The Who - Who's Next (1971 uk, masterpiece, double disc japan SHM deluxe edition)

Much of Who's Next derives from Lifehouse, an ambitious sci-fi rock opera Pete Townshend abandoned after suffering a nervous breakdown, caused in part from working on the sequel to Tommy. 

There's no discernable theme behind these songs, yet this album is stronger than Tommy, falling just behind Who Sell Out as the finest record the Who ever cut. Townshend developed an infatuation with synthesizers during the recording of the album, and they're all over this album, adding texture where needed and amplifying the force, which is already at a fever pitch. 

Apart from Live at Leeds, the Who have never sounded as LOUD and unhinged as they do here, yet that's balanced by ballads, both lovely ("The Song Is Over") and scathing ("Behind Blue Eyes"). That's the key to Who's Next -- there's anger and sorrow, humor and regret, passion and tumult, all wrapped up in a blistering package where the rage is as affecting as the heartbreak. 

This is a retreat from the '60s, as Townshend declares the "Song Is Over," scorns the teenage wasteland, and bitterly declares that we "Won't Get Fooled Again." For all the sorrow and heartbreak that runs beneath the surface, this is an invigorating record, not just because Keith Moon runs rampant or because Roger Daltrey has never sung better or because John Entwistle spins out manic basslines that are as captivating as his "My Wife" is funny. 

This is invigorating because it has all of that, plus Townshend laying his soul bare in ways that are funny, painful, and utterly life-affirming. That is what the Who was about, not the rock operas, and that's why Who's Next is truer than Tommy or the abandoned Lifehouse. Those were art -- this, even with its pretensions, is rock 'n' roll.

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Tracks

Disc one

1. Baba O'Riley - 5:01

2. Bargain - 5:33

3. Love Ain't For Keeping - 2:10

4. My Wife (John Entwistle)3:35

5. The Song Is Over - 6:17

6. Getting In Tune - 4:49

7. Going Mobile - 3:43

8. Behind Blue Eyes - 3:42

9. Won't Get Fooled Again - 8:35

10.Baby Don't You Do It (Longer Version) - 8:21

11.Getting In Tune - 6:36

12.Pure And Easy (Alternate Version) - 4:33

13.Love Ain't For Keeping (Electric Version, Townshend On Lead Vocals) - 4:06

14.Behind Blue Eyes (Alternate Version) - 3:30

15.Won't Get Fooled Again (Original New York Sessions Version) - 8:48

Disc two
1. Love Ain't For Keeping - 2:57
2. Pure and Easy - 6:00
3. Young Man Blues - 4:47
4. Time Is Passing - 3:59
5. Behind Blue Eyes - 4:49
6. I Don't Even Know Myself - 5:42
7. Too Much of Anything - 4:20
8. Getting in Tune - 6:42
9. Bargain - 5:46
10.Water - 8:19
11.My Generation - 2:58
12.Road Runner (Ellas McDaniel) - 3:14
13.Naked Eye - 6:21
14.Won't Get Fooled Again - 8:50

The Who
*Roger Daltrey – Lead Vocals, Harmonica
*Pete Townshend – Guitars, Organ, VCS3 And ARP Synthesiser, Backing Vocals, Piano, Vocals
*John Entwistle – Bass Guitar, Vocals,  Piano
*Keith Moon – Drums, Percussion
Additional Musicians
*Nicky Hopkins – Piano
*Dave Arbus – Violin
*Al Kooper – Organ
*Leslie West – Guitar

1965  My Generation (two disc japan SHM-CD remaster)
1966  A Quick One (japan SHM-CD double disc box remaster)
1967  Sell Out (double disc japan SHM expanded edition)

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