As a lover of side 3, both Sea & Sand and Drowned are more firm favourites here. I’ll just reiterate, Moon is terrific on both these songs, negotiating the changes in pace and feel brilliantly. Obviously I’m hearing things differently from some other listeners. S&S never took on a life outside the LP, but Drowned was the nearest thing to a Quadrophenia live staple in the Moon era. I think there’s a similarity to Bargain that might have helped. The version from Charlton 74 is action packed if a bit unruly ( like the band itself!)- Moon never could quite remember when to come in...
"Drowned" would not have been out of place in "Lifehouse". George Harrison wanted to be shown that he was everywhere, Pete wanted to experience being everywhere. If sound and vibration permeate everything (as Pete said in "Grid Life"), water is equally omnipresent in all living things. So if we can tap into the notion that all energy in the universe is connected, than we are part of the water boiling in the train or the tear in a baby's eye. That's a level of belonging far beyond wearing the same clothes or riding the same scooters. "Drowned" briefly touches on a subplot that was dropped - that Jimmy is aware of his previous lives ("I'm remembering distant memories, recalling other names"). That subplot was more fully developed in this song that never made it to a Who version (below). Pete's belief in reincarnation obviously persists, as evidenced by "I'll Be Back" on "Who".
"Pure and Easy" is a great song. By the way, I'm only familiar with the version featured in the "Ultimate Collection" and I was wondering if any of you would know who is singing the "There once was a note" coda there. Daltrey is obviously singing the main song but it feels like a different singer taking over for the coda. It is definitely not Pete. I wonder whether John Entwistle might have sung that, as he was the one in charge of compiling and polishing up the "Odds and Sods" compilation where the song first appeared, as performed by The Who. I would appreciate any information or thoughts.
Drowned: 9/10 Mark said it quite all - it's a good song, an easy rocker and nothing complex. I didn't know it pre-dates anything Quadrophenia-related, but it may explain the looser approach which lets the band breathe and work together so well. Lyric-wise, in hindsight it also makes sense it's not part of the Quadrophenia concept. I must admit, it would never have crossed my mind because of the ultra-fitting title and where it's placed on the album. Okay, it's titled "drowned", but nobody is really drowned in the lyrics - instead it's easy to interpret as the ongoing thinking-over of Jimmy's situation and sensing of new possibilities, sort of getting deeper into the topic, like walking from the beach (sea and sand) into the water (drowned) - it strucks me how elegant and poetic this turn is while at the same time it's just an old song squeezed in! That Pete Townshend guy is driving me nuts! Musically, I think the chorus is highly memorable (I love it!), and everybody's playing great; another song with a top-notch-and-not-lumbering Keith at the drums - in fact, he's on fire here! I think the piano is cool, but after hearing "Hitchcock Railway" I would speak more of a variation than of a borrowing of that motif. Then at ca. 2.00, the band gets into jamming mode for the middle part and finally launches into a reprise of "5:15". One could say "great idea!", but in fact it is no reprise - or I got something wrong: In case of "5:15" was created in the studio and not demoed (like stated before), it means it's not reprised in "Drowned", but that "5:15"'s main riff came in fact from "Drowned", which itself predates Quadrophenia - correct? However, it's a nice song with lots of energy and the band in peak form.
It's worth noting that Sea and Sand was one of several Townshend demos that had 21st-Century drums (overdubbed by Pete Huntington) on the "Director's Cut" version. I'm really not a fan of that move. Here's the actual demo as it originally sounded. The Director's Cut version was also edited down from the original:
Drowned "Let me be stormy and let me be calm, let the tide in and set me free". The whole band are on fire here. Moon is incredible. Daltrey's vocal is perfect. Entwistle in that middle 8, jeez. Pete's rhythm work is wonderful. I always assumed this track was meant to convey Jimmy having a spiritual moment at the peak of his "high", and for the first time on the album he sounds "together" and complete. Which is all the more heartbreaking considering what song comes next. 5/5
SEA AND SAND This gets overlooked but it's quite good The only thing that keeps this from being a classic is the lack of good hooks/riffs This is a kind of pause in the story and a chance to reflect and sum up...never meant to be a single or anything Good job lads!
Yes, the modern day drum overdubs were a really odd choice. Pete the perfectionist not understanding that everyone wants to hear the demos the other 3 guys in The Who heard, not something "better".
I suspect there was a bit of Townshend ego involved too. The focus upon his demos in that box (rather than outtakes or live performances by the band) suggest he wanted to emphasize how much the album was his baby, his creation, rather than the band's. I tend to see Townshend demos as the framework... to me they are like the raw frame of the house, which the band then constructs around that bare frame. But I sometimes get the impression Townshend sees his demos as the finished house, and views the band's contribution as simply a final coat of paint. By putting drums on those songs he creates the impression that some of his demos were more finished than they were, and falsely implies that Keith copied the drumming on those demos rather than the other way around. Even if I'm wrong in my suppositions about ego, the point of presenting work parts is to help understand the history, not distort it. So it's unfortunate he made that choice for whatever reason. Plus, the demos sound better in their original state.
Sea and Sand: I like the way the song alternates between dreamy and aggressive moods. The Who's ability to accomplish these transitions so smoothly and effortlessly makes the song flow perfectly. The tenderness in the way that Roger sings "I see her dance/Across the ballroom/UV lights making starshine of her smile" is very moving, and makes the listener feel Jimmy's longing for this girl. Keith negotiates the shifting dynamics of the song so well, adding just the right touches. With regard to Pete's demos, I would have preferred if both the original demos and the demos with drum overdubs were included. I'm glad the original demo of Sea and Sand is on Scoop 3.
Perhaps that guitar riff from the last couple minutes of the Live At Leeds version of "My Generation?" The guitar riff from that mildly resembles the horn riff in 5:15, and that same riff was used during the following night's concert (Live At Hull), but I'm not sure how often it was used before or after February 1970. The riff I'm referring to starts at 12:43 in the following, and really kicks in at 12:58:
To me, Drowned really became a great live tune when Pete took the spotlight with his acoustic (Collings?). It gave him a chance to shine both playing and singing, where he'd take off furiously strumming at the end with the "drown in your sweet sweet love" refrain.
I agree. From time to time, when the full-band arrangement is taken away, a fantastic song can be heard and Mr Townshend's enormous songwriting-talent shone brightly like a diamond in the sky. Drowned (from Live at the Royal Albert Hall, 2000)
Although The Real Me as an ultimative riff-based rocker is my favourite song from Quad (imo the best 1970s pure 'Rock' song ever recorded), Sea And Sand is my second favourite due to dash of feelings that are associated with an ocean imagery of cascading waves. And here we come to the miracle of The Who music; listenin' to this song, you almost get a sniff of smell of the sea now as well as back in 1973.
Bell Boy In the short story written by Townshend in the album's libretto/liner notes, it is explained that Jimmy never thought he'd be let down by being a Mod (given everything else had let him down). Pete Townshend said of the song's meaning: He meets an old Ace Face who's now a bellhop at the very hotel the Mods tore up. And he looks on Jimmy with a mixture of pity and contempt, really, and tells him, in effect, 'Look, my job is **** and my life is a tragedy. But you - look at you, you're dead!' — Pete Townshend[1] ---------------------------------------- So we reach Jimmy's final straw ... he suddenly realises that his hero Ace Face is now the Bell Boy at the hotel they had torn up when they were the Mods. The disgust that the leader of the gang is now just a pleb being bossed around by "the man" is a slap of reality .... To some degree I guess many would have seen this as a novelty song, merely due to Keith's exaggerated cockney vocal and somewhat sad laconic deliver. Suddenly in Jimmy's mind the coolest toughest, leader of the pack is merely this bottom of the rung go'fer commanded by everyone to be their little slave. Musically we open with a really neat synth and drum section, that in itself is pretty engrossing. Roger delivers a nice vocal, and lyrically this sets the scene really well. Then we get the guitars taking over, with a nice descending chord pattern and in the background we have some chirpy type of synth sound that also actually works well. Keith's delivery of the vocal may not be classic singing, but it is really effective in getting across the message that this king of the mods is now in a place he never imagined he would be, and not exactly happy about it.... Interestingly at first we get Ace Face talking it up a little, with his I've got a good job, and I'm newly born You should see me dressed up in my uniform I work in hotel, all gilt and flash Remember the place where the doors were smashed? but then we move into this dejected run through of the reality, this guy isn't happy, but he is trying to make it seem like it is all good. Keith's delivery here, although somewhat affected, is actually perfect in context with the idea of the song. Roger's section comes back in, and it is slightly more angry sounding the second time through. The disdain is building. It almost has a sense of disbelief. Then we get Keith's final verse, and can almost feel the disgust at where he is. The song sort of fades away after that and we move into the next. It would be easy to pass this song by as something of a return to the somewhat comedic nature of The Who Sell Out material, but the message is too poignant, and once you get past Keith's acting/singing there is some really emotional depth here. A good and necessary track in terms of the album and story.
Bell Boy: 8,5/10 Starting with a drum break that would have fitted nicely at the beginning of "Pure And Easy" and being heavy on synths, "Bell Boy" takes the story on at the very same moment the dreamy "Drowned" leaves it - the "ace face" is coming through the haze! Mark again said it all lyrically, so I'll stick to my musical observations: The pounding rhythm works quite good, and Pete's crushing chords at ca. 1.00 (after the verse) come in mighty mighty!! It really is nothing exceptional technically, but that patented Pete riffage (revealing the influence of the proud flamenco) works to enormous effect here - Great stuff!! Keith's vocals are one of a kind - I'd be glad if somebody could provide the demo from which I think it features sung vocals to hear the difference, but I can imagine these don't work as well as Keith's "in character" version. To me, the real tragic lies within the short distance between his presentation of the sad fool and his own life... I think the chorus fits its words really well, like you're really calling for the bell boy's services. The line I like best in the song is "I don't suppose you would remember me, but I used to follow you back in '63" - not intellectual revelatory or especially clever, but somehow, they stuck. I agree Keith's vocal part could pass by as something funny, but at least when he sings "Some nights I still sleep on the beach, remember when stars were in reach - then I wander in early to work, spend my day licking boots for my perks" you know it's tragedy... But that didn't stop the audience -and Keith himself- from making it as funny as possible when played live!
This song really threw me for a loop when I first heard it. It’s on the soundtrack album, which presents a somewhat shortened version of the 2LP Who story, but a bit out of order. The voice of the Bell Boy was a very strange surprise. I had checked this album out from the library to give it a listen, so it might have even been the first long-player I ever heard by The Who now that I think of it. For once in his career, Keith's voice here is not just a gimmick for fun: it’s a source of genuine pathos in the scheme of the plot. I give Pete a lot of credit here for finding a way to achieve this, as it was his intent to spotlight each of the four members with a song.
The great songs just keep on coming (yes, I'm biased, it's my favorite album!) The Ace Face character was developed in greater depth in Pete's demos, but (as with every other choice made in the process, IMO) a wise cut was made. The less we know about the Ace Face the better until the moment his new life is exposed. The underlying subtext here is that hero worship (like, I don't know, religiously following a band of 4 quite imperfect people) is a dead end. On the 2015 QUAD tour, we had virtual Keith singing his part (the Charlton video with the studio track audio), along with virtual John doing his bass solo for "5:15".
