Who - Who's Next
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Free Music Notes for Who's Next
Free Music Review: The one album in my whole collection I'd listen to on a loop
Hit: 5 Stars
After the triumph of TOMMY, Pete Townshend set about recording another rock opera to rival that behemoth: LIFEHOUSE. But like Brian Wilson's SMILE, the project took on a life of its own, and became just too ambitious for even the gifted Pete to realize. The songs that remained were still among the best Pete had ever composed (making them among rock's all time classics), and while WHO'S NEXT was basically just another Who album and not a rock opera, one can only wonder what Pete really had in mind when he was putting all this together. Synthesizers were still a relatively new instrument in 1971, and Pete took his somewhat limited knowledge of it and created a sound that's been imitated numerous times, but never duplicated. While synthesizers would become a cliche in the decades to come, Pete's use of them on WHO'S NEXT remains probably the only time the instrument ever saw its true potential. The opening flourishes on "Baba O'Riley" still elicit loud cheers at any Who concert and for 5 minutes after that, the Who has the listener in the palm of their hand for another great rock anthem. With Pearl Jam's numerous live covers of "Baba", one can probably trace the roots of the band to that one song. Every song on the album is worth a listen, and like I mentioned in the title of this review, I could listen to any one of the songs on here for hours on end. The highly underrated "Bargain" was recently used in an automobile commercial. While that might be considered crass by some anti-sellout critics, here's hoping it gives this song the attention it really deserves. The short acoustic "Love Ain't For Keeping" leads into another patented John Entwhistle original "My Wife". Another near-forgotten tune, "My Wife" has one of the funkiest horn charts I've ever heard, and was probably written specifically for WHO'S NEXT, because you can't really imagine what bearing it would have had on the whole LIFEHOUSE project. The next few songs were too layered and produced for the concert stage, but one can only imagine how they would have sounded because they could very well have been live recordings. "The Song Is Over" is mostly sung by Pete himself, and this is good because such a personal song is not overdone by Roger's overly expressive delivery. "Getting In Tune" is another song I have myself singing almost at will, and the piano playing by the legendary Nicky Hopkins is enough to have anyone playing air-keyboards. "Going Mobile" does for synthesizer what "Tune" did for piano, resulting in an easy-to-mimic flourish that still wouldn't have sounded better from anyone else than Pete. "Behind Blue Eyes" is one of the most heartwrenching songs ever recorded, and was a well-deserved top 40 hit with its extended acoustic intro before erupting into a full-throttle electric assualt. Finally, we have what I think is THE rock anthem of all time: "Won't Get Fooled Again". The opening synth on here is even more notable than on "Baba", and is one of those songs where the fact that it's 8 minutes long is a huge plus. You just don't want this song to end. A surefire concert rouser, I can only wonder what I'd expereience as a spectator when this song is played. Hearing Roger Daltrey's closing scream will give you goosebumps just about any time you hear it. While that song was the official end of WHO'S NEXT, the remastered version contains all the cast-offs that didn't make the final cut. And these are among some of the best and most mystifying outtakes ever. Songs like "Pure & Easy", "Too Much Of Anything", "Water," "Naked Eye", and "I Don't Even Know Myself" (another great keyboard song I can imagine being played by Brad Whitely from my high school) are so excellent, you'll wonder why on earth WHO'S NEXT wasn't made into a double album in the first place. Some of those songs (and a few other LIFEHOUSE outtakes) would find their way onto the ODDS & SODS collection, but they sound better in the whole context of WHO'S NEXT. What could very well be the Who's ultimate zenith also could be the start of their decline. Even Pete Townshend said the Who were pretty much spent by WHO'S NEXT, and nothing that came after it could ever approach this masterwork. While it's good that the Who kept on trying to come up with another great epic after this (Pete is even trying to turn LIFEHOUSE into a more manageable project recently), WHO'S NEXT represented the Who at its unenviable peak, and rock & roll in general as well.Free Music Review: Simply Stunning!
Hit: 5 Stars
the first thing you must consider when listening to this"album" is that these are the remnants of the self
destructive "Lifehouse" project. but despite that, it's
still amazingly cohesive and flowing. the album as a whole creates
quite an impressive atmosphere, but when all is said and done it all
comes down to the songs, and "Who's Next" stands
tall.
when you read something like "every song is great"
in a review, you automatically assume it's some crazed fan. i can
honestly say that every song on this album is superb, and i'm not just
being a crazed fan. as of the time of this writing, "Who's
Next" is one of the few albums on Amazon with a 5 star average
customer review rating.
"Going Mobile" and "Love
Ain't For Keeping" are fun acoustic tracks, very well-written.
"My Wife" is John Entwistle's contribution, as expected,
clever, witty, and knee-deep in his twisted humor.
"The Song Is
Over" and "Behind Blue Eyes" are two beautifully
written ballads. "Getting In Tune" starts out like another
ballad, but soon slips into full rock anthem. "Bargain" is
one of the harder rocking songs of this collection. the catchphrase
is one of the catchiest on the album (right up there with "Won't
Get Fooled Again"), but really the best part of the song, and my
favorite line from the whole album, comes from the bridge which Pete
sings beautifully (if you want to know what it is, you have to buy the
CD, but it's the 'one and one' part).
as for best song of the album,
both "Won't Get Fooled Again" and "Baba O'Riley"
tower high above the rest of this amazing album. the former, is
probably the closest thing to the rock & roll of the old Who, and
the best known and most popular of this album. the latter, on the
other hand, is quite unlike anything anyone else had ever done before,
or anything i had ever heard before. from the very beginning, that
great synth intro get's you really excited and pumped up for the song
and the whole album (if you don't own the album, the realaudio clip
here on Amazon hardly does it justice, but you can hear the beginning,
with the synthesizer faintly playing in the background). quite an
amazing track all the way through, i was simply shocked the first time
i heard it. i don't think i can pick one, you'll have to choose for
yourself.
this CD remaster sounds amazing, and after listening to
the supposed digital remaster of "A Quick One", it's quite
refreshing. the liner notes are possibly even more valuable,
including some by Pete Townshend, enlightening us all about the entire
"Lifehouse" project. just as valuable, though, are the
generous bonus tracks. here you get 7 tracks, 4 studio tracks (of
which 3 were part of "Lifehouse", but didn't make it to
"Who's Next", the other an alternate), 2 live tracks (also
part of "Lifehouse, but cut), and the B-Side to "Won't Get
Fooled Again".
i bought this CD because i was curious, and had
read somewhere that "Won't Get Fooled Again" was a good
song. i personally did not expect much more from the rest of the
album. i was so wrong. it's gonna take a while to fully digest this
album, but right now it's sitting number 1 for my all time album list.
no matter who you are, i personally believe after listening to this
album you'll be ashamed of whatever else you had been listening to
before. (the first 45 seconds of "Baba O'Riley" should be
enough to convince you!)
Free Music Review: Now, and in 200 Years, Who's Next, is and will be classic.
Hit: 5 Stars
The Galileo spacecraft was launched in 1989, went into orbit around Jupiter in 1996, and then continued into deep space with a "time capsule" of great works of art. Along with Bach's Toccatta & Fugue in D, Beethoven's 9th, Mozart's 41st, Brahm's 1st, they should have also included "Who's Next."
Some works of art were simply meant to be: they transcend their time, they are greater than their creators. "Who's Next" was accidental and almost never released - an afterthought when LIGHTHOUSE burned to the ground. The Who certainly didn't know what they were unleashing when they released this album in 1971. But "Who's Next" was the result of musical, political, and cultural forces that converged to forge a perfect work of art and genius. When I listen to this CD I think of "Amadeus" when Salieri says, "Displace one note and there would be diminishment, displace one phrase and the structure would fall."
Say what you will about Great bands, Great rock & roll, or even great music, give it a hundred years and the truly immortal works will live on as classics and everyone and everything else will be be forgotten as imitators. 33 years after "Who's Next" was released, it still ranks at the top here with almost 300 reviewers giving it 5 stars. If you buy this CD and listen to Pete's unworldly riffs, John's flying bass, Keith's inhuman drumming, and Daltry's vocals as they range from the angelic to the demonic, then I'm sure you, like me, will want to listen to this over and over again until your ears bleed.
The Who has always been understood as a really, really, I mean, REALLY loud band. But, I'd like to point out that The Who is also one of the few bands who really understood dynamics and Who's Next proves it. John Lennon said he wrote Helter Skelter because he heard that the Who had played one of the loudest concerts in recorded history and he wanted to record something that was just as, if not louder than, the Who. But listen to this CD and you'll see that the Who understood dynamics better than Lennon, McCartney, Keith Richards, or anyone since. The music on Who's Next can be barely audible acoustic featherlite finger strumming in one bar to EXPLODING BOOMING SCREAMING BASS and Cymbals the next. OR, in reverse, they accelerate the tempo, ratchet up the volume to 11, and take off with a manic melody line that simply can't get any more crazed until BOOM, the volume plunges down to a three note repeating synthesizer line that floats in the air and lets them and us catch our breath until BOOM! "Meet the new boss, Same as the old boss!!!" ("Who Are You?" is another wonderful demonstration of how well they could execute dynamics).
I dare you to listen to "Won't get fooled again" and compare it to the 4th movement of Beethoven's 9th: Same dynamics, same exploding music, same mark of genius. Beethoven was the first to use a chorus in a symphony because he felt he had stretched the limits of sound and harmonies that he could get from an orchestra. Townsend was the first to use a repeating, randomizing synthesizer track as a metronome supporting live instruments. Both experimenting, both pushing the envelope. Both at the top of their game. Both deaf.
I feel exactly the same way when I listen to both the 9th and Who's Next: pure, unadultered, joy, air drums and singing along, letting the music take me where it wants.
Townsend, Entwistle, Daltry, and Moon, the whole lot of them, would all probably puke, kick me in the groin, and then throw me out their hotel window for comparing them to Mozart and Beethoven. They can piss on this review all they want, but "Who's Next" will be listened to long after they're and we're all dead and gone because it's simply the Greatest, most perfect Rock and Roll CD of all time.
Free Music Review: The Quintessential Who Album
Hit: 5 Stars
I picked up this album when it came out a while back, and was amazed at the quality of each song on this album. It begins with the radio staple "Baba O'Riley," which includes one of the most recognizable synthesizer 'riffs' in rock and roll. Pete Townshend commands the synthesizer throughout the song, and Roger Daltrey's gravelly voice melds perfectly with Keith Moon's drumming, the piano notes, and John Entwistle's bassline. After "Baba" comes "Bargain," another radio hit that has one of the most persisting choruses in any Who song. The short, acoustic guitar laden "Love Ain't For Keeping" could easily have been a single, but compared to the rest of this album, is actually one of the weakest songs. The Entwistle-penned song "My Wife" is fourth in the line-up, and is one of the songs that shows off Daltrey's range, and also has a catchy horn barrage in the middle of the song, making it one of the most unique songs on the album. "The Song Is Over" should have been a monstrous radio hit, but unfortunately, was not released. It shows a softer side of the Who, in contrast with a great deal of the rest of the album, but the notes of the piano and Moon's driving drumline make it one of the best songs on the album. Following this is "Getting In Tune," another soft song, at least in the beginning. The lyrics are memorable, and it is a fun song to sing along to while driving down the road with the windows down. However, "Going Mobile" is the quintessential road trip song. Daltrey's range is again stellar. One of the most entertaining songs on the album, fast paced and catchy. "Behind Blue Eyes" is one of the best ballads I have ever heard. That's all there is to it. The epic "Won't Get Fooled Again" is by far my favorite song on the album. The intro is one of the most classic openings in classic rock, and the Who don't let up for eight and a half minutes. Moon earns his place among the top three drummers of all time with this song. At this point, the original album ended, with nine of the most beautifully constructed rock songs ever recorded. Beyond this point are the bonus tracks, some of which stand up to the rest of the album, some of which don't quite make the cut. "Pure and Easy" kicks off the bonus tracks with a bang. Worthy of being included on the original album, this song showcases Townshend's songwriting prestige, as well as his skill with a guitar. "Baby Don't You Do It" comes next, and while it is a good song with a strong vocal performance from Daltrey, and a slashing Townshend guitar salvo, Moon's drumming doesn't make enough of an impact. One of the weaker songs on the album. "Naked Eye" is an interesting song, above average, but nothing like the original tracks on the album. "Water" is a live performance with a strong Daltrey vocal performance, but is lacking in the musical department. "Too Much Of Anything" is a lackluster effort, the worst of the bonus tracks, and should not have been included on this album. "I Don't Even Know Myself" features a great harmonica opening, great lyrics, and an almost silly, but entertaining chorus. The unreleased version of "Behind Blue Eyes" is superior to the original. It is more subdued, and Daltrey tells the story without stumbling over the vocals as in the original (the word "vengeance" to be precise).
BEST SONGS: "Baba O'Riley," "Won't Get Fooled Again," "The Song is Over"
SONGS TO SKIP: "Too Much of Anything"
Overall, this is one of the greatest albums of all time. Even with the inclusion of somewhat lacking tracks such as "Too Much of Anything," this albums deserves five stars for it's impact on the rock world, as well as the sheer quality of each track on the original album, as well as most of the bonus tracks that were included. Highly Recommended!
Free Music Review: The Who have done it again!
Hit: 5 Stars
This album is without a doubt The Who's greatest studio work, it is a fascinating compilation of some of the greastest and timeless rock songs of all time by one of the greatest and most talented rock groups of all time. Track 1-"Baba O'Riley" Not much can be said about Baba O'Riley. It's just a really great rock song that you can listen to over and over and over agian. The synth intro is phenominal and as soon as Pete starts in on the piano the rock show begins!
Track 2-"Bargain" It's sad that The Who sold such a great tune to a F**kin car commercial, now every time I listen to it unfortunately I think about a Mitsubishi.
Track 3-"Love aint for Keeping" Great song. Fabulous lyrics and beautiful melodies create a nice easy to listen to rocker.
Track 4-"My Wife" This is my favorite on the album. It has a catchy tune and the piano rhythm is great. This tune showcases John Entwistle's real talent in writing and piano, both of which are usually ignored.
Track 5-"The Song is Over" This is a beautiful song. It is a step in the opposite direction for The Who, especially during their hard rocking days when this album was released, but I believe that shows The Who's range in ability and talent.
Track 6-"Getting in tune" Keith Moon has some great drum beats in this piano infused rock tune. Catchy and fun.
Track 7-"Going Mobile" A perfect example of The Who's ability to write a radio friendly widely appreciated tune that made a great single.
Track 8-"Behind Blue Eyes" This is the real "masterpiece" of Who's Next. Pete wrote some truly phenominal lyrics and the band came together to create a timeless beauty.
Track 9-"Won'y Get Fooled Again" Anyone who watches C.S.I will know this tune as the theme song. It's just the right ammount of synth and rock to create a classic. My only complaint is that this tune is WAY too commercialized.
Track 10-"Pure and Easy" Nice easy rocker with nice lyrics and great drum work by the indespensable Keith Moon.
Track 11-"Baby Don't You Do It" This is a cover of the Marvin Gaye classic, with some of the tightest drum work I have ever heard. The Band also covered this tune quite a bit. It's just a fantastic song all around.
Track 12-"Naked Eye" Grungy tune with some phenominal guitar work by Pete. The last minute or so of this tune are the highlight, it almost sounds like Jimi Hendrix!
Track 13-"Water" I look at this tune as a continuation of Naked Eye. Roger Daltry belts out some great drunken vocals.
Track 14-"Too Much of Anything" This song was another step away from rock for The Who. It is pop infused single material. Without Roger on vocals it's hard to tell this is The Who. The only bad bit of the whole album.
Track 15-"I Don't Even Know Myself" This is The Who's shot at Bluesy Rock. This song has a wide variety of musical influences, it's got a little blues, some jazzy piano, a little folk, and still a whole lot of rock.
Track 16-"Behing Blue Eyes" This is the original version of Behing Blue eyes. It's a bit of a reprise, the only difference is the guitar is a bit different (and better!) in this one. Still a great tune, even twice!
Overall I recommend this album for fans of The Who definitely. But also for fans of modern Grunge and/or Rock, this album was a turning point in rock and roll it gave way to a bit more grunge. Nirvana and Pearl Jam especially were surely influenced by this album quite a bit