The 1968 album Roger Daltrey still calls one of the best ever: “The last rock record I listened to”
In the closing days of the 1960s, The Beatles’ flame was faltering, leaving space in the canopy for Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones and The Who to branch out.
These rival Brits would approach the ’70s with an appetite for rock innovation and chart domination as the hippie era withered under the light. This period would welcome The Who’s most successful and conceptual work, beginning with 1969’s groundbreaking rock opera, Tommy.
Like Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones, The Who enjoyed the snowy peaks of their success in the early 1970s. By this point, the band had been on the road for several years and appeared to have all the right components of a rock sensation working in perfect harmony. The thunderous excellence of Keith Moon was met in equal measure by Pete Townshend’s compositional fearlessness, John Entwistle’s bass virtuosity and Roger Daltrey’s infectious showmanship.
After sweating himself into a stupor and dodging shards of drumkit projected by Moon’s explosive antics, Dalrey used to have a hard time de-energising after a live performance. A sit-down and a cup of tea could only go so far, but fortunately, Daltrey found the tranquilising power of Frédéric Chopin, the perfect antidote to rock ‘n’ roll.
“I’ve always liked classical music,” Daltrey told Classic Rock in a recent interview. “After our gigs, classical music used to be the only thing that would calm me down. Chopin is good. I very rarely listen to rock music at home at all.”
After revealing that he rarely listens to rock ‘n’ roll these days, Daltrey continued, picking out one album he sees as an exception. “The last rock record I listened to properly at home was Music from Big Pink, by The Band, which I still think is one of the best albums ever made. It’s got a real sense of freedom to it,” he said. “It’s incredibly loose and incredibly tight all at once.”
This wasn’t the first time the Who frontman had singled out The Band’s classic 1968 album for endorsement. In 2018, while appearing on the BBC Radio 2 feature ‘Tracks of My Years’, Daltrey listed ‘The Weight’ from Music from the Big Pink as an all-time favourite song.
“What an album! I’ve met The Band with Bob Dylan when they supported him on his tour in Belfast,” Daltrey said of his selection. “I thought, ‘This is gonna be something. But when I heard this album, Music From The Big Pink, this song in particular, the musicianship, there is a relaxed looseness. Just the sound is so wonderful.”
That sense of balance was something Daltrey seemed to admire deeply, perhaps because it stood in quiet contrast to the intensity of his own band’s performances. Where The Who often thrived on volatility and sheer force, The Band operated with a restraint that still carried immense weight. It was a reminder that power in music did not always have to come from volume or spectacle, but could just as easily be found in subtlety and space.
In many ways, it speaks to the broader musical curiosity that has followed Daltrey throughout his career. Even as one of rock’s most commanding frontmen, he has never been confined by the expectations of the genre. Whether turning to Chopin for calm or finding inspiration in the understated brilliance of Music from Big Pink, his listening habits reveal an artist who understands that great music, regardless of style, often shares the same underlying spirit.
Listen to ‘The Weight’ by The Band below.
