The Who - Who’s Next
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On this episode, we look at the Who’s monster-selling 1971 LP: Who’s Next. Coming off the surprising success of Tommy, Pete Townsend was looking to take the "concept album" in a new direction: a full, multimedia experience where music, film, and stage would become one. The Lifehouse project (as it was known) had a backstory: a dystopian future where humans can experience life only as beings plugged into a machine, the Lifehouse. (Sound similar? The Matrix?) Attempts to record the ambitious project failed, resulting in a near breakdown for Townsend and frustration from his bandmates. Luckily, producer Glyn Johns recognized the brilliance of the tunes and convinced the Who to dump the double album and streamline their current project, pick the best songs, and record a single LP.
Inspired by the power of their live concerts while touring for Tommy, the band harnessed that energy into remarkable performances on these brilliant songs. It’s a bit of a transitional album for the band- moving them from their earlier pop-oriented tunes to a fuller (and louder) sound that was perfect for the “Arena Rock” phase of their career. Townsend introduced synthesizers to the band sound, providing these songs with a new rhythmic foundation. Who’s Next finds the Who firing on all cylinders to create an album of remarkable breadth and depth.
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THINGS WE DISCUSSED ON THIS EPISODE
The Detours circa 1962. (Pictured L to R) Roger Daltrey -with his homemade Stratocaster, Colin Dawson, Pete Townsend, Doug Sandon, and John Entwhistle.
Here’s the Who, temporarily renamed the High Numbers, in full-on Mod performing a cover of the Miracles “I gotta Dance to Keep from Crying” at the Railway Hotel.
Watch the Who’s legendary performance “My Generation” on the Smothers Brother’s Comedy Hour in 1967. You catch a glimpse into the band’s personalities. The clip is so iconic that it was used as the opening scene for the 1979 Who documentary The Kids are Alright.
The Who Sell Out. Is this a possible contender for worst LP cover?
In 2000, Townsend released a box set called Lifehouse Chronicles which was centered around the Who’s "abandoned" Lifehouse rock opera. Click on the album side below to see the track listing proposed for the original 1971 version of the Lifehouse double album.
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"Teenage Wasteland”
"Going Mobile”
"Baba O'Riley"
"Time Is Passing"
"Love Ain't for Keeping"
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"Bargain"
"Too Much of Anything"
"Greyhound Girl"
"Mary"
"Behind Blue Eyes"
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"I Don't Even Know Myself"
"Pure and Easy
‘ "Getting in Tune"
14. "Let's See Action (Nothing is Everything)"
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"Won't Get Fooled Again"
"The Song Is Over"
The teachings of Indian spiritual master Meher Baba (pictured behind Pete Townsend) heavily influenced Townshend and inspired his Lifehouse concept, particularly Baba’s book “The Mysticism of Sound,” and the concept of “The Music of the Spheres”. The “Baba” in “Baba O’Riley” is an homage to him,
The Who performed live on the B-Stage at Shepperton Studios in May of 1978 in front of a small invite-only audience, that included members of the Pretenders, Generation X, and the Sex Pistols. Here they are performing “Baba O’Riley” with Daltrey’s harmonical replacing the violin at the end of the song.
Here’s Townsend talking about the use of synthesizers on "Won't Get Fooled Again".
Watch the isolated bass from “Won’t Get Fooled Again” from that same Shepperton Studios 1976 recording. Entwistle wasn’t nicknamed “Thunderfingers” for nothing!
