Classic Albums: The Who, Who's Next [M]

Credited by many fans and musicians as being the greatest testament to the song writing ability of Pete Townshend and the musical prowess and power of The Who, Who’s Next reached number one in the UK charts after its release in 1971 and still stands as the band’s most pivotal album. Beginning as a concept for a multimedia event to follow up Townshend’s ‘rock opera’ Tommy, Who’s Next came to fruition when the remainder of the band as well as everyone else could not grasp what Townshend was trying to say. 

I have to admit that I wouldn’t call myself a Who fan. I really like some of the songs they’ve had and I appreciate why their names are famous within the realms of rock ‘n roll, but I just can’t bring myself to really love them. I’m sure this now begs the question ‘why do we have this DVD in our collection?’ and the answer is that it was a present to my brother, again not really a Who fan. And as it’s in the collection, it stands that I have to review it so here we go… 

Credited by many fans and musicians as being the greatest testament to the song writing ability of Pete Townshend and the musical prowess and power of The Who, Who’s Next reached number one in the UK charts after its release in 1971 and still stands as the band’s most pivotal album. Beginning as a concept for a multimedia event to follow up Townshend’s ‘rock opera’ Tommy, Who’s Next came to fruition when the remainder of the band as well as everyone else could not grasp what Townshend was trying to say. 

I will admit that this is quite an interesting feature, maybe even more especially for viewers who aren’t fans, because it really articulates why this band was so adored and where its ingenuity stems from. For a start, I didn’t realise that it was Pete Townshend that was the real musician and songwriter. His talent really knows no bounds: windmill impersonation was just a novelty in his repertoire. After Tommy, which does receive some explanatory attention in this feature making it a little easier to grasp and appreciate, Townshend had in mind a follow up multimedia event that was to include a live concert, a movie, and a soundtrack. However, the concept of the event proved to be a little too obscure for fans and even the band to concretely grasp and so the project was reshaped with the powerful anthems of ‘We Won’t Get Fooled Again’, ‘Teenage Wasteland’, and ‘Behind Blue Eyes’ appearing on the album where they were better suited, as they could tell their own stories and spread the concepts of utopia and dystopia by their own notes. When you hear Peter, Roger, and John talk about these songs in their original context, it really makes you listen to them differently and maybe even glean more meaning out of them. 

As well as recent interviews, the feature also contains vintage, unseen footage of live performances of some of these classic tracks. 

For the Who fans out there, this’d be a great little feature that you should have in your collection and for the occasional listeners like me, it’s a fascinating feature that gives you a little more insight into what made/makes this celebrated band so celebrated.