Had The Who's "Lifehouse" been released, would it have been better or worse than "Who's Next"?

I am slightly obsessed with the "lost album" theme, continually perfecting my playlists for Smile, Lifehouse etc. and regularly frequenting the blogs of some of the esteemed posters in this thread.

All great fun BUT Who's Next is a perfect album.

So, though I rarely listen to Who's Next, especially in comparison to my ever evolving Lifehouse playlist, I recognize that Glyn Johns and the band, save Pete, did the right thing by narrowing their focus.

 

"Relay" and "Join Together," along with "Put The Money Down," were definitely "Lifehouse" associated songs, but apparently written after the initial "Lifehouse" project was abandoned. As everyone knows, Pete continued to develop ideas for "Lifehouse" after it imploded in 1971 and allegedly considered resurrecting it on more than one occasion during the 1970's. Had "Lifehouse" come to fruition in 1971, "Relay" and "Join Together" would not have made the cut because they allegedly did not yet exist.

The 1977/1978 material being composed and developed with "Lifehouse" in mind has always seemed a bit of a stretch, yet "Lifehouse" was apparently reconsidered during that period on some level, with Daltrey supporting the effort, IIRC. The title song "Who Are You" definitely contains lyrical content associated with Townshend's then life and state of mind, and other songs such as "New Song," "Music Must Change," and "Guitar And Pen" contained themes of aging, emotional distress, and questionable motives for his songwriting. If those themes also had a connection to the "Lifehouse" concept, it seems a bit contrived after the fact. I am certainly no expert on "Lifehouse," but I never fully believed that the themes from the "Who Are You" album were more than issues Townshend was dealing with on a personal and emotional level during the mid-late 1970's.

 

Don't know how it could be worse with songs like Pure and Easy, Time Is Passing, Let's See Action, Mary, Greyhound Girl, Too Much Of Anything, potentially a work-up on Teenage Wasteland and defintely a work-out on Baby Don't Do It not included. Not to mention Naked Eye! Oh well, it is what it is, I can live with that, lol.

 

I picked 'same level'. But it would've been a double album then. Maybe a tiny bit worse.^^

 

I like Who's Next as is.

A second single Lifehouse album would have been a good idea.

 

I'm just going to comment that I doubt that Lifehouse, as a double album, would have been a stronger album overall than Who's Next was as a single album.

Had Lifehouse been released as a double album, it would probably be part of the general discussion of double albums that should have been released as a single album.

Regardless, I think the best tracks that would have part of the project have been recorded and released so I think it all worked out for the best.

 

Part of what makes Who's Next so great is that it's a no-frills rock album, at least in context of being released in between Tommy and Quadrophenia. All the songs stand up fine on their own and would probably feel somewhat devalued in the context of a rock opera, kind of like how "Go to the Mirror" from Tommy has the potential to be a great Who song, but it ended up being more of a vessel for that album's narrative and has been mostly forgotten by people who aren't dedicated Who fans. Also, Quadrophenia being the third rock opera in a row would probably have made that album feel lesser.

 

I believe Lifehouse was intended to be one studio album and one live album. Judging from the live Young Vic songs, this would have made it better than Who's Next too.

 

My Wife could have been used as a b-side. Pete really gets off on this song live.

 

Yo,

I voted worse, & I'm pleasantly surprised most folks agree too, so-far in the poll.

The remaining "surplus" tunes from the era, though great tunes, remain largely under-developed IMO, & the tunes that we did get on Who's Next are far superior, & more modern sounding in comparison. Though unconnected lyrically, the tunes sit well together musically.

What could these tunes have turned into when fully developed, we'll never know, but it is nice to have them included as bonus material, for a truly remarkable record.

Cheers,

Grgster

 

Why should a great song be relegated to only being a b-side? It deserved being on their best album ever the same as everything else on the album did.

 

Same level, although I feel it's better the way things went.

I'm pretty sure the Lifehouse project, which was being in construction even after WN was released, would have pushed back, or even eliminated, the possibility of Quadrophenia being made. As of now, if you take the 71-73 timespan, what we got was two terrific albums and a handful of terrific singles.

 

I voted worse, given Pete's near breakdown at the time and the bizarre nearly unfollowable sci-fi plot. I think if Lifehouse had been released it would not have been as successful as Who's next.

 

Not all Who-fans are audiophiles.

 

I think the mention of later songs being contemplated for use is wishful thinking on the fans' and even Pete's part.
Atypical of someone who can't leave a failed project behind, I think.

 

This is why I think Who's Next would be better. I like albums that don't follow a story. I really like Tommy, but what if they cut out the filler and made it one killer album? I don't even know what's going on in Quadrophenia...

Yep, exactly my point.

 

Ok, I just checked out Odds And Sods on iTunes and listened to samples of five of the eight tracks intended to be on Lifehouse, all of which I liked ("Time Is Passing", "Baby Don’t You Do It", "Pure and Easy", "Too Much Of Anything" and "Naked Eye"), and I have to say that even if the other three tracks weren't that great, you could still put them on Side 4 along with "Going Mobile" and have three sides of great music. So, Lifehouse could very well have been a solid double album (I mean 3 good sides out of 4 ain't bad, right? Or even one bad track per side if you want to break it up). But The Who could've just as easily taken those eight tracks and made a sequel album to Who's Next instead of adding to the album (and perhaps cluttering things up). As it is today, 45 years later, I might just burn an expanded version of Who's Next to include those five songs, and then drop "Going Mobile" altogether. As Jim Morrison once said, "pretty good, pretty good, pretty neat, pretty neat".

 

Pete's been talking about "what if?" on Lifehouse for 40-something years. Imagine how much additional creative energy would've been spent if his vision had been fully realized. Saying 'worse' here.

 

I'll admit to being a sucker for over-ambitious, inscrutable concept albums, so I voted yes here. Much of the material that go left off, as well as some of the tracks that emerged shortly thereafter ("Join Together", "Relay", "Naked Eye", etc.) were first rate and worthy of album release. Additionally, being burnt out on the original Who's Next, which features some of the most over-played Who songs from rock radio, I naturally reach for my Lifehouse compilation more frequently because it's a bit fresher to me. I can't really blame The Who for the decision that they made under the circumstances and it's hard to argue with the results, but I would have loved to have heard a completed Lifehouse with those additional '71 tracks.

 

Forget the grand concepts. I'd leave "Who's Next" intact, but the extra tracks should've been a follow-up album released in 1972.

 

I agree. Not sure why Pete didn't think of that.

And I forgot about "Join Together" that Tristero mentioned. That would've made for another great song on the follow-up album.

 

Yeah, I would have been good with the Who's Next, Part 2 concept being floated here, featuring the best outtakes from the original sessions plus the newer material.

 

I voted "worse", and believe, in this and most other cases, that "concise is better". Same thought goes for "The White Album" and "The Wall", imho.

 

It misses the point of the album, but its still pretty good:

The Who - They're Next (1972)
Side One:
01 I Don't Even Know Myself
02 Put the Money Down
03 Baby Don't You Do It
04 Time is Passing
05 Lets See Action
Side Two:
06 Relay
07 Too Much of Anything
08 Pure and Easy
09 Naked Eye
10 Join Together

 

Because it didn't fit the theme of the album