The Who - Album by Album by Song

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by mark winstanley, Mar 28, 2020.

  1. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    It's quite possible he had a mental illness, but it's not possible to make a diagnosis simply by gathering anecdotal information about him without being able to do a full assessment. We can speculate about what symptoms and illnesses his behavior seems consistent with, and depression or bipolar disorder do seem like possibilities. But as you noted, the complicating factor is that a substance use disorder was definitely present. If what seems like bipolar or depressive symptoms were merely the result of his drug and alcohol use, then he wasn't bipolar.
     
  2. el supernautico

    el supernautico A traveller of both, time and space

    Location:
    Germany
    I wrote he sort of ran away from his situation, but you're correct. Brighton is his hope that he'll be able to get back on track, to rediscover the lost joys of his past and to feel good being mod again.
     
  3. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Sea and Sand
    It seems Jimmy makes it to the beach and stands reflecting on his life and circumstances, while looking across the ocean.
    It is a scenario where Jimmy is at the place he loves to be, but things have changed.

    This is somewhat a story song, and takes the approach of a ballad of sorts, but is broken up with punches of rock. It is somewhat like, while Jimmy reflects, the different aspects of his personality are wrestling with each other. We also end up the song with a reprise of sorts of the single I'm The Face.

    One could understand someone mistaking this track as being Ace Face, but we can see contextually that it is Jimmy.

    We open with the comforting waves crashing against the shore and a guitar arpeggio comes in, with John's bass coming in smoothly and melodically. Again Moon punctuates this all really well.
    We have a mellow, punchy, mellow, punchy arrangement.
    Jimmy reflects on the girl he loves and then we get Pete singing about how his appearance is going to be great. It somewhat reflects the lyrical idea in Cut My Hair.
    Also we kind of get the idea that Jimmy realises he is getting older, because as cool as he looks, the scene has changed and the girls are paying attention to different guys.

    A good song, that works well, and is an important part of the story. There isn't really anything on here that I don't really like to be honest.



     
  4. Orino

    Orino Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Soem great thoughts in this thread about 5.15. For the first time I've really noticed how this song marks a big shift in the story - leaving behind much of the paranoia and claustrophobia of part one. 5.15 is by far the most musically up beat and positive song on the record, despite the scrambled thoughts that constitute the lyrics. "Nonsense" rock and roll songs are a time honoured tradition, but Pete's lyric here is both humourous and sort of profound. Anyway it means we can just enjoy the ride. "Uppers and Downers" indeed.. speed induced mania has never felt like such fun.

    I do like a non-traditional all-time classic Who track. At no point in this song does Pete's guitar go "yadadang". The entire riff and hook is played by a (one man) horn section. And yet for a time this was absolutely my favourite Who song.

    Another note about the difference between discs 1 and 2. The first 3 songs on disc 2 all have an element of jamming to them, almost completely absent on the first half of the album. I assume this is deliberate, or if not, it still quite neatly evokes the "freedom" that Brighton represents.

    (Some interesting ideas there about the train journey as a "purgatory", the second disc is definitely some kind of spiritual journey but (as ever with the Who), it is rooted in physical reality, of train platforms and a sleeping bag on the beach, helped along with a bag of "leapers" and a bottle of Gin..)
     
  5. Orino

    Orino Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Nice summing up there Mark as ever. I just love this track. Gorgeous melody, the usual brilliant lyrics, and very effective back and forth between light (ish) and heavy.

    One of my all time favourite parts of any Who record (or any record at all) here, the section between “I see her dance” to “every one’s a fool”.. the segue from the achingly romantic, through mod cockiness and then into cynicism and nihilism is just breathtaking.

    And the group are once again at their very best here. Moon is in his element when a song allows him to punctuate and shift the mood, in fact he never seems happier than when he’s allowed to come crashing in over something gentle and heartfelt. Rog is a star as always, both as crooner and rocker, and John’s melodic and ‘driving’ bass styles are in knockout form. And I think much of Pete’s finest soloing is on this album, whatever he lacked in technical finesse is more than made up for by sheer expression. In fact I generally prefer his playing to any number of virtuosos. That little upward leap he does at 4.27 is one of my favourite bits of guitar playing anywhere, by anyone.

    Can you tell how much I like this album? :)
     
    Last edited: Aug 4, 2020
  6. RayS

    RayS A Little Bit Older and a Little Bit Slower

    Location:
    Out of My Element
    "Sea and Sand" ... another magnificent song. Jimmy's self-esteem peaks and ebbs so quickly it's almost hard to keep track. He's "the face" (in his own mind) for a brief moment - the best dressed and sure to get the girl (and of course Roger sings this part) ... but in a flash his self confidence is shot, he's been rejected (or ignored), and now everyone dresses better than him, and hey, he never really wanted that foolish girl anyway (and Pete sings this part). Rejection eventually leading to the creation of Dr. Jimmy, who won't take "no" for an answer.
     
  7. penguinzzz

    penguinzzz Forum Resident

    Location:
    Charlton, London
    He might have been referring to the ‘Cinnamon Girl’ type riff familiar from the Francisco 71 version of Bargain (4.35 in this clip). I think it also crops up in Tanglewood.

     
  8. Phil147

    Phil147 Forum Resident

    Location:
    York UK
    I've always connected the train at the end of I've Had Enough as setting up 5:15. It never crossed my mind that Jimmy might have been considering throwing himself under a train so I'm with you here.
     
  9. zipp

    zipp Forum Resident

    To be honest me neither. But the train at the end of I've Had Enough is travelling at high speed, not pulling into a station.

    And it's horn blowing is a signal of danger as when it enters or leaves a tunnel.

    So I'm prepared to change my mind on this.

    And now he's on the 5.15 he's ready to be re-born since he's half way to heaven ... or to hell.
     
  10. Yawndave

    Yawndave Forum Resident

    Location:
    Santa Clara CA
    "Here by the sea and sand, nothing ever goes as planned..." Walking along the beach is one of my favorite activities, and I sing this lyric to myself every time.

    "I see her dance, across the ballroom, UV lights making star shine of her smile..." I met my first real girlfriend at a high school dance that was lit with blacklights. All these years later I remember like it was yesterday how her smile lit up under those UV lights.
     
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  11. Jet Age Eric

    Jet Age Eric Forum Resident

    Location:
    SIlver Spring, MD
    "Sea and Sand"--another of my favorites from my favorite. I feel like I steal from this song regularly in my own music; I've definitely stolen the title.

    I'm certain I've shared this elsewhere on the site, but: The one time I played Brighton coincided with an annual mod pilgrimage, apparently--it was so fun to see all the scooters and their regalia. :) Further, either Mojo or Uncut had The Who on the cover of the then-current issue, so I read than on the flight over, and Lambert and Stamp was the in-flight entertainment on the way home. :) -E
     
  12. Orino

    Orino Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    It's no big deal, but it's in the booklet.

    "I walked to the station down the railway tracks, across the river. I felt like throwing myself in front of a train, but I didn't".

    Then again the Jimmy character is never depicted as seriously suicidal, more self destructive. I suppose the issue is that the songs alone don't really cover the whole story (unlike Tommy, which nevertheless has its own issues!)
     
  13. el supernautico

    el supernautico A traveller of both, time and space

    Location:
    Germany
    Sea And The Sand: 7/10
    The intro and the acoustic verses are really beautiful, they're the best thing about the song. I also dig the nod to "I've Had Enough" ("My Jacket's gonna be cut slim..."), but again I think a nice musical idea is burried by the sheer amount and missionary spirit of its lyrics. Then, I think the song is too long for its musical content: the main body of the song runs until ca. 3.30, and at this point it's already boringly repetitive to me... but that might be because of a "lumbering Keith" performance, to me he sounds somewhat uneasy, or (like I said before) forced/restrained.
    This impression is enhanced by that final musical segment starting at around 3.30: Strongly reminding me of "Goin' Mobile" and using some identical licks, it's a far cry from the carefree and airy feel of the former, sounding much more constructed and packed - still flowing, but not as fresh and somehow "according to protocol".

    As a piece within Quadrophenia, it's okay - it does what it's supposed to do and drives the story further along by creating a moment of reminiscence.:righton:
    I just think the initial musical idea could have been worked out into something better if it wasn't to obey the concept.:)
     
  14. el supernautico

    el supernautico A traveller of both, time and space

    Location:
    Germany
    Thank god you're not as lazy as us!:D
    Indeed the booklet is strict and clear here!:righton:
     
  15. SteveRes

    SteveRes Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    Sea & Sand

    There's an insane amount of epic tracks on this album that I'm forever changing my opinion on what is my "favourite track", but this is one that rises to the top regularly. The melody is just sublime. I love the lyrics, with Jimmy looking back on the recent past and contemplating how he ended up here, on the sand at Brighton alone and feeling lost. It's such a sad song but the music is so lovely I find it strangely uplifting.

    "My Dad couldn't stand on two feet as he lectured about morality". "I see her dance across the ballroom, UV lights making starshine of her smile". Superb lyrics here, so deceptively simple and evocative.

    The band again flex their muscles and are just masters of pacing, rocking out then bringing the mood down with the song's gentle verses. The acoustic guitar is particularly effective here.

    Lovely call back to The High Numbers in the coda.

    A masterpiece.

    5/5
     
  16. Analogmoon

    Analogmoon All the Way Back in the Seventies

    Sea and Sand = one of the most moving lines I ever heard Roger sing:

    I see her dancing
    Across the ballroom
    U V light making starshine
    Of her smile.
    I am the face,
    She has to know me,
    I'm dressed up better than anyone
    Within a mile.
     
  17. AlanG

    AlanG Forum Resident

    Perhaps that is it. It's certainly closer than anything else that I can recall.
     
  18. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Drowned.

    Music critic Chris Charlesworth describes "Drowned" as a "tough blues-based rocker."[1] He states that the band loved to play it live since it was less complex than other songs from Quadrophenia.[1] Rolling Stone critic Dave Marsh describes the song as among the most interesting on the album.[2] Who biographer John Atkins views the song as having "such purity of essence" that it may be the "quintessential Quadrophenia performance."[3] He describes it as being "simple and direct" without needed "cleverness," dramatic musical effects or complex arrangements."[3]

    The oldest song featuring on Quadrophenia ("Joker James", though hailing from the Tommy era, did not feature on the album), "Drowned" was initially written as an ode to Meher Baba in early 1970. Townshend sang it facing the tomb of Meher Baba on his first visit to India in January 1972.

    "When the tragic hero of Q[uadrophenia] sings it, it is desperate and nihilistic. In fact, it's a love song, God's love being the ocean and our 'selves' being the drops of water that make it up. Meher Baba said, 'I am the Ocean of Love.' I want to drown in that ocean, the 'drop' will then be an ocean itself."

    — Pete Townshend[4]
    In Quadrophenia, "Drowned" tells of how Jimmy contemplates drowning himself in the water, in the midst of his disappointment at not being able to see his hero, the Ace Face.[5] At the end, seagulls, crowd noises and waves can be heard, along with Pete Townshend walking along singing the sixth verse of "Sea and Sand". Mike Segretto interprets the water in the song as a metaphor for God and the song itself as a metaphor for the search for spirituality, or the "quest for a tributary leading to God."[6] Steve Grantley and Alan G. Parker interpret the song similarly. According to them, in the song Jimmy sees the ocean "as a symbol of cleansing redemption."[5] Atkins interprets the song as representing the "freedom of release," both in the lyrics and in the music.[3] Atkins also notes that in the song Jimmy adopts a "wider philosophy than mod conformism," which is his objective through much of the album.[3]

    The piano part was borrowed from the song "Hitchcock Railway" by Joe Cocker.[6] Charlesworth praises Chris Stainton's "great piano work."[1] This piano part gives "Drowned" a similar feel to that of "5.15," on which Stainton also played.[3]

    In an amazing coincidence, the studio that "Drowned" was recorded in was flooded just after the song was recorded.

    When recording this song it rained so hard in Battersea where our studio is that the walls were flowing with sheets of water. Chris Stainton played piano in a booth and when the take was finished he opened the door and about 500 gallons gushed out! Another glorious coincidence.

    — Pete Townshend[1][4]

    ------------------------------------------------------------
    There are a lot of interesting things about this track. First we get Chris Stainton, originally from Joe Cocker's Grease Band on the keyboards ... and it is really interesting to me that the piano is very similar to Cocker's Hitchcock Railway.

    Here we have Jimmy reflecting on the changes that have taken place. He can't find his heroes, and the scene has changed, and the girls aren't falling at his feet anymore. I guess this is the nightmare of the cool teenager, who suddenly realises that they aren't the cool teenager anymore.
    Although the song seems to lean towards another hint at Jimmy's dissatisfaction with his life, I am not sure I see this as being a suicide song particularly. To me it seems more like that reflective thought process that can have us wanting to be removed, rather than removing ourselves. I can't speak to anyone else's life, but I have certainly had that feeling during the course of my life. Almost daring the ocean to take us out of the play.

    The reflection on the fishermen, who mustn't have seen enough of the world yet .... and the counterpoint idea that Jimmy has been diving for pearls, but isn't finding them is interesting.

    Musically this is a really cool track. We get a pretty straight rocker. Moon does some great pounding, and the guitars and piano work really well at driving this along. I think Daltrey does a great vocal here, with a really nice balance of ferocity and tenderness.
    The bridge , that drops back to a more reflective arrangement, with a really nice chorus of "ahhhhh's", and again is really very effective.
    We get this followed by a really punchy instrumental section, that doesn';t have a lead break as such, but an interesting layering of guitars, but it breaks into a wonderful horn riff section at about 2:45, and I absolutely love this bit. We get the piano intro again, and a bit of single note lead from Pete, and we burst into another verse.
    As we move out of the verse we get Jimmy asking "let the tide in and set me free" coming across as more of a request, than a solid attempt to end it all ... and even in the break down afterwards with Jimmy stating I wanna drown, in cold water (is this a subtle reference to the song Water) it seems more request based, or wishful thinking. During this Pete does some nice volume swells, and then that piano comes back in, but this time we get some classic Moon pounding, and Stainton takes on more of a Jerry Lee approach to the piano, and we get a kind of jam oriented ending, that moves into a fade. the fade moves into the sound of the ocean and children playing, and we here Pete singing something, but I can't quite make out what.
    Again probably not the best track on the album, but another solid entry, another piece of the puzzle of Jimmy's mind, and for me at least, a good entertaining track.



     
  19. Orino

    Orino Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    After 5:15 and Sea and Sand, this song continues what I see as a sort of (intermittent) three song 'jam'. If you ever just want to hear The Who play, the start of disc 2 is a good place to go.

    Lyrically it makes sense that this is an older song, but it still fits nicely into Jimmy's story. Mainly because it's exploring Pete's favourite/ recurring themes, of course. This song clearly means a lot to Pete, he revives it a lot and plays it solo, giving an interesting, different reading and also altering/extending the lyrics.

    The main chord progression of "Drowned" also constitutes the bridge of 5:15, and there's a cool little call back to that song's horn part. And like 5:15, "Drowned"s main riff is not played on guitar, the piano riff making this another atypical Who track, that nevertheless sits very neatly on the album. After the heaviness of disc 1 (or side 2), disc 2 really is fresh and invigorating, and this another upbeat, positive number, the final sounds of the sea/seaside adding to its bright, airy, feel.

    Moon is absolutely on it here. "Declining"? "Sluggish"? Pah! I disdain this appraisal of Keith's playing, on this album he's a beast, and his playing is even better here than on Who's Next, so there. John too has a great time thundering on the low notes of his, er, Thunderbird. He even gets to 'solo' with the piano in the instrumental break. And this being a rocker, Rog is in his element of course (though frankly, when isn't he?)

    There's a cool "bubbling" effect over the vocal, I'm not sure if the later (1995 ish) remixes removed this. In fact I think there's quite a few changes on the 90s CD, but for me the original Polydor double is where it's at, with the bass mixed super high - lovely. :)

    (BTW Mark you may not have read your own quote there but Pete is actually singing "Sea and Sand" while strolling along the beach at the end..)

    Probably the "straightest" song on the album, and just terrific fun. :)
     
  20. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Cheers mate.
    I normally get around to that later, at the moment, which isn't ideal. Unfortunately at the moment everything is just hurry hurry lol.
    I'm hoping for an ease in the load soon :)
     
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  21. dirkster

    dirkster Senior Member

    Location:
    McKinney, TX, USA
    Drowned

    A good song indeed. I think on the album it gets lost among the others somehow. My go to version is actually this acoustic on that was released on the Secret Policeman’s Ball LP in 1979:



    Pete’s acoustic playing is superb, as demonstrated by his instrumental break starting at 2:00.
     
  22. RayS

    RayS A Little Bit Older and a Little Bit Slower

    Location:
    Out of My Element
    "Hitchcock Railway" ... a song about a train

     
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  23. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Good point. I hadn't even considered that.
     
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  24. mark winstanley

    mark winstanley Certified dinosaur, who likes physical product Thread Starter

    Ok, that's funny I just read the quoted bits...
    I doubled up on a few things lol

    Sorry guys. Just trying to share as much info as possible and give my thoughts. It is just a tight schedule at the moment
     
  25. RayS

    RayS A Little Bit Older and a Little Bit Slower

    Location:
    Out of My Element
    Relevant excerpts from Meher Baba's "The Everything and the Nothing":

    One out of many such lovers sees God face to face. His longing
    becomes infinite; he is like a fish thrown up on the beach, leaping
    and squirming to regain the ocean. He sees God everywhere and
    in everything, but he cannot find the gate of union. The Wine that
    he drinks turns into Fire in which he continuously burns in blissful
    agony. And the Fire eventually becomes the Ocean of Infinite
    Consciousness in which he drowns.
    ---------
    Although the completion of this Journey is the Goal of all human
    souls, only a very few at any given moment embark upon it. The
    arrival at the end of this Journey is the drowning of individuality in
    the Ocean of Infinite Consciousness, and the Journey's
    completion is the soul's absorption in the state of I-am-God with
    full consciousness, and, as God, experiences Infinite Power,
    Knowledge and Bliss.
    ----------
    God is infinitely more vital to your existence than your breath
    which is your very life. Ordinarily, life is associated with breath;
    but you only become aware of this when breath is restricted
    through exertion, and you only completely realize this when
    breath is cut off altogether as when drowning. Similarly, you only
    become aware that God is your existence when you pant for Him,
    and you only finally realize Him when you drown in His Ocean of
    divine Love.
    -----------
    From the chapter entitled "The Pearl Diver" (too lengthy for me to quote the entire thing)

    Out of many who swim up to the surface, one returns to the shore.
    This one is the Perfect Master (Qutub) and He shows His pearl to
    the others - the divers, the swimmers, the paddlers, and so encourages them in their
    efforts. But He can if He wishes cause another to become the
    possessor of the pearl without that one having to learn swimming
    and diving.
     

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