The Official Who Thread

neardeathexperience · 07-31-2013, 12:28 PM

In my opinion the Who never got the recognition that they should have. They were over shadowed by the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Yes their music was awesome, but they never attained that rock God status in my opinion. They seemed like the working man's band void of hype and heavy on volume! Personally I loved them, but not as much as those two other bands that I mentioned............

Unknown Soldier · 07-31-2013, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by neardeathexperience

In my opinion the Who never got the recognition that they should have. They were over shadowed by the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

And are normally mentioned straight after those and often ahead of Pink Floyd, Yes, Kinks, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Genesis from the same era. So I wouldn't say they were overshadowed at all.

Gavin B. · 08-09-2013, 07:50 AM

The Who was a beast of a band on the concert stage. There wasn't a single band in the Sixties who wanted share the same stage with the Who because the Who demolished every act they ever opened for including Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin.

The Rolling Stones suppressed the video release of Rock and Roll Circus for nearly three decades because the Who simply destroyed them in their performance on the television show. Jim Hendrix demanded a coin flip (which he lost) to avoid having to follow the Who onto the concert stage at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967.

Many of those performers were technically better musicians than the Who but the Who was a force of nature and their anarchic live performances in the Sixties were and still are, legendary. I saw them twice once in August 1967 and once in November 1969 at Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis and both shows were near riots with fans rushing the stage. I'd never seen anything like it and probably never will again.

Led Zeppelin was supposed to share the bill with the 1969 St. Louis concert I attended, but they quit the tour after the Who blew them away in six consecutive dates at the Irving Plaza in New York City. Joe Cocker replaced Led Zeppelin on the rest of the tour dates.

The Who became more subdued in their 1970 American tour in support of Tommy. Tommy is still their best album but they never played as ferociously live after the release of Tommy. Fans who saw the Who live between 1963 and 1969 will tell you the Who played less frenetic and more predictable live shows after the 1969 American tour.

Live At Leeds was recorded when Tommy was at the top of the charts in the UK in 1970. The band deliberately omitted selections from their new "rock opera" which was already becoming an albatross hanging around the collective neck of the band. In later editions of Live at Leeds a version of Amazing Journey/Sparks appeared.

Live at Leeds was a real turning point for the band and the album really doesn't capture the full fury of the Who's 1963-1969 live shows, because the band was already transitioning into a quieter and more nuanced approached to playing.

There were better live tapes of the Who from their 1969 tour, but the band destroyed all of their 1969 tour tapes in a massive bonfire, so that none of the material would ever surface without permission. Too bad for us.

StateOfGrace · 08-14-2013, 11:02 AM

Pete Townsend= Genius.

Big Ears · 08-14-2013, 12:29 PM

John Entwistle = world's greatest bassist

Unknown Soldier · 08-14-2013, 12:41 PM

John Entwhistle = World's greatest skeleton

neardeathexperience · 08-23-2013, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boris jawaka

i love the who.

they were my first band and remain my favourite.

i got into the Who and Frank Zappa at the same time and they are both my favourite artists/bands.

i dont have a favourite album because they are all so good, heres what i think of some of their albums.:

My Generation: Epitomises the early who. Moons drumming on this is amazing as is the scope of Daltreys singing from La La La Lies to Out in the Street and the B-side Bald Headed Woman. This was the first ever punk album.

Sell Out: a true masterpeice. sooo under-rated its not funny. Why half the songs on this album werent number one hits I dont know. Great songs, all which have meaning and tell stories and most of the bonus tracks on the CD should have been released on a different album cause they are genius

Tommy: Beautiful. The scope of Townshends songwriting is amazing. from soft pop, to orchestral like inspirational music to hard rock. This album has got it all.

Who's Next: Perfection. When i wake up and im tired, i listen to this and it wakes me up and opens my mind. So many great songs, Baba, Bargain, Love aint for keeping, My Wife, The Song is over Going Mobile, Getting In Tune, Behind Blue Eyes, Wont Get Fooled Again thats practically the whole album but it is so good. also Naked Eye and Water are great

Quadrophenia: This album is great. Probably my favourite rock opera, i really connected with this. this is one of the few albums that really has a place in my heart. it is a brilliant album.

The Who By Numbers: This album is often dismissed as being a suicide note and rubbish and all thatt but really its quite good. It has real poetry in it and really makes you think.

so, anybody else like the Who?

YES live at Leeds is probably the best live concert album ever made!
I like lots of their singles like I Can See For Miles which often for some reason gets over looked! I also really like Pictures Of Lily just a classic rock pop song!
Happy Jack and countless other songs by the band...........

Screen13 · 08-31-2013, 09:40 PM

The first Who album I ever got into was A Quick One, a great progression from the first album. This was when I was also starting to get into Punk and I immediately noticed where a lot of listeners made the connection with that album and My Generation with the more melodic edge of some Punk (a lot of the so-called "First Wave") as well as the Late 70's Mod Revival that only had one band that could equal the greatness of the early Who, although I would say that a couple almost were up there with The Jam. "So Sad About Us" is possibly the first song I played along with when I first started to play the guitar. I also listened to Tommy and Who's Next as a kid, and still listen to Quadrophenia to this day (it was not as overplayed on the radio back then), but I am more attracted to the '65-7 Who.

All of their albums from My Generation to Who Are You have a lot of great songs.

mikpop93 · 12-09-2013, 12:46 PM

One of the best ever. I never get sick of any of their songs. I can put a Who album on and listen to the whole damn thing and not even have the urge to switch to the next song. Much better and underrated. I rather listen to The Who instead of The Beatles.

Taxman · 12-09-2013, 01:58 PM

Nice. I do that too, sometimes. Especially Quadrophenia is great album. But could someone explain how they are 'underrated'?? They are generally considered one of the best from the sixties?? So do you think that if the Beatles is usually considered to be better than the 'Oo that means that the Who is underrated? Do you think every other bands expect Beatles is underrated too?

View Poll Results: How good are the Who?
Greatest Ever!	15	13.27%
One of the Best Ever!	64	56.64%
Pretty Good.	20	17.70%
Ok.	11	9.73%
Terrible.	3	2.65%
Voters: 113. You may not vote on this poll

08-09-2013, 07:50 AM	#203 (permalink)
Gavin B. Model Worker Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 1,248	The Who was a beast of a band on the concert stage. There wasn't a single band in the Sixties who wanted share the same stage with the Who because the Who demolished every act they ever opened for including Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin. The Rolling Stones suppressed the video release of Rock and Roll Circus for nearly three decades because the Who simply destroyed them in their performance on the television show. Jim Hendrix demanded a coin flip (which he lost) to avoid having to follow the Who onto the concert stage at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. Many of those performers were technically better musicians than the Who but the Who was a force of nature and their anarchic live performances in the Sixties were and still are, legendary. I saw them twice once in August 1967 and once in November 1969 at Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis and both shows were near riots with fans rushing the stage. I'd never seen anything like it and probably never will again. Led Zeppelin was supposed to share the bill with the 1969 St. Louis concert I attended, but they quit the tour after the Who blew them away in six consecutive dates at the Irving Plaza in New York City. Joe Cocker replaced Led Zeppelin on the rest of the tour dates. The Who became more subdued in their 1970 American tour in support of Tommy. Tommy is still their best album but they never played as ferociously live after the release of Tommy. Fans who saw the Who live between 1963 and 1969 will tell you the Who played less frenetic and more predictable live shows after the 1969 American tour. Live At Leeds was recorded when Tommy was at the top of the charts in the UK in 1970. The band deliberately omitted selections from their new "rock opera" which was already becoming an albatross hanging around the collective neck of the band. In later editions of Live at Leeds a version of Amazing Journey/Sparks appeared. Live at Leeds was a real turning point for the band and the album really doesn't capture the full fury of the Who's 1963-1969 live shows, because the band was already transitioning into a quieter and more nuanced approached to playing. There were better live tapes of the Who from their 1969 tour, but the band destroyed all of their 1969 tour tapes in a massive bonfire, so that none of the material would ever surface without permission. Too bad for us. __________________ There are two types of music: the first type is the blues and the second type is all the other stuff. Townes Van Zandt

08-14-2013, 12:29 PM	#205 (permalink)
Big Ears Music Addict Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Hampshire, England Posts: 434	John Entwistle = world's greatest bassist __________________ My Journal: Rabbiting On

07-31-2013, 12:28 PM	#201 (permalink)
neardeathexperience Music Addict Join Date: Jan 2013 Posts: 531	In my opinion the Who never got the recognition that they should have. They were over shadowed by the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Yes their music was awesome, but they never attained that rock God status in my opinion. They seemed like the working man's band void of hype and heavy on volume! Personally I loved them, but not as much as those two other bands that I mentioned............

08-14-2013, 11:02 AM	#204 (permalink)
StateOfGrace Groupie Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 5	Pete Townsend= Genius.

08-31-2013, 09:40 PM	#208 (permalink)
Screen13 Music Addict Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 1,388	The first Who album I ever got into was A Quick One, a great progression from the first album. This was when I was also starting to get into Punk and I immediately noticed where a lot of listeners made the connection with that album and My Generation with the more melodic edge of some Punk (a lot of the so-called "First Wave") as well as the Late 70's Mod Revival that only had one band that could equal the greatness of the early Who, although I would say that a couple almost were up there with The Jam. "So Sad About Us" is possibly the first song I played along with when I first started to play the guitar. I also listened to Tommy and Who's Next as a kid, and still listen to Quadrophenia to this day (it was not as overplayed on the radio back then), but I am more attracted to the '65-7 Who. All of their albums from My Generation to Who Are You have a lot of great songs.

12-09-2013, 12:46 PM	#209 (permalink)
mikpop93 Groupie Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: New York Posts: 15	One of the best ever. I never get sick of any of their songs. I can put a Who album on and listen to the whole damn thing and not even have the urge to switch to the next song. Much better and underrated. I rather listen to The Who instead of The Beatles.

12-09-2013, 01:58 PM	#210 (permalink)
Taxman watching the wheels Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Finland Posts: 470	Nice. I do that too, sometimes. Especially Quadrophenia is great album. But could someone explain how they are 'underrated'?? They are generally considered one of the best from the sixties?? So do you think that if the Beatles is usually considered to be better than the 'Oo that means that the Who is underrated? Do you think every other bands expect Beatles is underrated too?