American-Statesman (Austin, Texas) on Endless Wire

[Brian Cady]

http://tinyurl.com/yf4kvp

With new Who CD, the question is 'Why'?
'Endless Wire' proves that without original rhythm players, the Who is merely half the band it used to be
By V. Marc Fort
SPECIAL TO THE AMERICAN-STATESMAN

Sunday, October 29, 2006
 
The Who, once considered one of the greatest bands in rock 'n' roll — threaten to tarnish that reputation with the release of "Endless Wire," easily the worst album of their four-decades-long career.

Originally featuring Keith Moon on drums, John Entwistle on bass, vocalist Roger Daltrey and guitarist/songwriter/main creative force Pete Townshend, The Who redefined rock 'n' roll by becoming one of the innovators of three-minute power-chord pop songs and the extended song-cycle, now known as the "rock opera." 

Despite the deaths of core band members Moon and Entwistle, Daltrey and Townshend carry on by sporadically touring the world with top-notch backing musicians. The tour for this new CD — the band's first studio album in 24 years — reaches Dallas on Nov. 17 and Houston on Nov. 18.

The one note of particular interest to Austinites is that Townshend poignantly dedicates the album to swinging London "It" girl turned Central Texan Kim McLagan, who was killed in a car accident a few months ago. She was the wife of musician Ian McLagan of 1970s Faces fame, as well as the ex-wife of drummer Moon.

"Endless Wire" begins its first notes with The Who's now trademark synthesizer arpeggio, but quickly breaks into a hodgepodge collection of acoustic guitar-based songs primarily penned by Townshend and Daltrey. The latter's booming voice still sounds powerful and toughened by the grit of life's lessons learned.

Although some jaded critics and cynical fans believe that the band continues to tour only to keep their wallets stuffed, Townshend explains in the album's liner notes that "Endless Wire" is a labor of love, primarily recorded in his home studio between autumn 2002 and summer 2006. Townshend plays almost all the instruments, including his customary inspired guitar work as well as mandolin, banjo, violin, viola and drums.

"It's been a 24-year wait," writes Daltrey in the liner notes. "The Who are now just two and for me it still works. It is something that has always existed in that space between the members, be they two, three or four."

What Daltrey neglects to acknowledge is that a band is only the sum of its parts. Moon and Entwistle were universally considered one of the best rhythm sections in rock (Entwistle even recorded the first rock bass solo in the now-classic song "My Generation.") The hard-hitting, incomparable bass and drums duo of Entwistle and Moon is thoroughly missed on this album.

At first glance the new disc appears ambitious with 21 tracks. Sadly, the majority of the tracks are forgettable fragments and half-baked songs better left in the back of Townshend's studio closet.

The longest, most fully realized track, "Mike Post Theme," is an out-of-place, hokey ode to the television theme song maestro. The song is an uncomfortably painful bore; enduring it is like watching your elderly grandparent — the one that has never even heard hip-hop — try to rap karaoke style. You begin to feel embarrassed for Townshend. Could the great songwriter be losing his magic touch in his twilight years? 
Thankfully at track 10, Townshend's newest mini-opera, "Wire&Glass," closes out the album in one- and two-minute bursts of songs that actually sound like they almost could have been recorded by the classic Who lineup. "Sound Round," "Pick Up the Peace" and "We Got a Hit" display traces of what made The Who a great band: power-chord guitar heroics, mod-meets-pop creative lyricism, and Roger Daltrey's theatrically operatic yet primal vocals.

The Who have added a "bonus DVD" to the "Endless Wire" packaging that captures five songs from their July 17, 2006, performance at the Vienne Amphitheatre in Lyon, France. The DVD is palatable because it contains four classic songs — "I Can't Explain," "Behind Blue Eyes," "Baba O'Riley," "Won't Get Fooled Again." Unfortunately it also includes the atrocious "Mike Post Theme."

The band notes that the entire performance can be purchased on DVD from their Web site and that all profits will go to charities supported by the band (proving that it's not all about the money).

The concert footage and the tacked-on "Wire&Glass" mini-opera save the album from being a complete disaster, but we all know that rock 'n' roll innovator and provocateur Townshend and his sole remaining mate Daltrey are capable of so much more. 

 
-Brian in Atlanta
The Who This Month!
http://www.thewhothismonth.com