Published on Apr 6, 2005
[Adapted from a review that originally appeared in On The
Town Magazine
on 3/19/96]
From the hypnotic opening riff of “Baba O’Riley” (a.k.a.
“Teenage Wasteland”) to the crashing closing bars of “Won’t Get
Fooled Again,” this album is, quite simply, a rock and roll
masterpiece.
You can argue for
Tommy or
Quadrophenia as ground-breaking art forms, but
Who’s Next was truly the Who’s seminal album, with Roger
Daltrey, John Entwhistle, Keith Moon and Pete Townshend all in peak
form, playing and singing some of the most powerful songs Townshend
has ever composed, from the above two classics to nuggets like
“Bargain,” “Gettin’ in Tune” and “Behind Blue Eyes.” (The irony is,
the songs that comprise
Who’s Next were originally intended to be part of a larger
rock opera project to be called
Lifehouse. When the concept didn’t quite pan out, the best
elements were distilled down to this album.)
Twenty-five years after it was recorded, three elements in
particular elevate
Who’s Next to landmark status. First is Townshend’s
introduction of the synthesizer as a rock instrument — we take it
for granted today, but in 1971, synthesizers were a brand-new
technology, and planting one in the middle of a pounding rock song
was unheard of. Some musical historians believe “Baba O’Riley” was
in fact the first ever use of a sequenced synthesizer in a popular
recording.
Second is the drumming. If you think it takes no talent to be a
rock drummer, take a long, hard listen to Keith Moon’s jaw-dropping
performance on this album ( in particular on “Won’t Get Fooled
Again”). There is no other word for it but awesome. The beauty is,
Townshend and Entwistle’s work on guitar and bass is so rhythmic
that it gives Moon the freedom to go wild on the kit, pounding out
massive rolls and fills where others would keep to a simple pattern
— and it all still fits together like magic.
The third landmark element is the album-ending opus that is
“Won’t Get Fooled Again.” A thundering eight-and-a-half-minute
indictment of both establishment oppression and starry-eyed
idealism, it is both Townshend’s most overtly political statement
and one of the most powerful rock anthems ever recorded. The
closing minute, all windmilling Townshend power chords and crashing
Moon drum fills, punctuated by a nerve-shattering Daltrey scream,
is one of the great goosebump moments in rock history.
As if all that isn’t enough, in 2003 MCA re-released
Who’s Next in a Deluxe Edition, complete with rare alternate
takes and live versions of these songs, several unreleased tracks
from the
Who’s Next/Lifehouse sessions, and liner notes about the
project from Townshend himself. It’s a fitting tribute to one of
the landmark albums in rock history.