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why we love the who

#21
Face Dances and It's Hard are definitely Who albums. not the strongest of the bunch.

although i love Face Dances...i view it as a sort of triptych between Empty Glass and Chinese Eyes. all three came out when Townshend was messed up with alcohol and cocaine, and quite literally near death's door. somehow, he got a few really good records out of his troubles.

It's Hard has "Eminence Front" and "Cry If You Want" going for it. that's about it. it's a Who album, but a bad one.

Endless Wire isn't a Who album. not without Entwistle, anyway. the quorum just ain't there. i do wish they'd called it Daltrey and Townshend, but they have a brand to run. and not to sound cynical...that's exactly what Pete's called it, a "brand" that they've evolved over the years. but it has little to do with the classic Who, or even the Face Dances-era Who.

sorry to rant and ramble. don't ever get me started on The Who :)
 
#26
Beyer160 said:
I watched that with my hand on the mute button, expecting a "Live Aid" style trainwreck... and they blew me away. Yeah Roger's voice is shot, but I had no idea they could still do that. Now that John's gone though, I think it really is over, which is a shame.
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Yeah, Pino is gifted and I like his early stuff, and love to see who he's backing next. But......I was fortunate enough to see the WHO throughout their career from The Brooklyn Fox shows till that TV show. JE was all that. I don't think he achieved his oft stated goal of being "Uncopyable" but he broke all the barriers and a few eardrums along the way. Magnificent bass, wouldn't be overstating it.
 
#28
overdrivethree said:
Face Dances and It's Hard are definitely Who albums. not the strongest of the bunch.
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I won't argue that these albums don't have some merit (though the pickings are slim on It's Hard), but they seem to me like PT solo albums with a guest vocalist and bassist (except JAE's songs' of course). Townshend has said repeatedly that Moon's death was somewhat liberating for him, and he felt he could start expanding the band's musical horizons. The last two (or three, depending on how you count) albums were markedly different than the ones before- whatever the reason, The Who was never the same without Keith. Endless Wire isn't as much a departure from It's Hard as Face Dances was from Who Are You.

On the other hand, I still consider Mick & Keef's band to be the Rolling Stones, regardless of the absence of Brian Jones, Mick Taylor or Bill Wyman. Sure the Mick Taylor era was the best, but they're still the Stones.
 
#32
I love the Who and John Entwistle alot! But im really upset becasue almost every live Who video I watch (Besides the more recent ones with John 2001 or so) never shows Entwistle! I watched a version of My Generation once and they didnt show him during his solos! Its kinda ridiculous really.
 
#35
PBass101 said:
And I don't see exactly what more anybody would want out of John Entwistle - do you honestly want him flailing around like Townshend? :scowl:
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His fingers flailed enough. I love his playing style. I watched a special on him where they spent a great deal talking about his right-hand style. If you ever watch his hand, it's acting like Townsend's entire body.

GOD I love The Who.
 
#37
Saw the Who live many times in the 60s while living in the Uk...never thought much of Petes guitar soloing (love some of his writing tho)

However, there was/is nothing on this earth to compare with the sheer bloody fury of Townsend windmilling, thundering chords with all valves wide open....it was a very powerful thing to behold for any 16 yr old who'd only ever heard the weedy guitar solos on Bill Haley and the comets 78 rpm Vinyl.

First time I saw the Who I was standing not 20 ft from Pete ......as I recall, he made my freaking hair stand on end.
 
#40
Beyer160 said:
Whenever I say Tommy is my least favorite Who album, someone always asks "but what about Face Dances or It's Hard?" That's when I tell them I don't consider those Who albums, due to the lack of Moon-ness. Make sense?
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It was a very different band after Kieth died - part of that was that they picked a completely different kind of drummer to replace him. Kenny Jones is a great drummer, no doubt - but Keith was just plain *abnormal*. I have never heard a drummer like him since. He was hardly what you'd call a "Groove" Drummer - but JE made it work with him. After Keith was gone, the band lost a TON of their fire and just started to sound... Average.

They really had a crazy-hot period of about 5 years where they WERE rock & roll, no doubt. No one compared, no one at all.
 

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