Santa Claus 2008-10-06
3 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Well folks, at a stop over in Hodgenville, Kentucky (courting the Lincoln Cabin Indepedents), they played my campaign song, "Won't Get Fooled Again" by The Who. Oh, I am sure you've heard it. And, any day now, I expect The Who's lawyer to contact me and serve a cease and desist order not to use the song in my campaign. This is modern day politics folks. I am but a victim of the overbearing burearacy that has taken over creative compositions in the public arena. Do not fret. All that will change when I am in office. And, it doesn't matter who's in the Congress and Senate. No. I have spirit guides and, if they fail, there is always the handy dandy veto. Face it. You are impressed at this point.
But, no matter. I am here to review a classic in the rock arena. I have always been reluctant to review the really big, classic profferings for some reason. Perhaps it's because so many have zeroed in and written reviews. What could a poor Seer add to all that has been said before about this? Well, I'll tell you..... PLENTY!
This is The Who, at perhaps, their most rocking and most soothing best. It stands the test of time, and that is due, largely in part, to Peter Townsend's musical creativity as well as the subject matter. This is not shallow rock, not by a long stretch. There are windows to see into each song, and they give you some other aspect with which to view the contents. It is a maze, of sorts, but by invoking the spirit of Meher Baba in "Baba O'Reilly" we are faced with a very interesting spiritual exercise, to say the least.
"Baba O'Reilly", beginning with that constant organ loop at the inception. Creative. Who else do you know that would begin a song this way? But it entails a journey with a righteous fiddle ending. It is teenage wasteland, after all. But, do they mean drugs (!) or is it, rather, the waste of youth propelled towards the common, the status quo? These are questions that need to be asked. But, there also is conveyed the freedom of the mind with:
"I don't have to fight, to prove I'm right...
I don't need to be forgiven".
This, after all, is the creed of a free mind. Spiritual in essence, other's concerns about you affect you not. Believe it or not. The spirituality continues with the hard rocking "Bargain". Most people will say it's about a love of his life. But, look deeper. Not only does he not qualify who or what he's taking about, but, looking on, one has to wonder.
"I sit lookin 'round, I look at my face in the mirror,
I know I'm worth nothing, without you.
And like one and one don't make two, one and one make one, And I'm looking for that free ride to me, I'm lookin for you".
A woman, or an ode to God? One must ponder.
I must insert here, that all the melodies are righteously right on. This is the band at their most vital. Their best. Everything falls into place like an intricate jigsaw puzzle. You get the easy comfort and bluesy acoustic guitar in "Love Ain't for Keepin", (which is about a woman) and really clever lyrics contained in that insistent rocker "My Wife". It really sounds like this women becomes possessed with ultimate revenge based on her imaginative thoughts. The lengths this man will go through to escape is strictly astounding.
We then get to the grandiose, but sad ode of "The Song is Over". Regrets and sadness, the Who have a way of conveying it gloriously somehow. A sad, but noble, end of a relationship. "Gettin' In Tune" begins easy with a soft piano intro, but then comes the band, with Keith Moon leading the charge. This, and the manic "Goin' Mobile" (which reflects the freedom of youth as an escape) are a good prolougue to what comes next.
One of the most interesting tunes on this album (I feel) is "Behind Blue Eyes". Townsend sends you to the essence of the real soul, the one that lies underneath, hidden from society. It is the complexity of the individual that is so notable here.
"No one knows what it's like, to be hated
to be fated, to telling only lies.
But my dreams they aren't as empty
as my conscience seems to be,
I have hours, only lonely
My love is vengeance that's never free"
What is observable and what's inside an individual is a very complex state. Townsend reflects this in a most succinct way.
"Won't Get Fooled Again" is the anthem that I enjoy so much. And, face it, no matter how much we sing this, there is always someone else coming down the runway to fool us again. Is there no escape? You can escape, the best you can. But, this song, although a revelation of freedom, ends with the fact that everything's the same, no matter how we want it not to be so. "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss". True. And the pitfalls and pratfalls of bosshood seem to be an ever constant thing. Unfortunately.
For the completist, the rest of the selections pertain to other things Townsend was working on throughout this era. More introspection is given with "Pure and Easy". The perfect nirvanic ring "There once was a note- listen". And a continuance with "The Naked Eye". Everything may be fine in what you see physically, but don't forget about your other eye. All these extra tunes add a wonderful cadence to an iconic album.
This one is a classic rock album folks, make no mistake about it. It is amazing to see the growth of the Who as to when they started out (revolutionary- destroying guitars and kicking drum kits off the stage), to a sense of purpose and learning and yearning. They became craftsmen in the process and wonderfully creative and imaginitive. This album is definitely one of the top, definitive, rock albums of all time. Your collection will suffer greatly if you don't have it.
Well, I better go now. I just received a subpoena from The Who. Guess I'll have to use another song. Do you think they would let me use "My Generation"?
Times are rough in the heartland..... Metamorpho
