The musical choices Townshend makes are interesting. He’s been doing this for more than half a century. I’m sure he is keenly aware that fans are going to be more inclined to give something he does a fair shake if he just picks up a guitar and goes “da da duuuum!” a few times in it and there are songs on WHO where he does exactly that. On other songs he opts not to do that, stretch out and push things a little.
I can appreciate that, but I am not sure if much of this material is conducive to guitar solos. The heavier tracks are still well-arranged with some good, chunky power chords. That said, Ball And Chain, perhaps the heaviest track on the album, contains some nice guitar passages and a slight solo around the 2:27 mark, reminiscent of Who Are You and Join Together/Relay, and then at about the 3:00 mark, Townsend unleashes some additional nice leads and power chords for the remainder of the song.
If you haven’t bought the album in some form, or paid for a stream, then how have you listened to the whole thing? The inescapable conclusion is you have not listened to the whole album, your review is meaningless and you’re just trolling.
I hear you, I am just not sure how it could be any different. Roger didn't and doesn't want to record his vocals around Pete (or any of the other musicians for that matter), and because they no longer work in a traditional fashion, it was up to Pete to work up material and later track it in the studio on his own. Allegedly he sent drafts to Roger for his evaluation, but obviously that is not the same as collaborating in the same room. The process was also unorthodox in that Pete worked on the music and recordings over an expansive period of time, unlike with WHO, where he essentially had all of the music recorded in a relatively short period of time.
Since Who’s Next at least. Listen to those synth flourishes for details. You think a human could make a noise like that on “Goin’ Mobile?”
There's something pretty weird about "This Gun Will Misfire" not being one of the main tracks on the album. It's one of the best realised musical ideas and the one that really got in my brain. I'm not big into pouring over lyrics but it seems very possible they were the problem for Roger because the track itself is fantastic and does belong with the rest. I do think Roger did a really fantastic job on this album by the way. I was reading a description of "Got Nothing to Prove" by Pete “Now, it works. Back then, perhaps it didn’t. Dave Sardy and I decided to ask George Fenton to do a Swinging Sixties band arrangement to make the song more interesting, but also to place it firmly in an Austin Powers fantasy. I love it.” I find it an enjoyable nod to the 60s and the one real retro track in the selection. The orchestration is wonderfully fun for me. "Danny and my Ponies" really sounds like a Pete solo effort, really nice. Do want to hear "Sand". Finally I was investigating Who demos on YouTube - the one for "I Can See for Miles" is one of the very best. "I’m glad we made this album, and I understand why it’s so important for Pete to have this out there. He doesn’t want to be thought of as a writer of old nostalgic hit records. He’s a man of today, we’re musicians of today. We’re not dead and (expletive) buried. And we’re not doing a pastiche of our music from the '60s." Roger on the new album in USA Today following his throat surgery.
"Love is Coming Down" is monumental and trumps anything on this new one by a long way. Overall, I don't dislike Who, though (with the exception of "I'll Be Back" which is rubbish), and it's a good enough effort when considering that (a) this "band" should have probably packed it in 41 years ago; (b) Keith Moon and John Entwistle are dead; (c) Roger Daltrey is 75 years old.
This album is great. Probably better than anything since 'Who Are You'. Roger's vocals are great, as if this was recorded 37 years ago. The production is a bit congested I think. They used a modern star producer. Might have been a good idea to have got Glyn Johns back. It's still a great listen in spite of the modern recording touches. Zak and Pino only on half the tracks. Benmont Tench of Heartbreakers on keys doing a great job. Some nice orchestrations woven into several tracks. All killer, no filler (even I'll Be back is tolerable and makes a contrast).
I like it because it's distinctive, and, in keeping with my comment above, I appreciate it's how he's evolved. I feel like he adopted this approach on WAY, and it's the direction he's chosen to follow. It incorporates the yaggerdang and jazz and flamenco so, to me, it's very representative of Pete. That said, I personally prefer the eloquent brutalism that was previously employed, but I don't need Pete to jump through hoops for me (not saying you do, either). I think part of the reward of following a band seeing wow hi evolution aligns with theirs, and that requires both of us to evolve. So I guess I'm explaining why I'm not disappointed, given I agree with you. -E
I love "Love Is Coming Down," and I THINK it informs one of the songs on WHO (I forget which one). I have had "I'll Be Back" in my head all day. -E
Someone way back on page 108 asked if anyone in U.S. received the 3LP or a shipping confirmation. I received confirmation that it shipped 12-5, rather late to be dropping in the mail. Says I should expect it in 2-3 weeks, no tracking.
For me, Fillmore is better than Tommy. I’m not a Hugh Tommy fan and I prefer live Who to their studio albums.
Jeez. At least you’ve heard something! One would think that they had plenty of time to prepare to at least dispatch all of the early pre-orders to the U.S. by the release date. Hopefully the rest of us will get a shipping confirmation soon.
The new Who made me go back to Endless Wire. I haven't done that in about a year and it sounds so much more like a final album- a summation. The new album feels like, " Nah... on second thought, we aren't going gently into that dark night."
Sorry, I've been back about 15 pages, but can't find it. Please can someone tell me what is special about the Target version. And are we talking LP, CD or both? Thanks!!
Three bonus tracks - all Pete songs - on the Target CD, same as the (AFAIK) Deluxe Edition, except that the Deluxe has a slipcase.