New Who album creates ‘Endless’ legacy

By Jeff Frankel

Bands come and go, but The Who is always a constant. In the time span from its 1982 album, It’s Hard, to its new album, Endless Wire, other bands have formed, risen to fame, toured the world, broken-up and had VH1 Behind the Music specials about them. But The Who stayed with it. Despite the deaths of drummer Keith Moon in 1979 and bassist John Entwistle in 2002, The Who’s musical style and attitude in its new album is simply remarkable.

The remaining members recorded the album discontinuously at Pete Townshend’s home studio and Eel Pie Oceanic Studios in Twickenham, England, between fall 2002 and summer 2006. Primary songwriter Townshend incorporates fan-favorite melodies and rhythms while singer Roger Daltrey’s voice resonates throughout the album. It may resemble previous works, but Endless Wire incorporates new techniques and topics.

No longer just singing about teen angst and rebellion, Townshend uses events in pop culture for material to write songs. Most notable are “The Man in a Purple Dress,” which Townshend wrote after watching Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ. The lyrics, “How dare you cover your head to hide/Your face from God/How dare you smile from behind your beard/To hide the fact your heart’s afeared” make Townshend’s frustration loud and clear.

Another song that incorporates recent events in history is “Black Widow’s Eyes,” which Townshend wrote after the Beslan school hostage crisis in Russia that killed 344 people. The black widow he refers to is the term given to female Chechen suicide bombers, who may have been involved in the crisis. The lyrics reflect on a man holding a child killed by the bomb, “I fell right in love with you/Into a thousand parts I blew.”

The last 10 tracks are a mini-opera, similar to the rock-opera of 1969’s Tommy. Although it is faster and more upbeat than the first part of the album, it leaves the listener wanting more. While the songs are similar to The Who’s earlier career — short, fast songs — they may be too brief. The shortest song, “They Made My Dream Come True,” clocks in at 1:13.

Townshend and Daltrey have been performing together for over 40 years and it’s beginning to show. It is obvious that Townshend has a more sophisticated playing style, now that he has been a guitarist for so long. He no longer plays the way he did as a 22-year-old.

However, Daltrey has felt the years go by in his voice. While he still can belt out the very technically demanding songs that Townshend has written, he no longer has the sharp, booming voice he once had. It is now a more raspy, toned-down version.

Townshend and Daltrey should truly be proud of the band’s music. After all, they have survived more than four decades of crazy antics, deaths, drug and alcohol abuse, brief break-ups — in short, everything rock ’n’ roll. Hopefully listeners won’t have to wait another 24 years for the next album. Maybe it will even be during “My Generation.”