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\”Baba O’Riley\”: The Failed Rock Opera That Gave Rock Its Most Famous Synthesizer Intro
“Baba O’Riley”: The Failed Rock Opera That Gave Rock Its Most Famous Synthesizer Intro It is probably the most famous synthesizer intro in the history of rock and roll. Thirty seconds of spiraling, shimmering pattern — insistent, hypnotic, building like weather — before the piano crashes in and Roger Daltrey starts singing about a teenage…
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The Who: The Heart Behind the Noise
They were the loudest band in the world, the smashers of guitars, the singers of “I hope I die before I get old.” For sixty years they toured the planet, buried two of their own, survived stampedes and lawsuits and their own legendary excess. But the most extraordinary thing Roger Daltrey ever did had nothing…
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How The Who Built “Quadrophenia”: A Mod’s Four Minds and the Album That Nearly Broke the Band
Pete Townshend had already written one rock opera. “Tommy” had made The Who the most ambitious band in rock. So naturally, for the follow-up to “Who’s Next,” he decided to write another one, even bigger, even more personal, and even more impossible to perform. The result was “Quadrophenia,” released on October 26, 1973: a double…
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The Untold Story of The Who: Smashed Guitars, a Stampede, and the Loudest Band on Earth
They called themselves the loudest band in the world, and for once the hype was certified: the Guinness Book of Records once listed The Who as the loudest rock concert in history. But volume was only the surface. Underneath the noise was the most volatile chemistry in rock: a stuttering mod singer who fought his…