First listen to The Who - Behind Blue Eyes (REACTION) 

The whole album "Who's Next" is worth reacting to.

My blue-eyed husband was a bachelor for 51 years. He sang this for me when we were new lovers, and we cried together. Thanks for the treasured memory, Daniel, and I hope your heart is never broken this way. 🤟🏻 💙

This is such a brilliant song. So good that even Limp Bizkit couldnt ruin it, although they certainly gave it a shot. The Limp Bizkit version eviscerates the song and removes the rock section of the song, and keeps it as a ballad all the way through. Partly of course this is because Fred Durst is nowhere hear the singer that Roger Daltrey is. This song came out nearly 50 years ago and still sounds every bit as good now as it did then :) Glad you enjoyed it Daniel! All the best from Perth, Australia, cheers! Steve :)

Townshend says he wrote this as a quiet, mournful song, while Roger Daltrey identified with the repression of anger in the lyrics and pushed for it to be a banger. The result is an amazing synthesis. And yes, you must check out the entire “Who’s Next” album. It’s arguably their best.

The Who has a bunch of well crafted, amazing songs. They don’t get the love they deserve on RU-vid.... not sure why? You could be the chosen one to get reactions to their top 10-15 hits out there!

One of my all time favorite albums ! "Won't Get Fooled Again", over 8 minutes of great music, would be another great song off Who's Next ! Thanks for checking out The Who ! ✌❤🌻😷🎶

Have seen the Who three times live, with a different drummer each time, from Moon to Jones to Starkey. Possibly the best live band ever in their prime

A song of self-loathing by the blue eyed genius, Peter Townsend

The WHO, "WHO'S NEXT" EVERY SONG IS WORTH YOUR TIME. "DON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN". ALL POLITICIANS SHOULD HEAR THIS. "BEHIND BLUE EYES". AWESOME SONG... COOL DANIEL,,,...

This is off of one of the proverbial "desert island" albums. One you HAVE to have.

It's refreshing to see a reviewer who has a good understanding of the music and lyrics. Some of the other reviewers have a hard time figuring what their shoes are for.

Great Choice! The killer song that is missing is "you won't get fooled again. I has always been their encore for over 40 years. Cheers, Ray

The power and dynamism in Who songs is truly amplified in their live performances. I agree with other comments that you should react to "Won't Get Fooled Again," but I think you should view their 1978 live performance of it at Shepperton Studios for a truly visceral experience.

Daniel, this album, Who's Next(1971) is one one the greatest albums of all time, from the cover(can't remember if you had comments on it when you did Baba O'Riley or not) to all 9 songs. Two of the possible "deeper cuts" that you should do are bassist John Entwistle's My Wife(which he wrote and sings lead vocals on) and Townshend's Bargain, described by critics as being both beautiful and dynamic. The melody and lyrics are excellent also.

Anger is very often sublimated grief. Better to be mad than sad.

No need to hear a cover of this song. It is pure perfection!

My theme song. One of the best numbers from The Who. Thanks for doing this.

The who was pretty famous for happy sounding songs with angry lyrics

Super stoked for Tommy and Quadrophenia. I'd like to also say that there's an amazing compilation album called Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy that they released in 1971 with all their best singles from the 60's pre-Tommy era. You could pick a song randomly from that album and they'd all be bangers. Cheers man.

I was lucky enough to see The Who several times in the '70s and early '80s. Keith Moon was a Madman! Great Shows!! RIP Keith and John

Another gem that's so much fun to sing. What makes their songs so unique I feel is the gritty realism expressed from the lyrics themselves to the delivery through the music. Thanks Daniel for dusting this one off.

Top 5 song from my favorite classic rock group. A beautiful ballad and a powerful rocker in one. ALWAYS posting my all-time favorites after I go to bed. ☺

I used to hum this song quietly when I would pick up my children from my ex-wife's house. Very sad and angry but couldn't show it.

Thank you, my good man, for allowing me to accompany you on your journey through my youth. You are a skilled communicator with a very bright future in whatever path you follow.

Killer choice, Daniel 👍🏻👍🏻 The tall poppie syndrome. If it stands out then people want to bring it back down. Human nature Great breakdown👍🏻👍🏻

The Who is nothing but awesome!

My favorite song of all time ever.

The Who is one of those very deep wells you can stay in for some time. They were active for a very long time and had Daltry and Townsend- two huge talents. Behind Blue Eyes came from "Who's Next" (1971) that's worth close study. BBE has been covered by Limp Biscuit and God only knows how many garage bands. I belted it out myself, albeit badly, on a drunken karaoke night. My green eyes were so bloodshot, no one noticed the irony.

The Who had great music and were ahead of their time especially how they used their drums and bass in their songs.

Yes, Who’s Next was their finest hour. Keith Moon was still with us.

Hey Daniel - appreciate your appreciating The Who - the first true 'Power Band', considered hard rock by definition in that time frame, especially live. Pete Townshend's power chords, Roger Daltry's dynamic voice, John Entwistle's powerful bass runs and Keith Moon's chaotically controlled percussion. Their stage presence was uniquely second to none, a very physical performance that led to the genres of sound and performances many groups later emulated. Heavy metal and all the 'metal' types thereafter owe a debt of gratitude to The Who. Nobody else was doing it the way they did early on. Most of this massive wattage and performance on stage was followed by bands such as Deep Purple and Black Sabbath along with others, including Led Zeppelin. Most all from England following the British invasion starting with The Beatles in the early sixties. If you watch some of their concert videos such as Isle of Wight, Monterey or Woodstock from the late sixties or early seventies you'll get a good idea. It may in some ways seem tame to today's heavy metal or harder rock performances, but it was the seed planted by The Who that led to the progression that is relatively common now throughout the rock world. You played and enjoyed "I Can See For Miles". This sound was like none other hitting the airwaves back then. The heaviness of that sound was the beginning. This song really struck a chord with me - pun intended - and initiated my love for The Who. HardRick/Heavy Metal was born.

Great tune, The Who is one of the bands I was first exposed to...my parents listened to The Beatles and The Who often. Never really thought much about these lyrics, I always thought he was referring to 'blue' as in sad or depressed. I always liked how the song starts off kinda mellow then kicks in with the rest of the band. The lines that always stuck with me were the verse that starts off with "If I swallow anything evil..." After hearing this song right now it sounds to me like someone who is sad and lonely, asking for someone to help. Song facts with a major assist! Great reaction, thanks!

That whole album is worth a serious listen. That song is a masterwork of control and quiet anger. So glad you're exploring and enjoying it.

The Irish band The Chieftains did a cover of this with Roger Daltry actually on vocals that had a somewhat different vibe when played on traditional instruments.

The Who song Boris the Spider would be good for Halloween 🎃

Pete Townsend wrote some fantastic songs.

Who’s Next is amazing.Won’t get fooled again is practically a rock icon, especially that final scream. It is my favorite Who album, and it’s in my top 20 favorite albums ever. Not a bad song on it. A close second is the GREAT Tommy, and a distant third for me is Quadrophenia. Excepting the real me and love reign o’er me which are freaking great.

Thought you'd like that! :)

My favorite Who song.

Your reference to Edgar Allen Poe is very insightful. What you are referring to I would call "background noise". It's encouraging to know that there is a younger generation out there who are still able to weed out all of the unneeded commentary in what is now a very confusing world.

Some of Pete's best lyrics, pretty much autobiographical IMO, with all the classic Who elements, Daltrey's powerful vocals, Pete's great guitar, Moon's mad drumming, and Entwhistle's brilliant bass. Truly epic. Also, if you're not gonna do the whole Who's Next, at least do Won't Get Fooled Again and Bargain. Great breakdown man.

thank you for playing and for your interpretation of the lyrics of this song.

I want you to take some of your dads suggestions. He mentioned Tracy Chapman to you the other day. I’d love to see your reaction to “Fast Car”.

I have lots of favorite tunes by the The Who, and this one is always at the top of the list. I’m so glad I got to hear this one live. Only saw them once, but they lived up to their reputation. Can’t wait for the album reactions.

So much emotion under the surface boy you are getting it love you

I was lucky enough to see them in concert last year and they still sound great. It was amazing. I’d love to see more Who. Keep up the great work.

Your the best at these reaction videos. Usually I don’t like this much analysis but you are SMART AND PERCEPTIVE

I saw the Who live in the 90's, TacomaDome. They were touring the "Quadraphenia" album like 25 years later after it was released. After they played the entire Quadraphenia album, they played all their hits, including "Behind Blue Eyes." OMG, these guys are rock and roll personified, Peter Townsend and Roger Daltrey. Rock Gods. Musicians like Pete and Roger, John and Keith were put on this earth to make some noise! Rattle a few cages!! All of my previous bands played Who songs.

You need to do MY WIFE by The Who. It will make you smile.

Sees title, clicks link.

Oh man, all of Quadrophenia will be a TREAT. My parents took me to the nearest stop when the Who did a tour in '96 (Zak Starkey, Ringo's son, on drums, and a like 20-piece orchestra to fill it out). At ten I didn't... really grasp the album's content, but it was still a Damn Fine Concert. (That stop was also... less out of the way than it could have been but not the expected big city to host a concert. But the Who haven't been back to Cincinnati since fans mistook sound check for the show starting in '78 and stampeded, which I really can't blame them for.) Even if it's out of order and piece by piece, do everything on Who's Next. I don't think there's a bad song in the lot.

Nice reaction, so funny been listening to this song my whole life, so cool to see you find the awesomeness!

Yes, it is indeed awesome. Love your "Wow" at the end. That sums it up.

In my mind, this has always been the perfect theme song for Darth Vader.

So glad you're planning to do the two complete concept albums, Tommy and Quadrophenia, as stand-alone reactions. They are definitely Townshend & Co's best work. In the meantime, a great way to keep The Who front and center is to react to one of their most incredible live performances: "Young Man Blues" (by Mose Allison) as performed at the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970 - just months after their appearance at Woodstock. The Who, like most British Invasion bands, were steeped in the blues (Stones, Beatles, Kinks, etc.), so hearing and seeing what The Who could do with a straight blues number is really revealing. They were raw power, full of energy, featuring Townshend's windmill guitar moves, Moon's frenetic drumming, Daltrey's intense vocals, and Entwistle's stoic physical presence offset by his awesome fretwork on bass (love the skeleton suit - perfect for Halloween!). Please react to this one - you will not be disappointed! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-M9boFzhUVG4.html

Jackson Browne runnin on empty !!!

If you want to react to a WHO live performance, I recommend *"See Me, Feel Me / Listening To You"* either live from Woodstock or from The Isle of Wight

Trapped, lost, angry and alone inside. If I recall, the character was a double agent, from Townshend's almost-first opera. He has said that it is one of his best three.

There's a bit of rivalry in the industry. The British Invasion had to go up against an entrenched "Payola" system to even be heard. "Blue Eyes" was a nickname for Frank Sinatra. Paul McCartney's "Uncle Albert" was also aimed at Mr. Sinatra . . . "we're so easy." . . . apparently rumors attributed to Frank Sinatra describing the Beatles' musicality. The Who was the 1st concert I ever went to by myself. Hitched a couple hundred miles and snowed on the 200 mi. return trip. It was so powerful to me that after crashing the stage I was getting too hot and went back to the back of the arena. IT WAS GREAT!

very powerful,,plus my husband of 34 years has called me blue eyes for 40 years xo inna good way

Hi Daniel , Your critiquing of the lyrics are awesome & you are always spot on . You are a young man with a lot of wisdom thoughtfulness & reacting to these classics is so refreshing for the next generation. You Rock❤️👍🙏

I was waiting for the tempo change head banging moment! Undoubtedly I had a similar look on my face when this beautiful song started to ROCK!

Discovered you by accident and I realized I'm always watching you with a smile on my face because you remind me so much of me when I was young, except you are so much more mature and well-spoken than I was at that age. I love your sincere and thoughtful reactions and your true excitement in getting into the music such as this, which was the music of my youth. So good to see young people discover it. You're a nice ray of sincerity in these depressing times. Keep up the excellent work.

Jackson Browne Load out/ Stay

I reacted the same way you did the first time I heard this song 45 years ago. Wow that's a great song. And then I went on to discover all the magic of Pete Townshend and The Who.

"Stone Cold Crazy" by Queen and the live cover of the same song by Metallica are awesome. You should consider doing both. They *ROCK* .

My favorite Who song. Deep, emotional and gut wrenching lyrics and sung. It was the voice for my inner teenage angst of my youth.

No one knows what it’s like....[to be the controlled ones] Think puppets and strings and masters

Pete has shockingly blue eyes.

My favorite song by The Who. My only complaint is I want more of it! Thank you for doing this one, Daniel.

I just love watching someone as young as you are discovering so much music that alot of today's youth is totally missing out on. Rock On Daniel !!!!!!

This was Scotty Baldwin's theme song on the soap opera "General Hospital" in the early 1980s. Before going into Tommy and Quadrophenia, I suggest "A Quick One (While he's Away), which was The Who's experimentation pre-Tommy. Great tune.

Brilliant song, brilliant album....keep diggin' in! The run of albums from The Who Sell Out > Quadrophenia is one of the all time greats

"Was that the end? Wow." Great review

RE the LB cover, I believe the key word in the band's name is "LIMP."

Excellent reaction and song breakdown. Along with "Love Reign O'er Me",my favorite Who song.

Great reaction to one of my favorite "Who" songs. There are so many great Who songs that are just as powerful. Enjoy the journey.

absolute fave who song,,,in concert 3 xs and i wore out the lp

One of my favorite all time songs, having blue eyes myself!👍🏻☮️

If you listen to the harmony of the background vocals, what you're hearing was inspired by the Beach Boys. Keith Moon was such a huge fan that at one point even asked them if he could join the band. It would have been interesting to see how that would have worked out. There is a very entertaining video clip on RU-vid of Keith Moon singing the Beach Boy song "Barbara Ann", along with the rest of The Who.

Blue eyed Justine has loved this song since she first heard it as a teenager when it was released.

Quadrophenia is an album that influenced a lot of musicians, and it speaks to the angst of growing up, figuring out when it's time to break away from your parents, your friends (who may not be such good friends), and the patterns you lived in as a teen. I highly recommend it. It is a huge undertaking though. I know my oldest daughter was incredibly moved and influenced by it, and I look forward to introducing my grandson to it soon. A shorter, more fun straight ahead rock and roll mini-opera is a song called "A Quick One While He's Away", that they performed live on a TV show hosted by the Rolling Stones. It is incredible, and some say led the Stones to stop doing the TV show. The video of that performance was in their bio-documentary "The Kids Are Alright" and is available variously around You Tube.

As the lyric notes show, "Behind Blue Eyes" was originally conceived for a rock opera that never made it past the songwriting. This was the villain/antagonist's song. "I may be the bad guy but don't know my suffering". The underlying, secreted rage and bipolar behavior is the message.

Man, this song brings me back and it's one of their best.

I absolutely adored how this song was used in 2nd season of Legion because it acknowledged that it was originally conceived to be from the villain's perspective.

Pete Townsend who has blue eyes wrote this and all other Who songs.

Wow! This boy's best reaction, which is entirely natural, with his face registering that he's not quite believing how good this is, in relation to maybe mediocre expectations. I was 16 when I first heard this, on the first album I ever purchased, and I reckon my reaction would have been similar to this. Wait until you hear it for the second and third time, but since he's pretty intelligent, he would obviously have done that already by now........

Won’t Get Fooled Again is a must. Great music and lyrics.

Saw them live in I think ‘80 and it was a great show. Great reaction.

ds9 Yeah you're right, it is a great song. Great lyrics and lead singing by Roger Daltry. Terrific 4-part harmonies as well. Good bass guitar sound. Great quick-rolling fills by the drummer Kieth Moon. Gotta love that '70s era creamy guitar distortion. Good acoustic guitar playing too. Enjoyed your reaction.

Haven't heard this one for a long time: it really is a stunning song, love that tight chord work towards the end; nice one mate! Won't get fooled again is my fav.

I'm blonde over blue. (A song Billy Joel wrote for his then wife, Christy Brinkley.) Fun fact: She drew the cover art for that album. So glad you kept your mind open in reacting to The Who. 👍🏼 You are impressively splendid. 💜💫✌🏼🎵 *OH! That's how many Rush fans felt after Moving Pictures came out. **OMG! I love my dog, Lily! She's a Beagle. (See? I really do watch 'til the end...) Now, only if I could stop commenting! Yikes. 😏

I hadTommy, which was a Christmas gift when I was a kid. But to me the album is novelty. Maybe 2 or 3 songs that I would ever want to hear now, and very sporadically. But that's true of many albums.

All the analysis is true enough, but never discount that the song was written to appeal to teens who almost universally go though a "no one has ever been in my shoes before" phase. Getting a song that goes straight for that feeling is almost a guaranteed winner.

Welcome young man this is "The Who"

I've never heard anyone do a cover of this song, can't imagine anyone doing it better

Pete Townshend is a blue-eyed, musical and lyrical genius.

Excellent analysis of this classic song. One thing about The Who, they have the decibels, but they are very melodic decibels. Very powerful and emotional. Have you done LOVE REIGN O'ER ME yet?

Love this 💝

My favorite song for a whole summer back in teenage days gone by ( long before either RU-vid or Limp Bizkit ) Bit narcissistic maybe but I totally identified. I love the bass, John Entwistle is arguably on the ultra-short short-list for best ever.