The Who in the 70s

[Vienna]

I'm going to start the thread with the fantastic extended version of this classic rock song, from their only no. 1 album 'Who's next' 

[Sam Tyler]

Absolutely brilliant!

Thanks for that Vienna, what a fantastic clip!

Sam.

[Villain]

Another classic that I'm always listening to, especially in the car on long journeys - fantastic clip there Vienna many thanks for sharing that!

The 'Who's Next' LP very nearly didn't make release as Pete Townsend was juggling several aborted projects in the air at the the same time back in 1970 / 71. But he persisted, much to the detriment of his own health and we now have one of the all time great rock albums to cherish and replay to our hearts content. For me, as well as being a classic track in its own right and a true period piece to boot, 'Won't Get Fooled Again' is one of the best rock recordings ever committed to tape, Townsend was a master of reverb and echo and very few bands have ever come close to really nailing the epic nature of songs such as this one.



(*** Don't try this at home kids: listening to 'Won't Get Fooled Again' at full volume on the M40 at night in the rain is not good for your well being or your driving licence!***)

[Superclassic]

'Who's Next' is the album that should really have been 'Lifehouse',which was the project that nearly finished Pete Townshend off,so to speak.A number of songs from the classic album that most of us know well were taken directly from the Lifehouse project,off the top of my head I can name 'Baba O' Reilly','Going Mobile','Getting In Tune',they were definitely from the Lifehouse project.'Won't get Fooled Again' could have been but without researching it I can't be sure.From what I remember,the Lifehouse album was more or less all there,and the Who held a long series of gigs in London to promote the whole thing;Pete Townshend apparently wanted to take members of the audience and literally plug them directly into a synthesiser (or something like this- I am willing to be put right on it),so everybody could hear the tune that their body and soul was playing.Now,'Baba o' Reilly' starts with that very distinctive synth sound;Pete based that on what he thought it would sound like if Meher Baba was plugged into one of these machines.

The big problem with 'Lifehouse' was that Pete was the only person who understood the concept;I don't know if there is any thoughts from Keith Moon on the project,John Entwhistle admitted not understanding what Pete was getting at,and Roger states to this day that he actually felt embarrassed at not understanding the 'plot' until he realised that the others didn't understand it,either.The one part he did understand was that what Pete was saying was "...if the meaning of life was ever discovered,it would be in the form of a musical note".Which is a beautiful thought,really.So on the 'Who's Next' album,that's why you get lyrics like "..the note that I was hearing was a million people cheering",and "there once was a note,pure and easy,playing so free like a breath rippling by".

A few years back Townshend released the Lifehouse album,I think.I have yet to discover it,and I really should.

[Vienna]

Apr 5, 2015 14:46:22 GMT Villain said:

(*** Don't try this at home kids: listening to 'Won't Get Fooled Again' at full volume on the M40 at night in the rain is not good for your well being or your driving licence!***)

Thanks for the warning, Villain. I shall be careful the next time I'm listening to it! (on the M54/M6 in my case)

Anyway, here's another classic tune from the same album...



 

[Stan]

So many stories about The Who.

Recall the concert where Keith Moon was unable to play on.
Pete Townsend said 'Can anyone play drums; I mean someone good'
One of the crowd, Scot Halpin who was a young drummer at the time took his place.