The Who

[mlm828]

Since I have "outed" myself as a fan of The Who, I thought I'd start a thread, in case there are any other Who fanatics in our group.

First things first. Minianne, this is for you (and anyone else who might enjoy it).



The first Who song which reached my consciousness was "Substitute," still one of my favorites. Somehow the idea of "I was born with a plastic spoon in my mouth" resonated with me, and I loved the humor in it.

Most of my favorite Who music, however, is from "Who's Next," especially "Baba O'Riley," "Behind Blue Eyes," and "Won't Get Fooled Again." The last of these reminds me how little has changed, really, in the last 30 years.

I'm also partial to several obscure songs from around this time, which didn't make it onto "Who's Next": "Pure and Easy," "The Naked Eye," "The Seeker," and "Join Together." And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention "The Amazing Journey" and "We're Not Gonna Take It" from "Tommy", the "Live at Leeds" cover of "Summertime Blues" and, of course, "Long Live Rock."

Even after all these years, I never tire of listening to The Who. I'm not sure why; perhaps it is the combination of melody, power, and searching lyrics that keeps me listening.

If there are any other Who fans in our group, come on out of the woodwork. What are your favorites? Did you ever see one of their amazing live performances? Why are you still listening to Who music today?

[housemouse]

I think the first song by The Who to catch my attention was Baba O'Reilly. That beginning, the lyrics "teenage wasteland" when I was 14 it felt like they wrote the song just for me. From there I listened to all of Who's Next. I remember my brother and I went shopping down in Hollywood and I bought a button with the album cover on it. I was shocked when my brother pointed out to me what they were doing on that wall! I wore my button with pride for the rest of high school. While most of my friends were listening to Cindy Lauper, Asia and REO Speedwagon, I could not get enough of Pete, Roger, Keith and John. The biggest poster hanging on my bedroom wall was one of The Who that I picked up that same day on Sunset Blvd.

I still vividly remember lying in my bed listening to Behind Blue Eyes crying my eyes out (I was a very agnsty teenager). I have very light blue eyes and I used to call that my theme song.

Who's Next and The Meaty Beaty Big Bouncy are my two favorite albums. Some of my favorite songs are I Can See for Miles, The Kids are All Right, I'm a Boy. From Who's Next I still love Behind Blue Eyes and Baba O'Reilly; I also love My Wife ..."put on my red boots take a long long ride, it may end up taking all my time and money but I'll still be alive!" That is from memory so it is probably not exact, but I still laugh every time I listen to that song! Then there is Gettin in Tune. That song grabs me from the beginning and never lets me go. That has got to be one of my very favorite songs of all time.

I could go on and on about The Who and what their music has meant to me. I love watching them perform. When Pete does his windmills, the way John plucks the bass, Keith Moon going crazy on the drums. Then there is Roger. I could watch Roger jumping around, swinging that microphone all day. That is just pure sex appeal.

Has anyone seen Roger Daltrey's guest appearances on Highlander? For me that was the coming together of two huge obsessions; sword play and The Who. I considered watching those episodes almost a religious experience. If Ron Eldard ever appeared with Roger Daltrey and Adrian Paul, my head might explode. Even if you are not a fan of the tv show, watch those episodes, you are in for treat!



Here is a picture of Roger as the immortal Hugh Fitzcairn.

On my IPod I have mostly a song or two from most of my albums. I only have three complete albums, one of them is Who's Next. FYI, the other two are (What's the Story) Morning Glory by Oasis and Hot Fuss by The Killers.

Thanks for starting a thread about the greatest band of all time.

[minianne]

Oh MLM! *Sigh* What a beautiful man! More Karma for you!!!!!!

Roger's pal and producer friend Russ Ballard is the biggest crush I ever had. He was the lead singer for Argent ("Hold Your Head Up") and wrote lots of hits like "You Can Do Magic" for America.

Roger has formed a band that has played the past several years for Teen Cancer Trust in the UK. It consists of Roger, Russ, Greg Lake and others. You can see photos on Greg Lake's website.

[mlm828]

In case you haven't already heard about it, there is a movie about The Who in the works. It's tentatively titled "My Generation: Who's Still Who" and is scheduled to come out some time next year. Further information can be found at: www.thewhomovie.com/

This one will definitely be on my "must see" list!

[shmeep]

I feel stupid calling The Who one of the greatest bands of all time because I am unfamiliar with much of their work. But I know they really are one of the greatest bands of all time. I love their sound. Every song I've ever heard by them has made me want to get into them more, but I never seem to do that.

I caught part of Tommy not too long ago. "That deaf dumb and blind kid sure plays a mean pinball!" VERY interesting movie. I'm not sure I completely got it, but I didn't see it all. The music was fantastic.

So...while I can't claim to know much about The Who, I know how worthy they are of such adoration.

[mlm828]

admin said:

I feel stupid calling The Who one of the greatest bands of all time because I am unfamiliar with much of their work. But I know they really are one of the greatest bands of all time. I love their sound. Every song I've ever heard by them has made me want to get into them more, but I never seem to do that.

Maybe now's the time to do it! Seriously, if you pick up the Who's Next CD, I'm "pretty damn sure" you won't be disappointed.

admin said:

I caught part of Tommy not too long ago. "That deaf dumb and blind kid sure plays a mean pinball!" VERY interesting movie. I'm not sure I completely got it, but I didn't see it all. The music was fantastic.

So...while I can't claim to know much about The Who, I know how worthy they are of such adoration.

If you saw the 1975 movie version of Tommy, what you saw was basically the vision of the director, Ken Russell. Fortunately, they didn't mess with the music much (Pete Townshend did the score for the movie), and they were smart enough to cast Roger Daltrey as Tommy. I always liked Tina Turner as the "Acid Queen" and Keith Moon as the evil "Uncle Ernie." But to Who fans, the "real" Tommy is the original album version.

When Tommy came out in 1969 (now I'm really dating myself!), everyone thought the idea of a "rock opera" was ridiculous, but The Who pulled it off. It's not just a series of songs, it's musically unified, with recurring musical themes. It also has another thing in common with "real" opera: the story line isn't the point, the music is. If you're interested in hearing more of Tommy, I recommend the original version.

[housemouse]

I thought of you mlm when I read this article. I couldn't get the link to work, so here is the text of the article printed in today's Los Angeles Times:

"Like a lot of middle-aged guys not in show business, Bill Schultz has listened to his favorite Who album thousands of times, imagining how he'd like to see it done live.

But here's where he parts ways with all those other not-in-showbiz guys. His album of choice is "Quadrophenia," a two-disc musical chronicle of teen sex, drugs, violence and identity crisis that dates to 1973. And the 46-year-old Schultz, a frustrated writer grown wealthy in the medical supply trade, is spending six figures to put his fantasy "Quadrophenia" on a stage for just two nights.

The venture, which includes no actual members of the Who, is mathematically certain to lose money.

Yet for this mission, Schultz has enlisted a soup-to-nuts team of collaborators that includes the foremost (and perhaps only) Who tribute band west of the Mississippi, the former manager of KISS (co-producer Bill Aucoin) and the man who often plays Jesus at the Crystal Cathedral's holiday pageants (Peter Uribe, who is directing, not acting, in this show).

To help them get ready for their performances tonight and Saturday at the Grove of Anaheim ("Quad — A Spectacular Tribute to the Who's 'Quadrophenia' "), Schultz has thrown open the doors to the warehouse in Santa Ana where his company stores operating tools and freeze-dried human bones and tissues for future procedures.

Rehearsing there one recent night, the musicians of the Who Show (that's the tribute band's name) set the bones and screws atremble with primal screams, guitar barrages and combat-intensity drumming.

In the training room next door, director Uribe ordered half a dozen slithering female dancers into positions around lead actor and singer Stephen Shareaux, who plays Jimmy, a conflicted British teen in 1964. He pops a lot of pills, hops a 5:15 train to Brighton and finds himself in a mortal fix down at the sea.

"Uppers and downers / Either way blood flows!" sang Shareaux, a boombox supplying the backing track. (A longtime player in the L.A. music scene with such hard-rock bands as Kik Tracee and Revel8, Shareaux won the role in an audition.)

With these sounds echoing down the halls, Schultz, who has no onstage role in this vanity production, strolled room to room in black slacks and blazer, chin in hand, gazing silently in that poker-faced way that executive producers do when opening is a week away.

"I've staged it 100 times in my head," Schultz said.

Along with six musicians, there are two-dozen actors and dancers. There are 14 songs, stage sets with moving parts, a hallucinogenic bit on a train. Schultz is guessing the whole production will cost about $260,000. Even if it sells out the 1,400-seat Grove (tickets run $22.50 to $67.50), it will lose about $160,000. Nine days before curtain, Schultz said, the house was half sold.

The entrepreneur in Schultz hopes this risk will lead to "a second life" as a touring production or a Vegas engagement. It doesn't hurt, he figures, that Warner Video has just released a DVD of the Who performing songs from "Tommy" and "Quadrophenia" in 1989, 1996 and 1997. (And this is, after all, a guy whose privately held companies employ about 50 people and grossed "tens of millions" of dollars last year.)

But the grown-up kid in him, the one who first heard "Quadrophenia" as a 14-year-old at Maplewood Junior High in St. Paul, Minn. — that kid mostly wants the world to understand that, as Schultz put it, "this is a rock 'n' roll masterpiece. I need to get that message to the people who haven't heard it."

"He is nuts," said Bob Schultz, his younger brother and operations manager for the medical supply company. It was Brother Bob who had to rearrange the surgical supplies to make room for the drum kit with the double bass.

"It went from just a few guys to this," said Bob Schultz, waving a hand to indicate the spotless building's nighttime tableau of preening dancers and slouching musicians.

For all its ambition, "Quadrophenia" has long lived in the shadow of the Who's other, earlier, opus of screen and stage, "Tommy." The original two-record "Quadrophenia" album featured a short story by composer Pete Townshend and illustrated the tale with moody black-and-white photos. But the music was difficult to perform and didn't strike listeners with the immediate authority of earlier anthems like "Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again." Despite a 1979 film and a revival of the tunes on Who tours in 1996 and 1997, "Quadrophenia" has taken a back seat. Two years ago, when Rolling Stone's editors offered up a top-500 list of their favorite albums ever, "Quadrophenia" finished in 266th place.

Schultz, of course, would put it far higher. His theatrical adventure began, he said, when he was steered by a friend to a November 2004 show in Long Beach by the Who Show. Later he hired the band to play a Christmas party at his house. When drummer France DiCarlo suggested Schultz put some money behind the band, Schultz came back with a counterproposal: "Quadrophenia."

Soon Schultz was getting advice from Aucoin (who suggested the audition process that yielded Shareaux) and getting approval from the company controlling the Who's licensing rights. Uribe came aboard because Schultz thought he'd done a good job directing a local production of "Fiddler on the Roof."

"It was a funny phone call. Who are you? What's going on?" said Uribe, remembering when Schultz recruited him. But once he'd studied the album and its story, Uribe added, he saw the universality in the main character's search for identity.

"Every generation goes through that passage," said Uribe.

As the father of four sons and daughters, ages 12 to 18, Schultz admitted some hesitation about staging a show whose main character has a problem with pills. But "I really believe in the message that Townshend had in this thing, the mixed-up kid who knows what's right but still goofs everything up."

"It's a timeless work," bass player Mike Bisch said later. And there amid Schultz's dream-made-real of mods and rockers, guitars and amps, bones and screws, dancers and scenery and songs from 1973, nobody was about to disagree."

'Quad — A Spectacular Tribute to the Who's "Quadrophenia" '
Where: The Grove of Anaheim, 2200 E. Katella Ave., Anaheim
When: 8 tonight and Saturday
Price: $22.50 to $67.50
Contact: [phone], www.thegroveofanaheim.com
or www.ticketmaster.com



r

[doobrah]

That actually sounds pretty good! As far as the movies, I thought Quadrophrenia was much better than Tommy. And it was my introduction to Sting, as the Police were just starting to hit when Quad came out.

[mlm828]

That guy must really be the ultimate Who fan! I would have loved to see the show but had too much going on to get up to Anaheim.

I really liked the Quadrophenia movie, too. The songs sound much better in the movie than on the original album. (I think John Entwistle re-mixed the tracks for the movie). Even if it doesn't reach the heights of Who's Next, it has some terrific songs, like "Love, Reign O'er Me" and "The Real Me."

Inspired by our discussions here, I went to amazon.com and ordered a DVD of The Kids Are Alright -- the "special edition" with a bunch of extras. It's definitely one of the best rock documentaries out there, at least until the new Who documentary comes out.

[housemouse]

Today we were riding in the car listening to the ipod. My 5 year-old requested the song that says "riding on a u." It took me a minute but I figured out he was talking about "Gettin' in Tune". When I played it he sang along with that part. I was cracking up!

[mlm828]

Karma to you, mouse, for bringing up the next generation of Who fans!

[housemouse]

Doubt may have closed, but all of us Who fans have something wonderful to look forward to:

"NEW YORK - It's been almost 25 years since the Who blasted their way through a major concert tour, so they should be ready. This fall, they'll give it another go, band members
Pete Townshend and
Roger Daltrey announced Thursday.

Opening date will be Sept. 12 in Philadelphia.

The legendary band will then wind its way through the U.S. and Canada before jumping next year to South America, the Far East, Australia and Europe.

North American destinations include New York, Chicago, Boston, Detroit, Seattle, Portland, Ore., Vancouver and Toronto.

The Who will perform songs from their upcoming album, "Wire and Glass," which will be released Oct. 23. It's the group's first studio recording since 1982's "It's Hard."

"I don't think I've ever looked forward to a tour as much as this one," Townshend said. "Roger and I are both fit and well, ready to rock."

Daltrey said he and Townshend plan to perform "some rarities that we've not played for a long time." They will be joined by keyboardist
" /> John "Rabbit" Bundrick, bassist Pino Palladino, drummer
Zak Starkey and singer-guitarist
Simon Townshend.

Tickets go on sale for the public July 17. Who fan club members can pre-order tickets through Saturday night."

Here's a link to the tour site: www.thewhotour.com/

Waaa-Hooo!

[Katryna]

housemouse said:

Doubt may have closed, but all of us Who fans have something wonderful to look forward to:

"NEW YORK - It's been almost 25 years since the Who blasted their way through a major concert tour, so they should be ready. This fall, they'll give it another go, band members
Pete Townshend and
Roger Daltrey announced Thursday.

Opening date will be Sept. 12 in Philadelphia.

The legendary band will then wind its way through the U.S. and Canada before jumping next year to South America, the Far East, Australia and Europe.

North American destinations include New York, Chicago, Boston, Detroit, Seattle, Portland, Ore., Vancouver and Toronto.

The Who will perform songs from their upcoming album, "Wire and Glass," which will be released Oct. 23. It's the group's first studio recording since 1982's "It's Hard."

"I don't think I've ever looked forward to a tour as much as this one," Townshend said. "Roger and I are both fit and well, ready to rock."

Daltrey said he and Townshend plan to perform "some rarities that we've not played for a long time." They will be joined by keyboardist
" /> John "Rabbit" Bundrick, bassist Pino Palladino, drummer
Zak Starkey and singer-guitarist
Simon Townshend.

Tickets go on sale for the public July 17. Who fan club members can pre-order tickets through Saturday night."

Here's a link to the tour site: www.thewhotour.com/

Waaa-Hooo!

I heard this being advertised on the radio on my way to work this moring. (I am about 70 miles from Philadelphia.) I immediately thought of you! It will be interesting to see what the new album is like!

[mlm828]

VH1 is showing a tribute to The Who tonight at 9 p.m. (Easter/Pacific).

[housemouse]

Check out this article: www.nypost.com/seven/07182008/gossip/pagesix/pete__roger__who_are_you__120385.htm

It made me laugh and it bummed me out a bit. If The Who is anywhere near The Cornfield I am so going to see them., arguing or no arguing.