The full emotional impact of this song is experienced when listening to Quadrophenia from beginning to end, IMO. That said who remembers having (or is old enough, anyway) a Quadrophonic stereo system & the albums recorded in that format?
Quadrophenia brought me so much solace as a sophomore in '73. My sisters had played Tommy often, so I was acquainted with The Who. Then my friend played me Live at Leeds, and I was so down for it when Quadrophenia came out. It was my high school soundtrack. The Who WILL live forever.
If it wasn't for the Stones, the Who would be my favorite band. And Roger Daltrey had the best voice of them all in my opinion- you can tell what an incredibly difficult song this is to sing- even for him
@whodoesknow99 I was one of those insane people plastered directly in front of the speakers for their LA Coliseum show. My whole head was vibrating during this song.
Agreed. Rog isn't normally included among those considered as the "best", but, the guy is the epitome of what one might refer to as a "leather-lunged" vocalist.
You can't exclude Roger as one of the great vocalists of rock. He gave us one of the most recognizable & hair standing up on the back of the neck screams in the history of rock with Won't get fooled again. Other great vocalists: Plant, Lennon/McCartney, Bruce, David lee Roth, Hagar, Freddie Mercury, Elton John. Just to name a few. They could all belt & deliver the Rock n Roll goods!!!!!
Pete frequently wrote songs above Daltrey's range, and he was particularly merciless on Quadruphenia. Still a glorious song & performance, though; thanks for posting.
I was in the audience! w000t! In the opening shot, I'm in there somewhere in that shot, as I was to stage right of center, probably right about where the brightness of the light ends.
I was at this show, too. Twenty-eight years ago Dec. 2 in the Astrodome. I knew what I was in for as I had seen them at "the Drum" on UT's campus in Austin July 3rd, '80.
Very cool, great song, fantastic sound, I seen them in 8th grade my first band in the 70's at Pontiac Silver Dome, Mi, I rushed stage, Ha!!! This was when Roger had long hair, swinging his microphone out into the audience. Ha!
It’s a good debate saw both The Stones and The Who (oct ‘81 & ‘82). Both groups were the pinnacle of their craft and both had the necessary swag! Does anyone else have the striped shirt that Pete and Roger wore? I do...
I "one" of the World's Greatest WHO fan, but the fact is your right about "some" of the 82 shows. Like yourself you know "The Pete" and he sure did look over it, what's kinda weird they were The TOP of the Rock World and no one would pass up going to see the WHO. I saw them live in "80" & Pete Rocked it! saw them 3 times in 82, 2 shows great, but one was REALLY GREAT! & Pete was into it! big difference as Tampa was the one I have great time remembering,Pete said as he left the stage, Good show.
After giving it some thought in the shower this morning, I apparently got my info wrong. I was thinking of the 2 Kingdome shows the 'Stones did in '81, and had always remembered the Who doing 2 of their own the following year. But, apparently it was only 1.
This song had Roger's best performance. Digital Dream Door ranked this song as the greatest vocal performance ever. Roger is abso-fucking-lutely brilliant. And Pete's solo is the shit.
Hey spez1989. A couple more you can't remember. Lennon/McCartney. Springsteen. Ian Gillan. David Lee Roth. Steve Perry. Sammy Haggar. Grace Slick. Stevie Nicks. These are just a few to go along with the great Plant & Daltrey.
What's better? This version or Pearl Jam's? The who gets points for writing it but PJ gets points for having the balls to cover it. I love both versions
Fulgrim, The Phoenician I agree that the who did it better, but honestly if I didn’t know about this song and someone showed me the pj version first I would think it was the original because it sounds natural
Well, for the dork that was bitching about the hair cuts, remember the time frame. This was early 80's, the punk and new age thing was getting big. You had big lights, techno and all the other crap, with m-tv soon to come. The Who, as a band, were just about done. (sadly). With that said, Daltrey in his prime was great. This was a great band singing in a new era, the fact they were even there was cool.
Seeing some of the comments below, the debate the stones or the WHO - THE WHO, way more versatile, edgy, and more explosive in there rhythms section in the bass and drums. The Who rock harder than the stones and not as much as Led Zeppelin, The Who hits that sweet spot in the middle of those 2 bands and that's makes them the Greatest classic rock band. In my opinion The Who in there heyday blows the stones OFF the stage.
Joe Vaughn I agree, I thought I made it clear in my comment but I'll try to add in what I think - First of all The Who worked a million tines harder than Led Zep. in terms of performing "Live" just take the yrs. between "64 to 70" The Who toured more in those yrs. than Zep. did in there entire career - The early WHO live on stage between the Stones or Zep.or anyone else The Who blows them away. The legitimate argument against Zep. is that they produced great sounding studio albums but it did not transfer to the stage all that well sometimes - As for WHO it's the exact opposite they made there chops and reputation on the road in which equals THE WHO are simply the best LIVE ACT - That Can Not Be Matched.
Why is it so important to argue about listener's personal tastes between Artists? Nobody cares who rates higher in your, others here or my book...just enjoy the flippin music and quit worrying about Rackin and Stackin classic rock..
Pete looked quite sedated during this performance - downright bored. A far cry from the great playing he did on this song during the Toronto show in '82, where he played out of his mind fantastic.
I think that is really messed up though he should be in the top three it should be Robert Plant, Roger Daltry, and Ozzy Osbourne. The third one can be questioned but i can't think of anyone else at the moment that has the best vocals but i know Robert Plant and Roger Daltry are the two best.
Why the fuck do people argue over bands??? It's YOUR opinion!!! It's WHAT MOVES YOU!!! Don't tell someone else what moves them! Fucking 'ell... grow up!!!
I disagree. I don't know of a better rock voice then Roger Daltry's He always nailed it in the studio. Live he was tremendous as well...just listen to this. One thing that often gets overlooked is that Live shows are rigorous. No one can reach the outer edges of their range night after night
i think that it's too much complicated to make a list without to forget anyone.... anyway can anyone tell me where i can find a live video of the who's "dangerous"? I'm sure they did it in 1982 shows but i can't find a video of it
Completely awesome performance of Baba but it is also obvious that Pete, playing technically better than he had ever played before, was totally over it by then, and that is really too bad. The Seattle show seems like one of the better in 82 but Pete only seems to get into it when playing John's songs or when doing covers. I don't want technical Pete, I want emotion Pete! I want fire!
Well, I admit they are both great- I'm not taking anything away from the who- I just happen to think the Stones are superior- and I think I did "respect the music" with my comment as I did not badmouth either band as I think they're both great.
Give poor Kenney a break. When Moonie died, the Who lost its identity and had to become a "regular" band, with regular arrangements. It would take until 1996 before they found the balance between Moon's seat-of-the-pants improv and the structure that every other drummer provides. Zak is the perfect fit for a more mature Who. Kenney was solid but came at the wrong time. He's still better than Simon Phillips.
Sorry, mate - Roger was the only member of The Who who DIDN'T partake in drugs much past the Mod-era. Read the books. Smoking did clearly had an effect...
Well, I'd put Daltrey in there because: ahead of Plant, Perry, and GIllan... not only could he go high, but he could also do it with a shreiking POWER. I'd say Elvis and Orbison are just... different leagues, like the Beatles and classic rock, you know... just, seperate. And if you put Ian Gillan in there, well, I think Ted Neely did a WAY better job them him on Jesus Christ Superstar. Just listen to the differences in them singing Gethsmelab (or however its sung)
i won't lie, this version is weak. very neat and rare, but they are not on their game. even in the 80's the who had some great peaks. this wasn't one. kenney pisses the shit out of me, this song needs keith. roger sang great though. i'll always dig rog