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If you ever watch the Who now and wonder ...


OldGit
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Guest Bald Eagle

A classic, off on a tangent though one thing that strikes me odd about the Who is aren't they essentially a rock band? but followed by Mods, I never got? Perhaps someone will explain I can't?

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Guest Bald Eagle

[quote name='jacko' post='66898' date='Sep 28 2007, 01:37 PM']This could be construed as a suicide attempt so you'd better steer clear of the cops for a while.[/quote]

Ha Ha quite, what about baba o'reilly, who are you, squeeze box, pictures of lily, behind blue eyes, my wife, etc etc etc...........


And how could I forget pinball wizard, 5:15, real me, you better you bet, etc.. etc... :)

Edited by Bald Eagle
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[quote name='Bald Eagle' post='67174' date='Sep 28 2007, 10:54 PM']A classic, off on a tangent though one thing that strikes me odd about the Who is aren't they essentially a rock band? but followed by Mods, I never got? Perhaps someone will explain I can't?[/quote]
When the Who started there was no such thing as rock. The Who were considered an R&B band (hence Maximum R&:) and R&B was the music of choice for mods (stuff like Small Faces, Kingsmen). Rockers liked Rock and Roll. Rock music came out of these bands, and blues bands, and some pop bands like the Kinks, the Beatles and of course the Yardbirds.

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[quote name='Bass_In_Yer_Face' post='66895' date='Sep 28 2007, 01:34 PM'](puts tin hat on)

I personally think the Who were overated....don't get me wrong...I love the singles...."Won't get fooled again", "Who are you?" , "My Generation", "I can see for miles" are all amazing tracks. It's just that beyond the singles I can't find much to float my boat i'm afraid.

Still they were still better than The Beatles (ducks for cover)[/quote]

Overrated? Hummmmm

Actually I too don't really like about 50% of The Who's stuff but of the rest I think 40% is damn fine and 10% is absolutely outstanding.

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Most people forget that in fact The Who were great innovators of their time.Yes, I agree, The Boring Beatles started it all, but in my view John,Paul Goerge and the drummer bloke were at the right place at the right time. Five years later and they would be regarded as good, not the best.

The Who were more than just a bolldy good rock band.

They started the rock opera approach, an album of songs around a specific theme, story, if you will.
They were the first to use lasers and complex light shows at concerts.
They were the first band to start up their own PA hire company.
They were the first to use big backlines of amps, manufacturers like Marshall and HIWATT actually making equipment specifically to order.
They have one of rocks greatest poets as their main songwriter.
They had rocks greatest bass guitarist.
They had rocks most non conformist drummers. Never kept a beat but played melodies often alongside the vocal line.
Their influence is not just recognised by subsequent rock bands. Punk, New Wave, Britpop etc all recognise the lads from Shepards Bush as the beginning of expressive rock music.

Finally,

They had a secret formula that only worked when the guys played together, explains why the solo projects never took off. Listen to the Isle of Wight gig, Monteray, even Glastonbury more recently. Especially watch the Concert for New York concert, just four songs played but made the hairs on yer neck stand up.

You may not like all their material, Im a Who nut and there are songs I don't rate, but the ones that do gel are timeless and only The Orrible 'Oo make them what they are.

Pete and Roger owe us nothing. They have given us and millions of others inspiration and pleasure for over 40 years and still do. I know its said many times, but which bands today will still be doing world tours in 40 yrs time? See...... none. Exactly.

Im off to listen to some Floyd, to restore my balance.

Edited by neilb
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[quote name='bass_ferret' post='67285' date='Sep 29 2007, 09:50 AM']When the Who started there was no such thing as rock. The Who were considered an R&B band (hence Maximum R&:) and R&B was the music of choice for mods (stuff like Small Faces, Kingsmen). Rockers liked Rock and Roll. Rock music came out of these bands, and blues bands, and some pop bands like the Kinks, the Beatles and of course the Yardbirds.[/quote]
Also, most of the Mod bands were into a lot of Motown and Soul. Listen to the early Small Faces LPs.

Phase 1 of Rock wasn't called Rock at all. It comprised bands like The Cream, Jeff Beck Group and Yardbirds climbing out of the Blues and R&B scene and getting louder and heavier. At the beginning they still played in the back rooms of pubs, community centres and generally small venues. During this period The Who were a Pop/Motown band, mainly aimed at the top 10 market. They had moved up to playing tours and needed the record success to get larger numbers of punters in.

In Phase 2 of Rock The Who moved into top gear and others like Led Zeppelin etc emerged. The Americans had cottoned on by now. Album sales were more important by this time and audiences went to see bands for their live performances. This was now Rock. If you were a Who fan you would probably think that the rest of the planet had just caught up with them! The Who moved naturally into this new environment and made it their own. But they did have change up a gear at that time.

In my view they became one of the greatest rock bands.

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And now the same recording but this time [b]JUST THE BASS..!![/b]

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfDE-ZvfOwU&mode=related&search="]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfDE-ZvfOwU...ted&search=[/url]

(Note: nothing happens until 00:53 or so... then all hell breaks loose..!)

[size=1]I like some of the comments from the muppets who are convinced that's a Warwick bass... :huh: :huh: :) [/size]

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Most bands in the 60's covered motown songs - including The Who, Beatles, Kinks, Stones etc.

I used to have all The Who's LP's but when I replaced with CD's I just go the 4 disk box set and the albums that mattered - Tommy, Live At Leeds, Who's Next and Quadrophenia.

In the 60's touring was done to promote records and often lost money. After appearing at Woodstock and Isle of Wight the Who were one of the first bands to start doing stadium tours that made money (once they stopped smashing gear and hotels).

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[quote name='Rich' post='67351' date='Sep 29 2007, 01:27 PM']And now the same recording but this time [b]JUST THE BASS..!![/b]

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfDE-ZvfOwU&mode=related&search="]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfDE-ZvfOwU...ted&search=[/url]

(Note: nothing happens until 00:53 or so... then all hell breaks loose..!)

[size=1]I like some of the comments from the muppets who are convinced that's a Warwick bass... :huh: :huh: :) [/size][/quote]

Check Post #4 :huh: way ahead of ye lol

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[quote name='guitarnbass' post='67381' date='Sep 29 2007, 03:15 PM']Jeez, that entwistle guy is one rigid mofo on stage! I never really liked the who though, but he's a good bassist.[/quote]
There is no need to leap about when you are bringing forth thunder from your fingers. Besides Moon and Townsend who would have noticed.

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Watch this, tell me that John doesn't make Mark King look arthritic. 7 min song but wait for bass solo (at 4:14).

Ignore the cock on the yellow Strat....what [u]was[/u] Pete thinking when he hired him for the tour!!!

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5vfwKKtnZA"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5vfwKKtnZA[/url]

Edited by neilb
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[quote name='neilb' post='67404' date='Sep 29 2007, 04:01 PM']BIYF

Where did I intimate that I cannot/do not accept that people don't have musical tastes?

I have merely expressed my view re the band. Have I rejected the views of others as wrong?

If so, I apologise.[/quote]


not you mate but comments such as

"You can think The Who were over rated, you might not think Who's Next is one of the greatest albums of all time, but then someone has to be wrong. "

"and overated...hmmm"

kind of imply that you dare not take 'The Who's' name in vain.....I can cherry pick Who tracks I think are good, as I can with The Stones, The Beatles, Led Zep. All band produce dross at sometime in their career.

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[quote name='Bass_In_Yer_Face' post='67408' date='Sep 29 2007, 04:14 PM']"and overated...hmmm"[/quote]

Well that was me and I was merely commenting on the choice of word ... It's a valid opinion, of course, just as everyone else's' is.
and no, I absolutely don't think that everyone should like the Who or think Entwhistle was god on a bass ..

The point of this thread was simply that if people don't know the Who except for the tepid contemporary renditions of former glories by the two old men we see now, perhaps this film from the time when they were certainly contenders for the epithet " biggest rock band in the world" may just enlighten them.

Thasssss alll

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Just wanted to put my two penneth as a semi fan and someone who was lucky enough to see 'em live with Moony on the drums. I could be wrong, but I often think there's a tendency to compare bands like The Who and FWIW - The Beatles with what's around now or has gone on since and to me, it's wrong.

I've said this before and I know I'm a boring old fart, but you had to be around at the time to see the impact these bands had at the time and to make a proper judgement in the context of what else was going on then.

Edited by niceguyhomer
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Ill never forget one curious incident. I took my son to see one of the new Star Wars movies and ended up sitting next to two teenage girls. They were talking about their favourite band and I was not taking much notice until one of them said she liked Live at Leeds best and the other one said she preferred Who's Next :)

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