Fun Stuff > BAND

the Who

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Jackie Blue:
I would get A Quick One first, then probably The Who Sell Out and Quadrophenia.

I'm not that big a fan of Tommy, honestly.

RedLion:
I don't know if you should start out with things like Quadrophenia..or even A Quick One.

My Generation (the album) is arguably the best place to start. You may want to pick up that and Who's Next? at the same time.

Thrillho:
Who's Next.

I'm not even a big Who fan, but if you don't have 'Won't Get Fooled Again' in your collection somewhere, chances are I hate you.

StaedlerMars:
Who's Next is definitely the best place to start out. It's probably got a lot more tunes that people can enjoy. And a few of their more famous ones.

Then I would move on to Tommy, just to see what they're actually famous for. It's not really an accessible album, as it's really just one long song. Also, don't watch the movie.

Orbert:
The original appeal of The Who, or at least a large part of it, was Pete Townshend's guitar sound.  Big chords with just enough distortion to smack you in the face without sounding like it's screaming or angry.  Loud and Proud.  Roger Daltrey's voice was made for Rock and Roll.  John Entwistle's bass and Keith Moon's drums were easily the biggest, boomingest rhythm section on the planet.  In short, everything about The Who seemed big-sounding, every song an anthem. 

Then they'd turn around and hit you with a quiet, introspective tune with just voice and piano.  Since Townshend was not especially gifted on the keys, these tended to be very simple songs, but that was part of their charm.  He still knew exactly what notes needed to be there.

Some early Who can be seen as proto-punk ("My Generation", "Young Man"), full of angst and anger.  Then they got into concept albums (Tommy, Quadrophenia) and other musical explorations, including synthesizers (Who's Next) before most rock bands even knew what they were.  Townshend is a genius songwriter and their work was all over the place, but still somehow had a common grounding to it.  It took me a long time to figure out what that was, but one of their early boxed sets was titled "30 Year of Maximum R & B" and I realized that that's what's at the heart of their sound, and most really great Rock and Roll.  It's Rhythm & Blues with a heavier beat and a beefed-up sound.

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