It's Not Enough
I was driving home from Cockermouth ten minutes ago when the radio announced they were about to preview the first new material in 24 years by The Who. Throughout the early and mid 70s - in fact till the advent of punk - these guys were my rock & roll heroes. The idea of their ever again producing anything new has been unthinkable for so long that to find myself listening to such material was a strangely uncomfortable experience. The song in question It's Not Enough was, well, very Who. Crashing guitars, yelled vocals, more or less what you would expect. Not their greatest work, but not at all bad either. Though somehow, after waiting a quarter of a century, you'd really expect a bit more . . . .
posted by Nick at 11:34 pm
4 Comments:
Agree, greatest rock band of all time, but what happened to "Hope I die beforeI get old"?
I suspect a case of attempting to recapture lost youth, or possibly a sudden tax bill.
I read this note about The Who’s new release. It just so happened that I had just driven home from town, with The Who, Live at Leeds blaring on my car sound system, listening to the Tommy Overture and We’re Not Gonna Take It (Never Did and Never Will) on loop. One drum set, one guitar, one bass, two vocals. That’s it. There is just so much magic in that sound and the performance.
At this stage of my impending dotage, I think The Who emerge as the greatest performing band, the greatest songs, and the greatest legacy. Greater than Beatles or Stones, for lots of reasons.
I saw them in 1971, just after Who’s Next came out, with “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” and the first – I think – successful pop usage of a synthesizer. I was 17. Eleanor and I then saw them in 1998, with the a local Symphony Orchestra, doing Quadrophenia in its entirety. I was 46. I was as mesmerized then as when I was at 17.
So I went to Pete Townshend’s web site this morning, and there’s a clip on there of him playing acoustic solo – Endless Wire. It is very powerful.
Go here, and watch:
http://www.petetownshend.co.uk/
Even Pete's horrid little brother Simon, with whom I was incarcerated in an educational institution, is capable of moments of glory. A few years ago I ended up doing a gig for his eponymous band (nothing like trading on the name, eh Simon?), and although the gig was quite dull, the tantrums were quite grandiose. Now he's playing rhythm guitar with The Who, which frankly is all he could ever have wanted.
The Who without Keith Moon doesn't really work for me!
Post a Comment
<< Home