I’ve owned this originally on 8 track, and then on vinyl, but have never bought it on CD or otherwise.
My son just burned a copy for me on CD and now I remember why I have loved this album.
I like the background story (I’ve seen the movie) and the music is wonderful. Keith Moon is absolutely spectacular on this album. The best drumming on any rock album, ever.
I love this album, and kept the vinyl along with the enclosed booklet. Any day I happen to glance at a clock at 5:15, you know what tune pops into my head.
I love the album as well although I wouldn’t put it as the best album ever. Who’s Next is a better album and I go back and forth as between Tommy and Quadrophenia as the best of the rock operas.
I’m a huge Who fan and this is my favorite of their albums. I was about 17 when it came out and it just spoke to me. I thought Townshend wrote the lyrics for me. It is a very personal album and even at the age of 57, it is my anthem album.
Leaffan, you are a man who reveals all he digs.
Truer words were never spoken.
I have a friend, a lifelong jazz drummer, who calls Keith Moon a genius, but a lot of rock drummers seem to worship either John Bonham or Neal Peart, or both. I can’t march in that parade.
I won’t say it’s the best album ever, but it demolishes what anybody else was doing in '73, thet’s fer dang sure.
Moon is mesmerizing to watch. He’s my all-time favorite drummer-performer.
I read something interesting awhile back, though… one of the songs on Who Are You required drumming in 4/6 time, and apparently Moon couldn’t drum in 4/6 time. So they hired a studio drummer for the song.
Not quite.
From Drum Magazine: Partners In Time: John Entwistle & Keith Moon
They all do very different things, and they all are geniuses in their own right. It took me awhile to come around to Keith Moon, but he is a very interesting drummer with a unique sound and style that works perfectly with the Who. I’m not a big Who fan, but the post-Moon albums, while having very good technical drumming, just don’t sound right to me. To me, that’s one sign of a great drummer, that when their voice is lost in the band, you notice.
Can you see the real me, doctor?
Maybe. I recall reading that on one of the Who By Numbers tracks, Pete Townshend had to substitute the sound of his own footsteps because moon couldn’t handle the odd time signature.
My favorite album by my favorite band. I have a tradition of listening to Quad in it’s entirety on May 19th every year, preferably cranked up to 11 while driving down a long stretch of blue highway.
Favorite rock album. Love Entwistle on The Real Me (along w/the rest of the band). I may be mistaken, but I’d thought the story was Moon was having trouble keeping time as he got crazier and/or more addicted to substances, that was why he’s seen wearing headphones so he could hear a metronome in The Kids Are Alright movie around the Who Are You Era. The song Music Must Change on that album uses the sound of footsteps for a beat.
Huh. I actually find that somewhat surprising. “My Generation” has a pretty strong swing/shuffle feel to it, and he has no problems with triplets there (which is the basis for the 6/8 or 12/8 feel.)
Great, great album. I think you could leave me with Tommy, Quadrophenia, Wish you were here and The Wall and you could burn the rest.
I prefer Quadrophenia over Tommy but maybe I should defer to my smaller critics. My 7 and 9 year old have been subjected to my musical tastes since birth and I try desperately not to force anything down their neck but I’m struck by which tunes seem to provoke a funky gut reaction in them. (Prince, Duran Duran, Cameo!)
Anyhow, they listened to Tommy for the first time a month or so ago and two things were apparent.
a) They were dancing around like mad things in the back of the car
b) It was the drumming that they mostly reacted to
They don’t have a critical filter, they like what they like so I’ll take that as evidence of The Who’s primeval genius. They never behave that that when One Direction come on the radio.
FWIW my little boy (7) loves “Christmas” and “go to the mirror” my daughter (9) takes the slightly more obvious route of “Acid Queen” and “Pinball Wizard” She thankfully hasn’t asked exactly what the Acid Queen is up to.
Off Who Are You, actually.
That’s very interesting.
I (a keyboard player, not a drummer) also have the darnedest time feeling musically where the drums come in on “I’m Free.” I kind of know it because I’ve heard the song a zillion times, but there’s something about the lead in that eludes my internal groove-o-meter.
Also, I love this album. Just listened to “The Real Me,” which is one of the greatest rock tracks ever. It just rumbles my loins (how’s that for a weird image!).
“Born to Run”?
What intrigues me about this record is that although I recognize almost none of the song titles, I recognize just about every song. Despite never having the record until adulthood. Makes me think that CT album rock radio was truly amazing in the 70s as far as playing deep cuts.