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Re: The Who's Popularity Peak
> It would be hard to beat the projects, band buzz and momentum that
> existed in the period Mark's talking about ('69-'71).
Yeah, that's the era that's gonna give my "1979 - 1982" theory the
biggest challenge. Or maybe the "1975 - 1976" era, with all the
touring & the Tommy film.
> And, you want to talk momentum? Their momentum at the time was
> taking them towards Quadrophenia.
See, that's what I wanted to avoid here. We're not talking "artistic"
momentum. Strictly mass appeal is what I'm after. The greatness in
quality of TOMMY (T?), LAL, & WN *cannot* be a factor. Just as the
lameness of FD & IH cannot be a factor in the '79 - '82 era. And we
certainly can't give the nod to the '69 - '71 era *just because* that
era *was leading up to* the QUAD album!
> Contrast to the Schradeian Epoch ('79-'82). The Who were certainly
> popular. But they had also become something of an anachronistic
> irrelevance.
Again, you're taking other factors into consideration, & not strictly
going by popularity & mass appeal. Sure, by the early '80s The Who
were "artistically" on the decline - but I'm arguing that their "mass
popularity" was peaking at his time.
> And their momentum was taking them towards, what? A 7 year hiatus,
That's hindsight! That, like quality of albums, shouldn't be considered.
We can address your concern by asking the simple question: Were The Who
more popular around '69 - '71, or '79 - '82? I say they were much
bigger in the '79 - '82 era.
The fans that gave up after the early '69 - '71 peak were *more than*
made up for by the *new fans* generated in the '79 - '82 era. And with
the core Who-Freaks staying loyal throughout, the additional fans gener-
ated in the '79 - '82 era made *that* The Who's popular peak.
> I guess, if you want to put some value on their popularity at any given
> time, we have to look at the same old measures nobody here really cares
> about. Record sales, chart success and concert attendance.
I still say those types of stats can be deceiving. "Mass popularity"
is more of an intangible type thing. It has to be sensed (?) - argued
with evidence but not strictly relying on sales statistics, chart numbers,
etc.
> I think that's easy for guys like you and me to think, because we
> remember it. We weren't around to experience the Woodstock era buzz
> surrounding The Who.
Good point. That's why I'm trying to get some feedback on this question.
- SCHRADE in Akron
The Council For Secular Humanism
http://www.secularhumanism.org/