Now pick..
And finally..
The Who Sings My Generation
The two hits that came out of The Who's first album are
My Generation and The Kids Are Alright. In late 1965, when
My Generation was released, The Beatles and the Rolling Stones hadn't
yet dared be the rebels The Who were. Circles is a nice surprise on
this cd.
A Quick One
The song A Quick One While He's Away is a step along the way to Tommy. So Sad About Us
is my favorite tune from this one. The remastered version has My Generation/Land Of Hope
And Glory -- a cool ending to a timeless song. Whiskey Man's a funny one.
The Who Sell Out
One of my favorite Who albums, The Who Sell Out is a period piece. This is what England
sounded like in the mid-late 60's to a teenager listening to pirate radio. Instead of
pretending that music and business have nothing to do with one another, Pete Townshend
portrays commercialism for what it really was - a bunch of quirky commercials! The promo
spots and commercials make this cd a must have. The remastered version has 10 extra songs
that would've been on the original if they'd had 80 minutes to play with. I can't say
enough about The Who Sell Out. By adding a bit of the real world to this album, The Who
take us back to the 60's without any drugs!
Tommy
This is the album that got me hooked on The Who. My counselors at sleepaway camp in central
Florida kept playing Tommy and Its Hard in the summer of 1982. So many of us can identify
with Tommy's story. This album set the standard for rock operas. I still listen to Tommy all
the time and this is the best version.
Tommy - As Performed By The London Symphony Orchestra
Roger Daltrey's voice is at its best on this night! Ringo is Uncle Ernie. Woodstock opener
Richie Havens is here and Rod Stewart is the Pinball Wizard. I found this by accident
at a small record store in a place I didn't expect to find it.
Tommy - Original Cast Recording
I was psyched when Tommy took Broadway. The cd has lots of sugar and caffeine in it.
I prefer the stoney version of Tommy that The Who did. I don't know much about this other
stage production of Tommy, only that I found it at a cd store.
Tommy - An Interactive Adventure
Pete Townshend gets a lot of credit for pulling this off. Its nothing more than
a good Tommy cdrom, but he succeeded in conquering another medium. I bought this
when I was working on my website.
The String Quartet's Tribute To The Who's "Tommy"
Pete Townshend has been quoted as saying that he kept the rights to Tommy close
to his chest - you needed The Who's permission to do your own take on Tommy,
whatever the medium. So if one is released, its worth a listen. This one came out
in 2002. I like it - and can't wait to hear an orchestral Quadrophenia!
Who's Next
Who's Next! Lots of 70's bands owe their existence to this album. Amazingly enough,
Who's Next is the result of Pete/The Who's inability to put together Lifehouse. Almost
20 years later Pete put Lifehouse together. It didn't matter for this album - it became
a hit and I still hear these songs on the radio. The remastered version has even more
gems.
Quadrophenia
Like many people on this planet, I donno how I would've gotten past my teen years
were it not for Quadrophenia. We didn't have mods in Miami, but we had parents, teachers,
girls, and lots of questions on our minds! A masterpiece. The 96-97 Quadrophenia tour
impressed me - especially the Madison Square Garden show.
The Who By Numbers
By this point, Pete had seen enough to be commenting on life. From Who By Numbers and onward,
Pete is writing for people a few years older than teenyboppers. I appreciate these songs -
as I'm getting older they make more sense to me. Imagine A Man is Townshend's answer to
Lennon's Imagine. How Many Friends and Slipkid are also classics.
Who Are You
The most underrated Who album and Keith's last appearance on a Who album. Guitar
And Pen, New Song and No Romance On The Road (on the remastered version) are great.
The remastered version also has Who Are You with an alternate 2nd version (anyone have the
lyrics to it?).
Face Dances
Face Dances is "bright pop" and is a less-edged look at life than Who By Numbers.
Did You Steal My Money, Another Tricky Day, Daily Records, Cache Cache are my favorites.
The remastered version has some excellent songs - I Like Nightmares and Its In You
(Virginia) that could've been popular radio tunes, no? How can you beat a Who version
of Somebody Saved Me? I love it when Townshend criticizes the media (as in I Like Nightmares).
Its Hard
Ok, this may not be anyone's favorite Who album, but Athena, Its Hard, Eminence Front
and Cry If You Want are good enough for me.
Then And Now
Were it not for two new Who songs, this cd wouldn't be under studio albums. Then And Now starts off with 18
greatest hits. Real Good Looking Boy and Old Red Wine are new Who songs, both released during spring of
2004 on ITunes and on this cd. We waited since 1989 for new Who songs (those two are on Townshend's Iron Man)!!
Real Good Looking Boy is the hit of the two - Daltrey's voice shines, the power chords and Elvis melody on piano
are more than enough to prove that Pete's still got it as far as songwriting. The rest of the band does a superb job.
Considering they were nervous about getting in the studio again, the songs come out smooth. A job well done! I hope to see a new studio album.
Endless Wire
In 2006, my wish came true! Endless Wire is The Who's first new studio album since It's Hard and is their best since Who Are You. The songs are typical Townshend genius - a story with The Who's best rhythms and power chords. 19 new Who songs (plus two extended versions of two of the songs) to get used to! The story of three musicians dreaming and working together is easy to relate to. The birds on the cover take you back to Tommy. I love listening to a modern Who singing about portals, video games, and gathering "wire and angels to entertain immortals on the endless wire, across electronic sea."
Two very kind music collectors sent me the Best Buy version of Endless Wire. It comes with two bonus discs - a cd and dvd with songs from Live At Lyon from July 17, 2006. The booklet is well designed and I'm glad it includes lyrics to all of the songs. I hope they keep creating music!
I bought the Wire & Glass cd - the six songs of the mini-opera - in Washington in 2007. I was away for most of 2007 and since I'm back I'm making up for lost time by listening to Endless Wire a few times a week.
