if you like The Who, check out the recent book by Edoardo Genzolini that chronicles their concerts from 1964 to 1976. It includes photos from a very good friend.

Way to go RP! Never thought I would hear this except from my own collection.

The Who dipping their toe in Prog rock is good stuff.

i was able to see this album live by the Who about 10 years ago.  this song had an amazing video of world history from the turbulent 60's to today.  an absolute perfect accompanient.  Zak Starkey did Keith moon proud.

Seminal album-based rock. 

The I will kick  it for you 7 years later

Might be nice to lay the original album art on these tracks.

Perhaps the greatest rock album(s) ever recorded. 

Gadzooks!

Yessssss! Oh how I am so energized right now simultaneously playing all the air instruments right now. Yeahhhhhhhh!!!!!

Remember seeing this live at Trentham Gdns in Stoke in Oct 73 - the problems of playing to backing tapes and Moonie, oh so pissed off.
What a night it was!

The air drumming, the air guitar, the air keyboards, the symphony, the sheer energy...yeah you know you're playing along too...50 years strong! 

 dkwalika wrote:

Man, Alice Cooper was my favorite band back in the day. but Quadrophenia is still one of my favorite albums to this day.  

The Who at their very best. Keith’s style of drumming - wonderful.

Be cool to hear the studio album instead of the soundtrack, I'll have to play my CD set, but this sounds a bit light....ooo....segue into Love, Reign O'er Me, just as it supposed to be.

four channels equals four speakers

blow your mind

Bill is a master on segue's. 

Perfect segue from Alligator! Thanks for the great Saturday morning mix!

Good thing no one here is air drumming right now.  Right? 

Bit of a relief from otherwise having to play air guitar on other more robust Townshend tracks, wot?

Right now I'm sorta combining the air drumming and air guitar riffing. I don't play piano. 

 idiot_wind wrote:


RIP Keith Moon!

The essence of a tight rock & roll album, in my humble opinion, one of the best. Listening to the drums alone throughout is pure joy

its all about the drumming. 

My god!

Do you remember whey you played this in 4 channels, on home stereo. 

Crazy.  

World's best RnR drummer. 

Some of Pete's best work, right here.

 kingart wrote:
 

Can music exist without life ?

Right on 7, right on. Without music there would be no life.


No way, eh. Without life there would be no music



I think you're both right.  So I'll take it both ways.  Can we say that without the music of the Who and other bands of that caliber, maybe life wouldn't be as good.  ? 

Dammit.  Already rated this a ten, so I can't kick it a little higher.

And thanks, Bill, for playing them together.   (The Rock and Love Reign)

 nomnol wrote: 
No way, eh. Without life there would be no music

 Bert7 wrote: 
Right on 7, right on. Without music there would be no life.

Because this song actually takes in pieces from across the album, (though mostly Helpless Dancer and Love, Reign O'er Me),
I imagine if you are not a fan or familiar of the album, (the latter dictates the former IMHO), parts of this can seem quite tedious.  Those who have the album can't help but love it.

c'mon all, lets just enjoy a great song

Wow, I was just going to comment about the respectful banter without personal attacks. Never mind.

 below72 wrote: 
Actually, the OP h8s The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, and Led Zeppelin.  So h8ing on The Who just makes sense for them. 

 below72 wrote: 
you lose, you owe me that quid
ya wanna go double or nothing?
I'll bet you are a Black Sabbath fan 

 Skydog wrote: 
I'll bet my bottom quid - you be a U2 fan - huh?  
  

SUBLIME

 Still untouchable

Always happy to hear The 'Oo. This song stands out in my mind because performing it in Adelaide a few years back, they had to stop & restart as they got out of whack with the sequencer. Also, I used to make crappy 4 track cover versions of favourite songs in me younger days & I naively tackled this one. My mate, Greg dubbed it "Love, Strain O'er Me". Ha.

How can this be rated only a 7.7?  The drumming alone is worth an 8.9!

Here's to the kind of glorious excess that only Pete, Roger, John and Keith can pull off!

Loved, love and will always love Quadrophenia. LOVE! REIGN O'ER ME!

 xnavy wrote: 
There's never anything about our weather that makes us want to come home to the rain, believe me.

 
Couldn't have said it better.

davesbuster wrote: 

I actually heard some Alice Cooper in this, first time ever. School's Out or Billion Dollar Babies (don't laugh).

Like it a lot. 

Maybe Keith Moon wasn't the best drummer technically, but as far as I'm concerned he was the best rock drummer ever.  Charlie Watts couldn't drum for the Who any more than Keith could drum for the Rolling Stones.  That's what we found out with Kenny Jones, who is a great drummer but not the best choice for the Who.  The Who were a unique combination of soloists with a great singer screaming over the top.

I think Keith himself said it best when he was trying to pull himself together for the recording of Who By Numbers: "I am the best (Keith-Moon-typle) drummer in the world."

Part of the magic of Quadrophenia to me is that it's the last time that Keith was really a part of the band. When he moved to LA in the late 70s he basically forgot about being a musician and became a full-time rock star/drug addict. 

But I think you're right: Simon Phillips' work on Townshend's solo albums, for example, is technically much superior to Moon's drumming (thought I do love Moon's drumming). 


Stingray wrote: 

On my long runs I listen to Quadrophenia, start to finish

Sides 1 and 3 are great English R & R. The songs just drive after each other and sustain an intensity that has rarely been matched. Keith is just manic.

 Jormad wrote: 

I like the band particularly the early stuff. Less taken by the rock operas but My Generation, I’m a boy, Happy Jack and Pictures of Lilly are blindingly good and have stood the test of time.

IMHO, this holds up as well as it did when I bought the LP the day it hit the stores.  Goosebumps.

Sounds a bit dated ie, but still rocks!!!

listen to the whole of the album to relish in the breadth and the masterful depth of it all.. 

makes me want roll a big 1 lol love it

Dang. You're listening to music, not running for a bus. There's no hurry. Let it play and enjoy the time.

You can't judge a novel based on a paragraph, or a page. Character development takes time.

Quadrophenia is about character development and - the album makes it clear - the adolescent who can't decide who he is and where he fits in the world. You can't express that idea quickly if you want folks to understand its depth and frustration and...eventually...the elation of choice.

 xnavy wrote: 
Good film - boring album!

I am a boy and a Happy Jack with pictures of Lily!

But the intro and theme of this song is..., sorry, is it even the Who? 

Once I thought Keith Moon was the best drummer on the planet!
How frikkin wrong I was. He does not even belong to my top-100
any longer!

 

Yes yes yes!! Thanks Bill.!

I  saw the movie AND performed it as a dancer, it was one of the best experiences I made on stage, this music just goes under my skin!

 stalfnzo wrote: 
There is nothing like playing the whole first side of this album (not sure how it works on a CD) . That's about as good as it gets. 

 xnavy wrote: 

Saw it when it came out.  It was released in late '79 in the UK, but I'm pretty sure I saw it in early 1980 at the Univ. of Minn. at a special film screening.

And then, I bought the DVD 20 YEARS LATER!

It's one of those things where the sum is greater than the parts. By itself this song is a 9. But the whole album is a 10.

 

  DaidyBoy wrote: 
How is the weather in the UK?

Some people love "epics".  Not me.

Sounds like a high school band that need more practice.

So I'm debating getting the Quadrophenia Blu-ray audio disc, looking at the track listings and deciding if I -really- want to spend the $30 (via the RP link to Amazon of course).
And on this comes.  OK, I give... Thanks Bill. 

Not enough already!!!!! 

Enough already!!!!! 

Hmmmmm, listening to some pretty lame old rock anthems today!! I like the Who but this was just silly!!!  

 Jormad wrote: 
Gotta laugh hard at this. People have the same reaction to Tarantino's work. Tarantino has put out brilliant and mediocre stuff as has The Who. 

As I'm listening to this, it's pouring down rain outside. Perfect!

 MM_Oz wrote: 
This feels more like purgatory.

 Jormad wrote: 

I agree not to agree also...if that matters to you ? : /  I'm confused now..but I guess I don't care if that matters to you...btw, Who are You?

 Jormad wrote: 
I like the Who, but not all of their work.  They badly needed friends with guts enough to tell them when they'd gone right over the top and just sounded silly.  Like this song.

I don't think much of Tarantino.  Brutality is easy.

Best Rock & Roll Band of All Time. 

This has been a part of me for forty years ...

Moon the loon.

 CopyrightX wrote: 
"I also feel that way about the Who. I don't think anybody really likes that band. Everyone thinks they're supposed to like the Who, so they just pretend. They're afraid to say that the emperor has no clothes." (1994 Playboy Interview)

I don't agree, though...

AWESOME!

Some music is just part of who you are.  Who the fuck are you?

Music goes all through ur ears and then ur mind.. Just like oil in ur hand..

 Webfoot wrote: 
And so it should... music is a journey to be relished and immersed in; all the way there and back.... an adventure; not a 2 minute wonder... (or wander, even!).. play on...

Man, this sure goes on for a long time...

 CopyrightX wrote: 
"I love The Who more than I love Ladies shoes"

exceptional...In the days when a Band was a band
 

The synthesizers are unfortunate. Still, it's a solid 6.

Not everyone likes The Who just like not everyone thinks a Cadilac is an iconic car. Without a lick of proof, I submit liking The Who makes life sweeter.

 casey1024 wrote: 
Me, too.

 t00lur wrote: 
What did he say?

Just for the naysayers, upped this from a 9 to a 10.  Geesh. 

I can get 3 or 4 PSD's out of this one!

I like what Tarantino once said about the Who

3.

I'm outta here for a while... The Who, Flaming Lips, Ray LaMontagne...

 annie_fannie wrote: 
Hope not.

 symthy wrote: 

the word is reign, not rain, grow a brain. and it's o'er not over.

 blackjackshellac wrote:  the big diference is? we don't think rap is all there is. bad music is worse than bad food. bad food just makes you sick to your stomach, bad music sickens the soul. long live the who....

Some folks just don't get it, you know?  Whew, God, I need a drink.

 black321 wrote: 
There is no known way in which I could agree more.  Turgid self indulgence which had its place - a long, long, long time ago.....

At least I get to PSD a half dozen other great tracks while this drags on!

 midreaming wrote: 




"everything these days" is a bit over the top, but I don't think it is wrong to critique the fact that there is a dearth of "epic" tracks from today's pop/rock musicians. Musicianship has taken a backseat to "brevity," which I for one find disappointing.

This is how to get Monday rolling — triplet fills from Keith Moon!

40 years later and i still love listening to it. truly epic.

 sajitjacob wrote: 
oh geeyod... everything -these- days says so little? what does this over indulgent self absorbed dead weight for a song have to say? that only love can make it rain? gimme a ef'n break. drop this rock in a deep well and the sound it makes hitting the bottom will be more interesting and serve a better public good. It's called brevity.

 sajitjacob wrote: 
At least we have Porcupine Tree (first among others) to keep the epic fires alight.

 annie_fannie wrote: 
It's called ROCK OPERA, and from one of the greatest bands in the history of the rock genre. If you prefer shorter songs by lesser artists, it's called AM RADIO. 

 sajitjacob wrote: 

 analog vs digital, old school vs new

kids these days ...

 annie_fannie wrote: 
Yes, but not a second too soon.

 sajitjacob wrote: 
because people have an attention span similar to that of a gnat.

 sajitjacob wrote: 
Absolutely true.  But I also have come to really enjoy the random play-list experience on my digital music player while riding into the city on the bike path.  And sometimes you get amazing mixes out of that randomness that are almost as good as those on RP.  Yesterday I was cruising along listening to some tune from the 30s, followed by a piece from Stravinsky's Sacre du printemps, and then a tune from Quadrophenia ... can't recall the name but it's the one where he's "out of his brain on the train" 5:15 maybe?  Anyway, I like that I got to experience the vinyl days of rock opera in its heyday, but this is a pretty damn cool age too.

The only thing I'll say about kids these days is that our parents, and their parents before them said the same thing about the kids these days.  My grandfather warned me about that when I was a teenager.

 sajitjacob wrote: 
You're my new best friend.

There was a time when rock music was allowed to be epic. Albums were vinyl and there was an intermission and sometimes a double. Listening was an immersive experience that required your attention to be focused. Stories were told, you might, laugh, cry, think. They echoed symphonies and that was normal.
Why does everything these days have to be so short, and say so little? Something to do with ever decreasing attention spans?

 mirland wrote: 
Well, maybe, but at least this must be some of the very best, most pretentious, and most influential, pretentious bombastic c*** EVER in pop/rock music. I dare say even Pink Floyd could learn from this.
Rock on!

Can't hit the PSD button fast enough on that.

Weird...
And very irritating!

Any song with Keith Moon drumming is freaking good. The man must of had a third arm. There's no way he's doing all that with just two. 

Rooooooooooooooooooooooooooock oooooooooooooooooooooooon.....thanks for the great song from a great ablum

Some work invites sharp opinions. I dunno. I like it.