why is this album so underrated?
Gross cover
>>61209169
it's not
>>61209169
I KNOW YOU CAN SEE ME
>>61209701
NOW HERE'S A SURPRISE
>>61209169
That's a good question, especially when you consider that this album pioneered the whole theory of the "Concept" album. If there is any flaw to this fine masterpiece, it's that the concept falls apart halfway through side two of the album. (Or after the song "Relax" if you have the C.D.) The extra tracks included on the C.D. re-issue sort of help revive the concept, but the placement of certain songs sort of confuses the whole idea even further, even though the inclusion of the extra songs are great.
>>61209691
compared to the Who's other work it is
The Who is just underrated in general.
They're now just known as CSIcore and it's sad.
>Pete Townshend was a great songwriter
>wasn't a gifted guitarist, so made up for it by basically inventing the power chord
>Roger Daltrey is a great singer
>John Entwistle is arguably the best bass player ever
>Keith Moon is one of the best drummers ever
>perfect balance between studio experimentation and live insanity
>Tommy is one of the best pop albums of all time
>Live at Leeds is probably the best live album ever made
>>61209805
>>61210373
These.
People lump the Who together with the uncreative dadrock shit of the 60a and 70s even though they were teeming with talent and creativity. Townshend literally coined the term "power pop", pioneered among the first concept albums and rock operas, and contributed a ton to how rock bands look and perform onstage with his antics like the windmill guitar technique and guitar smashing.
Actually, if I had to simplify it a bit, I'd say just Pete Townshend is underrated. Dude was the fucking man.
Odorono is such a fantastic song. The whole album is pretty great it's too bad they're pretty unknown past Tommy
>>61210373
So much this
>>61210373
Quadrophenia blows Tommy out of the water. And Tommy is a great album.
>>61210419
This. The Who were usually on the cutting edge of rock music. They were the first notable noise rockers pre-dating the Velvets (I'm sure some unknown garage rock band "beat them to it,") with their use of feedback and extended techniques. No one was doing feedback this violent in '66-67.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdRs1gKpeGg
They of course pioneered the Rock Opera (a couple of bands did beat the Who to the punch, but A Quick One does predate S.F. Sorrow and Simon Simopath) and Power Pop. Were some of the first proto-punkers, and the first mainstream rock band to explore the synthesizer as not something that just adds "trippy" effects, but something you can build a composition around.
Townsend also conceived of generative music long before Brian Eno.
>What Townshend was aiming to achieve in Lifehouse was to write music that could be adapted to reflect the personalities of the audience.[1] To do this he wanted to adapt his newly acquired hardware, VCS3 and ARP synthesisers and a quadraphonic PA, to create a machine capable of generating and combining personal music themes written from computerised biographical data.
And in addition to that, probably the best live rock band in history.
>>61210759
Tommy just has a really really fucked up story.
I'm convinced that Pete got raped as a child and it really messed him up.
And telling the story of Tommy was his way of coping with it.
>listing off what the who "pioneered" and "coined" (seriously?) instead of simply judging whether the music is any good
fucking wikikids
>>61209169
This is by far my favorite Who album, and a top five album of the decade for me
Entwistle's solo stuff is also fantastic.
"Pete is a really complicated, moody individual but the stuff he comes up with is bloody brilliant. We've been together for 50 years; I can't imagine life without him."
-- Roger Daltrey
>>61211164
Translation:
>Thank God I met someone who knows how to write music. I'm nothing without him, and even though I may think he's an ass, working with him keeps the checks coming.
>>61211218
Little bit of an unfair characterization since Roger in his prime was a very gifted vocalist, albeit a bit unfortunate that he hit his peak in the late 80s long after The Who had stopped being commercially relevant. He's also an extremely nice guy and at 70 still loves getting up on stage and performing.
Pete ofc also gets props for recognizing what he had with Entwistle and Moon and didn't just use them for basic timekeeping.
>>61210373
>The Who is just underrated in general
There may be a few reasons for that.
>their North American reputation mostly rests on Tommy and Who's Next
>they were best known back in the day as a live act and their albums don't quite do justice to the songs
>Pete's introspective 2deep4u songwriting isn't very accessible compared with the likes of buttrock like Kiss and AC/DC, also it's often hard to appreciate for someone who didn't grow up in the 60s-70s
>>61209169
The Who are the worst of the Dad-Rock genre
>>61211493
Confirmed for never having listened to a Who album and only knows YEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.
>>61211343
I'm honestly surprised him and Pete can even still get up on stage at all given the sheer amount of shows they've done and the ferocity of their live performances.
>>61211581
Infact Roger is a self-described health nut so he does take pretty good care of himself. He said the first time he ever worried about his health was at 63 when he had to get throat surgery. Bands like Motley Crue who are way younger than him were totally shot before even reaching the age of 50 due to their excesses.
>>61211581
Rock stars have energy into their 60s and 70s because they lived a life of leisure.
Didn't work generic office jobs, which usually causes premature aging and a host of medical problems from sitting on your ass for 12 hours a day.
And getting a workout for 2 hours every night means they're exponentially more healthy than a normal person their age.
It's a reddit album
>>61210419
>People lump the Who together with the uncreative dadrock shit of the 60s and 70s even though they were teeming with talent and creativity
Which specific bands were uncreative shit?
>>61211674
Confirmed for having never been in a band. Life on the road is stressful as hell and all the excesses available to you (booze, drugs, hookers) take their toll. Not to mention years of exposure to loud music damaging your hearing and guitarists busting up their hands (arthritis and tendonitis is a bitch).
>>61209169
Why did Pete look like a 40 year old when he was like 22 at the time.
Armenia City In The Sky is a fantastic opening track
The skits are the only things that bothered me
>>61210835
Becoming a pedophile was his way of coping with it.
OUR LOVE WAS
>>61212696
Prolly his facial structure. Roger for comparison looks like an early 20s male there (he would have been about 22 when the pic was taken)
>>61210810
>And in addition to that, probably the best live rock band in history
Seriously, nobody could match the savagery of a Who show in the early 70s.
Who's Next is literally top 5 hard rock albums ever
>>61209169
Because the cover is unaesthetic
