What was The Who’s greatest solo?
The solo is tricky. While some musicians, such as Jimi Hendrix, managed to build an entire sound and movement around the guitar solo, other artists struggled to nail it in pursuit of being the perfect band instead. The Who are a great example of this.
Keith Richards once spoke about the contradicting nature of being in a band and trying to refine a perfect sound. “The thing is, you’ve got your Jimi Hendrix, you’ve got your Eric Clapton, and then you’ve got guys who can play with bands,” said Richards, “People get carried away with lead guitars […] and feedbacks. And it’s all histrionics, when it comes down to it.”
When you look at the line-up of The Who, it’s hard to imagine a band that could have a more promising set of members. The band are utterly unmatched in their individual ability and how they can make music as a unit. The result is incredibly layered albums; when you listen to the likes of Tommy and Quadrophenia, The Who didn’t just make rock music; they set a tone and made something truly cinematic that no other band came close to touching.
While this sound was mesmerising, it also meant that the band were never one for soloing; despite having guitar talent in Pete Townshend and drum talent in Keith Moon, their songs weren’t dominated by moments of individualism. Keith Moon briefly spoke about the band’s aversion to the solo. “Drum solos are fucking boring. Any kind of solo is,” he said, “It detracts from the group identity.”
It says a lot about the band that even without soloing, individually, they are all still considered some of the very best at what they do. This is because they had a very prominent means of playing and could come together as a four to create something much bigger and better than any of them could have done as one.
Geddy Lee put it best when talking about the band’s Live at Leeds record, highlighting that while there are a couple of solos on there, Townshend can find beauty in chords and rhythm that truly stands out. “What an amazing guitar sound on this album,” he said, “And [Pete] Townshend even plays a few solos, which he usually never does. Was there anybody better at expressing themselves through power chords?”
That being said, just because The Who aren’t a bad who prioritises a solo doesn’t mean that they don’t do them. There are a couple of songs that include fragments, but the real stand-out moments of soloing for the band come from live performances. One of the best amongst fans is their finale at Woodstock, which saw Pete Townshend and Keith Moon take on a three-minute solo made up of long droning feedback, exciting shredding and hard-hitting power chords.
Somehow, The Who manages to keep that ambient cinematic feeling that they’re famous for but package it in a way that satisfies those who crave solos. There are rarely moments where only one instrument plays, so it can hardly be called a solo, and yet the improvised flexing nature of it is reminiscent of that which Hendrix, Slash, and Jimmy Page were all famous for.
There is no short snippet of the band available that better highlights the musical talent on display. It’s not enough that they already delivered a Woodstock set for the ages; topping it off with three minutes of music that shows just how talented you are as individuals and a band is an amazing move by anyone’s standards.
