Quadrophenia
By The Who
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Track listing
Show track credits
- A1 I Am the Sea 2:08
- A2 The Real Me 3:22
- A3 Quadrophenia 6:15
- A4 Cut My Hair 3:46
- A5 The Punk and the Godfather 5:10
- B1 I'm One 2:39
- B2 The Dirty Jobs 4:30
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piano
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- B3 Helpless Dancer 2:32
- B4 Is It in My Head 3:46
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engineer, associate producer
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- B5 I've Had Enough 6:14
- C1 5:15 5:00
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piano
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- C2 Sea and Sand 5:01
- C3 Drowned 5:28
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piano
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- C4 Bell Boy 4:56
- D1 Doctor Jimmy 8:42
- D2 The Rock 6:37
- D3 Love, Reign O'er Me 5:48
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engineer, associate producer
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- Total length: 81:54
Rate/Catalog
Catalog
Set listening
Review
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40 Issues
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Quadrophenia [p] 33 rpm, Gatefold
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Quadrophenia 33 rpm, Gatefold
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Quadrophenia Gatefold
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Quadrophenia Gatefold
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Quadrophenia 33 rpm, Gatefold
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Quadrophenia 33 rpm, Gatefold
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Quadrophenia [Censored] Abridged, Gatefold
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Quadrophenia 160 gram, 33 rpm, Gatefold
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Quadrophenia 33 rpm, Gatefold
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Quadrophenia Gatefold
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Quadrophenia 33 rpm, Gatefold
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Quadrophenia 33 rpm, Gatefold
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Quadrophenia Gold Disc, Limited Edition
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Quadrophenia Remastered
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Quadrophenia Remastered
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Quadrophenia CD Sized Album Replica, Gatefold, Limited Edition, Remastered
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Quadrophenia Remastered
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Quadrophenia 33 rpm, Gatefold
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Quadrophenia 180 gram, Deluxe Edition
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Quadrophenia Bonus Tracks, Digipak, Remastered
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Quadrophenia Bonus Tracks, Deluxe Edition, Remastered
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Quadrophenia - Director's Cut Archival, Bonus CD, Deluxe Edition, Limited Edition, Remastered
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Quadrophenia - Director's Cut Bonus CD, Bonus DVD, Box Set, Deluxe Edition, Limited Edition, Remastered
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Quadrophenia Bonus Tracks, Deluxe Edition, Remastered
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Quadrophenia 180 gram, 33 rpm, Gatefold
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Quadrophenia CD Sized Album Replica, Gatefold, Limited Edition, SHM2012 CD UICY-94800/1
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Quadrophenia CD Sized Album Replica, Limited Edition, Remastered, SHM
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Quadrophenia Remastered, SHM
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Quadrophenia CD Sized Album Replica, Gatefold, Limited Edition, Remastered, SHM
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Quadrophenia Amaray Case
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Quadrophenia Super Deluxe Bonus Tracks, Deluxe Edition, Digital file, Remastered, Streaming
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Quadrophenia 180 gram, 33 rpm, Gatefold, Remastered
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289 Reviews
"I need to get back home."
After his failure to realise his full ambition ambition with Lifehouse Chronicles, Pete Townshend must have been doubly determined to get his next concept album made and for it to be an all round improvement on The Who’s conceptual high-water mark, Tommy. It needed to have a complex narrative, have all the trademarks of a landmark Who album and be utterly timeless. Hell yeah, Quadrophenia was going to be Townshend’s masterpiece.
First of all, lets tackle the narrative. Simply put, it’s too complex. If you haven’t read the accompanying sleeve notes or seen the late 70s film, then you have no chance of understanding what the bloody hell is going on. The story is over complicated, too obsessed with nostalgia at the expense of entertainment, and taken as a whole the album just isn’t as enjoyable as Tommy was, where at least some of the iconography was open to interpretation. Quadrophenia has a rigidly set narrative, and while it has parts that can be taken as a metaphor of some kind or other, it’s still too restrictive.
What Quadrophenia also lacks is great tunes. Even Tommy could boast a dozen or so brilliant tunes weaving in and out of the main story arc, however Quadrophenia tries too hard to push the narrative forward. As a result there are only three tracks here which I could rate among The Who at their very best, “The Real Me”, “5:15” and “Love Reign O’er Me”. The band are playing as well as ever, in particular Entwistle and Moon, but the tunes just aren’t there, possibly because Townshend spends far too much time faffing around with his synths. The brass section could have worked really well, but sadly it lacks punch and it’s impact is lost because it seems to be buried way down in the mix. There are flashes of genius continuously throughout Quadrophenia, but they seem to be pulling in separate directions at the expense of good music. The ideas were there, they just fell short the it came to the execution, and even the title track seems to be just another lengthy instrumental track for the sake of a lengthy instrumental track, in the same way that “Underture” was on Tommy.
Perhaps the rest of the band let Townshend have his way with Quadrophenia because they still felt bad about vetoing Lifehouse, but to my ears at least, Quadrophenia falls short of being a success in the same way that Tommy was and perhaps they should have pushed Townshend to just record the songs as a straight rock album in the same manner as Who's Next. Like many double albums, Quadrophenia would no doubt have made a splendid single album, but only if they had abandoned the concept and allowed Entwistle to include some of his trademark lighthearted numbers. As it is Quadrophenia seems a little to leaden and self-important to be classed as one of The Who’s best albums, and it has failed to date as well as the very best of their work.
After his failure to realise his full ambition ambition with Lifehouse Chronicles, Pete Townshend must have been doubly determined to get his next concept album made and for it to be an all round improvement on The Who’s conceptual high-water mark, Tommy. It needed to have a complex narrative, have all the trademarks of a landmark Who album and be utterly timeless. Hell yeah, Quadrophenia was going to be Townshend’s masterpiece.
First of all, lets tackle the narrative. Simply put, it’s too complex. If you haven’t read the accompanying sleeve notes or seen the late 70s film, then you have no chance of understanding what the bloody hell is going on. The story is over complicated, too obsessed with nostalgia at the expense of entertainment, and taken as a whole the album just isn’t as enjoyable as Tommy was, where at least some of the iconography was open to interpretation. Quadrophenia has a rigidly set narrative, and while it has parts that can be taken as a metaphor of some kind or other, it’s still too restrictive.
What Quadrophenia also lacks is great tunes. Even Tommy could boast a dozen or so brilliant tunes weaving in and out of the main story arc, however Quadrophenia tries too hard to push the narrative forward. As a result there are only three tracks here which I could rate among The Who at their very best, “The Real Me”, “5:15” and “Love Reign O’er Me”. The band are playing as well as ever, in particular Entwistle and Moon, but the tunes just aren’t there, possibly because Townshend spends far too much time faffing around with his synths. The brass section could have worked really well, but sadly it lacks punch and it’s impact is lost because it seems to be buried way down in the mix. There are flashes of genius continuously throughout Quadrophenia, but they seem to be pulling in separate directions at the expense of good music. The ideas were there, they just fell short the it came to the execution, and even the title track seems to be just another lengthy instrumental track for the sake of a lengthy instrumental track, in the same way that “Underture” was on Tommy.
Perhaps the rest of the band let Townshend have his way with Quadrophenia because they still felt bad about vetoing Lifehouse, but to my ears at least, Quadrophenia falls short of being a success in the same way that Tommy was and perhaps they should have pushed Townshend to just record the songs as a straight rock album in the same manner as Who's Next. Like many double albums, Quadrophenia would no doubt have made a splendid single album, but only if they had abandoned the concept and allowed Entwistle to include some of his trademark lighthearted numbers. As it is Quadrophenia seems a little to leaden and self-important to be classed as one of The Who’s best albums, and it has failed to date as well as the very best of their work.
Published
MCAD2-11463 CD (1996)
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Pretty much everything that went wrong with the Who is encapsulated in this album. Arena rock double concept album bloat. I'm not saying the Who had to sound exactly the way they did in 1965 forever and ever, but this record is where they officially lose me. More songs, less bullshit, please.
Published
Even giving this record a 5 seems to somehow slight it, but what can you do? Townshend makes his "Mod" statement, and even tops Tommy in the pure force of the music. Certainly not as elaborate as Tommy, but that might be why I like this one a bit better. Plus the band is at an all time peak, in fact this might be Daltry's recorded peak. A masterpiece and one of Rock's greatest records.
Published
This album got me through my sophomore year. I know it may be filed under "dad rock" more often than not, but it still holds a special place in my heart.
Published
The Who's second great rock opera at points blows Tommy out of the water, but its double album format means that it's a less lean and compact prospect than its predecessor. Incorporating the muscular hard rock approach and synthesiser experiments of Who's Next into a narrative structure based around a confused teenage Mod trying to integrate the different aspects of his personality (each of whom is based on a member of the Who), I found the album both more musically rewarding than Tommy, where occasionally the musical quality took a back seat to the demands of the narrative, as well as simply telling a better story - though one which relies a little too much on mythologising and hyping up the mod scene in question.
Quite simply, on a lyrical and narrative level Quadrophenia makes Tommy look like juvenile, shallow hippy nonsense. Taking a universal human dilemma - trying to work out which of the differing personas we present to the world best reflects our real selves - and weaving it into a semi-autobiographical story looking back on the Who's Mod roots, Townshend creates a story with more depth and genuine literary merit than Tommy or Tommy's many imitators, whilst the other band members give their all to this performance. The use of synthesisers are carefully and tastefully judged, and together with Who's Next this album contains some of the band's most powerful rock anthems.
In the wake of this album, it is difficult to see Tommy as anything other than an experimental prototype, a cobbled-together blueprint that was more successful in pointing the way to Quadrophenia than as a musical piece in its own right. It's on this album that the Who reached their peak in terms of producers of rock opera. At the same time, there's strands of filler here and there - particularly on the second disc, which is significantly less tight than the first disc - and the emphasis on telling a more coherent story does sometimes overpower the music.
Quite simply, on a lyrical and narrative level Quadrophenia makes Tommy look like juvenile, shallow hippy nonsense. Taking a universal human dilemma - trying to work out which of the differing personas we present to the world best reflects our real selves - and weaving it into a semi-autobiographical story looking back on the Who's Mod roots, Townshend creates a story with more depth and genuine literary merit than Tommy or Tommy's many imitators, whilst the other band members give their all to this performance. The use of synthesisers are carefully and tastefully judged, and together with Who's Next this album contains some of the band's most powerful rock anthems.
In the wake of this album, it is difficult to see Tommy as anything other than an experimental prototype, a cobbled-together blueprint that was more successful in pointing the way to Quadrophenia than as a musical piece in its own right. It's on this album that the Who reached their peak in terms of producers of rock opera. At the same time, there's strands of filler here and there - particularly on the second disc, which is significantly less tight than the first disc - and the emphasis on telling a more coherent story does sometimes overpower the music.
Published
Not the first of The Who's "rock operas", but for my money, easily the best. First of all, it's a much more coherent story line. but MOST of all, it's the music. FUCK this album rocks, . especially the second half. C'mon, 5:15, Dr Jimmy, and Love, Rein o're Me. Incredible stuff! The first half is certainly no slouch. I've Had Enough, The Real Me, and I'm One are Townshend at his absolute lyrical finest. Sure, he broke ground with _Tommy_, but he perfected the craft with this one. I vascilate between favorite Who albums, because they're solidly in my top five bands of all times. But this album spends the most time at number one. Epic and absolutely essential!
Published
My favourite album of all time and the origin of my username, this four-sided album is The Who at their best.
Quadrophenia is Pete's magnum opus. While Who's Next has conquered classic rock radio stations, Quadrophenia is the album you will listen to entirely. This album interesting from a fan's perspective: Pete writes this album as a retrospective from the mod years. Jimmy, the protagonist of the story, grows tired of the mod lifestyle, ultimately rejecting it. It also subtly reflects the dynamic of The Who's sound - Roger is the lead singer, Pete plays lead guitar, John plays lead bass, and Moon plays lead drums.
Jimmy's four personalities are reflected in the four themes of the album. Each of these themes also relates to the four faces, or the four personalities, of the band. Four songs - "Helpless Dancer", "Is It In My Head", "Doctor Jimmy", and the final track "Love Reign O'er Me" each use one of the four themes. These themes are masterfully woven into the long instrumental tracks "Quadrophenia" and "The Rock", as well as "I've Had Enough". Also, lyrics from songs of the High Numbers (The Who's early, unsuccessful incarnation) show up in a pair of songs.
The underlying idea here is contrast. Contrast between songs - "I'm One" is 100% acoustic calm, while "5:15" is powered by bombastic brass, and "The Real Me" starts the album off in a most perfectly chaotic way. Contrast also happens inside the songs - between Roger's bold, strong voice and Pete's soft, heartfelt vocals. This contrast reflects Jimmy's internal conflict, the different voices in his head. But through this point and counterpoint, album stays cohesive - while the story does require a little reading (there is not much "dialogue"), the revisiting of themes keep it familiar.
The band is at their instrumental peak here. Moon drives the album with calculated but fierce drumming, powering the songs in a way no one else can. Pete's guitar can be distorted or clean, powerful or pleasant. Roger's singing has matured since the mod days too - angry and rash in "Doctor Jimmy" and scared and cynical in "Helpless Dancer". Pete also sings lead in several songs, giving these songs a more vulnerable side. The two's voices combine and contrast throughout the album to fantastic effect. Kieth also makes one of his few lead vocal efforts here, affecting a strong cockney accent for "Bell Boy". It works.
The album doesn't really have any highlights. Not for lack of strong songs, however, but for lack of weak songs. I suppose "Love Reign O'er Me" is the runaway hit form the album, but there are equally strong songs on the album from beginning. Which is a nice thing about the rock opera format - the best songs are not strategically placed to carry the weight of filler.
A five star album, and one of the best albums of it's genre. The first listen should be from beginning to end, so make plenty of time for the 82 minutes this album plays for. A must buy for any Who fan, or even hard rock fan out there.
Quadrophenia is Pete's magnum opus. While Who's Next has conquered classic rock radio stations, Quadrophenia is the album you will listen to entirely. This album interesting from a fan's perspective: Pete writes this album as a retrospective from the mod years. Jimmy, the protagonist of the story, grows tired of the mod lifestyle, ultimately rejecting it. It also subtly reflects the dynamic of The Who's sound - Roger is the lead singer, Pete plays lead guitar, John plays lead bass, and Moon plays lead drums.
Jimmy's four personalities are reflected in the four themes of the album. Each of these themes also relates to the four faces, or the four personalities, of the band. Four songs - "Helpless Dancer", "Is It In My Head", "Doctor Jimmy", and the final track "Love Reign O'er Me" each use one of the four themes. These themes are masterfully woven into the long instrumental tracks "Quadrophenia" and "The Rock", as well as "I've Had Enough". Also, lyrics from songs of the High Numbers (The Who's early, unsuccessful incarnation) show up in a pair of songs.
The underlying idea here is contrast. Contrast between songs - "I'm One" is 100% acoustic calm, while "5:15" is powered by bombastic brass, and "The Real Me" starts the album off in a most perfectly chaotic way. Contrast also happens inside the songs - between Roger's bold, strong voice and Pete's soft, heartfelt vocals. This contrast reflects Jimmy's internal conflict, the different voices in his head. But through this point and counterpoint, album stays cohesive - while the story does require a little reading (there is not much "dialogue"), the revisiting of themes keep it familiar.
The band is at their instrumental peak here. Moon drives the album with calculated but fierce drumming, powering the songs in a way no one else can. Pete's guitar can be distorted or clean, powerful or pleasant. Roger's singing has matured since the mod days too - angry and rash in "Doctor Jimmy" and scared and cynical in "Helpless Dancer". Pete also sings lead in several songs, giving these songs a more vulnerable side. The two's voices combine and contrast throughout the album to fantastic effect. Kieth also makes one of his few lead vocal efforts here, affecting a strong cockney accent for "Bell Boy". It works.
The album doesn't really have any highlights. Not for lack of strong songs, however, but for lack of weak songs. I suppose "Love Reign O'er Me" is the runaway hit form the album, but there are equally strong songs on the album from beginning. Which is a nice thing about the rock opera format - the best songs are not strategically placed to carry the weight of filler.
A five star album, and one of the best albums of it's genre. The first listen should be from beginning to end, so make plenty of time for the 82 minutes this album plays for. A must buy for any Who fan, or even hard rock fan out there.
Published
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Catalog
27 May 2024
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A1 I Am the Sea
-
A2
The Real Me
-
A3
Quadrophenia
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A4 Cut My Hair
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A5
The Punk and the Godfather
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B1 I'm One
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B2 The Dirty Jobs
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B3 Helpless Dancer
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B4 Is It in My Head
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B5 I've Had Enough
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C1
5:15
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C2 Sea and Sand
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C3 Drowned
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C4 Bell Boy
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D1 Doctor Jimmy
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D2
The Rock
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D3
Love, Reign O'er Me
27 May 2024
26 May 2024
26 May 2024
26 May 2024
25 May 2024
25 May 2024
25 May 2024
25 May 2024
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A1
I Am the Sea
-
A2
The Real Me
-
A3
Quadrophenia
-
A4
Cut My Hair
-
A5
The Punk and the Godfather
-
B1
I'm One
-
B2
The Dirty Jobs
-
B3
Helpless Dancer
-
B4
Is It in My Head
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B5
I've Had Enough
-
C1
5:15
-
C2
Sea and Sand
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C3
Drowned
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C4
Bell Boy
-
D1
Doctor Jimmy
-
D2
The Rock
-
D3
Love, Reign O'er Me
25 May 2024
24 May 2024
23 May 2024
22 May 2024
22 May 2024
22 May 2024
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