Quadrophenia: The Album That Time Forgot (A Tribute)

[BBQ Platypus]

Ah, yes.  The great Quad.  There's no other album like it.  It's not the most flawless album ever made - it's just the best.  The rich, layered sound creates an atmosphere that can turn a hot mid-July afternoon in Dallas into a foggy, dreary morning in Brighton, overlooking stormy seas.  Yet not for a moment does it seem bombastic - its subject matter is far too personal for anyone who remembers what it is like to be young.  From the hard-rocking, disillusioned anger of "The Real Me" and "The Punk and the Godfather" to the subdued loneliness of "I'm One," it covers all the big topics we all face.

It all builds up to the grand conclusion - the last two songs.  The first of these is an instrumental covering the four themes of the schizoid boy Jimmy.  Towards the end of this song, all of these themes are playing simultaneously (one of them is even in a different time than the others!).  I can't describe just how awesome this part of the album is, but if you're not in a state of total catharsis at this point, you must be dead.  Either that, or you're a cyborg with no emotions, because there's no way this music can fail to establish an emotional connection with you.  Just then, when you begin to think that you could lose yourself in this blissful sound for all of eternity, it suddenly stops.  And then there is no need for an emotional connection - you ARE Jimmy.  You are experiencing what he is experiencing.  As the sad, echoey opening notes of "Love, Reign, O'er Me" begin to play amidst the sound of rain and ocean waves, you remember that you are stuck on a rock in the middle of the ocean with no way out.  It never fails to make me cry.

I probably sound like some kind of crazy person.  Hell, I'll admit it - I DO sound like some kind of crazy person.  But this album is so dear to me that I can't even write coherently about it.  Except to wonder why this album isn't as well known as some of the Who's other albums, or other albums that were released around the same time.  What don't people get?  Why isn't it as generally well-liked as Dark Side of the Moon (or Tommy, for that matter)?

I don't mean to insult anybody's personal taste in music.  If you've listened to Quad and don't like it, that's fine.  I just wanted to start this thread to honor this album that doesn't get the credit it deserves from the mainstream.  Well, that's all - I gotta get running now; always nippin' at someone's bleedin' 'eels.

[Teaflax]

I thought Quadrophenia was generally quite well-regarded, but I guess I could be wrong. I'm not much of a Who fan, but I think it's their best by far (certainly much better than Tommy) - and it contains the best song they've ever done: Love Reign O'er Me.

And I know what you mean about getting incoherent when trying to explain why the albums you love the most are so great. Try to get me to expound on Yes's Relayer and it'll make even less sense than I usually do.

[BBQ Platypus]

Well, critically, it was well-received, but it isn't generally very well-remembered by the public at large.

[Sharktopus]

Well, critically, it was well-received, but it isn't generally very well-remembered by the public at large.

That's because it didn't have overblown synth like Who's Next or a batshit movie like Tommy.

I love Quadrophenia, but it's a little bloated around the middle. (Like me.)

[Bob]

This is my favorite Who album.   

The bass playing on this puppy is some of the best ever laid down for a rock album.   Almost every song sounds so urgent, so mad, so in your face.

[starfighter]

   I looked up the movie on imdb since all I remembered of it was that Sting was in it before The Police really made it big.  Was the movie very successful in the UK compared to the US?  Maybe the death of Keith Moon in '78 dimmed some's appreciation for the Who at the time?
   I suppose it is over-shadowed by Tommy for most people but it's definitely a great piece of work by a great band.  But my favorite Who song and I still have the 45, "I Can See For Miles" backed up by the insightful "Marianne with the Shaky Hands" "what they've done to a man, those shaaaaaaaa-ky hands."

[BBQ Platypus]

   I looked up the movie on imdb since all I remembered of it was that Sting was in it before The Police really made it big.  Was the movie very successful in the UK compared to the US?  Maybe the death of Keith Moon in '78 dimmed some's appreciation for the Who at the time?
   I suppose it is over-shadowed by Tommy for most people but it's definitely a great piece of work by a great band.  But my favorite Who song and I still have the 45, "I Can See For Miles" backed up by the insightful "Marianne with the Shaky Hands" "what they've done to a man, those shaaaaaaaa-ky hands."

Who doesn't love that song?  The shakiness of Mary-Anne's shaky hands is common knowledge.  After all, guys come from every city just to shake that shaky hand.

I haven't seen the movie, but I've heard that a fan of the album produced his own stage version of Quad not too long ago, and that it was really good.  Does anybody here know what I'm talking about?

Well, critically, it was well-received, but it isn't generally very well-remembered by the public at large.

That's because it didn't have overblown synth like Who's Next or a batshit movie like Tommy.

I love Quadrophenia, but it's a little bloated around the middle. (Like me.)

Hey, don't knock Who's Next - it's the album that turned me from a casual classic rock fan into a Who superfan!  (My mom's a Clapton fan, and I grew up listening to him and a smattering of other artists, including the 'Oo).  I never thought it sounded overblown - it's only overblown if there are several elements that serve absolutely no purpose.  I think it's just, um..."blown" (layered).  The movie Tommy, however, is indeed certifiably Bat-Shit Insane(R).

Quad does occasionally get same-ish sounding on Side 3, but the quality of the lyrics never lets up, so it doesn't bother me too much.  Besides which, "Sea and Sand" shows quite a bit of variety in its mood and dynamics.  They probably should have gone with the acoustic version of "Drowned," but I'm not complaining.  There isn't a bad song on either disc.

[Sharktopus]

I haven't seen the movie, but I've heard that a fan of the album produced his own stage version of Quad not too long ago, and that it was really good.  Does anybody here know what I'm talking about?

Nobody ever knows what you're talking about, BBQ.

Well, critically, it was well-received, but it isn't generally very well-remembered by the public at large.

That's because it didn't have overblown synth like Who's Next or a batshit movie like Tommy.

I love Quadrophenia, but it's a little bloated around the middle. (Like me.)

Hey, don't knock Who's Next - it's the album that turned me from a casual classic rock fan into a Who superfan!  (My mom's a Clapton fan, and I grew up listening to him and a smattering of other artists, including the 'Oo).  I never thought it sounded overblown - it's only overblown if there are several elements that serve absolutely no purpose.  I think it's just, um..."blown" (layered).  The movie Tommy, however, is indeed certifiably Bat-Shit Insane(R).

Don't get me wrong - I love Who's Next. It's the first Who album I bought after The Ultimate Collection (one of the best best-of collections for any band ever). I was just saying that the quickly recognizable synth in Baba O'Riley and Won't Get Fooled Again make the album perfect for mainstream consumption.

[BBQ Platypus]

I haven't seen the movie, but I've heard that a fan of the album produced his own stage version of Quad not too long ago, and that it was really good.  Does anybody here know what I'm talking about?

Nobody ever knows what you're talking about, BBQ.

Well, critically, it was well-received, but it isn't generally very well-remembered by the public at large.

That's because it didn't have overblown synth like Who's Next or a batshit movie like Tommy.

I love Quadrophenia, but it's a little bloated around the middle. (Like me.)

Hey, don't knock Who's Next - it's the album that turned me from a casual classic rock fan into a Who superfan!  (My mom's a Clapton fan, and I grew up listening to him and a smattering of other artists, including the 'Oo).  I never thought it sounded overblown - it's only overblown if there are several elements that serve absolutely no purpose.  I think it's just, um..."blown" (layered).  The movie Tommy, however, is indeed certifiably Bat-Shit Insane(R).

Don't get me wrong - I love Who's Next. It's the first Who album I bought after The Ultimate Collection (one of the best best-of collections for any band ever). I was just saying that the quickly recognizable synth in Baba O'Riley and Won't Get Fooled Again make the album perfect for mainstream consumption.

Consumption, eh?  Well, I imagine an album like Who's Next WOULD taste pretty good.  Mmmm....album.......... 

[starfighter]

   All we need are another dozen or so versions of C.S.I. to put together a Who's greatest hits CD. "Love, Reign O'er Me" would be a perfect theme for CSI: Seattle.  "I Can See For Miles": CSI: Nebraska. And so on.
   And isn't every Ken Russell movie Bat-Shit Insane??

[Sharktopus]

My friends and I were wondering what Who song they'd use for CSI:NY. I suggested "The Seeker," as they're investigators, or "5:15," what with New York's subways, but whereas the first two CSIs used songs that kinda sorta fit the theme of the show, NY just went with a popular one. For a moment there I thought they'd be clever about it. What was I thinking?

How about "Happy Jack" for CSI: Isle of Man?

[dignan]

Quadrophenia's a great album.  I got to see the Who on their Quadrophenia-Mach 2 tour (1997, I think), and it still ranks as the best concert I've ever been to.  Entwistle's bass solo on 5:15 was a highlight, and they did something like a 7-song encore.  It was an unbelievable show.

My favorite album by The Who, however, would have to be The Who Sells Out. 


Also, as a completely random tidbit, Ray Winstone co-starred in Quadrophenia the movie.   

[Sharktopus]

My favorite album by The Who, however, would have to be The Who Sells Out.

Best album cover ever.



Funny how Roger, by far far the most shirtless of the Who in later years, is the only one not showing us some nipple.

[BBQ Platypus]

My favorite album by The Who, however, would have to be The Who Sells Out.

Best album cover ever.

What I love best about that cover is the words underneath the advertisements.

"This way to a cowboy's breakfast.  Daltrey rides again.  Thinks: 'Thanks to Heinz Baked Beans, every day is a super day.  Those who know how many beans make five get Heinz Baked Beans inside and out at every opportunity.  Get saucy!"

[Sharktopus]

My favorite album by The Who, however, would have to be The Who Sells Out.

Best album cover ever.

What I love best about that cover is the words underneath the advertisements.

"This way to a cowboy's breakfast.  Daltrey rides again.  Thinks: 'Thanks to Heinz Baked Beans, every day is a super day.  Those who know how many beans make five get Heinz Baked Beans inside and out at every opportunity.  Get saucy!"

There used to be a dark side to Keith Moon...