The Who

[Smelodies]

What's your take on The Who?

[masterofsparks]

I went with "OK with great moments." I love the early singles and half of Sell Out but after that it gets pretty spotty. Tommy is one of my least favorite albums of all time.

[Tor_Hershman]

Moi 'tis in the majority.
'Tis a rare event.

Stay on groovin' safari,
Tor

[Dan B]

I want to say they're great, but they pretty much suck after Sell Out. I love Sell Out and everything before that so much, though, that I tend to forget about everything else.

EDIT: Is Quadrophenia good? I haven't listened to that yet.

[Smelodies]

I found a 24 year old Smelodies conspiring to murder "I Can't Explain."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjWYA_b-Gbw

[JonFromMaplewood]

I am a fan of The Ox.

[colonel panic]

I am a fan of The Ox.

I would love to have one of those old timey tuners that I think is resting on the huge horn and speaker cab in the background.

[daveB from Oakland]

GREAT ...

including a lot of things about their music and their personalities that are hugely embarrassing and questionable. But that's part of their greatness. 

[nec13]

Like masterofsparks and several others, I voted "okay with some great moments."

"Sings My Generation" and "Sell Out" are two of the greatest albums ever made, IMO. The early singles are pretty fantastic, particularly 'I Can't Explain.' "Quadrophenia" has some uneven moments, but is mostly great. "Who's Next" and "Tommy" are quality albums, but I don't really need to hear either of them again. The rest of their recorded output varies from average to below average.

Also, has there ever been a better rhythm section than Entwistle and Moon?

[methanolcereal]

The singles were pretty good (even the later dud albums had a couple good tracks on them each), and I really dig a couple of their albums, but I'm not the biggest fan overall. I'm going with the "Some stuff was great, but they were just okay" option.

[Mark in Helsinki]

I have been a Who fan since I was 13 or so. The fact of the matter is that it is Pete Townshend who wrote almost every single note of music they put out. He, in my opinion, is one of the best songwriters of the 20th century, ranking up there with Lennon and McCartney and all those other much-heralded dudes.

Since he has been putting out music pretty much constantly since the early 1960's one would assume that some of his material is stronger than others. Only a few years ago my enthusiasm for Pete started to wane after hearing the new "Who" tracks from the recent record(s) but I stumbled upon his blog/video diaries and they made me jump up and down for joy.

First of all, he apparently uses my favorite DAW Ableton Live, AND he's somewhat of a goofball.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAzLAYGZCGg

He seems to be a genuinely funny guy... and he's definitely smart and very open to new technologies and media.

How can anyone argue with the guy who wrote so many classic pop tunes and who hasn't had a regular job in nearly 50 years? Townshend is super, in my book.

[Mark in Helsinki]

I am a fan of The Ox.

I would love to have one of those old timey tuners that I think is resting on the huge horn and speaker cab in the background.

The remastered DVD of The Kids Are Alright (which I got for nearly nothing in the cutout bin) has a special feature of Entwhistle playing (with video) from this performance with ONLY the bass. I think they did this as a tribute after his death or something... Anyway, it is mind blowing how that dude played... And the massive VOLUME. You can hear parts of the rest of the band leaking through his bass pickups.

Not surprisingly, he was pretty much deaf and relied on reading lips most of the time.

Hey! I found it on YouTube: (it is silent until about a little more than a minute into it... but it's worth the wait)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Lf10U0yZrs

[Big Plastic Head]

Well, this was a no-brainer for me: Great.

EDIT: Is Quadrophenia good? I haven't listened to that yet.

I think it is good. Entwhistles (and Moons) work on The Real Me is incredible.

[Pat K]

Once during a "getting to know you" segment a couple years ago Tom asked me to rank the members of The Who from best to worst, and I ranked Pete Townsend last, which seemed to throw Tom for a loop, seeing as he did write all the songs and everything.  But after Pete Townsend got caught up in that whole child porn scandal earlier in the decade he took up permanent residence in the basement of my Who member rankings.  The Ox will always be the best part of The Who for me.

Oh, and "good."

[Mark in Helsinki]

Once during a "getting to know you" segment a couple years ago Tom asked me to rank the members of The Who from best to worst, and I ranked Pete Townsend last, which seemed to throw Tom for a loop, seeing as he did write all the songs and everything.  But after Pete Townsend got caught up in that whole child porn scandal earlier in the decade he took up permanent residence in the basement of my Who member rankings.  The Ox will always be the best part of The Who for me.

Oh, and "good."

Townshend was totally exhonorated, you know.