Customer Reviews

Who's Next [Vinyl]

5 star:		(438)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

The Who have always been overshadowed throughout their career by other, more `relevant' trends. The Who persisted, however, and in the end created a body of work, largely penned by Townshend, which has become stands in the rock canon, but they've always had to fight for the spotlight. In the mid 1960s they had to contend with The Beatles and Stones and the rest of the Peace movement. From the early 1970s they had to deal with the singer-songwriter influx, and in the late part of their recording career they had to contend with punk (much of that relationship is dealt with in the highly underrated WHO ARE YOU album).

However, in a three year span, The Who was THE center of rock and roll. From 1969 to 1971, The Who had the world in a spin with ferocious live shows, a whole new idea of what rock and roll could do (TOMMY), and the sheer power and velocity of them live was absolutely amazing. The Who were at the top of their game, and took the live performance of TOMMY on the road for two years. Everyone was wondering what their next move would be.

WHO'S NEXT was the next move. Coming from the failed LIFEHOUSE, the album suddenly changed the direction that The Who had been established in. This is the turning point in The Who's career as far as sound goes. Townshend went from writing mod anthems to more album-oriented rock. When listening to albums like TOMMY or SELL OUT or QUICK ONE and then the later albums such as QUADROPHENIA, this one, or WHO ARE YOU, while you can tell it's the same band they've changed their sound drastically. Although they've always been loud, now The Who were playing genuine hard rock, and boy did it ever rock.

The source material for WHO'S NEXT, LIFEHOUSE, a multi-media extravaganza about how rock was going to save the world, has become, like Brian Wilson's SMILE, one of the great mysteries which everyone wonders what would have been had it come to completion. In The Who's case, I think it benefitted the work overall to not come to completion. Although it always escapes me why "Pure and Easy" was left off the album (as well as "The Naked Eye"), over all WHO'S NEXT plays very tightly, concise, and extremely focused. Townshend sometimes let the concept bog down the music, although not nearly as much as, say, Roger Waters. To his immense credit, Townshend always made sure that the songs were very catchy, and TOMMY has some of the band's best music, but taking it outside the context of the "concept," the music does not stand up as well as WHO'S NEXT.

That's the main difference between TOMMY and WHO'S NEXT, and that's what makes this record such a fascinating listen. If you know the plot of LIFEHOUSE*, then each song makes sense within its context. However, what makes WHO'S NEXT so powerful is the fact that, taken out of the LIFEHOUSE context, the music becomes an entirely different animal, which cannot be said for TOMMY. With LIFEHOUSE failing, instead we, as the listeners, have to take it on the basis of each individual song, and this gives the tracks from WHO'S NEXT more power than they ever could have if Townshend's second rock opera had been fully realised.

The best example of Townshend's songs working better outside the LIFEHOUSE plot is, of course, the last track on the album, "Won't Get Fooled Again." Instead of it being that great finale where Bobby and all his friends have escaped and are playing the final Lost Chord, it acts as excellent social commentary, and coming at the very beginning of the 1970s, after seeing the turbulence of the 1960s and all the tumult we were going through, Townshend manages to pen one phrase that blows the entire free love, hippie generation mentality, and with this one blow they never recovered. "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss," the very climax of the song, hits so hard and so fast it left the culture reeling, making that song the single most powerful statement made against the 1960s.

Much of "Won't Get Fooled Again's" power would have been deflated had LIFEHOUSE been completed. Another excellent example is "Behind Blue Eyes" which is about the villain of LIFEHOUSE. Instead of being about one specific villain, it instead becomes about the villain in all of humanity. The same can be said of "Bargain." Instead of talking about some esoteric Lost Note that will crumble the Grid, Townshend gives us a very spirituality-driven song. To those who interpret the song about a man and a woman, that's their right, but I've always taken it as more of man's relationship with God.

In the end, WHO'S NEXT becomes The Who's most powerful statement, not in spite of LIFEHOUSE's failure, but BECAUSE of LIFEHOUSE's failure.

*There are several places on the Internet where you can get in detail LIFEHOUSE's plot. Essentially, it's a science fiction piece about rock and roll saving the world. Everyone is plugged into this Grid, and it reads kind of like Huxley's BRAVE NEW WORLD where they're kept doped up in the fact that they realise nothing's wrong. Bobby, the main character, decides to instigate a revolution, founds this place called the Lifehouse, where a band is playing music. When you go to the Lifehouse, people take all your personal data, everything you are, and then you are given your own personal musical identity. The climax is everyone gets caught up in the music, and everyone's information is fed into this computer which then produces everyone's identity into one single note. The rebels play the Note, everything is put right in the world, and they live happily ever after. Townshend was going to actually do this, and The Who would play rock concents and everyone's data would be represented musically. Can anyone say Spruce Goose?

Good science fiction; hard as hell to pull it off in any other format other than the novel. No wonder it never got completed.

P. S. Stop acting like the bonus tracks are part of the album. It's unfair to deduct stars from an album because of the bonus material. They are bonus tracks, simply that.

"Who's Next" is definitely The Who's best! Released in 1971 by arguably one of the greatest bands of all time, it followed on the heels of the rock opera "Tommy," and Pete Townshend's abandoned "Lifehouse" project. ("Lifehouse" was originally intended as The Who's crowning achievement - a combination science fiction film, rock opera, double album, and concert cycle, all connected to make a statement.) "Who's Next" contains some of The Who's most outstanding and famous songs, including the rock anthem "Baba O'Riley," "Bargain, "My Wife," "Gettin' in Tune," and "Won't Get Fooled Again," all of them showing the band's tremendous dynamism, versatility and musical maturity. Superbly intelligent lyrics, growling guitars, powerful, gritty vocals, and sizzling percussion, piano, and synthesizer, all converge to make every song on this CD a rock masterpiece.

What makes this digitally remastered CD even better than the original album is the addition of five previously unreleased songs from "Lifehouse," and the previously unreleased, original version of "Behind Blue Eyes. " These songs, which include "Baby Don't You Do It," "Naked Eye," "Water" and others, are equal in quality to the more familiar songs which make up the original "Who's Next" album. Also included are very well written liner notes by Pete Townshend and John Atkins, which explain the evolution of "Who's Next" from "Lifehouse."

"Who's Next" is one of the landmark albums of all time. It's also one of my personal favorites, and an essential CD, not only for fans of The Who, but for all fans of rock and roll music.

Peter Townshend may not have gotten what he wanted out of "Who's Next" when The Who released it in 1971, but it's still one of the finest examples of rock & roll out there. Originally one of Townshend's "concept" albums (and titled Lifehouse), it contains fragments of a story that sounds, well, far-fetched: a secret rock concert takes place in a futuristic society where all music has been banned. A messianic leader named Bobby and his followers go to the concert, where their collective personality traits and vital signs are fed into a synthesizer and translated into sound. At the end of the concert, as the anti-music forces close in on the people, they disappear with a sudden "mystical chord". This, plus the technological advances that Townshend wanted to make, lend "Who's Next" a pedigree equal to "Tommy" or "The Who Sell Out". "Baba O'Riley" kicks off the album with its ARP synthesizer line that runs down your back like cold water. Piano, thundering drums courtesy of Keith Moon, Roger Daltrey's defiant voice, and a spare but powerful guitar riff propel you into the teenage wasteland. It's Townshend's kiss-off to the 60s hippie idealism. Quickly following is "Bargain", a frenetic rumble of passion, and the acoustic "Love Ain't For Keeping". Two of Townshend's best songs come next, "Song is Over" and "Gettin' in Tune". The reflection of the lyrics shows how far he's come from "I Can't Explain". And no Who record would be complete without a bit of John Entwistle's dark comic relief in "My Wife". The other chief tunes here are "Behind Blue Eyes", originally meant for Lifehouse's villain, Brick, and the anthemic "Won't Get Fooled Again", a song that marks Townshend's cynical view of hippie communalism. It's The Who at their most vicious - an attack of zinging guitar, atomic bass and shotgun drum blasts and Daltrey's throat-shredding howl at the end, and again the incessant drone of the synthesizer. Were it not for the material originally written for (and subsequently left out of) "Who's Next", the theme might be entirely lost to listeners. The addition of these other songs gives new life to Lifehouse. "Pure and Easy" recalls the mystical Lost Chord that Townshend was looking for. "Naked Eye", although available for years on "Odds and Sods", truly belongs here. "Water" is also notable for its bouncy rhythm. My favorite out of these is "I Don't Even Know Myself" which was the B-side to "Won't Get Fooled Again". All of these songs have the trademark Who sound (post Tommy): playful, gritty guitars, jaunty piano, supple, growling bass and Moon's karate-chopping drumming. There's no one quite like him, R.I.P. And no one like The Who in all of pop music.

The Who have always been overshadowed throughout their career by other, more `relevant' trends. The Who persisted, however, and in the end created a body of work, largely penned by Townshend, which has become stands in the rock canon, but they've always had to fight for the spotlight. In the mid 1960s they had to contend with The Beatles and Stones and the rest of the Peace movement. From the early 1970s they had to deal with the singer-songwriter influx, and in the late part of their recording career they had to contend with punk (much of that relationship is dealt with in the highly underrated WHO ARE YOU album).

However, in a three year span, The Who was THE center of rock and roll. From 1969 to 1971, The Who had the world in a spin with ferocious live shows, a whole new idea of what rock and roll could do (TOMMY), and the sheer power and velocity of them live was absolutely amazing. The Who were at the top of their game, and took the live performance of TOMMY on the road for two years. Everyone was wondering what their next move would be.

WHO'S NEXT was the next move. Coming from the failed LIFEHOUSE, the album suddenly changed the direction that The Who had been established in. This is the turning point in The Who's career as far as sound goes. Townshend went from writing mod anthems to more album-oriented rock. When listening to albums like TOMMY or SELL OUT or QUICK ONE and then the later albums such as QUADROPHENIA, this one, or WHO ARE YOU, while you can tell it's the same band they've changed their sound drastically. Although they've always been loud, now The Who were playing genuine hard rock, and boy did it ever rock.

The source material for WHO'S NEXT, LIFEHOUSE, a multi-media extravaganza about how rock was going to save the world, has become, like Brian Wilson's SMILE, one of the great mysteries which everyone wonders what would have been had it come to completion. In The Who's case, I think it benefitted the work overall to not come to completion. Although it always escapes me why "Pure and Easy" was left off the album (as well as "The Naked Eye"), over all WHO'S NEXT plays very tightly, concise, and extremely focused. Townshend sometimes let the concept bog down the music, although not nearly as much as, say, Roger Waters. To his immense credit, Townshend always made sure that the songs were very catchy, and TOMMY has some of the band's best music, but taking it outside the context of the "concept," the music does not stand up as well as WHO'S NEXT.

That's the main difference between TOMMY and WHO'S NEXT, and that's what makes this record such a fascinating listen. If you know the plot of LIFEHOUSE*, then each song makes sense within its context. However, what makes WHO'S NEXT so powerful is the fact that, taken out of the LIFEHOUSE context, the music becomes an entirely different animal, which cannot be said for TOMMY. With LIFEHOUSE failing, instead we, as the listeners, have to take it on the basis of each individual song, and this gives the tracks from WHO'S NEXT more power than they ever could have if Townshend's second rock opera had been fully realised.

The best example of Townshend's songs working better outside the LIFEHOUSE plot is, of course, the last track on the album, "Won't Get Fooled Again." Instead of it being that great finale where Bobby and all his friends have escaped and are playing the final Lost Chord, it acts as excellent social commentary, and coming at the very beginning of the 1970s, after seeing the turbulence of the 1960s and all the tumult we were going through, Townshend manages to pen one phrase that blows the entire free love, hippie generation mentality, and with this one blow they never recovered. "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss," the very climax of the song, hits so hard and so fast it left the culture reeling, making that song the single most powerful statement made against the 1960s.

Much of "Won't Get Fooled Again's" power would have been deflated had LIFEHOUSE been completed. Another excellent example is "Behind Blue Eyes" which is about the villain of LIFEHOUSE. Instead of being about one specific villain, it instead becomes about the villain in all of humanity. The same can be said of "Bargain." Instead of talking about some esoteric Lost Note that will crumble the Grid, Townshend gives us a very spirituality-driven song. To those who interpret the song about a man and a woman, that's their right, but I've always taken it as more of man's relationship with God.

In the end, WHO'S NEXT becomes The Who's most powerful statement, not in spite of LIFEHOUSE's failure, but BECAUSE of LIFEHOUSE's failure.

*There are several places on the Internet where you can get in detail LIFEHOUSE's plot. Essentially, it's a science fiction piece about rock and roll saving the world. Everyone is plugged into this Grid, and it reads kind of like Huxley's BRAVE NEW WORLD where they're kept doped up in the fact that they realise nothing's wrong. Bobby, the main character, decides to instigate a revolution, founds this place called the Lifehouse, where a band is playing music. When you go to the Lifehouse, people take all your personal data, everything you are, and then you are given your own personal musical identity. The climax is everyone gets caught up in the music, and everyone's information is fed into this computer which then produces everyone's identity into one single note. The rebels play the Note, everything is put right in the world, and they live happily ever after. Townshend was going to actually do this, and The Who would play rock concents and everyone's data would be represented musically. Can anyone say Spruce Goose?

Good science fiction; hard as hell to pull it off in any other format other than the novel. No wonder it never got completed.

P. S. Stop acting like the bonus tracks are part of the album. It's unfair to deduct stars from an album because of the bonus material. They are bonus tracks, simply that.

Who's Next is not just one of my top ten favorite LP/CDs, it's my absolute number one. In my opinion, there's not another rock album that is its equal. That's saying a lot, because bands like the Beatles and Stones have recorded some really outstanding LPs. But Who's Next is superb. Just give it a listen. I still remember the first time I heard it -- it just blew me away. I kept playing it over and over, end to end. There is confidence and maturity here, along with instrumental virtuosity, great vocals and intelligent lyrics. The sheer power and magnificence of the music are awesome.

Every song on this LP is excellent. Songs like "Bargain", "The Song Is Over", "Gettin' In Tune", and "Goin' Mobile" are great in their own right, but their fame is overshadowed by the three drop-dead classics that bookended the original LP. "Baba O'Reilly" opens the set and "Won't Get Fooled Again" ends it. Both are rock anthems, driven by brilliant staccato synthesizers, dynamic druming and bass, and magnificent, crashing guitar chords. "Baba O'Reilly" concludes with with an accelerating violin piece that is both unique and effective. The finale of "Won't Get Fooled Again" is worthy of a Tchaikovsky overture and ringing power guiar chords inform the entire piece. And there is "Behind Blue Eyes", which immediately precedes "Won't Get Fooled Again". A quiet accoustic guitar and vocal that morphs into a driving electric riff under a snarling vocal plea by Daltry make this a classic song, too.

Pete Townsend always seems to need a story or theme to inspire his best songwriting. Witness "Tommy" and "Quadrophenia". For "Who's Next" he had Lifehouse. This story was intended to be made into a movie, but that never came off. Editted down, though, the music written for Lifehouse stands on its own as his best work.

The Who have been called "the thinking man's rock band". This is an intelligent and powerful recording. Get the CD, put it in your player and turn up the volume. I think you'll agree, this is great music.

When I received this album as a gift, I didn,t even have an idea of who The Who was, let alone was I familiar with their unique brand of rock. But listening to the first five minutes of the album, the uplifting and powerful "Baba O'Riley" instantly rendered me a fan of their wild yet brilliantly provocative sound.

This album is filled with the best synthesizer-supported music I have ever heard, and the rough sound of Roger Daltrey's voice perfectly balances with the ear-splitting guitar riffs. The lyrics are ingenious and a true pleasure to listen to, as much a part of the audio effect as the robust acoustic and electric guitar playing. My favorite track is easily "Won't Get Fooled Again," the eight and a half minute opus of electric organ, phenomenal percussion by Keith Moon, and mastermind Pete Townsend's resounding guitar notes. And not to mention lead singer Daltrey's deafening yet perfectly on-pitch screams. I would rate this song as the best ever, but all the other songs contribute to making "Who's Next" the best album ever.

These other songs include "Bargain," the sweeping "Goin' Mobile," the loud and triumphant "The Song is Over," the fresh and crisp "Pure and Easy," and the blues-oriented "Getting in Tune." And of course, the silver medal to "Won't Get Fooled Again"'s gold is the dynamic "Behind Blue Eyes," an intense song filled with poignant vocals and rough, heavy rock and roll.

This album is the best ever, filled to the brim with angry, harsh rock, loud screams, pleasurable acoustic guitar, and poetry half-shouted, half-serenaded with a flourish of emotion. If I was ever wrong about anything before concerning music, I know that I'm definitelty right when I tell you that this album is an absolute must!

Throughout the 1960's the Who were basically a singles band with the notable exceptions of "A Quick One While He's Away," supposed theme album "The Who Sell Out" and, of course, "Tommy." The latter's success would force the group to stay together when bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon had debated forming a group called Led Zeppelin with Jimmy Page (this fact perhaps leading to Who guitarist Pete Townshend's outspoken resentment of that venerable act). Further success with "Live At Leeds" would lead the band into the studio once again to commence work on yet another Townshend theme album titled "Lifehouse." While "Lifehouse" failed to reach fruition during the Who's lifetime, many of the songs from that project formed the nucleus for one of the group's greatest achievements: "Who's Next."

With "Who's Next," the Who would enter the world of AOR as well as provide themselves with sure crowd pleasures along the lines of "Baba O'Riley," "Behind Blue Eyes" and "Won't Get Fooled Again." This being more than an ample enough amount of "hits" for the traditional album of the period, the group would continue to provide meaningful listening with "Bargain," "Love Ain't For Keeping" and "Getting In Tune." Even Entwistle's humorous "My Wife" and Townshend's bouncy "Going Mobile" maintain the pace of high caliber material on this, the group's finest hour as a working unit.

The Who would continue to make music into the 1970's, on through the untimely death of drummer Moon, eventually disbanding in the early 1980's before surviving members Roger Daltrey, Entwistle and Townshend revived the act--minus Moon replacement Kenny Jones of the Small Faces--until Entwistle's own unexpected demise at the turn of the century.

Outside of greatest hits packages "Meaty, Beaty, Big And Bouncy" and "Hooligans," this is the one definitive Who album to have in your rock and roll arsenal. The later release of a double-disc CD set provides some interesting alternate takes, but nothing to rival the pure energy of the original album.

"Who's Next" is the epitome of what constitutes a "classic" record in the annals of rock and roll history. The complex, yet radio-familiar, intro to "Baba O' Riley" sounds fresh today and could be the soundtrack to anyone's life -- that's how universal this album is. Roger Daltrey possesses full, hearty vocals that command attention in some songs, while his higher register and more tender side shines through elsewhere, like on the otherwise rough-sounding "Bargain." "Love Ain't For Keepin'" has a Rolling Stones vibe that would do Mick and Keith proud, and like the Stones, The Who often boast a big and bad sound that's equally thrilling in large stadiums and at the local pub down the street. Hats off to John Entwistle's wide-ranging vocals on "My Wife," plus his instrumentation on "brass parts," bass and piano. Speaking of piano, it's noticeably outstanding all throughout the record, as on the intro to "Gettin' In Tune," an arena-ready sing-a-long ballad that lifts gradually at the chorus.

Nothing on the CD, though, tops the the epic "Won't Get Fooled Again." From the moment the rubbery keyboards start fluttering away at the beginning, the song becomes a sonic journey. At over 8 minutes long, with three verses, a few guitar and keyboard interludes, and a culminating grand finale that features Daltrey's piercing scream, this song seems to have it all figured out (thus, it's perfectly named). All in all, these straightforward tunes take no subsequent listenings to get accustomed to, as is the case with many other albums; they're familiar upon first hearing. It's hard not to note the tremendous influence The Who have had throughout the years, and this album hearkens back to an astoundingly fresh era of music.

Who's Next came out of the failed Lifehouse project that Pete Townshend had envisioned as another rock opera and follow up to Tommy. The cd reissue contains a couple of tracks like "Water" and "Naked Eye" that fit into the Lifehouse concept but not into the feel of the Who's Next album. The resulting album is arguably the finest of the band's career. It contains several anthems that have become classic rock radio staples. "Baba O'Reilly" with it's barren synth filled landscape and rolling fiddle finish perfectly captures the song's view of teenage wasteland. "Won't Get Fooled Again" is a powerful, anti-establishment song about shaking up the status quo. Roger Daltry's scream at the end of the song is one of the most famous of all-time and adds the right amount of anger and outrage. "Love Ain't For Keeping" has a crisp acoustic guitar that Mr. Townshend plays as powerfully as any electric and "The Song Is Over" contains elements of one of the unreleased songs that appears "Pure And Easy". John Entwistle contributes another strong composition, "My Wife". The standout song on the album and possible the finest in their career is "Behind Blue Eyes". A deeply confessional and personal song, Mr. Daltry perfectly captures the pain and anger that Mr. Townshend filled the song with. The song starts off quietly and slow and then explodes into a rant filled finished. A true work of art.

For many, the end of the 60s came with the break-up of The Beatles in April 1970. For others, it came shortly before that, at the disastrous Rolling Stones concert at the Altamont Speedway on December 6, 1969. Or, in the political world, it may have occurred in 1968 - which author Jules Witcover called "The Year the Dream Died - with the election of Richard Nixon. But whether it was marked by a musical event or a political event, the fact is that at some point the glorious 1960s ended, and not simply by virtue of the fact that it eventually became the 1970s. The 60s were defined as much by attitude as they were a calendar.

Released in 1971, Who's Next was Pete Townshend's farewell to the previous decade, and all that it encapsulated. 26 years of age when the record was released, Townshend had survived the first five years of his band's career with both massive popularity and the accompanying scars to show for it. Who's Next sounds like the result of a songwriter who had taken stock of his life and the world around him, and in doing so, cleared his mind and soul enough to make his greatest album to date, and probably of his entire career, even 35 years on. And while it was initially intended to be an ambitious concept album like Tommy and Quadrophenia, the finished product ended up achieving an epic scope at least as great as its predecessor and successor.

The most obvious eulogies for the 60s come at the very beginning and very end of the record. While just two years earlier The Who was rocking Woodstock, the disc's opening track "Baba O'Reilly" finds them surveying the wreckage of a "teenage wasteland". Such a masterful phrase brings to mind unmistakable images of the site of a cultural milestone which had probably not yet recovered from from the event which was a generation's last hurrah. On the other end of the record, "Won't Get Fooled Again" is more straightforward in its recognition of the end of an era. The new boss - Nixon - is the same as the old boss - Johnson, and the parting on the (political) left is now parting on the (political) right. Yet there is still hope, and thus the prayers that "we don't get fooled" again. (Yeah, I know that I am focusing on events in America, but if only Pete Townshend knew at the time what awaited the US in the 1970s.)

In between these bookends, Townshend seems to be putting himself together emotionally - "gettin' in tune", as he might say - with some of his very best songs as the result. The fact that Roger Daltrey never sounded better certainly doesn't hurt. (I mean really, who knew the guy could sing so well?) These songs are divided between straight-ahead rock songs and slower ballads, the latter featuring the always superb piano work of - who else? - Nicky Hopkins. Bassist John Entwistle also contributes his morbid black humor on the genuinely great song "My Wife". "Goin' Mobile" also references the ethos of the previous decade, with its wah-wah guitar solo and its air-conditioned hippie gypsy protagonist. I am guessing that Townshend may have had his tongue in his cheek when he wrote this one. Then there is "Behind Blue Eyes", a virtuoso performance by Townshend and Daltrey, with the latter flawlessly capturing every iota of the former's vulnerability and anger, and probably tossing in a bit of his own while he was at it. This song and the equally beautiful "The Song Is Over" are the most plaintive songs in the band's repertoire. "Bargain" and "Love Ain't For Keepin'", meanwhile, are classic Who rock songs.

Who's Next tamed and perfected the elements that had made The Who one of the greatest and most popular bands of the 60s. Without being the lead vocalist, Pete Townshend proved himself to be as capable of composing in the singer/songwriter mode as any of those who were famous for doing both. Roger Daltrey, as mentioned, sounds spectacular, and more like a great singer than he ever did. (Not that he ever sounded bad, but here....whoa.) Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon, who made up The Who's infamously combustible rhythm section, keep themselves finely in check on this record, and earn their spurs by being more musical, rather than more rackety, than ever. In short, each member of the band emerged sounding like rock 'n roll musicians, rather than rock 'n roll players. And lyrically, one should obviously not take Townshend seriously when he claims, on "Gettin' In Tune", that he "can't pretend there's any meaning hidden in the things I'm saying". This is a classic rock CD that you will continue to appreciate long after you have outgrown classic rock.

The Who would create five more records over the next decade of their career, each, alas, bringing diminishing returns. After breaking up in 1982, they would eventually come together solely for the sake of lucrative tours. But perhaps such tours are the band's reward for being a great singles band ("Substitute, I Can't Explain"), albums band (The Who Sell Out, Tommy, Quadrophenia), and one of the loudest and most influential rock groups ever. Who's Next will forever survive as a testament to everything that was great about this band. (But having said all this, I am still a bigger fan of The Kinks, who were, as Pete and Roger themselves have acknowledged, a major influence on The Who. Too bad that there will never be any chance for them to charge $200 per ticket.)