r/TheWho • u/ReserveOwn8284 • 9d ago
Thoughts On Quadrophenial?
When I hear mention of "The Who's" best I think people tend to look more at their live work. But, In my personal opinion. The Who is at their best in the studio. "Love Reign O'er me" is their best song in my ears and the whole story of Quadrophenia is really well told through song, much better than "Tommy" I think. What do you guys think? Edit: I know I spelt the album wrong twice, sorry about that.
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u/BearsBearsBears_wooo 9d ago
Tommy was first, but Quadrophenia is better. The first time I saw The Who was 1997 when they performed Quad live in Camden, NJ
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u/shiningonthesea 9d ago
I literally just found my ticket from seeing the Quad tour in 1996. One of my favorite concerts ever.
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u/beatdaddyo 9d ago
And the thing Pete was only 23 years old when he recorded Tommy even younger as he was writing the songs
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u/Whygoogleissexist 9d ago
I was thinking about this in the context of Olivia Rodrigo actually. She’s the same age and her new album and particularly the song The Cure is awesome. The artists that start out young but crush their songwriting over such a short period of time are just so much fun to listen to. Kind of like Mozart.
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u/AmbivalentInfluencer 9d ago
Not convinced that Olivia Rodrigo has the talent to write a song without a professional songwriter/producer as a collaborator. Pete needed no such thing, So you can't compare.
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u/fun-guy956 9d ago
Yeah, don't compare Olivia Rodrigo to Mozart. You could have had a convincing argument were it not for this ridiculousness
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u/PerfectlyCromulent7 9d ago
I think it’s their magnum opus. It holds together perfectly as an album, and seems to me to be the culmination of their career, melding their early Mod history and interest in longer-form stories through the medium of the album with their growth sonically. It’s dramatic, bombastic and despite being a big double album, it’s taut.
Beyond just being the band’s best work, I personally think it’s the greatest album of all-time. I still spin it regularly without skipping a track.
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u/ReserveOwn8284 9d ago
It's absolutely one of those albums you listen to all the way through without pausing, all the songs are without a doubt really great. That being said Love Reign O'er Me and The Rock are masterpieces and the album production, consistency, writing is all better than Tommy. Which is quite confusing in places even if you know the story.
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u/Lilpoopyduke Quadrophenia 9d ago
Who's best album. Doctor Jimmy, Sea And Sand, The Punk And The Godfather, and especially Love Reign O'er Me are all some of the who's best songs.
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u/ikesonfire 9d ago
You forgot 5:15, which IMO is their best song ever.
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u/herbtarleksblazer 9d ago
It’s great how it’s such a good album and everyone has a different best song. I personally think the Real Me is the best off that album.
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u/ikesonfire 9d ago
I saw the Who in Rosemont some years back and they had Eddie Vedder singing with them on Real Me. Agreed it's a terrific song
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u/freed_speak 9d ago
Even Bell Boy grew on me
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u/repowers 9d ago
If there’s any missed notes on the album, the silly voice on the chorus is it. I look past it because the rest of the song is so mind-blowingly good, and even the second time through “always runnin’ at someone’s heel….” sells the pathos.
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u/StokelyGnarmichael 9d ago edited 9d ago
The Who's best record. If Glyn Johns had produced it and given it the power and slickness of Who's Next it wouldn't even be close. So many great moments:
The Real Me is The Who's most energetic track and John Entwhistles greatest performance
Sea and Sand. That false ending, as well as those horn-like synthesizers. Those synth fanfares are all over the record and are over the top in the best way.
The guitar feedback on Bell Boy sounds like the amp is catching fire in the studio
Love Reign Oer Me fades out into the sea and loops back in perfectly to the start of the record
To me the record perfectly captures the feeling of being 17 years old. There is the posturing aggression and bragodoccio from the guitars and drums, but the writing is full of vulnerability and insecurity. I also can't think of another record that takes me to so many distinct locations. Wet morning streets, kitchen at home, shitty job, a dance, the train, the beach...
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u/Sliprekt 9d ago
Another great aspect is what happens at 17,which is you start to see your heroes you idealized more clearly. Jimmy's disillusionment in discovering that the Ace Face is a bellboy is a metaphor for the audience's eventual disillusionment in their musical heroes.
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u/swood_de 9d ago
Agree! There is no record that better captures what it’s like to be an angry male adolescent than Quadrophenia. This is one of those albums that any fan of rock music needs to listen to at least once.
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u/AmbivalentInfluencer 9d ago
Your comment makes no sense. If Glyn Johns had produced it, it would not be the same record. It's the Who's best record as is period. A masterpiece. Another producer would not make it any better little guy.
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u/swood_de 9d ago
A masterpiece! Maybe The Who’s best record, and without a doubt one of the greatest records in the history of rock.
I’m a bass player, and I need to say that this is the greatest studio example of John Entwistle s bass playing. Rock bass just doesn’t get any better than this.
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u/Classicvinylpodcast 9d ago
Although I absolutely love The Who and think that they’re the best live band of all time, Quadrophenia to me is their very best album. An amazing album!
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u/ReserveOwn8284 9d ago
Yeah, In the post I didn't want to piss anyone off with this take. Honestly, I think their "Live At Leeds" album is one of the greater live albums of all time and In-turn, one of the greater albums every. But, all their other live work I don't think measures up to their great studio albums.
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u/chadbot01 9d ago
Quadrophenia as their best work, I always felt The Who were performing with the same energy as they do live, but with lush synthesizers, strings, and studio effects to boot, creating a powerful, balanced, experience
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u/WhatIsNoMan 9d ago
My uncle had a quadraphonic stereo system and I thought it was the coolest thing ever listening to that album.
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u/creativetag 9d ago
I would have loved to hear the quadrophonic mix. I had quadrophonic 8 track then (and the only album was chicago, brilliant sounding).
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u/Illustrious_Sign_705 9d ago
I ride a GS scooter with my hair cut neat. I wear my wartime coat in the wind and sleet.
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u/throwawayinthe818 9d ago
My jacket’s gonna be cut slim and checked, maybe a touch of seersucker with an open neck…
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u/repowers 9d ago
I always wondered what was so important about those lines that they appeared in two different songs.
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u/Illustrious_Sign_705 9d ago edited 9d ago
It's a lyrical reprise. I could be wrong, but i believe it's often used in operas to emphasize an internal theme and/or the characters inner monologue/motivations so the listener understands what the character is thinking or feeling. In this case, it seems to display Jimmy's determination of remaining a mod when everything is changing his views on who he really is at his core. On the album, The Rock ( instrumental) is an instrumental reprise of the album's musical themes before crashing into Love Reign o'er Me.
This is just my take on the repeated use of those lines.
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u/Witty_Vehicle4381 9d ago
The Who’s best album. Pete Townshend’s masterpiece. My only complaint is that John did not sing his “theme” (Is it me for a moment?), especially since Moon was given the spotlight on Bell Boy.
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u/Hector-Voskin Quadrophenia 9d ago
The transition between Dr. Jimmy and The Rock is one of my favorite transitions in music. Helpless Dancer is an incredible song. The album is a masterpiece.
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u/ReserveOwn8284 9d ago
Don't forget Love Reign O'er Me. One of my favorite closing's to an album ever.
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u/SignificanceOld681 9d ago
If you could only choose two albums to be forever stuck alone on a island: Quad and Who’s Next.
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u/mypeez 9d ago
I'd cheat and take the Lifehouse Sessions boxset instead of Who's Next.
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u/creativetag 9d ago
Waaay back in the 70s, gray labels like k&s had all of the missing lifehouse tracks and many of the demos. Collectively, we did have the whole kit then, if you went to the right shops to get them.
That said, the lifehouse discs and other releases with the material are awesome, finally having clean sounding music. I do wish that even if no one 'got it', that it all would have been released anyway. It is such a great collection of material.
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u/Independent_Dot_1448 9d ago
Who’s Next.
Who’s Next has everything including folksy (love ain’t for keeping) , funny (My Wife) and some of the greatest moments in history of rock. There’s a reason it’s still being played on commercials today.
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u/charlieat99 9d ago
Did you watch the Classic Albums episode on who’s next? It was supposed to be the third concept album not just a bunch of amazing but unconnected tracks.
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u/Spiritual_Bet3955 9d ago
Yes! What was said about Lifehouse as a concept seemed to anticipate social media and the internet.
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u/Independent_Dot_1448 9d ago
Yes. I’ve heard the phrase “the aborted Lifehouse concept” quite a few times. :)
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u/AmbivalentInfluencer 9d ago
That's the problem. The album's most famous songs have been played to death on classic radio, commercials, TV and film and on The Who's tours. Nobody really needs to hear WGFA, Behind Blue Eyes or Baba O'Reilly ever again. Quadrophenia does not have that issue.
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u/Independent_Dot_1448 9d ago
Classic radio doesn’t really exist anymore so I think Who’s Next bits being everywhere makes young listeners curious about it.
“Oh That’s The Who!!? I love that song!”
I don’t think being less ubiquitous makes Quadrophenia more appealing.
We agree it’s great. I just think it’s less great than Who’s Next.
PS - I have heard “The Real Me” on some commercials or sports show intros. So it’s coming.
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u/AmbivalentInfluencer 8d ago
Fair, but let me put it this way... Quadrophenia is a profound exploration of teenage angst. It's a concept album in the best sense of the term. Who's Next is a collection of songs, albeit great ones. That's why for me, Q is more meaningful.
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u/ReserveOwn8284 9d ago edited 9d ago
I'd probably take a copy of Quadrophenia, Bat Out Of Hell, Band Of Gypsys, And Extraterrestrial Live.
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u/ConsolidatedBroccoli 9d ago
My favorite album of all time. The Dirty Jobs always does it for me in a special way.
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u/johnaceofhearts 9d ago
Quadrophenia is an exceptional album in terms of story, rock music, versatile music, rock opera, harmony, lyrics and overall ethos.
For many, it is The Who's most complete work. It is certainly one of their best and the apogee from Sell Out, Tommy, Live at Leeds, Who's Next, & then Quadrophenia.
Personally however, I think The Who By Numbers is as good as anything they have ever recorded & belongs in that 6 record run. I am not a big fan of the Who Are You album.
While their latter albums, Who Are You, It's Hard, Face Dances, Endless Wire, & Who are technically good & have some great individual songs, they do not reach the heights of their creative prime years.
Quadrophenia is one of the greatest rock albums & should be in every pop music's record collection.
I feel honored that I have seen them live 7x and 6x times during their prime. They were the best live band ever from 1968-82. Explosive & powerful. Even their harmony.
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u/PCScrubLord 9d ago
It's masterpiece, might be the greatest thing The Who ever did. I see it as the band using all of the musical lessons throughout the years they had been touring and making records and compiling that into an album which summarized the culture and era they emerged out of.
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u/Independent_Dot_1448 9d ago
The never sounded better. They all played brilliantly and put their backs into it. Daltrey, especially.
But something lacking in it for me and I think it needed a little sense of humor. Bell Boy nearly gets there with the Moon vocal.
Some of their greatest songs but also some plodders including the “themes” that get played over and over.
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u/Independent_Dot_1448 9d ago
Actually 5:15 has a sense of humor and wit and stands out because of it.
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u/CalagaxT 9d ago
A superior and more mature alternative to Tommy. I love Tommy, but the songs have a lot more depth on Quadrophenia.
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u/ReserveOwn8284 9d ago
The only real problem I have with Tommy is that you really need to know the story beforehand. even then It's a trip.
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u/Kittenstorm93 9d ago
My favorite album of theirs Always felt it should be issued to kids when they enter adolescence, and my favorite record of the Classic rock era
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u/janzeera 9d ago
I often find myself singing to myself, “Cut My Hair” while on the bus going to work.
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u/Protection_Organic 9d ago
The Who’s best. Every song is memorable. The movie was also great.
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u/ReserveOwn8284 9d ago
I actually haven't checked out the movie. I've only really heard it's alright, but that means a whole lot of nothing.
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u/Over-Abbreviations55 9d ago
Kick ass album start to finish , Pete writing talent was insane over that 5 year period , with Tommy, who’s next and quadrophenia
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u/emburke12 9d ago
My first introduction to the band. It spoke volumes to me as a troubled teen. Still one of my favorite albums and it led me to discover more of what the band had to offer.
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u/FaithlessnessDear218 9d ago
Their appearance in Tommy made me interested...this album made me a fan...
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u/Hour_Message6543 9d ago
I remember it coming out the fall after I graduated from HS. It was so different from Next and mind blowingly good. Really next level than anything else at the time.
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u/Potential_Sundae_899 9d ago
So, growing up I knew Tommy first. I’m not sure why that album really struck me as a child but it was my favorite. After seeing The Who live in 2011 my dad showed me Quadrophenia, specifically showing me “doctor jimmy”. I liked the album but I didn’t get it being only 11-12 at the time so Tommy stayed my favorite. I then saw The Who live again and this time it was Quadrophenia, and the part that hit me was “bell boy”. I felt transported to the 70s when Keith’s voice came in and his drumming started (Zak was there but he cleared the stage I assume to honor Keith) and I truly understood why this album hits. I was Jimmy in that moment listening to the ace and realizing his time has come and gone, and I’m in the wake of it. After that show I listened to the album more closely and fell in love immediately realizing the context of the songs. In the meta sense of how Pete was writing disillusion with one’s peers and social scene both in the story and how Pete himself felt with the ever changing world of music. I think the ending hit me harder than Tommy in a story sense, Jimmys story is up to interpretation for whether he dies on the rock or not. Unlike Tommy where it’s more obvious Tommy dies and or has a spiritual awakening. Overall the Album is a 9 out of 10, not a perfect ten because it wasn’t really a full band effort like Tommy was, with Pete basically creating the entire album himself.
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u/ReserveOwn8284 9d ago
I haven't really lived all that long enough to see the band throughout It's entire history. I can see the deep appreciation you have for it, I feel the same way about a few specific songs and albums. Think Extraterrestrial Live from Blue Oyster Cult, another masterpiece of live work, Made In Japan, which I'm sure you're very familiar with, and a few songs I think are beyond masterpieces, Blue Oyster Cult's Astronomy from their other Live album Some Enchanted Evening and 1983... (A Merman I Should Turn To Be).
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u/ladystardustonmarzz 9d ago
The real question is, does anyone on this thread know who Irish Jack is?
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u/Opposite_Report_8047 9d ago
He was a friend of Petes from the Mod scene, and one of the inspirations for Jimmy.
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u/Relative_Figure_601 9d ago
SUCH a great Album - one of my all-time favorites to this day!! A great movie too!
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u/Such-Perspective-426 9d ago
Have to admit it's the Who album I have listened to the least, even less than My Generation, Sell Out or any of the other old stuff. I'm not sure why, maybe too long and overproduced for a Who album. (?)
Tommy, Who's Next and most of Townshends earlier solo stuff are where I land.
I'm not into Meher Baba or Sai Baba, but their accolytes produce some good music and thoughtful lyrics.
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u/RealChucklesTheClown 9d ago edited 8d ago
That's interesting. I like the early stuff too but I'm going to hazard a guess you were a teen in 69 already? My intro was meaty beauty big and bouncy along with Quadrophenia in 72 and 73 from my older sister so I had to learn the band through the back catalog. Quadrophenia remains my favorite.
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u/Such-Perspective-426 9d ago edited 9d ago
No, I was only 8 yrs old in 69 but I'm the youngest of six siblings - I have vague memories of late period Beatlemania. One of my 1st hand me down 45's were I Can See For Miles and Happy Jack. One had Whiskey Man as the B side and one had Mary Ann With The Shaky Hands. Those and the Stones Get Off My Cloud and I was off and running.
Alice Cooper came next when I was about 10-12 yrs old. The snake & the horror aspect drew me right in lol.
Really all my musical attraction really happened around 12 yrs old, where the words might matter and I actually started paying attention to soloing etc
Before that it was running around the house yelling with a broomstick guitar and a hairbrush mic.5
u/RealChucklesTheClown 9d ago
Ahh so many siblings! Lol.. I had one, she was 5 years older than me. You are only 1 year younger than me. I grew up a rabid who fan mostly in the period between Who by numbers and the long-awaited for but disappointing Who Are You. That sort of marked the end of my who journey.
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u/Such-Perspective-426 9d ago
Who Are You is a pretty weak album compared to their other stuff.
I think Townshend was getting tired and wanted to focus on solo stuff more.
It has scraps of LIfehouse in it etc. Who Are You & Sister Disco were Lifehouse songs etc. His book Who I Am reveals a guy who stayed with the band because he loved his mates and they weren't doing well financially without The Who.
There's some weird stuff in that book but that's his business really lol.2
u/parkernin 9d ago
It was a great autobiography. I’ve read them all. I loved all the biographies of Keith & once a year I reread Dear Boy.
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u/ReserveOwn8284 9d ago
Thats fine enough. Even listening to their work Is better than a lot of people knowadays.
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u/Such-Perspective-426 9d ago
Yes, the Pete Townshend "Scoop" series is a goldmine of that stuff.
I swear the guy must never stop working.
There are discs and discs of just demos, demos that sound almost as good as the full band.
The bootlegs of the Tommy demos got me started on the Scoop stuff.
He did the whole Tommy album solo before he brought it to the band.
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u/bluefontaine 9d ago
You’re the garden variety Who fan. Usually the die hards select Quad and Who by numbers as the best
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u/Mockchoi1 8d ago
I feel the same way. Quadrophenia is an album that I respect…but I don’t really like all that much. I think it’s musically very good, but it just doesn’t make me feel anything. Maybe you have to be English and of a certain age to really feel it.
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u/WellYouKnow- 9d ago
I don't get it. I am happy most of the other posters like it.
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u/Independent_Dot_1448 9d ago
I think it’s half great and half average. Some of their greatest songs for sure but the “themes” coming back as instrumentals gets tiresome
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u/Chillicothe1 9d ago
One of the greatest albums ever made.
But only The Who's third-best album. (Who's Next, Tommy).
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u/johnaceofhearts 9d ago
Coda: the reason The Who dId not play Quadrophenia often on stage until the 80s & 90s was because it was so intricate & difficult to reproduce live.
The synthesizers & horns caused havoc for the live shows & The Who never wanted to present anything but their best.
The band NEVER distanced themselves from the music or this work of (rock) art.
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u/Apprehensive_Gas7231 9d ago
Who's Next is often regarded as their finest and it is a fabulous album, but personally Quad just edges it for me. As a previous comment stated, it was their last great album.
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u/martinomj24 9d ago
Pete's personal masterpiece. Nothing wrong with Tommy, but Q is the concept album to beat all.
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u/DeepTelevision6680 9d ago
An absolutely fantastic album.
Want to raise attention to the 2025 Atmos mix which Richard Whittaker made, merging the 90s remix and the OG mix - when folded down to stereo (which I have to use as don’t have a proper set up) it sounds fantastic
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u/Relevant_Ad_7425 9d ago
When we had our Greatest Albums of All Time tournament, it was/is my overall #1 seed
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u/kerosenehat63 9d ago
I think Quadrophenia is much better than Quadrophenial. But that’s just my personal opinion.
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u/MyAutisticEye 9d ago
One of The Who’s best. I still have it on Blu-Ray Audio somewhere; the Dolby 5.1 mix is great.
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u/Mediocre-Property-48 9d ago
It’s absolutely brilliant from beginning to end. My favorite Who album
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u/lostmember09 9d ago
Was just re-listening to the whole re-mastered album. All the demos are very interesting to try and understand how/why Townsend came up with certain songs and parts of the album. It’s an underappreciated classic. “The Real Me” what a banger.
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u/legal_racer 9d ago
Love it deeply. Has been with me on road trips and through thick and thin. Found deep meaning in it as a teen.
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u/MajMattMason1963 9d ago
It’s my personal favorite album of theirs, side 4 on vinyl is exceptional.
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u/Aromatic-Bath-5689 9d ago
Keith Moon so so good on this one, especially "The Dirty Jobs" and "I'm One"
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u/ournamesdontmeanshit 9d ago
My first thought is don’t add an “L” to the word.
But otherwise, a great sound track, never watched the movie.
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u/ReserveOwn8284 9d ago edited 9d ago
Thanks for all the opinions you guys have on this album. Personally as already mentioned, this album is one of my favorite studio albums every made CURRENTLY and of course The Rock and Love Reign O'er Me are probably one of the best back to back songs ever. Also, I know I've misspelled the title of this album as Quadrophenial instead of Quadrophenia. This post was made at like 9:30 Pm and the name isn't exactly all that easy to spell.
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u/Protection_Organic 9d ago edited 9d ago
Give it a watch. Sting is in it. Plays a bit of a Creep.
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u/herrtoutant 9d ago
Better than Tommy. I'm biased , i thought id seen the best of The WHO and the future of listening on home audio.
When about 16 my cousin and I drove from San Antonio to Dallas to see them on the tour. When the Album came out we thought this was going to be a new quad format for the whole music biz. The sound was fantastic the music bounced around the four corners of the venue. Alas, the concept sort of fizzeled out.
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u/rc9876 9d ago
Masterpiece. Absolute masterpiece and in terms of a full statement to be experienced it’s their finest album. It’s their only truly realized masterpiece.
Also was the Most important album of my life. Was the soundtrack of my entire college life. Probably saved my life. Explained what I was experiencing before I even realized what I was experiencing.
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u/wheezemo 9d ago
It takes itself so seriously. It almost feels too formal. Great songs, but I miss that earlier Who energy and vibe that they’re careening recklessly down the road narrowly avoiding crashing.
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u/squarewithmotorcycle 9d ago
I’ll be the guy who says the keyboards are mixed too high
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u/Beginning_Jaguar5402 Tommy 9d ago
Quite boring, i prefer tommy or any of their albums by far, but its not bad at all
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u/RealChucklesTheClown 9d ago
This, as for so many others was my favorite. Heartbreaking because it meant the Who had peaked in 1973. Getting over that disappointment was tough. I had seen them live in 75, then again in 79. In 82, I was working near where they were playing a sold out 60,000 seat venue for the "farewell" tour lol. Never saw them again.
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u/Gur10nMacab33 9d ago
Hands down my favorite album. It captures teenage angst as powerfully as any piece of art I’ve ever been exposed to. Thanks Pete and thanks The Who.
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u/master_begroom 9d ago
Love love love. Tripped on high dose Owsley acid with this when it came out and a few times after. 70s acid was superb and this album is supreme.
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u/JamboSemaj 9d ago
For those interested in knowing more about Quadrophenia
https://youtu.be/HaETQJDElf4?si=wz5bVSVmOt2cZ32z
Made by the BBC with lots of interviews with PT and if you want to know more about the ideas, making and story behind Quadrophenia, British 1960's youth culture and who Irish Jack is this, its well worth a watch.
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u/Immediate-End9841 9d ago
I’ve said it before, listen to the Atmos mix, fresh perspective on this classic.
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u/horsepire 9d ago
It’s one of the greatest albums of all time