Had the Marx Brothers been a Rock-n-Roll band, they would have been The Who, the edgy, mischievous British Blues-Rock band that in the 1960s shook London's music scene to its very foundation. Indeed, The Who embodied all the wild antics, pranks and pratfalls that the Marx Brothers exhibited as a vaudevillian comedy act. It's not hard to imagine Groucho Max as a stand-in for Pete Townshend: smart, articulate, and mischievously funny; while Harpo, with all his madcap antics, insatiable need for the spotlight, and curly blonde locks, could have easily passed for lead singer Roger Daltrey. Zeppo, the Marx Brothers' reserved, well-dressed ladies' man, would have done nicely as bassist John Entwistle; while zany Chico, easily could have filled the shoes of the Who's loony drummer, Keith Moon.
The backgrounds of the Marx Brothers and The Who are eerily similar. Both groups were brought up in poor neighborhoods, where fisticuffs was the usual method of resolving conflicts. Indeed, a deep-rooted anger seemed to be at the core of both groups.
The Who came together when Pete Townshend and John Entwistle joined Roger Daltrey's rhythm-and-blues group, the Detours, in 1962. There was one very big problem, however: Daltrey was the band's lead guitarist, while both Townshend and Entwistle, played guitar, too. The answer was to make Townshend the band's rhythm guitarist, while Entwistle would have to learn to play electric bass. First, they changed their name to the High Numbers. After a few gigs, Daltrey decided to allow Townshend to be the group's sole guitarist, while he would focus his charismatic presence on being lead singer. Despite designing and building his own electric bass, Entwistle never did quite master the instrument, rather he played it much as he had played guitar, by punching out an array of chromatic chords. The sound he produced on his custom bass was so full, that there was never a need for another musician.
In the wake of Beatlemania, what set the High Numbers apart was that they rejected pretension, and performed with a ferocity that evoked near chaos in the London clubs where they appeared. In time their love of rhythm and blues morphed into frantic, no-holds barred Rock-n-Roll. By then they were calling themselves The Who. Keith Moon saw one of their shows, and was so moved by their spectacular showmanship, that afterward he met with the band, and convinced them he would be the ideal drummer for their kind of free-wheeling Rock mayhem. Indeed, zany Keith Moon fit in perfectly within the group's aggressive stage antics, antics that included Townshend's windmill power chords on his Les Paul guitar. With Keith Moon in the lineup, The Who evolved into one of the most outrageous and exciting rock bands in London. Record labels clamored for The Who to sign a contract.
The record label The Who signed with, insisted they model themselves after the Beatles' wholesome, boy-next-door persona. They tried, but it wasn't true to their care-free brand of music making. The Who's massive following expected rock-n-roll fury, and the Who delivered, with explosive sets that concluded with the band smashing to bits their instruments.
When it came time to record an album, the record execs insisted that individual group members write their own songs, like the Beatles. They tried, but in the end it was Pete Townshend who emerged as the Who's best (and most prolific) songwriter, writing pop songs that were played on the radio with such frequency that to their adoring fans, the Who's hit singles were Rock Anthems: "I Can't Explain", "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere", "Substitute", "My Generation", " "I Can See for Miles," "Magic Bus", and "Happy Jack".
The cost of destroying their instruments at the conclusion of each set, proved costly, despite being covered by record sales. At some point, The Who realized they were spending all their income on buying new instruments. With this top of mind, they decided to eliminate such destructive and expensive antics from their stage show
After four successful albums, and extensive touring of the United States, Townshend began writing songs for what he called a "Rock-Opera". This would become the Who's break-out album, "Tommy". An ambitious two-record set that would take six months to record. Record sales exceeded their fondest dreams.
Six months later, at Woodstock, the Who's breathtaking stage performance elevated the British quartet from rock stars, to pop super-stars.
LIFEHOUSE AND "WHO'S NEXT"
After answering the demand to release a live album, the band turned its attention to creating a follow-up to "Tommy." Pete Townshend wanted to record another Rock Opera, an ambitious album that would be called "Lifehouse," with parts of it recorded live, and parts of it filmed for a potential movie. The more Townshend and record producer Kid Lambert dreamed, the bigger and more complicated the project became, until Townshend lost sight of what his original vision had been. In the meantime, Townshend taught himself how to play keyboard, as he envisioned many of the songs to be composed around organ and piano. All the band members were enthusiastic about the project, and they began recording some of the songs.
In then end, "Lifehouse" was cancelled owing to its complexity, and to conflicts with Kit Lambert, the Who's manager. Tensions were running high, to the point where band founder Roger Daltrey was threatening to quit. Even Townshend needed time off to recuperate from what had become a stressed out, all consuming effort. Abandoning "Lifehouse" gave the group new freedom, owing to the absence of an overriding musical theme or storyline. This allowed the band to concentrate on maximizing the impact of individual tracks while providing a unified sound.
Although the "Lifehouse" concept was abandoned, song scraps of the project were used in "Who's Next". The first recording session was held in the Rolling Stones Mobile recording unit. The backing track of "Won't Get Fooled Again" was recorded there, after which the band decided to relocate to London's Olympic Studios. Working with Glyn Johns as their new producer, the Who proceeded to record "Bargain", "Time is Passing," "Pure and Easy", "Love Ain't for Keeping", "The Song is Over", "Behind Blue Eyes", and "Baba O'Riley." Session player Nickey Hopkins guested on piano, while Dave Arbus was invited by Keith Moon to play violin on "Baba O'Riley." Very late in the session, John Entwistle, who was good for one song per album, contributed the madcap, rollicking "My Wife".
Producer Glyn Johns was primarily concerned with creating a good sound, whereas the band's previous producer (and manager) Kit Lambert had always been more concerned with the group's image. Townshend made full use of a computer and a sound synthesizer, and modified electronic keyboards to create a drone effect on several songs, notably "Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again", as well as with "Bargain", "Going Mobile," and "The Song is Over." Keith Moon's manic drumming was so inspired, that the effect was more than merely keeping time for the band, but rather as another musical instrument to bolster the sound. Glyn Johns was instrumental in convincing The Who that they should release a single-disc album, believing the songs to be excellent. The group gave him free reign to assemble an album of whatever songs he wanted, in any order.
WON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN
Sounding for all the world like the title of some Marx Brothers' movie, "Won't Get Fooled Again" scored as a top-ten single in the U.K., while in the U.S. the record topped out at 15 on American Top Forty radio.
Upon release, "Who's Next" was an immediate critical and commercial success, and would be their first number-one album in the U.K.
WHO'S NEXT: WHO'S BEST
"Who's Next" has been viewed by many critics as the Who's best album, as well as one of the greatest albums of all time. It has been reissued on CD several times, often with additional songs originally intended for "Lifehouse", included as bonus tracks. "Who's Next" was ranked number 77 on Rolling Stone's 2020 edition of its "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list.
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