The Who: Quadrophenia - 1973

 

Released in that truly great year for albums, 1973, this is by far my favourite Who album, by a long way. I have always had an instinctive, inbuilt suspicion of “concept albums”, and don’t get me started on “rock operas”. 

That said, unlike most supposed concept albums, which have one or two songs that adhere to the idea and that’s pretty much your lot, this album carries the whole thing from beginning to end. The story is of a disillusioned “mod” teenager, Jimmy, and the minutiae of his miserable, directionless life. While most of his mod mates enjoyed their scraps, music and back alley fumblings, it all was too overwhelming for the permanently morose Jimmy. It led, though, to some great songs detailing all this mod misery. 

The album starts with the evocative sounds of the sea, wind-borne waves crashing against Brighton’s shingle beach for a minute or so before John Entwistle’s bass, Pete Townshend’s guitar and Keith Moon’s magnificent, powerful drums kick in to one of rock’s most outstanding intros. Roger Daltrey’s rasping voice joins the fray on The Real Me and we are into Who heaven. A rock group in perfect harmony with each other. Magnificent. “Can you see the real me?” barks Daltrey and then it segues into an atmospheric extended instrumental bearing the album’s name, Quadrophenia, chock full of musical hooks. 

The plaintive Cut My Hair sets the mood of Jimmy’s internally conflicted life and fades out to a sample of BBC radio news broadcasts from the time detailing fights between mods and rockers. Then we are back to some classic Who rock on The Punk And The Godfather with some great bass and guitar interplay between Entwistle and Townshend. 

The old “side two” sees more images of Jimmy’s life in I'm One, The Dirty Jobs and Helpless Dancer all played out against an atmospheric backing. Jimmy starts to question his sanity in Is It In My Head and the country/folk-ish I've Had Enough sees him approaching rock bottom, and we’re only half way through the album! 

5.15 is a real favourite of mine, with a great brassy riff and some towering Daltrey vocals. It starts quietly, with that haunting “why should I care” backing vocal and the piano before the signature riff, the brassy bits and then good old Keith blasts in. Great rock song. The Who at their very best. "Girls of fifteen - sexually knowing" - I loved that line aged fourteen thinking of what may lay in store for me! Again, on this, the vocals are superb on what is a monster of a track. It is rock quality all the way now in my favourite passage of the album. 

The powerful Sea And Sand has Daltrey yet again dominating with Moon a close second. The rocking Drowned, featuring more great drumming, leads us into Keith Moon’s showpiece, the rousing Bell Boy, where the madcap drummer gives us some hammed-up Dickensian lead vocals. 

The final three songs are just a bit too lengthy to be honest. Doctor Jimmy is ok, but not up there with some of the others, The Rock is an instrumental, but nowhere near as catchy as Quadrophenia, while Love Reign O'er Me, while undeniably soulful and passionately sung, has never really done it for me. A bit too overblown and goes in too long. Many love it, however, so there you go. 

Overall, though, this is a great album. I saw The Who perform it in its entirety in 2013 and it was truly superb in every way.