Gut reaction to EW

[sroundtable at aol.com]

Yes, we love to dissect the songs, analyzing the mixing and the lyrics, but I prefer to measure the songs from Endless Wire the same way I got turned on to The Who-whether I get the Who "chills" at some point during song.  Either the songs get me in the gut or they don't.  It happened first for me during the Overture of Tommy as played by the High School orchestra where I was teaching at the time (2000).  Ever since, I connect to a Who song when that unmistakeable chill hits me.
 
As for EW, they hit me in the following:
 
1) Fragments-after Roger completes the opening lines and the who band kicks in with the fully harmonized "Are we breathing out, or breathing in..."  True brilliance.
 
2) Man in a Purple Dress- Got it the first time I heard this, live on Letterman, just after Roger sang "you, a man in a purple dress."
 
3) Mike Post Theme-Live in person in Boston, MA, during the kick-in interlude as Zak pounds the toms.  This song has a Naked Eye quality to it.  The backing vocals, "bada bomb, bop bada da da da," are genius in representing the way so many of us have sung Mike Post's themes in this way.  I did it with LA Law, for sure. 
 
4) Black Widows Eyes-didn't get it the first time, live in Boston, but got it when hearing it on the CD.  Unbelieveable vocal harmonies.
 
5) It's Not Enough-opening backing vocals hook me right off.  Probably now a top 5 Who song of mine.  Try to listen to this two or three times a day.
 
6) Sound Round-grabs me in the first chorus.  Would love to have heard an extended version of this one, which is, IMHO, the best song in W&G.
 
7) We Got a Hit-Roger's vintage vocals when he sings the line, "We were the carriers."  At certain times he can still sound like the late 70s Roger.  This is one of them.
 
8) They Made My Dreams Come True-Pino's stellar bass runs during the chorus.  Brilliant work.
 
9) Mirror Door-second time Roger sings "Who will walk through the mirror door," with the vocal step up.  Got me back in January or so when I heard it via the BBC radio capture.
 
10) Tea and Theatre-Live in Boston, end of first verse.  Was welling up by the end of the song.
 
OK, that's 10 songs of what is really a 19-song album that give me those Who chills.  Uneven or not, if you had told me before it came out that there would be 4 songs I would REALLY like on EW, I would have been happy.  Now I have 10 songs that my gut tells me stacks up to past Who greatness, and that isn't to say I dislike the others, such as In The Ether (though Pete's vocals are quite jarring), Unholy Trinity and You Stand by Me.  My one regret is that while Pete has written a great album, I can't help listening to these songs and imagining the heights to which John and Keith would have taken them.  Imagine Keith playing Mike Post Theme or John playing It's Not Enough.  This album might have been truly monumental.  I guess I'll have to settle for merely great.
 
Mc   
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