The Who....some1 please explain...

[TheSound]

Huge HUGE Who fan, I can't fault anything that they ever did, rock n roll legends, especially Quadrophenia and Who's Next.

What I don't get EJP715, is how did you end up with like 9 Who albums if you aren't sure you even like them, did you inherit them, or win them in a competition or something? That has to be $200 worth of records right there, seems quite an investment on something that you're not sure you even like?

 

[Mr. Bob Dobolina]

Check out a movie called "The Kids Are Alright". This does a bang up job of "explaining" the band. After it's over you'll definitely know if you're a fan or not.

 

[EJP715]

OMG!!!! Got my hands on the Leeds album!!!! INCREDIBLE!!!!! I gotta a question though. I haven't checked yet but the songs on Leeds, are those songs on the Who albums as well??? Cuz I don't recognize any of them. Those are some heavy rock songs!!!!!!!! As for Tommy as another member stated for me to listen, I haven't listened to it yet. I scanned it but haven't LISTENED to it.
And yup, I'm a casual listener as another member stated. Basically because I bought a hot guitar & wanna learn so I'm trying to find heavy stuff to study from.

 

[Mr. Bob Dobolina]

There are a few covers (Shakin' All Over, Summertime Blues, Young Man's Blues) that aren't on the studio albums. Other songs (Magic Bus, Substitute, My Generation) were studio tracks that they expanded when performed live.

 

[Vehicle]

The way you look at the Who is how I am with Clapton. People loooove him and think he's the best around. And they even call him God, for cryin' out loud.

Well, I don't feel that way. To me, his music has always sounded a little too 'practiced', you know? Like his solos are from The Big Book Of Blues Guitar.

It just doesn't flow for me.

As far as you not getting anything from The Who, you don't need to have anything explained to you.

If you don't feel it, you don't feel it. It's that simple. Why do you think there are sooooo many different genres?

Different musical tastes.

People like music because it evokes emotions in them. If The Who's music isn't triggering something inside you, you're probably wasting your time.

 

[Big Ears]

I love The Who. I cannot rationalise it, they just click with me. Doctor Jimmy has the best bass playing I've ever heard and Love Reign O'er Me has the best singing. Added to that are great lyrics and arrangements, like Baba O'Riley and Won't Get Fooled Again. Play them loud and they are as heavy as Black Sabbath. Indeed, I think I Can See for Miles (1967) is an early heavy rock track, in that they really belt it out. Apparently, Pete Townshend prefers the term power pop and, in a TV interview, he described 'progressive', in the context of Tommy and Quadrophenia, as a derogatory term (they both seem very progressive to me).

Pete Townshend, like Keith Emerson, seems a bit of an unbalanced genius in interviews. However, when I saw a show at The Young Vic, he did sign an autograph for a lady friend of mine during the interval.

When I watch footage of The Who playing at those hippy festivals of the late sixties/ early seventies, they transcend everything and blow everyone else away (and they are great bands). By the time I saw them live, they were out of the clubs and in the big venues, but Roger Daltrey was still very dynamic. Admittedly some albums are in need of editing. The Quadrophenia soundtrack album, produced by John Entwistle, is more concise than the original.

I like Roger Daltrey's early solo albums a lot, although they are not like The Who, and Pete Townshend's Rough Boys is strong enough to be a Who single. Although John Entwistle has passed away, I hope The Who, ie. Daltrey and Townshend together, continue for a while longer.

 

[TheSound]

I love The Who. I cannot rationalise it, they just click with me. Doctor Jimmy has the best bass playing I've ever heard and Love Reign O'er Me has the best singing. Added to that are great lyrics and arrangements, like Baba O'Riley and Won't Get Fooled Again. Play them loud and they are as heavy as Black Sabbath. Indeed, I think I Can See for Miles (1967) is an early heavy rock track, in that they really belt it out. Apparently, Pete Townshend prefers the term power pop and, in a TV interview, he described 'progressive', in the context of Tommy and Quadrophenia, as a derogatory term (they both seem very progressive to me).

Pete Townshend, like Keith Emerson, seems a bit of an unbalanced genius in interviews. However, when I saw a show at The Young Vic, he did sign an autograph for a lady friend of mine during the interval.

When I watch footage of The Who playing at those hippy festivals of the late sixties/ early seventies, they transcend everything and blow everyone else away (and they are great bands). By the time I saw them live, they were out of the clubs and in the big venues, but Roger Daltrey was still very dynamic. Admittedly some albums are in need of editing. The Quadrophenia soundtrack album, produced by John Entwistle, is more concise than the original.

I like Roger Daltrey's early solo albums a lot, although they are not like The Who, and Pete Townshend's Rough Boys is strong enough to be a Who single. Although John Entwistle has passed away, I hope The Who, ie. Daltrey and Townshend together, continue for a while longer.

Excellent post, pretty much sums up my own feelings about The Who word for word

 

[Khor1255]

OMG!!!! Got my hands on the Leeds album!!!! INCREDIBLE!!!!! I gotta a question though. I haven't checked yet but the songs on Leeds, are those songs on the Who albums as well??? Cuz I don't recognize any of them. Those are some heavy rock songs!!!!!!!! As for Tommy as another member stated for me to listen, I haven't listened to it yet. I scanned it but haven't LISTENED to it.
And yup, I'm a casual listener as another member stated. Basically because I bought a hot guitar & wanna learn so I'm trying to find heavy stuff to study from.

Well, it looks like you found your answer. The Who, like a lot of great bands sound best live. It is where they honed their chops and where they continued to excell their entire career. I can easily see why you liked the older songs because until I really heard a lot of them I was kind of lukewarm myself. But they continued to put out great albums for a while into the 70s as well.

Glad to see you found the reason why a lot of us really dig The Who.

 

[gguerra]

I guess the key here is "Opinions will vary".. The Who is in my top 3 favorite bands. Pink Floyd and Rush would be the other two. Take a band like GNR for example, which a lot of people like. I just cannot stand them. Even Van Halen which is hugely popular, I can take them or leave them. Way overrated IMO.

 

[Khor1255]

My sentiments exactly, at least as far as GnR and VH are concerned. But to each his own.