The Who: Endless Wire
The Who are back
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Wednesday, 01, Nov 2006 12:44
Polydor, out October 30th.
In a nutshell.
Ambitious. Intelligent. Pretentious. Ageless. Timeless.
What's it all about?
Long-standing acts such as McCartney, Dylan and the Stones always have the same problem whenever they release a new album. They've got to try and match the levels of genius they reached decades earlier and convince us they've still got it now.
And with their first offering for 24 years, The Who have given us the same dilemma.
With such a legendary name on the front of the CD, it's near impossible to listen to it objectively and not think of past glories, especially when the album starts with a synth-fest reminiscent of 1971's Baba O'Riley.
While it's easily identifiable as The Who, it thankfully rises above becoming a self-congratulatory nostalgia fest. The power chord-strewn rockers and Daltrey's throaty roar still work in the 21st century.
Who's it by?
Technically speaking, it's The Who minus two, but the band marches on despite the deaths of legendary bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon, who you'd swear was hitting the skins on "Sound Round".
Pete Townshend plays many of the instruments himself, although notable contributions come from long-standing keyboard player John "Rabbit" Bundrick, bassist Pino Palladino and drummer Zak Starkey, the man whose name is forever doomed to be followed by the words "Ringo's son".
As an example.
"We got our folks together, we broke down barriers.....we found a dream to dream, we were the carriers" - We Got a Hit
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
Guitar music is back in vogue, while the music of The Who transcends fad and fashion. But they're still most likely to be up for the "Lifetime Achievement" gong in any award ceremony they set go to. And they won't lose much sleep over young upstarts getting the glory either - this band has nothing to prove.
What the others say
"Madly ambitious and deeply heartfelt, it's a grand folly in the great tradition of Brish rock" - Uncut
"Uneven as it is, it's equally hard not to feel that Endless Wire forms a fitting coda to that band's career" - The Guardian
So is it any good?
If you can get over the fact that it's 40-odd years since the days of My Generation, then you can find plenty of vintage Who material here.
And that's after you then get over some of the tracks being bunched together under that dreaded term "Rock Opera" - a phrase which inspires thoughts of rambling self-indulgence. Thankfully, it does hang together without waffling.
In fact, it is at this point that the album really kicks into life after a relatively slow start. The title track is strong, while Sound Round and We Got a Hit could have come from 1971's Who's Next. Only Daltrey's aged voice gives the game away, as the raw power of old only shines through on a few tracks.
And while this does make you wonder whether you should give the old records a spin instead, at moments it really does sound as if this band have never been away.
7/10
James Glynn