The Who are back at it with some good tunes and a decent amount of variety.
The Who are one of the few “legend” acts from the ‘60s who still tour in a format somewhat similar to their heyday. Bassist John Entwistle has been gone since 2002, having passed away from a heart attack, and infamous drummer Keith Moon passed away in 1978 from an overdose. Frontman Roger Daltrey and guitarist/primary songwriter Pete Townshend are what’s left, and 50% of band members remaining is pretty good going in an industry as suprisingly deadly as theirs, but is it enough to create and album that invokes The Who we know and love?
The first pre-album single from Who was Ball and Chain, which has a slight Baba O’Riley thing going on at times, even though it could never really compare. Daltrey is 75 years old now and his voice in what is now his mid-register does indicate his pensioner status, but his higher range is still surprisingly good. There comes a time when singers should probably retire some aspects of their voice (here’s looking at you, Paul McCartney), and Daltrey himself has said that his voice probably only has five more good years in him. Still, he could end up like Tony Bennett, who still sounds outstanding at the age of 92.
Guitarist Pete Townshend has also been notable for his ‘choppy’ guitar sound, which when sped up, was probably a precursor to punk, and that same sound is present on All This Music Must Fade. It’s quite a catchy track, and has some self-referential lyrics, as the music is “Not new and not diverse”, but nobody was really expecting a left-field album at this stage of their career. Speaking of diverse, Detour is much funkier than you might expect, with ferocious “Who Are You”-type vocals from Daltrey and groovy drums and guitars.
A few of the songs, like Beads on One String and Hero Ground Zero seem to be filler tracks and I Don’t Wanna Get Wise isn’t going to set anyone’s world alight, but most of the songs have the advantage of good diction from Daltrey, which seems to be a commodity in short supply in 2019. One of The Who’s most distinctive aural attractions was Entwistle’s high-treble, lead basslines, which aren’t emulated on Who. Entwistle’s shoes are not small ones to fill, and any replacement session bassist has the tricky decision of copying his sound (and failing) or deviating and moving away from the classic Who sound. That said, Pino Palladino does a good job on Street Song and Townshend is almost certainly happier about playing with the subtler Palladino than he was with Entwistle.
Townshend takes lead vocals on I’ll Be Back, and his naturally more reserved, tender voice suits the song well. The keys are nice too, but harmonica is an unwelcome surprise, as it sounds over-compressed and cheesy. We get some variation in Break the News, which is the kind of thing First Aid Kit might do, and She Rocked My World has a modal, Spanish vibe in the opening, but the real gem in the latter half of the album is Rockin’ in Rage. It builds superbly and would not be out of place in one of Townshend’s rock operas and might be what Daltrey was talking about when he said Who was their best album since Quadrophenia.
It’s good that The Who are clean of their vices of choice from the ‘70s, but the clean sound they deliver on this album doesn’t really suit them. Entwistle’s overactive lead basslines and Moon’s frenetic fills and varying tempos were key part of why The Who were great – they were perfect in their imperfections. The Who also don’t benefit from modern recording techniques, as their music just sounds better when recorded on tape.
Rating: 72/100
Standout tracks:
Detour
Rockin’ in Rage
All This Must Must Fade
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