Why Jimi Hendrix thought The Who could improve ‘A Quick One’
The idea of putting on a theatrical rock show was still a novel idea in 1967. While musicals like Hair were attempting to translate the hippie experience for Broadway audiences, actual hippies weren’t quite as taken with the idea of a narrative concert experience. As amplifiers and public address systems began to evolve rapidly, most rock artists were standing stock still onstage while the music did the heavy lifting. One notable exception was Jimi Hendrix.
Not only had the Seattle guitarist pioneered the distortion-heavy lead guitar sound that would influence all future generations of rock musicians, but he was making it look cool as hell along the way. From plucking out notes with his teeth to literally setting instruments ablaze and the end of shows, Hendrix was a natural showman who took rock theatrics to a new level.
Around the same time, The Who began to rapidly evolve from a basic mod band to one of the most fascinating live draws in music. Between the manic energy that Keith Moon brought to his drum playing and Pete Townshend’s penchant for destroying his guitars, The Who represented a more ferocious and unhinged version of Hendrix’s lascivious antics.
Both artists were coming up in the British rock scene around the same time, so when Hendrix was asked about a theatrical rock show during an interview with the Free Press, The Who were the natural comparison point. But Hendrix had his own ideas – a Shakespearean epic through his own material.
“Can you imagine taking Othello and putting it on in your own way?” Hendrix wondered aloud. “You’d write up some real groovy songs, wouldn’t necessarily have to say the exact lines … Great! The Who is doing theatre pieces like ‘A Quick One (While He’s Away)’. But golly, man, they just stand there when they sing it. They should jump into it.”
It doesn’t seem likely that anyone in The Who heard Hendrix’s opinion or would have paid much attention to his advice in the first place. Imagine telling Keith Moon that he had to be more expressive. On their own, The Who evolved into quite the entertaining unit while performing ‘A Quick One (While He’s Away)’, as exemplified by their rendition of the song at The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus. The following year, The Who would perfect their ideas of a rock opera with their fourth studio album, Tommy.
Check out The Who’s performance of ‘A Quick One’ down below.
