The Who as an influence

["Mark R. Leaman" <mleaman@sccoast.net>]

> The Who are the most maligned of the legendary Rock Groups.

Leo:

Definitely. Taking just one song, My Generation, The Who were more
influential than any other band. And that was just the start of their
career. One can say this or that about Zeppelin (etc.) as a band or
individual performers, but they never made one single song as
influential as MG. From the first album to QUAD, there was always
something new and innovative from The Who for other bands to snap up and
"recreate."
Is it a coincidence that Blue Cheer released a very Who-like
Summertime Blues a year after The Who first toured the US, performing it
in their set? I don't think so.
The Beatles: influential, true, but look at who they influenced!
Pop/Rock, nothing nearly as substantial as bands The Who begat.
Badfinger, Klattu, Oasis. I'm not impressed. (The same could be said of
Zep...how impressed can one be by Whitesnake and so on?)
The Stones...I would say that The Yardbirds were more influencial in
that arena, but it's impossible to deny that RS were influential.
Aside from the New York Dolls (with shared credit to Velvet
Underground/Lou Reed), I can't think of one who gets me that excited. I
mean...Aerosmith?
Hendrix...well, Jimi was very influential. However, he literally stole
The Who's sound (and stage show, for that matter). Look at the
conversation between Mama Cass and Pete at Monterey Pop (not exact
quotes):
MC: "What do you think of him copying your act?"
PT: "Copying our act? He's DOING our act!"
Also notable is that the way Hendrix played live, with a virtual
Moon-clone drummer on board, sounds suspiciously Who-like. So any
influence Hendrix gets credit for, I'd have to give to The Who. After
all, it's only fair.
I'd say that The Who were the single most influential band in
Rock...so far, at least. You can't listen to Pearl Jam, U2, Smashing
Pumpkins, Alice In Chains, Stone Temple Pilots...the list goes on and
on...without hearing a bit of Who in there. And, no matter how far the
influence goes, The Who's bands always seem to be the most substantial.
At least, IMHO...
PS: I notice the absence of The Byrds in this discussion, a band far
more
influential than Zep or the Stones. Tut, tut, tut.


            Cheers                ML