I think this Microscope has waited more than it should.
Who's Next is my favorite album by the Who, and I think it should be present in the collection of every hard rock lover. It was intended to be another rock opera like
Tommy or
Quadrophenia called
Lifehouse, but the project was aborted and we got this record instead. Maybe this explains the excellence of the album, as we got the cream of the project.
Who's Next was released in August 1971. The 60's were over, and the Who were one of the few acts of the decade that still could give high quality music. Let's see action...
Baba O'Riley. I'm not a big fan of the famous long synthesizer intro, but it was an original way to start the album. Things become interesting when piano appears at 0:42, and it gets better at 0:57 when Keith's drumming begins. The song's about teenage doubts and convictions. Great lyrics. Wonderful drum solo at 2:31. Love the short guitar solo at 3:06. The song ends with a neurotic violin played over the synthesizer. A classic song.
Bargain. Now we're really talking about hard rock. The intro is slow, but things get rapidly faster. Tambourine detected. I think the highest point of the song is Pete's devastating rhythm guitar. I always notice the bass touch at 0:53. Beautiful slower middle starts at 1:47. Great John's bass in the instrumental part. Back to the fast rocker at 2:57. Nice acoustic guitar toward the end. The song is a constant hard-soft-hard journey. Certainly one of the best tracks.
Love Ain't For Keeping. Fine little song with a good message. Love the harmony vocals and especially the acoustic guitar work.
My Wife. The only song written by John Entwistle in the album, and probably his best ever. Fantastic drumming, it drives the song from the beginning to the end. The plot is very funny, about a man who's going to be murdered by his wife because he couldn't get home, because he had drunk too much. The song ends with the frightened husband repeating "she's coming" continuously.
The Song Is Over. In my opinion, the lowest point of the album. It's not exactly a bad song, but it's quite repetitive and longer than I need. The synthesizer doesn't help very much. Good piano though. Funny enough, my favorite part of the track is the ending... when the song is over.
Getting In Tune. I like this one. Sweet piano intro. Very good bass, especially at 1:10. Love the channel changing of the answer "right in on you" during the chorus. Very fast piano at the end.
Going Mobile. Another funny fast number. Love the acoustic guitar throughout the song. Synthesizer is used to good effect this time, giving a "wah-wah" sound. Well done, Pete.
Behind Blue Eyes. I think this is Pete's peak as a lyricist and probably as a balladeer too. The bad man who doesn't want to be a bad man. Roger's voice is in high form here. Harmony vocals at 1:13 touch all the senses. The song is acoustic until 2:18, when furious electric guitar and drumming appear and Roger's voice is transformed. The song ends repeating the beautiful first verse. One of the best songs the band ever recorded.
Won't Get Fooled Again. A very long closer, and it deserves every second. Again, the synthesizer is well used. The song speaks about the failure of earthly revolutions. Bass is great as usual. Fine guitar solo at 3:53. First "yeah" shouted by Roger at 4:28. The famous drum solo at 7:31 reminds me a lot to Ringo's solo in "The End" from Abbey Road, even though Keith's solo is wilder. Then it's time for the second, louder "yeaaahhh" by Roger, a rock's emblem. The last words summarize the message of the song: "meet the new boss, same as the old boss."
This record is the Who at their best, and it's probably a Top 5 album in my music world.