keepers 4
keeper avg .400
The Who's first non-concept album in years starts with one of the best songs in the band's entire catalog, "Slip Kid"*****, comprised of dueling hooks on piano and guitar and the simple but profound line "no easy way to be free." The album also includes the charming, refreshingly modest country-flavored "Squeeze Box" (though I really prefer the rocked-up live version**** included as a bonus track). After a string of concept or narrative-driven albums the move to a simple collection of pop songs was probably seen as a refreshing one. The lyrical approach on the album also changes from mostly observational or character-driven to personal, first-person lyrics. Most of these seem very specific to the author's life, especially those filled with references to being in a super-famous rock band, such as "Success Story" and the bitchy but hilarious "They Are All Love"**** ("Where do you fit in [fart-sound/raspberry] magazine Where the past is the hero and the present a queen"). Some work well in spite of this, such as "How Many Friends"**** ("you can count em on the one hand"). "Dreaming From The Waist" and "However Much I Booze" try the hardest to recapture that big-rock Who glory (as attested by the inclusion of a live version of the former), but the former falls apart by the chorus and the latter just falls flat. Maybe the lifestyle was taking its toll by 1975 or maybe daunting tasks gave Pete Townshend motivation, but this is the first Who album where the misses outnumber the hits. Townshend does show there's some octane left in the tank on closing track "In A Hand Or A Face"**** with the punchy, stuttering riff and some interesting soul-searching lyrics:
Ain't it funny that you can't seem to help him
Feelin' sick as he staggers away
Is it weird that you hate a stranger
Can a detail correct your dismay
Comments