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Post by Kapitan on Mar 26, 2021 15:34:14 GMT
Moved on to It's Hard. I liked "Athena." "It's Your Turn" is fine but honestly barely left an impression, it almost sounds like a tribute band's attempt at writing a Who song for some reason. "Cooks County" does nothing for me. (That's as far as I have gotten.)
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Post by kds on Mar 26, 2021 15:38:01 GMT
Moved on to It's Hard. I liked "Athena." "It's Your Turn" is fine but honestly barely left an impression, it almost sounds like a tribute band's attempt at writing a Who song for some reason. "Cooks County" does nothing for me. (That's as far as I have gotten.) Face Dances has grown on me, but I can see why the band called it a day after It's Hard. Not a terrible album, and did yield one classic in Eminence Front, but it definitely left a lot to be desired.
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 26, 2021 15:41:50 GMT
Ooof, the title track's lyrics. My god. Not great. The music is fine, though really it's basically just I-IV-Vs.
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Post by kds on Mar 26, 2021 15:52:13 GMT
Ooof, the title track's lyrics. My god. Not great. The music is fine, though really it's basically just I-IV-Vs. Especially for a band who set a pretty high bar for lyrics. If that were Purple or Zeppelin, I probably wouldn't bat an eye.
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Post by jk on Mar 26, 2021 17:58:05 GMT
Jay at Smiley put me onto several Who albums, beginning with By Numbers. Face Dances was another, and, I suspect, It's Hard. I believe I was fairly impressed, but not enough to remember much about them! I think Who Are You was in there as well.
I guess my deep-seated enthusiasm for The Who pretty well dried up after the superb Who's Next...
There are exceptions, of course -- "Eminence Front" is a stunner:
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The Who
Mar 26, 2021 18:19:19 GMT
jk likes this
Post by Kapitan on Mar 26, 2021 18:19:19 GMT
Here's a version of Eminence Front that will appear for those in the US. (YouTube can be a pain about those region-restricted videos!)
I actually had no idea this was a Who song. I didn't recognize the title when KDS referenced it earlier today but recognized the tune when it came on. My older sister listened to it at the time of release, when I was just a small kid. Gotta say, I don't like it as much as you two do.
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Post by kds on Mar 26, 2021 18:36:37 GMT
I've always thought it sounded a little more like Pete solo than The Who. But, still one of my favorite post Moon Who songs.
Although, thanks to the Endless Wire and WHO albums, it's probably no longer a no brainer for my top five post Moon songs.
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Mar 27, 2021 13:54:14 GMT
I enjoy The Who's music a lot but I wouldn't consider myself a huge fan. I purchased the vinyl Meaty Beaty Big And Bouncy many years ago. Then I got a really good "Best Of" CD. Finally, I picked up the 30 Years Of Maximum R & B boxed set. I really liked several of their AM radio singles from the late 1960's/early 70's. My favorites include "I Can See For Miles", "I'm Free", "See Me, Feel Me", and especially "Won't Get Fooled Again". Then I watched with interest during the MTV years, mostly to see how this older group of guys would fare in that market. While I felt they appeared a little out of place, I did enjoy "You Better You Bet" and "Eminence Front". Oh, and I really liked Pete's "Face Dances (Pt. 2)" - both the song and video. Other Who favorites include "Behind Blue Eyes", "Goin' Mobile", "My Wife" (I guess I like ALL of Who's Next), "Squeeze Box", and my dark horse, underrated Who song - "Heaven And Hell" from Live At Leeds.
Some general, boring observations:
Pete Townshend - I think Pete is one of the most underrated figures of the Rock & Roll Era. I don't think he gets nearly enough credit for his songwriting AND guitar playing. He has composed some of the real rock standards, but he's rarely mentioned with the other songwriters of that period. He's the Brian Wilson, Ray Davies, Lennon/McCartney, Jagger/Richards of his group.
Roger Daltrey - I respect him but he's never been one of my favorite lead vocalists. I read somewhere and I'm paraphrasing, that Pete said something to the effect that he (Pete) could see/hear ONLY Roger singing his songs. THAT has to stand for something.
Keith Moon - I'm not a musician, but I think Moon is one of the greatest drummers of that era. I guess he was "all over the place" at times, especially live, but I find his drumming perfect for The Who songs. It's too bad he didn't get the help he needed for his personal problems, but what a legend he left behind.
John Entwistle - Was there a better rock & roll bassist? Like Keith Moon, I can't help but think of Entwistle's tragic death. Just when you think he survived all of the craziness...
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Post by Kapitan on Mar 27, 2021 14:09:52 GMT
Sheriff John Stone bringing up respect/credit (re Townshend) got me thinking that the Who in general seem to have slipped some in popular estimation among the bands of that era. When I was a teenager, overwhelmingly the latter-60s (and earliest 70s) bands who were mentioned most were the Beatles easily #1, then the Stones, the Who, Hendrix, Clapton's various projects in those years, and the Doors. It was only in my early adulthood, starting around the mid 90s, that you started hearing a lot more respect given to the Beach Boys and the Kinks, and it seemed to come at the expense of the more macho-sounding music, the heavier classic rock of Clapton, the Who, and even to a lesser degree, Hendrix.
Many of the others seem to have ebbed and flowed in popularity, but the Who kind of seem to reside semi-permanently a little below that top level--I think because "classic rock" is seen as this relic of white dudes drinking beer and generally acting badly. Rawk, basically.
That's my guess/analysis (guessalysis). Not that I think it's right if people think that way.
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Post by kds on Mar 28, 2021 1:20:43 GMT
I actually think The Who's return to being a fully active band has hurt their mystique. Before the turn of the century, The Who seemed consistently mentioned with The Beatles, Stones, Floyd, and Zeppelin. But, I also agree that's faded a bit. Although, I think when the smoke clears, they'll return to their rightful place.
Sheriff, I love Heaven and Hell. Its amazing to me that they opened shows with it in the early 70s. Not only was it a non album or single track, but how often do you see a band open a show not sung by their frontman?
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Post by Sheriff John Stone on Mar 28, 2021 13:26:19 GMT
I actually think The Who's return to being a fully active band has hurt their mystique. I agree with that. There's so many bands that fell - and are falling - into that category, but The Who really stands out for me. I could understand why they wanted to continue after Keith Moon's passing; they were only in their early 30's, and well, it was the drummer (though that doomed some bands and Moonie wasn't your average drummer/personality). But, after John Entwistle died, I seriously questioned why they carried on as The Who. I guess, like the drummer, you could also say it's just the bass player. I get it; it's not like the lead singer, the lead guitarist, or even a keyboardist. But, again, Moon and Entwistle were in a league of their own, and hey, HALF OF THE BAND IS GONE! I've seen a few Who concerts on TV since it was just Pete and Roger, and it made me uncomfortable. I think the effort was there and I'll assume their hearts were still in it. But it's not The Who, at least not to me anyway. I'm far from a Who diehard and knowledgeable fan, but I thought it was time they could've continued on as Pete Townshend And Roger Daltrey.
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The Who
Mar 29, 2021 0:30:49 GMT
via mobile
Post by kds on Mar 29, 2021 0:30:49 GMT
I was conflicted when Pete and Roger decided to carry on as The Who, but I'm OK with it. The concerts remain high quality, and the new offerings have been quite good IMO. I think the music world in 2021 is better with The Who in it, even if its just half of the original lineup.
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Post by kds on Apr 19, 2021 13:56:30 GMT
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Post by Kapitan on Apr 19, 2021 15:23:00 GMT
It seems Townshend wants to do something and feels constrained by Daltrey's choosiness or relative disinterest. He really ought to put it out there to Daltrey that he wants to do something, give Daltrey right of first refusal, but make clear he's going to do something regardless. That's my opinion. Life is short: if he has other music he wants to make, there are plenty of other singers and musicians who would no doubt love to sing his songs.
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Post by kds on Apr 19, 2021 15:28:47 GMT
It seems Townshend wants to do something and feels constrained by Daltrey's choosiness or relative disinterest. He really ought to put it out there to Daltrey that he wants to do something, give Daltrey right of first refusal, but make clear he's going to do something regardless. That's my opinion. Life is short: if he has other music he wants to make, there are plenty of other singers and musicians who would no doubt love to sing his songs. I have a feeling that Pete prefers to release his music under "The Who" banner these days. He's not released a solo album since the early 1990s. And Roger probably needs that "Who" banner even more than Pete, so I suspect if Pete has material, eventually he and Rog will....join together with the band.
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