The album Pete Townshend said “enriched” the sound of The Who
Rising to prominence for their rebellious, amphetamine-fuelled mod rock in the 1960s, The Who are perhaps the greatest encapsulation of British rock and roll. As they moved from the proto-punk of ‘My Generation’ into something more mature in the rock operas of Tommy and Quadrophenia. Far from being rock and roll purists, Townshend and The Who always seemed open to incorporating new sounds and influences.
In the early days of the group, The Who were the archetypal adolescent garage band: singer, guitarist, bassist, drummer – job done. Inspired by the rock ‘n’ roll revolution of the 1950s, as well as the blossoming British rock scene and mod subculture of the 1960s, The Who carved out a name for themselves as one of the country’s most raucous and wild groups. Helped along by their outlandish on-stage antics, involving the destruction of all instruments at the end of every set, with Keith Moon often blowing up his own drum kits, the London quartet gave voice to the post-war generation.
But alas, the 1960s would not last forever; at some point, The Who were going to have to face facts and grow up. As the decade drew to a close, the band dropped Tommy, a seminal rock opera that remains one of the most highly regarded concept albums to this day. While their early years were incredibly influential on both contemporary rock music as well as the punk boom which would arrive in the mid-1970s, it was Tommy that showed the band’s diverse ability, as well as cementing Pete Townshend as an infallible songwriter.
Following up on the brilliance of Tommy was never going to be an easy task, but The Who were never a band to play it safe. Who’s Next developed out of a proposed sequel to Tommy called Lifehouse. The resulting album, though maintaining many of the proposed tracks from Lifehouse, was a departure from the rock opera concept album of Tommy, seeing The Who return to their roots while simultaneously embracing a new age.
Who’s Next was particularly noted for its pioneering use of synthesisers. While the humble synth may seem at odds with the brash rock and roll of The Who, the electronic influence allowed the band to produce two of their all-time greatest hits ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’ and, of course, ‘Baba O’Riley’. In an interview with Guitarist, Townshend revealed the impact that synths had on the group, “It gave us this extra harmonic and musical implementation because we were just a three-piece band,” Townshend says. “We didn’t even have a keyboard player. So it enriched our sound. And it was very, very exciting.”
For a band that was historically composed almost entirely of guitar, bass and drums, incorporating a synthesiser was not a particularly easy task. However, Townshend recalls the endless possibilities that sprang to mind upon setting the instrument up, “I thought, ‘I can play flutes, I can play clarinets, I can play trumpets!’ They’re funny little noises. […] I discovered that these little machines allowed me to experiment with melody.”
While the synth would later go on to be heavily utilised within progressive rock and, later, synthpop, The Who’s incorporation of the instrument all the way back in 1971 is a testament to their dedication to development and experimentation.
