Birth of a Notion: The Who

Showing posts with label The Who. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 03, 2014

The Kids Weren't All Right

There was nothing remarkable about Dec. 3, 1979 — until after the sun went down.

Actually, I wasn't living in Cincinnati on that date. I was living in Arkansas, and my thoughts never went to Cincinnati that day, as far as I can recall. But my thoughts went to Cincinnati frequently in the days that followed.

On this night in 1979, 11 young people were crushed to death in a crowd surge for unreserved seats at Cincinnati's Riverfront Coliseum before a concert featuring The Who. In the end, it was the practice of "festival seating" — first come, first served for the best spots — at rock concerts in those days that was blamed for the tragedy.

It didn't help that access to the interior of the stadium was restricted as well. Some of the entries to the stadium were locked to prevent people from sneaking in. There were also rumors at the time that unions may have played a role in that.

The victims ranged in age from 15 to 27. The youngest would have turned 50 this year. The oldest would have been in her 60s and, presumably, about to retire. Entire lifetimes were taken from them that night — marriages, families, careers.

It isn't hard to imagine the chain of events that unfolded that night. Under the festival seating policy, you paid for your tickets, then you had two choices — if you wanted to be as close to the stage as possible. You could get to the stadium very early and stand in line at the gate, regardless of the weather conditions — and it was brutally cold that night, as I remember hearing in news reports — or you could make a dash for the door when it was opened, muscling your way past others and possibly (probably) provoking a fight.

I have always thought there was an element of the latter in the Cincinnati tragedy, but there was more.

The band was doing a sound check when the doors were opened, but not everyone realized what was happening. Many of the people who had been standing in line in the freezing weather thought the concert had already begun, and they rushed the place. They didn't want to miss anything.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, a lot of attention was paid to the festival seating policy — and it took a lot of blame, as it should have. The city banned the practice, a ban that remained in effect for 25 years.

But that didn't excuse the general handling of things that night by stadium personnel — who should have done anything in their power to prevent the stampede that occurred when the band's late sound check convinced some concertgoers that the show had already begun. That failure was like tossing a lit match on a pile of gasoline–soaked rags.

As is so often the case, some good came from the unspeakably bad that occurred that night. Tragedy has a way of shining a bright light on shortcomings that were hidden in the dark before — but, unfortunately, the light doesn't always shine in appropriate proportions.

In the case of Cincinnati, disproportionate attention was paid to the practice of festival seating. There can be little doubt that the practice played a role in what happened, but so, too, did inadequate crowd control.

It must have been an horrific experience. Many of the victims were knocked from their feet and literally trampled by the crowd. Those who survived being knocked to the concrete floor reported that they could not get to their feet and their cries for help went unheeded or ignored. Other victims reported being lifted from the ground by the force of the crowd.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, venues across the country changed their rules about festival seating with many switching to assigned seating, but that was a decision that was made by the venues alone. Cincinnati, perhaps more sensitive than other cities because of what happened there 35 years ago today, was the only U.S. municipality to ban the practice at any venue within the city limits. (That ban was lifted 10 years ago because it was preventing the city's venues from booking quality concerts.)

I've always felt that was an overreaction. Festival seating needed to be addressed, to be sure, but so did the issue of crowd control. After all, things didn't turn tragic until the fans heard the sound check and, thinking the concert had begun, surged toward still–closed doors, in the process trampling most of the victims.

Without adequately addressing the issue of crowd control, measures that were taken, however well intended, had the safety value of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

Sunday, August 18, 2013

Answering the Musical Question, 'Who Are You?'

The school year was about to begin when The Who released their album "Who Are You" in 1978, and that is what I think of first when I think of that album.

It was the musical backdrop for the new school year. Whenever one switched on the radio, it wouldn't be long before the title track came on.

For those who liked The Who, it was a decidedly mixed time. It was a transitional time, and perhaps that was necessary because the Who sound that energized listeners in the '60s and '70s was fading and being replaced by synthesizers and strings.

That was quite a different sound from the rebellious, trash–your–guitar–onstage sound The Who cultivated in the early years. It was a shift that simply could not be accomplished overnight.

And I've never been convinced that it was an improvement.

I think it was becoming obvious by 1978 that The Who was experiencing a kind of burnout. After all, it must be hard to maintain that level of energetic rage that seemed to permeate the group's early stuff.

They could still play their music very well; it was the quality of the material that wasn't what it had been. In that sense, I suppose, the title of the album was appropriate for a band that seemed to be losing its musical identity.

More significant, though, was drummer Keith Moon's death nearly three weeks after the album's release.

Moon had been taking a prescription sedative to help him with his alcohol withdrawal, and, although he had a history of prescription sedative abuse, he was instructed to take one whenever he felt a craving for alcohol — but he was to take no more than three pills a day.

That was simply impossible for Moon. On the day of his death, he consumed nearly three dozen of the sedatives and apparently died in his sleep.

The following year, tragedy struck the surviving Who members when, at a concert in Cincinnati in December, nearly a dozen concertgoers were killed and more than two dozen were injured after, mistaking the group's sound check for the start of the concert, thousands of people began pushing toward the still–locked gates leading into the stadium.

At the time, I remember hearing talk that The Who was jinxed, and the jinx began with the release of "Who Are You."

I guess all that was going on with The Who at that time gave a special poignancy to the song "Music Must Change," which, frankly, I regard as one of Pete Townshend's best, albeit unacknowledged, compositions.

And I never bought that jinx talk, either. But there was no doubt that The Who's music would have to change after Moon's death. After all, Moon was the second–greatest drummer of all time, according to Rolling Stone.

To be honest, I wasn't particularly impressed with "Who Are You" apart from a few songs. The title track was good, and "Sister Disco" was OK, but otherwise I just wasn't enthusiastic about the album.

I preferred "Who's Next" or "The Who by Numbers," the latter being an example of Townshend's soaring songwriting. Ironic, I suppose, given that some diehard Who fans have called that album "Pete Townshend's suicide note."

Obviously, it was no such thing. "The Who by Numbers" came out nearly 40 years ago when Townshend was about 30. He is 68 now.

Even if that label is meant metaphorically, Townshend continued to compose for many years. His compositions may not have been as good as they were in the early years, but his creativity didn't die.

Writing about "Who Are You" for AllMusic, Richie Unterberger observed that "it was the last reasonably interesting Who record."

I'm inclined to agree.

Sunday, July 31, 2011

'Who's Next' Is What Was Next in Year of Classics

In an era when music listeners are conditioned to download single tracks rather than invest in an entire album with several songs on it — as music lovers had to do not so long ago, even after CDs became the format — it's a good idea to acknowledge a few things.

First of all, it seems to me that today's music consumers have more in common with those from their grandparents' generation, who bought singles that were often — but not always — compiled into a long–play album months or even years later, than they do with the baby boomers from which their parents came.

Although the technology had existed for years, LPs in the 1950s and early 1960s were often merely collections of successful singles with a couple of filler songs. There was no concept or theme, to speak of, except the age–old marketing theme of trying to squeeze every possible penny out of an artist's work.

Much of that changed — at least as far as albums were concerned — in the 1960s. Long–playing albums became the products of design, not happenstance, which meant that the second half of the 20th century was really a golden age for the album concept — and 1971 was possibly the epicenter for classic albums.

That year, Janis Joplin, Jethro Tull, Carole King, the Rolling Stones, the Doors, Marvin Gaye, Rod Stewart, John Denver, Black Sabbath, John Lennon, Don McLean and others released recordings that are still considered groundbreaking and innovative 40 years later.

One of them was "Who's Next," the album released by the Who on this date in 1971.

Now, when the topic of conversation is concept albums, I guess you could say the Who wrote the book.

Theme albums were really nothing new when the Who came along, but concept albums were something else as far as I was concerned. A theme album might have songs that were related to each other because they explored the same kind of emotion (i.e., love or fear) or experience, but there was no real unity beneath the surface.

Jazz and blues artists had been doing theme albums since the 1950s, and some of the rock 'n' roll groups (like the Beach Boys and the Kinks) dabbled with them in the 1960s.

But the Who really re–defined things with "Tommy" in the late 1960s — and that continued to influence what the group did for a decade.

"Tommy" was called a rock opera, which was like a traditional opera in that it told a story. It evolved into a fairly successful movie, too, just as some traditional operas have.

But the music was entirely different.

Later, the Who released "Quadrophenia," another rock opera. In between, "Jesus Christ Superstar" told the stories from the Gospels in a unique and compelling way.

There have been other attempts by popular performers to write rock operas in the years since — few have been very successful — but my best guess is, that when most people think of rock operas, those three are the ones that come to mind.

"Who's Next" was hardly a rock opera — that was really a highly specialized kind of composition — but it was more conceptual than thematic.

I felt that way long before I learned that the album actually has its roots in a science fiction rock opera composed by Who guitarist Pete Townshend.

That rock opera was intended to be the followup to "Tommy," but the Who abandoned it in favor of the album that was released on this day in 1971. Some of the songs from Townshend's project wound up on "Who's Next." Others could be found on the group's 1978 album, "Who Are You."

On "Who's Next" can be found some of the Who's most memorable songs, such as "Baba O'Riley," one of the compositions from the rock opera project, which may be more familiar to modern listeners as the theme for the CSI: NY TV show.

Rolling Stone says "Who's Next" is the 28th best album of all time — and it is hard to argue the point (unless it is to take issue with some of the albums that Rolling Stone ranks ahead of it).

In addition to "Won't Get Fooled Again" and "Baba O'Riley," you'll find songs like "Behind Blue Eyes," "Bargain," "The Song Is Over" and "Going Mobile."

Great stuff.

Even 40 years later, the music still sounds fresh.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

'Tommy' ... On the Silver Screen

Thirty–five years ago tomorrow, a film based on the Who's 1969 rock opera "Tommy" was released in the United States.

For most people, I suppose, that isn't too significant. I mean, there have been a lot of film musicals over the years (I have a particularly vivid memory of a Thanksgiving spent with my grandmother when I was a child and being forced — in my opinion, anyway — to watch the movie "Oklahoma!" that was televised that night because my grandmother liked it).

There were even movies that were based on rock operas before "Tommy" was made ("Godspell" and "Jesus Christ Superstar" come to mind). In that sense, it can't be said to have broken any new ground — although some purists might insist that "Tommy" was different.

And, although the film was a departure of sorts for the actors in the cast, it was hardly the debut film for Ann–Margret, Oliver Reed or Jack Nicholson. I suppose the cast was adequate — Ann–Margret was even nominated for a Best Actress Oscar — but I don't remember being particularly impressed. All three had been in movie musicals before, so none could be considered a novice. Nevertheless, it would be a mistake to assume that this kind of thing was their milieu.

Likewise, it may have been the first film for some of the musicians in the cast, but they must have been chosen for their popularity and/or musical talent (both, in some, but not all, cases), not for their acting. I don't think the film was the start of a new career in movies for any of them.

Even so, some of the performers — notably, Eric Clapton (singing "Eyesight to the Blind"), Tina Turner (performing "Acid Queen") and especially Elton John (playing "Pinball Wizard") — enjoyed commercial success with their contributions to the film's soundtrack.

(There is a certain irony, I guess, in the fact that the anniversary of the theatrical release of "Tommy," the story of a "deaf, dumb and blind kid," has been preceded by reports that Vatican officials, including the current pope, did not defrock a priest who molested as many as 200 deaf boys. That priest is now deceased, but lawsuits are pending.)

I bought the movie soundtrack after I saw the movie. I liked it — but I liked a girl in school even more and I made a cassette tape of my favorite songs from the soundtrack to play for her on a portable cassette recorder when we were hanging around on the school grounds when the day was over. I knew she liked "Pinball Wizard" so I played it for her a lot — even though I preferred "Eyesight to the Blind."

That is one of the bittersweet memories of my adolescence. I felt I was making some headway with that girl that spring, but she moved away from my hometown of Conway, Ark., after school dismissed for the summer. I don't think I saw her again.

I thought about her last year when I happened to stumble across "Tommy" on a cable channel. And that struck me as odd because she and I didn't see that movie together. We just listened to that Elton John recording — and some other songs from the film — together.

Things are different in my hometown today — I'm told it has nearly quadrupled in size since I was in high school, and I'm sure it has many options for moviegoers now — but when I was a teenager, there was one multiscreen theater in town (in this case, that means two screens), and it catered to the moneymakers. The theater's management didn't seem to think there was any money to be made from showing a musical — unless it was something on the order of "The Sound of Music."

To see such a movie in those days, one had to drive to the state capital of Little Rock. It wasn't far, only about 30 miles or so, but I wasn't old enough to have my driver's license and my parents wouldn't allow me to take the car to Little Rock on a Saturday afternoon (even though I was convinced I could do it with no problem, never even considered the possibility that I might get pulled over or, worse, be involved in an accident).

As it turned out, a friend of mine named Doug wanted to see it, but he wasn't old enough to have his license, either. So his mother graciously agreed to take us to Little Rock and see the film with us.

I don't remember when we saw it, but I guess it must have been sometime that spring, not long after it was released, because the place was packed. Doug spotted three empty seats on the front row — so we made our way to the front row, where we had to look straight up at the screen for nearly two hours while the state–of–the–art sound system shredded our hearing.

Well, Doug and I were young. We could handle it.

But, now that I'm older, I am filled with admiration for what his mother did that day. She was truly a good sport to escort us to the movie and sit through it with us.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

The Who's Super Bowl Setlist

Ordinarily, my posts that are sports–related can be found at my Tomato Cans blog.

But, long before I started blogging, I learned that things often overlap in life. And that's especially been the case ever since the Super Bowl started promoting halftime shows with big–name entertainers.

Things have sure come a long way since Up With People performed at halftime of the Super Bowl. In recent years, halftime entertainment has been provided by the likes of Bruce Springsteen, U2, Tom Petty, the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and, in an unfortunately memorable moment, Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake.

This year's entertainment will be provided by legendary British rockers the Who. It won't be the original Who, of course. Bassist John Entwistle has been dead since 2002, and drummer Keith Moon has been gone even longer, since 1978. But Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend are still around and, as long as they are still around, The Who will exist.

Certainly, The Who will exist on February 7, when the modern incarnation of the band will perform at halftime of this year's Super Bowl. And yesterday, Townshend told Billboard about the songs that will be sung that night.

So, based on that interview, here are some videos to give you a taste of what to expect.

Townshend says the show will start with "Baba O'Riley." You can find a clip of the band performing that song at the top of this post.

Next on the setlist is "Pinball Wizard" ...