"We got a hit." Mostly.
You can argue as much as you want whether it's The Who, or, as Roger Daltrey is fond of putting it, Who2, or as some have jokingly said, "The Two," or should have been a Pete Townshend album, or should have simply been called Townshend/Daltrey, but the fact remains the same: Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey have recorded and put new music out together again after 24 years of not doing so.
And it's not your old Who, either. It's not The Who of Who's Next or Tommy or really even Quadrophenia. Was anyone really even expecting that? What Endless Wire presents is the "mature" Who that emerged during and after Quadrophenia, the one that really began its life with The Who By Numbers and, for all intents and purposes, ended with It's Hard. A kinder, gentler Who, maybe, a bit more thoughtful and pensive rather than wound up and destructive.
With any mention of The Who comes cries that the band died when drummer Keith Moon died in 1978, but the reality is that The Who people loved was already long gone. It's easiest to tell by the evidence left in the wake of Moon's passing -- Who Are You, the final album with Moon, is a far cry from the rancorous band that tore up stages earlier in the same decade, but the band hadn't been that crazy, riotous institution it had been, at least musically, for at least a couple of albums. Moon's death, while a tragic blow, was not the end of The Who's wild days many want to think it was. The Who had already been winding down for a few years.
With powerhouse bassist John Entwistle now gone, too, it's easy to see how some long-time fans might have a hard time accepting anything new under the old Who moniker. But with an album of songs this accomplished, it's hard to hold too much of a grudge against survivors Townshend and Daltrey for opting to use the old name. It may have been more respectable to go out as a duo, but it certainly doesn't pack the same wollop as saying "We're The Who."
Article comments
1 - DJRadiohead
A buddy of mine said if Townshend had any balls left at all he would have named the album Who Cares? I think that would have been riotously funny.
2 - Mark Saleski
does your buddy write for pitchfork?
feh!
3 - DJRadiohead
No. He's the Springsteen fan who knew the "Because the Night" story and is a Who fan. He thinks it would have been funny and in-character for Townshend given his... reluctance... to even do something like this in the first place. He's right- it would have been funny and in character. I'm the one who doesn't like The Who. He plans on buying the album and listening to it.
4 - Mark Saleski
yea, i know you're the one who doesn't like The Who...i just wanted you to state that publicly. i have succeeded!
seriously though, maybe it's only semantics, but i wish they'd just released this under the name Daltry/Townshend or something.
5 - DJRadiohead
I am not afraid to put my cards on the table. I don't knock The Who- I just don't like them. Having heard none of the album, I am betting Tom has nailed this in terms of likely fan responses as well as the effectiveness of the record.
6 - Mark Saleski
tom is always right.
uh, except for that Steely Dan crap.
;-)
7 - DJRadiohead
Tom is dead-on about Steely Dan.
8 - Tom Johnson
Damn straight!
9 - WhoTLEoyd Fan
"Endless Wire" is one of the most beautiful things I have heard from any era. I got to see The Who in Ottawa, ON---"Tea and Theater" made me break down in tears. It was beautiful. Thanks, Pete and Rog!
10 - WhoRU
Not to hijack the thread, but what's the "Because the Night" story?
11 - Connie Phillips
Congrats! This article has been forwarded to the Advance.net websites.
12 - Cousin Keven
I'm the biggest Who fan in the world, but I can't bring myself to listen to this album, not even once. "It's Hard" was a total embarassment, and the two new songs "Good Looking Boy" and "Red Red Wine" were the worst Who songs ever.
I prefer to pop in Live at Leeds and remember them at their peak of glory.
13 - Tom Johnson
Cousin Keven, do you listen to Pete's solo albums? If so, then would you have listened to this album had it been called a Townshend solo album with Daltrey singing vocals, or under any other name than "The Who"? What I'm saying is, don't let your preconceived notions get the best of you - let the music do the work. It's better than most of Pete's solo work and it's better than anything The Who did after By Numbers. Forget the name and concentrate on the music.
14 - Tim
I say the Who in Grand Rapids and I took my two boys who love the who. Normally It is hard to appreciate new songs at a concert, because you can't sing along as you can with all their other standards. But I was impressed with the Endless Wire songs and the energy of the boys. I was worried Pete was going to break a hip when he did the splits, but he was fine.
These are damn good musicians and only a handful can write songs as well and as thoughtfull as PT. It was an excellent concert and the Endless wire songs made the concert better. I was not disappointed.
Speaking of disappointed and Springsteen - I saw him in NYC doing the Segar Sessions. I felt like I was watching river dance on a PBS fundraiser. Lo and behold, a few weeks later the concent aired on a PBS fundraiser. What a letdown.
I was prepared for the same letdown at the Who but instead I was surprised and delighted. No its not the Who of my youth, but it would be false to try to relive the angry days of youth for me and the who. We've all matured.