#267 - The Who - Quadrophenia (1973)
MUSIC HISTORY COMPILED BY ADAM BERNARD:
BACKGROUND – THE WHO
Along with The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, The Who make up “The Big 3” of British Invasion rock in the 1960s. Using the raw power of James Brown’s soul as a jumping point, they became inventors of the rock opera concept with the albums Tommy and Quadrophenia, and major innovators of punk aggression onstage. The band consisted of versatile singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and prolific composer Pete Townshend, legendary bassist John Entwistle, and wild drummer Keith Moon, whose fast and loud sounds influenced as many percussionists as Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham.
The Who formed in 1964. Daltrey, Townsend and Entwistle grew up and went to grammar school together. Towshend and Entwistle formed a jazz group in their youth, but both quickly became interested in rock. Entwistle's fingers were too big to play guitar, so he moved to bass being inspired by musician Duane Eddy. Unable to afford a bass, he built his own. Daltrey was a year above them in scool, and ran with a different crowd - discovering gangs and rock n roll, and was expelled from school at 15. In 1959 he started a band called the Detours, which would eventually morph into The Who. The band played professional gigs, such as corporate and wedding functions. One day, Daltrey spotted Entwistle by chance on the street carrying a bass and recruited him into the Detours. In mid-1961, Entwistle suggested Townshend as a guitarist. Daltrey was considered the leader and, according to Townshend, "ran things the way he wanted them. After discovering a band that also had a similar name, Townshend and his house-mate Richard Barnes spent a night considering new names, focusing on a theme of joke announcements, including "No One" and "the Group". Townshend preferred "the Hair", and Barnes liked "the Who" because it "had a pop punch".Daltrey chose "the Who" the next morning.
Still having trouble finding a consistent drummer, during a gig in 1961 with a stand-in drummer, the band first met Keith Moon. Moon grew up in Wembley, and had been drumming in bands since 1961. He was performing with a semi-professional band called the Beachcombers, and wanted to play full-time. Moon played a few songs with the group, breaking a bass drum pedal and tearing a drum skin. The band were impressed with his energy and enthusiasm, and offered him the job. Moon performed with the Beachcombers a few more times, but dates clashed and he chose to devote himself to the Who.
In June 1964, during a performance Townshend accidentally broke the head of his guitar on the low ceiling of the stage. Angered by the audience's laughter, he smashed the instrument on the stage, then picked up another guitar and continued the show. The following week, the audience were keen to see a repeat of the event. Moon obliged by kicking his drum kit over, and auto-destructive art became a feature of the Who's live set. By late 1964, the Who were becoming popular in London's Marquee Club, and a rave review of their live act appeared in Melody Maker. This attracted the attention of the American producer Shel Talmy, who had produced the Kinks. Townshend had written a song, "I Can't Explain", that deliberately sounded like the Kinks to attract Talmy's attention. Talmy saw the group in rehearsals and was impressed. He signed them to his production company. My Generation was the next single to follow, propelling the band onto stardom.
1972 was the least active year for the Who since they had formed. The group had achieved great commercial and critical success with the albums Tommy and Who's Next, but were struggling to come up with a suitable follow-up. The group recorded new material, including "Is It In My Head" and "Love Reign O'er Me" which were eventually released on Quadrophenia, and a mini-opera called "Long Live Rock – Rock Is Dead", but the material was considered too derivative of Who's Next and sessions were abandoned. Pete Townshend said in an interview "I've got to get a new act together… People don't really want to sit and listen to all our past". He had become frustrated that the group had been unable to produce a film of Tommy (a film version of Tommy would be released in 1975) or Lifehouse (the abortive project that resulted in Who's Next), and decided to follow Frank Zappa's idea of producing a musical soundtrack that could produce a narrative in the same way as a film. Unlike Tommy, the new work had to be grounded in reality and tell a story of youth and adolescence that the audience could relate to. Townsend got to work on today's album in the Autumn of 1972.
In September 1978, Moon attended a party held by Paul McCartney to celebrate Buddy Holly's birthday. Returning to his flat, Moon took 32 tablets of clomethiazole which had been prescribed to combat his alcohol withdrawal. He passed out the following morning and was discovered dead later that day. The day after Moon's death, Townshend issued the statement: "We are more determined than ever to carry on, and we want the spirit of the group to which Keith contributed so much to go on, although no human being can ever take his place." Kenney Jones would be tapped to fill the void behind the kit. Fast forward to 2002 when The Who were scheduled to open a US Tour, Entwistle was found dead at the age of 57 in the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. Cocaine was a contributing factor.
On 12/3/79, a crowd crush at a Who gig at the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati killed 11 fans. This was partly due to the festival seating, where the first to enter get the best positions. Some fans waiting outside mistook the band's soundcheck for the concert, and attempted to force their way inside. As only a few entrance doors were opened, a bottleneck situation ensued with thousands trying to gain entry, and the crush became deadly. The Who were not told until after the show because civic authorities feared crowd problems if the concert were canceled. The band were deeply shaken upon learning of it and requested that appropriate safety precautions be taken in the future. The following evening, in Buffalo, New York, Daltrey told the crowd that the band had "lost a lot of family last night and this show's for them"
Chronicling the bands up and downs between Pete & Roger in the 1980s would be too lengthy for this podcast, and they didn't release any albums after 1981's "Face Dances" 1982's "It's Hard" until "Endless Wire" in 2006. Their last release was "Who" in 2019. The band completed their most recent tour in 2022.
The Who's current line-up besides Daltrey & Townsend are Pete's brother Simon on second guitar, Pino Palladino on bass and Zak Starkey (Ringo's son) on drums.
The Who have sold over 100 million records worldwide. They received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the British Phonographic Industry in 1988, and from the Grammy Foundation in 2001. The band were inducted into the RnR HOF in 1990 where their display describes them as "prime contenders, in the minds of many, for the title of World's Greatest Rock Band", and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005. The single "My Generation" and the albums Tommy and Who's Next have each been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2008, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey received Kennedy Center Honors, and in 2009, My Generation was selected for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry
They are considered one of the most influential rock bands of the 20th century. Their contributions to rock music include the development of the Marshall Stack, large PA systems, the use of the synthesizer, Entwistle and Moon's influential playing styles, Townshend's feedback, windmill guitar strum, and power chordguitar technique, and the development of the rock opera. They are cited as an influence by many bands of various genres, and their songs are still regularly played. Their appearances at Monterey and Woodstock helped give them a reputation as one of the greatest live rock acts, and the loud volume of the band's live show influenced the approach of hard rock and heavy metal. Punk Rock bands such as MC5, the Stooges, the Ramones, the Sex Pistols, the Clash and Green Daycite the Who as an influence. An early influence on Queen, guitarist Brian Mayreferred to the Who as being "among our favourite groups"
ALBUM BACKGROUND – QUADROPHENIA
Quadrophenia is the sixth studio album by the Who, released as a double album in October 1973.It is the group's third rock opera, the two previous being the "mini-opera" song "A Quick One, While He's Away" and the album Tommy. Quadrophenia is the only Who album entirely composed by Pete Townshend, and work started on the album in 1972. Recording was delayed while bassist John Entwistle and singer Roger Daltrey recorded solo albums and drummer Keith Moon worked on films. Because a new studio was not finished in time, the group had to use Ronnie Lane's (founder of The Faces) Mobile Studio. The album makes significant use of Townshend's multi-track synthesizers and sound effects, as well as Entwistle's layered horn parts, in addition to the group's typical playing styles, especially from Moon. Quadrophenia was released to a positive reception in both the UK and the US, but the resulting tour was marred with problems with backing tapes replacing the additional instruments on the album, and the stage piece was retired in early 1974. It was revived in 1996 with a larger ensemble, and a further tour took place in 2012.
The term "Quadrophenia" was coined by Pete Townshend, referring to schizophrenia, times two. The original release of Quadrophenia came with a set of recording notes for reviewers and journalists that explained the basic story and plot. Quadrophonic recording was supposed to be the next big thing, akin to the leap from mono to stereo. The Who built a special studio to record Quadrophenia in quadrophonic sound, but they ended up abandoning the quad mix because it was too impractical.
In a January, 2010 press release, Pete Townshend explained why Quadrophenia remains his most multi-dimensional work. "Quadrophenia is music, it's angry music, it never lets up, it's full of energy. But it's also simply a story of a kid who has a bad day. It rains and he goes and sits on a rock. And he contemplates the future and the present, and he decides to do something that he's never done before - he prays."
This is the 2nd of 6 times we'll be talking about The Who on T500. We talked about "A Quick One" back at #384 (David Wild was the guest). Next we'll talk about "My Generation" at 237, followed by "Live At Leeds" at #170, The Who Sell Out at 115, "Tommy" at 96, and lastly Who's Next at 28. On the 2020 Rerank: The Who Sell Out fell 201 spots to #316, Live At Leeds dropped down to 327 (157 positions), Tommy fell to #190 (94 spots), and Who's Next to #77 (49 spots). Today's album, along with "A Quick One" and "My Generation" didn't make the cut on the rerank,.
At the end of the liner notes, this was included "(No one in this story is meant to represent anyone either living or dead, particularly not the Mum and Dad. Our Mums and Dads are all very nice and live in bungalows which we bought for them in the Outer Hebrides.) "
When Quadrophenia was released, fans found it difficult to find a copy due to a shortage of vinyl caused by the OPEC oil embargo. Despite that, In the UK, Quadrophenia reached #2, being held off the top spot by David Bowie's Pin Ups. The album reached #2 on the US Billboard chart, the highest position of any Who album in the States, being kept from #1 by Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.