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The Who: Who Are You

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s


Label: MCA Records
Released: 1978
Time:
 70:59
Category: Pop/Rock
Producer(s): See Artists ...
Rating: ********. (9/10)
Media type: CD
Web address: www.thewho.com
Appears with:
Purchase date: 2010.05.16
Price in €: 2,00





 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] New Song (Townshend) - 4:13
[2] Had Enough (Entwistle) - 4:30
[3] 905 (Entwistle) - 4:02
[4] Sister Disco (Townshend) - 4:22
[5] Music Must Change (Townshend) - 4:38
[6] Trick of the Light (Entwistle) - 4:47
[7] Guitar and Pen [Work-In-Progress Mix] (Townshend) - 5:58
[8] Love Is Coming Down [Lost Verse Mix] (Townshend) - 4:06
[9] Who Are You (Townshend) - 6:21
[10] No Road Romance - 5:05 *
[11] Empty Glass - 6:23 *
[12] Guitar And Pen (Olympic '78 Mix) - 6:02 *
[13] Love Is Coming Down (Work-In-Progress Mix) - 4:06 *
[14] Who Are You (Lost Verse Mix) - 6:22 *

* - Previously unreleased.

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


Roger Daltrey - Harmonica, Vocals, Producer
Pete Townshend - Organ, Synthesizer, Guitar, Piano, Keyboards, Vocals, Liner Notes, Arp, VCS 3 Synthesizer, Producer
Keith Moon - Percussion, Drums, Vocals, Producer
John Entwistle - Bass, Piano, Guitar (Bass), Keyboards, Vocals, Brass, Producer

Jon Astley - Producer, Reissue Producer, Remixing, Remastering
Chris Charlesworth - Producer
Bill Curbishley - Producer
Glyn Johns - Producer, Engineer, Associate Producer, Mixing
Pete Kameron - Producer, Executive Producer
Kit Lambert - Producer, Executive Producer
Andy MacPherson - Remixing, Remastering
Chris Stamp - Producer, Executive Producer
Robert Rosenberg - Producer
Ethan Russell - Photography
John Kosh - Sleeve Design
John Atkins - Liner Notes

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


1985 CD MCA Records MCAD37003
1985 CD MCA Records MCAD-37003
1985 CS MCA Records MCAC-1580
2002 CD 3D UICY-2319
2002 LP 3D UICY-2319
2007 LP Universal International 265675
2009 LP Classic Records 2490
2009 LP Classic Records 2490200

The 1996 reissue of WHO ARE YOU contains 5 previously-unreleased bonus tracks.

Originally released on MCA (3050) on August 25, 1978. Includes liner notes by Matt Resnicoff.

By the end of the '70s, the original version of the Who ...    Full Descriptionwas reaching the end of its tether (Keith Moon was nearing the end of his life). WHO ARE YOU can be seen as something of a swan song for the spirit that ignited the rock & roll juggernaut that was the Who in its prime. The increased prominence of synthesizers here (the electronic flavoring of the title track recalls "Baba O'Riley") points towards the direction the post-Moon '80s version of the band would take. Instead of casting aspersions on socio-political ills, Townshend was casting glances askance at current musical trends ("Sister Disco") and his own occupation ("Guitar and Pen"). Entwistle's bass still rumbles melodically through the tunes in the grand style, and Daltrey's wounded-beast roar is at its most impassioned on such songs as "Had Enough." The end of an era was just around the corner, but the band blazed away regardless, making WHO ARE YOU the last must-have Who album.

All tracks have been digitally remastered.



Posited between punk (Pete Townshend's instinctive ethos) and progressive (much of the music), Who Are You is ultimately a failed attempt to conciliate two camps that thrived on their opposition to one another. Neither the insurgent punks of Johnny Rotton's generation nor Townshend's comfortably numb peer group had the least need for one another. Townshend, on the other hand, seemed to want one thing from both forces: their contempt. It was something he could share with them. All of which led to one exceptional song (the title cut) and a handful of lesser statements (the modified minuet "Guitar and Pen," "Music Must Change," "New Song"). John Entwistle fills three song slots with the tactless "Had Enough," the slight but likable "905," and "Trick of the Light," an above-par classic-rock showcase for Roger Daltry. A generous five bonus tracks round out the reissue.

Steven Stolder - Amazon.com



On the Who's final album with Keith Moon, their trademark honest power started to get diluted by fatigue and a sense that the group's collective vision was beginning to fade. As instrumentalists, their skills were intact. More problematic was the erratic quality of the material, which seemed torn between blustery attempts at contemporary relevance ("Sister Disco," "New Song," "Music Must Change") and bittersweet insecurity ("Love Is Coming Down"). Most problematic of all were the arrangements, heavy on the symphonic synthesizers and strings, which make the record sound cluttered and overanxious. Roger Daltrey's operatic tough-guy braggadocio in particular was beginning to sound annoying on several cuts. Yet Pete Townshend's better tunes — "Music Must Change," "Love Is Coming Down," and the anthemic title track — continued to explore the contradictions of aging rockers in interesting, effective ways. Whether due to Moon's death or not, it was the last reasonably interesting Who record. The 1996 CD reissue adds five previously unreleased alternate takes and demos.

Richie Unterberger - All Music Guide
 

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