http://csusap.csu.edu.au/~mfaets01/assets/bynumbers.jpg
This was always one of my top 3 fave Who albums. Hearing it again ten years later, it's clear why. Suddenly they just kindof...slowed down. Laid back and easy. This album feels effortless for them. Sure "Squeeze Box" and "Slip Kid" are kindof corny, but beyond that, there's a lot of understated beauty here. "They Are All In Love", "Success Story", "How Many Friends", "However Much I Booze". It's a pretty stellar album overall, but I think those are the highlights.
Anyone else have a special affection for this album?
― Bimble, Monday, 17 March 2008 02:03 (seventeen years ago)
It's all about this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcIMLW3aVmE
― Elvis Telecom, Monday, 17 March 2008 02:27 (seventeen years ago)
This too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqWP7uDsjPo
― Elvis Telecom, Monday, 17 March 2008 02:28 (seventeen years ago)
I like it a lot too. It has a nice melancholy mood to it. They had a few good singles but this is their last reasonably consistent collection of songs.
― Mark Rich@rdson, Monday, 17 March 2008 02:38 (seventeen years ago)
never liked this record for some reason; really the who were a singles band for me, outside of quadrophenia (and I do like endless wire)
― akm, Monday, 17 March 2008 06:44 (seventeen years ago)
Squeezebox corny? Sure. Slip Kid? Never.
― Sparkle Motion, Monday, 17 March 2008 07:14 (seventeen years ago)
Brilliant, one of their most consistent albums, and a nice document of a band struggling against encroaching arena-rock sensibilities and audience apathy, and not going down without a fight (of course, they toured arenas and stadiums to support the album). Supposedly Townshend originally intended this to be their final album.
― Sara Sara Sara, Tuesday, 18 March 2008 14:44 (seventeen years ago)
Great album, underrated, not a weak song on it. "How Many Friends" is one of my Who favorites.
― Joe, Tuesday, 18 March 2008 15:23 (seventeen years ago)
quite a big dip in quality, but certainly not a bad record. very personal and stripped, some humble songwriting here and appropriately slowed down tunes
― Charlie Howard, Tuesday, 18 March 2008 15:29 (seventeen years ago)
"...struggling against encroaching arena-rock sensibilities and audience apathy..."
Tell me if I'm wrong, but when this album (which is great) came out in '75, weren't the Who at the vanguard of the whole arena-rock thing? And the rep. is that their live shows at that time ('75) were awe-inspiring, at least compared to the previous "Quadrophenia" tour in '73-'74 during which they weren't at their best.
― Bill Magill, Tuesday, 18 March 2008 15:40 (seventeen years ago)
Oh yeah, their '75-'76 shows WERE awe-inspiring. No one could fucking touch them. But they (or more accurately, Pete) were dismayed at what they saw as a less critical, less participatory audience culture (even Daltrey said something at the time along the lines of, "The kids now just want to sit back and let us preach to them"). Their popularity necessitated they play larger and larger facilities, which they felt distanced themselves further and further from the audience, and Pete at least felt that rock's power had pretty much disintegrated (or was about to) and partly blamed himself. That said, they still had a relationship to their audience that went far beyond that of their contemporaries.
― Sara Sara Sara, Tuesday, 18 March 2008 16:48 (seventeen years ago)
Well said. I think Pete was often harder on himself than he needed to be. At least until the late 70s, early 80s when he became totally unglued.
― Bill Magill, Tuesday, 18 March 2008 16:54 (seventeen years ago)
You're right - it's harder than trying to find AC/DC.
― Ismael Klata, Tuesday, 18 March 2008 17:45 (seventeen years ago)
i have extra-special affection for the (unbelievably previously unmentioned) "the Blue, Red and Grey" one of the most beautiful songs in the English language (along with Waterloo Sunset, imo) evah... and "slip kid" is kiiller (not corny)
― outdoor_miner, Tuesday, 18 March 2008 18:11 (seventeen years ago)
i have extra-special affection for the (unbelievably previously unmentioned) "the Blue, Red and Grey" one of the most beautiful songs in the English language (along with Waterloo Sunset, imo) evah...
I mentioned it upthread! (it's one of the YouTube links)
― Elvis Telecom, Tuesday, 18 March 2008 20:30 (seventeen years ago)
sorry E_T, missed that link...
― outdoor_miner, Tuesday, 18 March 2008 20:41 (seventeen years ago)
Great, great album.
― M.V., Wednesday, 19 March 2008 02:35 (seventeen years ago)