DVD Review: Classic Albums Series - The Who: Who's Next

When you get right down to it, the story told on this one hour DVD documentary about the making of the Who's classic Who's Next is not so much about the album they eventually released in 1972, as it is about the one they didn't.

In 1971, the question for Pete Townshend was how do you follow up a record like Tommy?

At a time when rock bands were competing madly to top one another's artistic triumphs, Tommy represented The Who's breakthrough both artistically and commercially. As the first rock opera, Tommy, at least to this point, was The Who's answer to records like The Beatles Sgt. Pepper and the Beach Boys Pet Sounds.

In an era where rock bands were constantly trying to one-up each other artistically, Tommy was the record that signaled The Who were for real. So the question for Pete Townshend and The Who was, how do you follow a record like that? In other words, it was not so much "Who" as "What's Next?"

For Pete Townshend and The Who, the answer was to be the band's most ambitious undertaking to date. Described by Pete Townshend himself on this DVD as "the one that got away," Lifehouse was initially envisioned as a multi-media event that would encompass not only an album, but everything from a film to a massive live event.

The best parts of this massive undertaking — songs like "Wont Get Fooled Again" and "Baba O' Riley" — eventually made it to Who's Next, a record most will agree was a classic in its own right.

And that is what this DVD is largely about. In often painstaking detail, the story is told here of how Townshend's rather massive vision for Lifehouse was eventually pared down to the record which finally became Who's Next.

Recounted in often fascinating detail by everyone from journalists like Dave Marsh, to manager Kit Lambert, to producer Glyn Johns, the story is a fascinating one. Surviving members Townshend, Roger Daltrey, and the late John Entwhistle also add their recollections of the album that eventually became Who's Next.

Article Author: Glen Boyd

You'll find Blogcritics music editor Glen Boyd sharing his Thoughtmares on his personal blog The Rockologist. Glen is also the author of Neil Young FAQ, published in May 2012 by Backbeat Books/Hal Leonard Publishing.

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