Who's Next

Who's Next - The Who

Does anyone remember their youth? When a good friday night was cheap booze at a dirty party. When you’d hook up with that girl every week. When emotions were as powerful and as short lived as a tsunami. As the youngest member of this super-charged team of bloggers, I remember this well. In fact, now I think about it, all that stuff was still going on last week.

“We don’t care about your reminiscing though. Get onto the long-awaited new installment of Retro Sunday,” I hear you say (quite rudely, if you ask me). Well, let me introduce Who’s Next, the musical incarnation of teenhood, a shimmering rose-tinted mirror held up to the very institution of youthfulness. To summarise, a pretty sound album.

The album opens with an absolute anthem: Baba O’Riley (or Teenage Wasteland to the uneducated). It’s very difficult to argue with such potent lyrics as “It’s only teenage wasteland, and I’m wasted,” especially when combined with a few striking powerchords, and maybe even a naughty little violin. Sure, the song really doesn’t make a lot of sense in the literal meaning. I don’t really know who Sally is, nor why she’s travelling south ‘cross land but that only adds to its charm. Even so, it’s easy to pick up on one or two lyrics and enthusiastically shout along to them. “I don’t need to fight to prove I’m right. I don’t need to be forgiven,” is particularly nice when you need to convince yourself that laziness and immorality are, in fact, virtues. If The Who says so it must be true, right ?

Another highlight of the album has got to be Won’t Get Fooled Again.  This is another beautiful example of a song with no meaning but a lot of passion. I’m not sure what “I know that the hypnotised never lie,” means exactly, but I can really relate to it.  This might be because Roger Daltrey seems pretty fervent about it, and the drums are also rather snazzy.

However, it’s not all anger on this album. Oh no, let’s not forget Getting in Tune. Here we find soft harmonies and a real-life piano! Better still, have a gander at the lyrics:

I’m singing this note ’cause it fits in well
With the chords I’m playing
I can’t pretend there’s any meaning here
Or in the things I’m saying

Yes that’s right. This is actually the most truthful song ever written. That’s a fact. And you can’t argue with facts can you no?

I’m getting bored of writing this now, but I assure you that the other tracks are stunning. Behind Blue Eyes is perfect for anyone who’s ever felt victimised (aka everyone) and Water (only found on the CD version) quite accurately points out just how important H20 is to humanity.

Anyway, here’s a YouTube link for you. And if you fancy buying a fantastic album then maybe buy this.

Or don’t. Doesn’t really make any odds to me.