garner some respect in the United States. Furthermore, due to the band members' outgoing, party-loving, and wild nature, they soon became part of the London jet set and rubbed shoulders with Burdon, Lennon, Jagger, Davies, etc.

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The definitive breakthrough came in 1967. It's curious that at a time when bands released up to three albums a year, they recorded only one. Apparently, it was advice from their manager. Anyway, perhaps thanks to this, their ideas matured further, and in 1967, they managed to release an album that sounded mature, with a conceptual idea, including supposed commercial jingles between the main songs. It was a kind of tribute to the pirate radio stations that broadcast from international waters in the late 1950s and early 1960s, complete with commercials. In the midst of psychedelic effervescence, The Who released an album that lacked the typical hippie orchestrations and sounds, but with a concept that was definitely psychedelic. There were still some similarities with other bands. For example, "Hall of the Mountain King" sounds straight out of Pink Floyd's "Piper of the Gates of Dawn."

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Still, the album, while not a masterpiece, was good enough to definitively propel them to stardom on both sides of the ocean. Once they were crowned with Sell Out, they dedicated themselves body and soul to live performances for several years, the opposite of what the Beatles did. Thus, instrument destruction was one of the highlights of the Monterey Pop Festival, they were invited to the Stones' Rock & Roll Circus where they completely overshadowed the hosts, they participated in recordings with other musicians like Beck, and were even tempted by Jimmi Page to form a megaband. But The Who didn't break up, and Keith was content to name Page's new project Led Zeppelin.

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After a couple of years without releasing a studio album, the band released their first masterpiece: Tommy. This is a rock opera that may not be their first, but it is the first to achieve any success. Consolidating and musically maturing the style of Sell Out, Tommy achieves a unification in all its songs around the story of a blind and deaf boy who becomes something of a pinball guru. The idea is somewhat silly and simple, but the story is well told in the songs, and the important thing is that musically, almost all the pieces are collector's items. We finally have Townshend's genius at its best, Keith's little solos that never stop keeping the beat no matter how many embellishments he adds, Daltrey's powerful voice, now with his own style, and Entwistle's obsessive focus on perfection and speed. The album is undoubtedly one of rock's masterpieces.

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The concerts they gave during this period became legendary, including Woodstock, the Isle of Wight, and the Leeds performance, the latter recorded for two different live albums. Live at Leeds, in particular, displays such power and artistic polish at the same time that it is considered the best live album of all time.

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The band later released Who's Next in 1971. On this album, Townshend began experimenting with synthesizers when they were still practically a laboratory instrument. Using a synthesizer and arpeggiator, he composed songs like "We Won't Get Fooled Again" and "Baba O'Riley," respectively, a couple of years before Floyd used these new instruments on his "Dark Side of the Moon."

 

On Quadrophenia, The Who continued to work with synthesizers and piano, creating another rock opera, but without repeating themselves at all and without ever abandoning their characteristic guitar riffs. The instrumental title track and "Love Reign O'er Me" are particularly noteworthy. Although a greater maturity is still noticeable in the lyrics and melodies, interspersed with calmer, more elaborate sections, the energetic sections continue to display an impressive display of power. But more filler songs were also appearing, at least compared to what we were used to.

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Around this time, the legendary alcohol and drug abuse began to take its toll. During a concert, Keith Moon fainted two songs into the air. Near the end, he couldn't regain consciousness and was taken to the hospital due to excessive tranquilizers in his system. Townshend, remaining calm, though concerned for his bandmate, asked the audience, "Is there a drummer among you? A really good one?" A member of the audience dared to come up and honorably fill in for Keith during the closing act.

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The next album, By Numbers, from 1975, would present a creatively exhausted and more introspective Townshend. The Who were beginning to repeat themselves and lose their magic, but would return three years later with Who Are You?, another great album from the band, recapturing some of the spirit of the beginning of the decade, but without becoming a masterpiece. That would be the end. Who Are You? was just beginning to take off in the charts when Keith Moon died. Ironically, it wasn't from drugs, but from an overdose of a medication that helped him survive alcohol withdrawal.

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With Keith's death, we can say not only that one of the greatest rock bands died, without rock itself. Well, even in the early 80s, Bonham, Marley, and Lennon would follow, but Keith's death was the beginning of the end.

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Just as rock music endured somewhat, the remaining members managed to overcome the death of their drummer and released two albums with Kenney Jones in his place. These were pretty bad albums, by the way, revealing a complete lack of creativity and a stubbornness in continuing with the project without the heart that made them beat.

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After the horrible Who's Faces and the even worse It's Hard, the band broke up in 1984. It wasn't for good. Although they wouldn't release another studio album (until 2004), the three original members continued to reunite for special performances like Live Aid and the Freddie Mercury tribute, as well as nostalgia tours, so the band can't really be considered to have disappeared at any point. John Entwistle, one of rock's finest bassists, died in 2002 from heart failure, caused by years of alcohol and drug abuse. Daltrey and Pete Townshend continue to tour as "The Who" to this day.

The lineup? Well, you won't let me insult your intelligence like that... will you?

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The Who is a great band, no doubt. Somewhat underrated on this side of the border, but if you give it a chance, you'll find this to be one of the greatest musical combos ever created, with three great virtuosos and among them a composer who deserves to be among the great geniuses of the 20th century.

 

Here are the most intelligent savages of their generation: The Who!!!

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By Corvan 

Jun/4/2008

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