DU Album of the Day: "Who Are You" The Who

[gratuitous]

The legend stenciled on the chair Keith Moon straddled on the cover "NOT TO BE TAKEN AWAY" achieved immediate poignancy when the legendary drummer died just two months after this album's release in 1978. The album has sparked heated discussion among fans since its release, and even caused Roger Daltrey and producer Glyn Johns to go fisticuffs during production. Many fans consider this the last true Who album with the original band, and as such, it seems either a final primal scream or a submissive yawp as the Darkness descends.

Reviewers and critics have gone back and forth on "Who Are You," sometimes in the same person. Reviewers who didn't care for the album sound initially ("over-synthesized" being the most common complaint) have warmed to it, while others have seen the once fresh vital sound of The Who fade into cliché. I've liked the album from the start, and while some of the tracks have waxed and waned in my estimation, there's no doubt that much of what made The Who The Who is present here, sometimes roaring out of the speakers as in days of old, other times fighting to get through some admittedly lame production work. The studio versions of some songs only seem to pop when performed live, while the raw energy of the climax of the title track provides a fitting valé for one of rock's all-time great groups.

1) New Song
2) Had Enough
3) 905
4) Sister Disco
5) Music Must Change
6) Trick Of The Light
7) Guitar And Pen
8) Love Is Coming Down
9) Who Are You

BONUS for regular AOTD readers: There will be a trivia question on Friday based on my AOTD postings this week. Pay attention.

[progressoid]

1. Probably one of the first albums I purchased.

I still have it after all these years.

[dana_b]

2. me too

love, love it!

[dana_b]

3. I remember seeing them live back in '80

(post Moon) and loving "Music Must Change" live but "Sister Disco" sounds dated to me now. I think Entwistle penned three of the songs too - "905", "Trick of the Light" and "had Enough". That was a lot for him on one album. Townshend must have relented.

[lovemydog]

4. The production is clean and bright, and the

songwriting strong and consistent throughout. To me, it's their response to punk and disco. It's about still having something to say even though you're getting older and the ideas aren't coming as fast and furious as they were when you were younger. I've always loved Pete Townshend's vulnerability and willingness to be self-critical. He certainly doesn't let himself, or the group, off the hook. It's their last effort with Keith Moon, and it feels like a full Who album. It's the last one they did that I listen to in its entirety.