August 25, 1971
As with a lot of these groups I'm lauding here, there are some seriously rabid Who fans. There are scores of people who know all the lyrics and the history behind the songs and who seek out B-sides and have conventions. I ain't one of those, especially with the Who. Pete Townshend seems to jump back and forth between "cool" and "super prick" depending on the interview. The "musical genius" tag fits him for a lot of stuff, but also gets hard to defend when VH-1 shows some of his cheesier '80s videos. (Seen "Rough Boys" lately? It gives me the creeps). (To be honest, I've not been able to stay awake through all of Quadrophenia, though some day I intend to). In my humble but correct opinion, Pete rocked hard with the Who and got a little full of hisself the rest of the time, with sucktacular results
All the other Who baggage aside, this album freakin' rocks. Listen to Keith Moon pound the drums on Baba O'Riley, that alone is worth the price of admission. Look at the songs on this album (listed below). Each and every one of them is a staple of classic Rock. Listen again, all the way through. You'll be amazed at what the lads were doing back in '71. The big hits you've heard a zillion times, the lesser hits you've heard a million times. That's all there is on this album, there's no "throwaway". One of my faves on the iPod lately has been My Wife, probably because it's a great song that I never played much as a youth with Baba O'Riley and Bargain competing for my attention on the very same side of vinyl. I should mention that I had this album for several years before I actually noticed that they were peeing on the cover. Who's Next indeed.
Click on the pic to buy this album
from Amazon if you don't have it
already. You can thank me later.
1. Baba O'Riley
2. Bargain
3. Love Ain't For Keeping
4. My Wife
5. The Song Is Over
6. Getting In Tune
7. Going Mobile
8. Behind Blue Eyes
9. Won't Get Fooled Again
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