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| From | rob@splitsville.com |
| Subject | =?US-ASCII?B?UkU6IFJlOiBUaGUgRWFybHkgV2hvIEJ5IEEgTGFuZHNsaWRl?= |
| Date | Mon, 03 Apr 2006 18:49:16 -0400 |
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I've always felt that some of the earlier stuff you site, ie the Beach Boys-sounding stuff, while fun, was a bit silly and not really indicative of the band.
In many ways they were still finding their voice and sound (surf music, James Brown covers, etc), or at least intentionally messing around with different styles. It wasn't until Tommy and after that they really found their voice and sound in a substantial, extended way, many Earth-changing singles excepted, of course, like My G, Anyway, A, A, Kids, etc. (Those who are familiar in my mentions of The Who know that I tout as often as I can that pre-Tommy Who invented both punk and power pop.)
However, if you were to meet a Martian and he asked what the big deal about The Who was, I don't think you'd play him (it) 'I Don't Mind', 'Please Please Please', 'Bucket- T', 'Kids', 'The Good's Gone' (those aren't bad places to start, mind)- the best representation of The Who is 'Won't Get Fooled Again', 'Baba', Leeds version of 'Summertime Blues', 'The Real Me', '5:15', 'Slip Kid' and the like.
Townshend and the band were looking for power, volume and agression, and while it's always been part of their nature as a band, in this regard I don't think anyone can touch their output 1969 on.
Oh, the songs were truly brilliant, to boot.
Rob
>----- ------- Original Message ------- -----
>From: :audities@smoe.org
>To: audities@smoe.org, audities@smoe.org
>Sent: Mon, 3 Apr 2006 15:44:38
>
>Just casting my vote for the pre-"Tommy" Who. Those
>first four albums are amazing (even "Magic Bus," a
>record people never seem to count just because it's
>not "really" an album, even though the songs are
>brilliant). Not that there's anything wrong with
>the best of their later records. But for me, the
>early stuff is everything that rock 'n' roll was
>meant to be but rarely is. It's catchier. It's
>funnier. It's worlds more exciting. And it's got
>those goofy poor man's Beach Boys harmonies that
>make me smile as much today as the first time I
>heard them. Damn, I love the early Who.
>OK, I'm done now.
>
>Ed
>NP: The Who Sing My Generation
>PS: Does anyone know any power-pop people in
>Phoenix? I'll be moving The Breakup Society there
>and I need some musicians, preferably of the type
>that like the early Who more than the later Who. I
>have a drummer. And I'll be the singer and rhythm
>guitarist. So anything else is golden.
>
>Date: Mon, 03 Apr 2006 11:09:05 -0400
>From: rob@splitsville.com
>To: bholmes_fm@msn.com, bholmes_fm@msn.com,
>audities@smoe.org
>
>
>Date: Mon, 03 Apr 2006 11:09:05 -0400
>From: rob@splitsville.com
>To: bholmes_fm@msn.com, bholmes_fm@msn.com,
>audities@smoe.org
>Subject:
>=?US-ASCII?B?UkU6IENhcmVlciBlcXVhdG9ycw==?=
>Message-ID:
><200604031509.k33F96m8016410@mmm1912.dulles19-verio
>.com>
>
>If you use Tommy as a mid-point, I prefer The Who's
>second half output to the earlier stuff.
>
>Of course, the early singles and albums leading up
>to Tommy are amazing, but what followed was
>ridiculously fantastic: Live At Leeds, Who's Next,
>and in particular, Quad. By Numbers had its
>moments, too (tho' the cracks in Moon were
>beginning to show). In this period Daltrey really
>found his voice (admittedly, it was Tommy that
>brought it out of him), and Moon and Entwhistle
>were their usual brilliant selves.
>
>Townshend's writing got better, more intelligent,
>his musical experimentation increased (in a good
>way), and the band on the whole proved themselves
>to be fairly untouchable live. Sonically live and
>in the studio they were, as Pete called them, 'a
>war machine'.
>
>Yes, they did limp toward the finish line when
>Jones replaced Moon (and Pete went through a period
>of gargantuan alcohol and drug abuse), but both
>Face Dances and It's Hard are a bit under rated,
>mostly due to the fact those albums weren't as good
>as Who's Next. There are some absolutely ace tracks
>on both (Another Tricky Day, Athena, I've Known No
>War, You, Daily Records, You Better You Bet, etc.)
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