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To say Quad has filler shows an incredible ignorance on what it was ... one of the great concept albums of all time, and there is not a single musical note of filler.
It was one of the great bloated concept albums of all time...would have been much better as a single disc.
Love Reign O'er Me? The Who were drifing pretty close to Prog-Rock on that one.
I'd rather hear Squeeze Box.
Really? C'mon, Love Reign O'er Me is a brilliant, brilliant piece of music, both in terms of composition and execution. Such passion! Squeeze Box? Fun tune but filler compared to the bulk of Quadrophenia or Who's Next.
"Gonna find my way to heaven ..."
Agree, but Squeeze Box very different from everything else on By Numbers, their most under rated album
That and Townshend's boozing, depression, guilt about cheating on his wife whilst on tour and all documented brilliantly in the Dave Marsh book.
Yeah, that wasn't just me stating an opinion, it basically a musical fact, agreed on by any credible critic, review, true musical fan, etc. Your ignorance of this looms large as well...
Nothing wrong with Kenney, except that he followed Moon, which was practically impossible to do in the first place. It was not Kenney's fault either, that Townsend was uninspired. I have heard though, that he was at odds with Daltrey, which was why he was sacked for the 1989 tour.
Good Lord.
Yes, I am not a "true musical fan."
It's clear to all my friends that I habitually lie...I just bring them down.
Good start, the first step is admitting it.
Come on. Where is Gaslightstreet on this...
It's a bit of both: the spoken word stuff (Stop Hurting People) wouldn't work with the Who, but The Sea Refuses No River was a missed opportunity. Daltrey could have done great things with that one.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-01-07 03:22 by ab.
Can't think of a keeper on Face Dances. I've seen the Who 20 times. You Better You Bet is a designated pee break song every time. Another Tricky Day was killed by the production.
And a "true musical fan" of the Who would recognize that I was quoting Townshend lyrics.
They're all over youtube - just type in 'Pete Townshend demos'.
It's like opening a can of worms...demos galore.
_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......
oh, he's scrutable all right.
Or Voodoo Lounge. It could have been a killer album with the best tracks from Main Offender and Wandering Spirit and some mediocre stuff left off.
Steel Wheels is not a bad album but it's not really special either. Many of the Stones best albums didn't quite impress me on first listen. Wasn't thrilled with Exile at first. Miss You seemed like a lazy Hot Stuff retread. Their music with real depth required repeated listens for them to slip into focus and reveal their greatness. Steel Wheels, however was the first album that I actually liked on the first listen. Alas, it lacked that depth of their best work and thus today I have no desire to listen to it.
"Gonna find my way to heaven ..."
Most of it is just boring. Most songs are useless crap. Who would listen to it if it wasn´t a Stones-record? Nobody. Songs worth listening to are
Break The Spell---great
Sad Sad Sad----good
Hearts For Sale----good
Hold On To Your Hat----great
Mixed Emotions---ok
...only two great songs, that´s even less than GHS has.
The rest of SW is boring, boring, boring. Especially Keith´s tracks are disappointing. Just crap, IMO. He can and always could do better than that.
The best song they have recorded during the SW-sessions is Fancy Man Blues.
The Who´s It´s Hard is 10 miles above Steel Wheels.
Sad Sad Sad - great
Mixed Emotions - very good
Terrifying - excellent
Hearts For Sale - great
Almost Hear You Sigh - great
Continental Drift - excellent
Break The Spell - great
Slipping Away - excellent
Not too shabby, I'd say..
Absolutely agree. I even like Can't Be Seen, mostly for the bridge, but your list already shows that Steel Wheels is not shabby at all.
HMS's viewpoints are usually cluttered by the fact that he dismisses every slow song as "boring" and every song that's not your typical 100% fare like Continental Drift as "filler" (what also explains his disdain for GHS) so there's absolutely no need to have serious musical discussions with him.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-01-07 21:55 by retired_dog.
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Re: OT The Who - It´s Hard
Posted by:
LeonidP
()
Date: January 7, 2017 00:02
Quote
HMSQuote
DandelionPowderman
Er, Quadrophenia is light years better than It's Hard..
I sort of agree and at the same time I do not...
If you put Quads best songs on a single LP, you´d get an album better than It´s Hard. But as a double album containing the usual (unavoidable????) amount of fillers Quad has to step back. It´s Hard is all killers, no fillers, which not happens very often with Who-albums.
Face Dances is also a great but sadly underrated album. It may be a bit "smoother" than what people might expect from The Who, but the album has plenty of good songs - and Roger still sang "a razor line". I love both albums, but prefer It´s Hard because of it´s more rocking approach.
To say Quad has filler shows an incredible ignorance on what it was ... one of the great concept albums of all time, and there is not a single musical note of filler.
Re: OT The Who - It´s Hard
Posted by:
Moonshine
()
Date: January 7, 2017 00:21
Eminence Front is a great track and the best thing on the album. Pete trying a new sound that really works.
Re: OT The Who - It´s Hard
Posted by:
loog droog
()
Date: January 7, 2017 00:24
Quote
LeonidP
To say Quad has filler shows an incredible ignorance on what it was ... one of the great concept albums of all time, and there is not a single musical note of filler.
It was one of the great bloated concept albums of all time...would have been much better as a single disc.
Love Reign O'er Me? The Who were drifing pretty close to Prog-Rock on that one.
I'd rather hear Squeeze Box.
Re: OT The Who - It´s Hard
Posted by:
HonkeyTonkFlash
()
Date: January 7, 2017 00:29
Quote
loog droogQuote
LeonidP
To say Quad has filler shows an incredible ignorance on what it was ... one of the great concept albums of all time, and there is not a single musical note of filler.
It was one of the great bloated concept albums of all time...would have been much better as a single disc.
Love Reign O'er Me? The Who were drifing pretty close to Prog-Rock on that one.
I'd rather hear Squeeze Box.
Really? C'mon, Love Reign O'er Me is a brilliant, brilliant piece of music, both in terms of composition and execution. Such passion! Squeeze Box? Fun tune but filler compared to the bulk of Quadrophenia or Who's Next.
"Gonna find my way to heaven ..."
Re: OT The Who - It´s Hard
Posted by:
Moonshine
()
Date: January 7, 2017 00:42
Quote
HonkeyTonkFlashQuote
loog droogQuote
LeonidP
To say Quad has filler shows an incredible ignorance on what it was ... one of the great concept albums of all time, and there is not a single musical note of filler.
It was one of the great bloated concept albums of all time...would have been much better as a single disc.
Love Reign O'er Me? The Who were drifing pretty close to Prog-Rock on that one.
I'd rather hear Squeeze Box.
Really? C'mon, Love Reign O'er Me is a brilliant, brilliant piece of music, both in terms of composition and execution. Such passion! Squeeze Box? Fun tune but filler compared to the bulk of Quadrophenia or Who's Next.
Agree, but Squeeze Box very different from everything else on By Numbers, their most under rated album
Re: OT The Who - It´s Hard
Posted by:
loog droog
()
Date: January 7, 2017 00:49
The Who By Numbers was Townshend pointedly making a record minus the synths that he used so brilliantly on Lifehouse/Who's Next and then went over the top with on Quadrophenia (where the band tried to tour playing along with tapes!) and then way, way over with the music for the Tommy soundtrack.
By '75 there was a pre-Punk synth backlash brewing. Look at the credits on those early Queen records where they boast about not using them.
By '75 there was a pre-Punk synth backlash brewing. Look at the credits on those early Queen records where they boast about not using them.
Re: OT The Who - It´s Hard
Posted by:
Moonshine
()
Date: January 7, 2017 01:12
Quote
loog droog
The Who By Numbers was Townshend pointedly making a record minus the synths that he used so brilliantly on Lifehouse/Who's Next and then went over the top with on Quadrophenia (where the band tried to tour playing along with tapes!) and then way, way over with the music for the Tommy soundtrack.
By '75 there was a pre-Punk synth backlash brewing. Look at the credits on those early Queen records where they boast about not using them.
That and Townshend's boozing, depression, guilt about cheating on his wife whilst on tour and all documented brilliantly in the Dave Marsh book.
Re: OT The Who - It´s Hard
Posted by:
LeonidP
()
Date: January 7, 2017 01:26
Quote
loog droogQuote
LeonidP
To say Quad has filler shows an incredible ignorance on what it was ... one of the great concept albums of all time, and there is not a single musical note of filler.
It was one of the great bloated concept albums of all time...would have been much better as a single disc...
Yeah, that wasn't just me stating an opinion, it basically a musical fact, agreed on by any credible critic, review, true musical fan, etc. Your ignorance of this looms large as well...
Re: OT The Who - It´s Hard
Posted by:
The Sicilian
()
Date: January 7, 2017 01:34
So what is all the disdain for Kenney Jones? He certainly made his bones in the business with the Small Faces. He was always treated like the Chuck Leavell of the Stones. The one thing that kind of clashed with the Who was that he was a speed drummer. He always played like he was on Meth or something. He must of beat the hell out of those skins.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-01-07 01:36 by The Sicilian.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-01-07 01:36 by The Sicilian.
Re: OT The Who - It´s Hard
Posted by:
Blueranger
()
Date: January 7, 2017 01:52
Quote
The Sicilian
So what is all the disdain for Kenney Jones? He certainly made his bones in the business with the Small Faces. He was always treated like the Chuck Leavell of the Stones. The one thing that kind of clashed with the Who was that he was a speed drummer. He always played like he was on Meth or something. He must of beat the hell out of those skins.
Nothing wrong with Kenney, except that he followed Moon, which was practically impossible to do in the first place. It was not Kenney's fault either, that Townsend was uninspired. I have heard though, that he was at odds with Daltrey, which was why he was sacked for the 1989 tour.
Re: OT The Who - It´s Hard
Posted by:
loog droog
()
Date: January 7, 2017 02:04
Quote
LeonidP
Yeah, that wasn't just me stating an opinion, it basically a musical fact, agreed on by any credible critic, review, true musical fan, etc. Your ignorance of this looms large as well...
Good Lord.
Yes, I am not a "true musical fan."
It's clear to all my friends that I habitually lie...I just bring them down.
Re: OT The Who - It´s Hard
Posted by:
LeonidP
()
Date: January 7, 2017 02:22
Quote
loog droogQuote
LeonidP
Yeah, that wasn't just me stating an opinion, it basically a musical fact, agreed on by any credible critic, review, true musical fan, etc. Your ignorance of this looms large as well...
Good Lord.
Yes, I am not a "true musical fan."
It's clear to all my friends that I habitually lie...I just bring them down.
Good start, the first step is admitting it.
Re: OT The Who - It´s Hard
Posted by:
swimtothemoon
()
Date: January 7, 2017 02:45
I have always liked "It's Hard" but that may be due to seeing The Who several times on the 82 tour. My favorite album of the Who is Quadrophenia and Pete's
"Chinese Eyes" is brilliant as well.
"Chinese Eyes" is brilliant as well.
Re: OT The Who - It´s Hard
Posted by:
swimtothemoon
()
Date: January 7, 2017 02:49
Quote
HMS
I´ve always loved It´s Hard. I cannot detect one single bad song on the album. Most songs are even brilliant. This album is better than Face Dances and I admit to have much love for Face Dances, too.
Who Are You, Who By Numbers are not as good as It´s Hard, IMO. Endless Wire is awful bad. How can anyone listen to this and think of It´s Hard as bad?
Listening to Pete´s solo-albums I don´t feel he saved the better songs for his own albums. I´m not very much fond of his solo-work. Empty Glass & White City, never liked those albums... Face The Face is a good song, but I can´t imagine it as a Who-song. So Pete probably knew which songs to use for what project.
It´s Hard is their best studio album since Who´s Next.
For an album recorded in the 80s, It´s Hard is brilliant (just like DW).
It kicks off great with Athena and finishes brilliantly with Cry If You Want.
9.5 out of 10 for their last great album.
Come on. Where is Gaslightstreet on this...
Re: OT The Who - It´s Hard
Posted by:
ab
()
Date: January 7, 2017 03:15
Quote
SpudQuote
ab
A really awful record, as is Faces Dances. Between solo albums and the Who, It's Hard was Townshend's fourth album in less than 2 1/2 years. He was keeping his best stuff for his own records (Empty Glass and Chinese Eyes) and leaving the Who with scraps. He was overextended, and it showed. Eminence Front is aces, Cry If You Want ain't bad (though it borrows from Communication off of Chinese Eyes), but otherwise keep both albums.
I hadn't really thought about that before.
But yes.
I thnk Chinese Eyes in particular is a fantastic album...both lyrically & musically.
I'm now thnking further about what's on those albums and whether it was a case of him cynically saving his best stuff for his own albums...
...or whether the best stuff he was writing jsut didn't lend itself so well jto the style & sound of The Who.
It's a bit of both: the spoken word stuff (Stop Hurting People) wouldn't work with the Who, but The Sea Refuses No River was a missed opportunity. Daltrey could have done great things with that one.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-01-07 03:22 by ab.
Re: OT The Who - It´s Hard
Posted by:
ab
()
Date: January 7, 2017 03:27
Quote
crholmstrom
Eminence Front is the proof that even the crappiest Who album has 1 good song...
Can't think of a keeper on Face Dances. I've seen the Who 20 times. You Better You Bet is a designated pee break song every time. Another Tricky Day was killed by the production.
Re: OT The Who - It´s Hard
Posted by:
LeonidP
()
Date: January 7, 2017 03:36
c'mon people, let's not kid ourselves ... Chinese Eyes is a great album? Wow, I can't see how any Who fan could make such a claim.
Sea Refuses No River is very good, I'll give you that one. And Slit Skirts is at least listenable ... But Face Dances (the song), Exquisitely Bored, Stop Hurting People, Communication have all got to be the worst songs in human history, even worse than Cry If You Want. The only possible song worse than all of those is that ridiculous Friend Is A Friend song he did.
I don't mind Stardom In Action or Uniforms, but neither one is really worthy of Who material.
** editing to add ** ... BTW, for Pete's great album, the obvious choice is the great Empty Glass, where every song is great!
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-01-07 03:38 by LeonidP.
Sea Refuses No River is very good, I'll give you that one. And Slit Skirts is at least listenable ... But Face Dances (the song), Exquisitely Bored, Stop Hurting People, Communication have all got to be the worst songs in human history, even worse than Cry If You Want. The only possible song worse than all of those is that ridiculous Friend Is A Friend song he did.
I don't mind Stardom In Action or Uniforms, but neither one is really worthy of Who material.
** editing to add ** ... BTW, for Pete's great album, the obvious choice is the great Empty Glass, where every song is great!
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-01-07 03:38 by LeonidP.
Re: OT The Who - It´s Hard
Posted by:
loog droog
()
Date: January 7, 2017 03:37
Quote
LeonidPQuote
loog droogQuote
LeonidP
Yeah, that wasn't just me stating an opinion, it basically a musical fact, agreed on by any credible critic, review, true musical fan, etc. Your ignorance of this looms large as well...
Good Lord.
Yes, I am not a "true musical fan."
It's clear to all my friends that I habitually lie...I just bring them down.
Good start, the first step is admitting it.
And a "true musical fan" of the Who would recognize that I was quoting Townshend lyrics.
Re: OT The Who - It´s Hard
Posted by:
Hairball
()
Date: January 7, 2017 04:26
This Pete solo tune is worthy (especially this extended version), and could have been a great Who tune IMO!
Gonna Get Ya (Work in Progress Long Version)
Then again, other than a Roger vocal and perhaps some fancy Entwistle bass lines, it might not have changed much even if given the 'Who' treatment.
I imagine Roger could have done a fine job with this, but would Pete have even given it to Roger to sing?
After some thought, probably best left as a solo tune...
_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......
Gonna Get Ya (Work in Progress Long Version)
Then again, other than a Roger vocal and perhaps some fancy Entwistle bass lines, it might not have changed much even if given the 'Who' treatment.
I imagine Roger could have done a fine job with this, but would Pete have even given it to Roger to sing?
After some thought, probably best left as a solo tune...
_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......
Re: OT The Who - It´s Hard
Posted by:
peoplewitheyes
()
Date: January 7, 2017 05:00
how come noone's mentioned 'I've known no war'? - what a muscular piece of intelligence.
I also love those simple songs like 'Why did I fall for that' or the title track. They sound like relatives of 66/quick one era power-pop Who.
Also One life's Enough ... so touching.
I think Pete was on a massive creative resurgence following Moon's death and quitting heroin from 78-82, he just seemed to have songs and lyircs pouring out.
And, as someone on hear posted before, Pete is the undisputed master of bridges in songwriting.
I don't care what all you haters say. I love most all of Pete Twonshend's output up to 1982, and quite a bit post that year
I also love those simple songs like 'Why did I fall for that' or the title track. They sound like relatives of 66/quick one era power-pop Who.
Also One life's Enough ... so touching.
I think Pete was on a massive creative resurgence following Moon's death and quitting heroin from 78-82, he just seemed to have songs and lyircs pouring out.
And, as someone on hear posted before, Pete is the undisputed master of bridges in songwriting.
I don't care what all you haters say. I love most all of Pete Twonshend's output up to 1982, and quite a bit post that year
Re: OT The Who - It´s Hard
Posted by:
peoplewitheyes
()
Date: January 7, 2017 05:41
by the way, Hairball, that was a fantastic outtake/demo of a great track.. Do you have any more of that?
Re: OT The Who - It´s Hard
Posted by:
Hairball
()
Date: January 7, 2017 07:13
Quote
peoplewitheyes
by the way, Hairball, that was a fantastic outtake/demo of a great track.. Do you have any more of that?
They're all over youtube - just type in 'Pete Townshend demos'.
It's like opening a can of worms...demos galore.
_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......
Re: OT The Who - It´s Hard
Posted by:
treaclefingers
()
Date: January 7, 2017 07:20
Quote
keefriff99More contrarianism from the inscrutable HMS.Quote
HMS
I´ve always loved It´s Hard. I cannot detect one single bad song on the album. Most songs are even brilliant. This album is better than Face Dances and I admit to have much love for Face Dances, too.
Who Are You, Who By Numbers are not as good as It´s Hard, IMO. Endless Wire is awful bad. How can anyone listen to this and think of It´s Hard as bad?
Listening to Pete´s solo-albums I don´t feel he saved the better songs for his own albums. I´m not very much fond of his solo-work. Empty Glass & White City, never liked those albums... Face The Face is a good song, but I can´t imagine it as a Who-song. So Pete probably knew which songs to use for what project.
It´s Hard is their best studio album since Who´s Next.
For an album recorded in the 80s, It´s Hard is brilliant (just like DW).
It kicks off great with Athena and finishes brilliantly with Cry If You Want.
9.5 out of 10 for their last great album.
oh, he's scrutable all right.
Re: OT The Who - It´s Hard
Posted by:
retired_dog
()
Date: January 7, 2017 09:01
Quote
DandelionPowderman
Two albums I don't care a lot for. God knows I've tried, but...
ER is a bad example, Blueranger. There are lots of good stuff on that album. Try DW.
Or Voodoo Lounge. It could have been a killer album with the best tracks from Main Offender and Wandering Spirit and some mediocre stuff left off.
Re: OT The Who - It´s Hard
Posted by:
HMS
()
Date: January 7, 2017 15:26
Voodoo Lounge IS a killer album if you keep the best songs and add I´m Gonna Drive & Jump On Top Of Me Baby. You can do that also with B2B & VL and it will work fine. Shorten it, those albums are bloated. Only Steel Wheels is a hopeless case, anyway you look at it, all you can get is a 5-track-EP.(and only if you´re in good mood)
Re: OT The Who - It´s Hard
Posted by:
HonkeyTonkFlash
()
Date: January 7, 2017 15:48
Quote
HMS
Voodoo Lounge IS a killer album if you keep the best songs and add I´m Gonna Drive & Jump On Top Of Me Baby. You can do that also with B2B & VL and it will work fine. Shorten it, those albums are bloated. Only Steel Wheels is a hopeless case, anyway you look at it, all you can get is a 5-track-EP.(and only if you´re in good mood)
Steel Wheels is not a bad album but it's not really special either. Many of the Stones best albums didn't quite impress me on first listen. Wasn't thrilled with Exile at first. Miss You seemed like a lazy Hot Stuff retread. Their music with real depth required repeated listens for them to slip into focus and reveal their greatness. Steel Wheels, however was the first album that I actually liked on the first listen. Alas, it lacked that depth of their best work and thus today I have no desire to listen to it.
"Gonna find my way to heaven ..."
Re: OT The Who - It´s Hard
Posted by:
HMS
()
Date: January 7, 2017 18:48
Quote
HonkeyTonkFlash
Steel Wheels is not a bad album but it's not really special either.
Most of it is just boring. Most songs are useless crap. Who would listen to it if it wasn´t a Stones-record? Nobody. Songs worth listening to are
Break The Spell---great
Sad Sad Sad----good
Hearts For Sale----good
Hold On To Your Hat----great
Mixed Emotions---ok
...only two great songs, that´s even less than GHS has.
The rest of SW is boring, boring, boring. Especially Keith´s tracks are disappointing. Just crap, IMO. He can and always could do better than that.
The best song they have recorded during the SW-sessions is Fancy Man Blues.
The Who´s It´s Hard is 10 miles above Steel Wheels.
Re: OT The Who - It´s Hard
Posted by:
DandelionPowderman
()
Date: January 7, 2017 19:31
Quote
HMSQuote
HonkeyTonkFlash
Steel Wheels is not a bad album but it's not really special either.
Most of it is just boring. Most songs are useless crap. Who would listen to it if it wasn´t a Stones-record? Nobody. Songs worth listening to are
Break The Spell---great
Sad Sad Sad----good
Hearts For Sale----good
Hold On To Your Hat----great
Mixed Emotions---ok
...only two great songs, that´s even less than GHS has.
The rest of SW is boring, boring, boring. Especially Keith´s tracks are disappointing. Just crap, IMO. He can and always could do better than that.
The best song they have recorded during the SW-sessions is Fancy Man Blues.
The Who´s It´s Hard is 10 miles above Steel Wheels.
Sad Sad Sad - great
Mixed Emotions - very good
Terrifying - excellent
Hearts For Sale - great
Almost Hear You Sigh - great
Continental Drift - excellent
Break The Spell - great
Slipping Away - excellent
Not too shabby, I'd say..
Re: OT The Who - It´s Hard
Posted by:
Spud
()
Date: January 7, 2017 19:52
But lousy production .
[ You can't thnk that I wouldn't chime in with that
]
[ You can't thnk that I wouldn't chime in with that
]Re: OT The Who - It´s Hard
Posted by:
retired_dog
()
Date: January 7, 2017 21:51
Quote
DandelionPowdermanQuote
HMSQuote
HonkeyTonkFlash
Steel Wheels is not a bad album but it's not really special either.
Most of it is just boring. Most songs are useless crap. Who would listen to it if it wasn´t a Stones-record? Nobody. Songs worth listening to are
Break The Spell---great
Sad Sad Sad----good
Hearts For Sale----good
Hold On To Your Hat----great
Mixed Emotions---ok
...only two great songs, that´s even less than GHS has.
The rest of SW is boring, boring, boring. Especially Keith´s tracks are disappointing. Just crap, IMO. He can and always could do better than that.
The best song they have recorded during the SW-sessions is Fancy Man Blues.
The Who´s It´s Hard is 10 miles above Steel Wheels.
Sad Sad Sad - great
Mixed Emotions - very good
Terrifying - excellent
Hearts For Sale - great
Almost Hear You Sigh - great
Continental Drift - excellent
Break The Spell - great
Slipping Away - excellent
Not too shabby, I'd say..
Absolutely agree. I even like Can't Be Seen, mostly for the bridge, but your list already shows that Steel Wheels is not shabby at all.
HMS's viewpoints are usually cluttered by the fact that he dismisses every slow song as "boring" and every song that's not your typical 100% fare like Continental Drift as "filler" (what also explains his disdain for GHS) so there's absolutely no need to have serious musical discussions with him.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-01-07 21:55 by retired_dog.
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