Reviews
The Who
Wire and Glass
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Add to del.ico.us.Review Date: 2006-08-18
The cover of The Who’s first release in half a decade describes itself as “Six songs from a Mini-Opera”. As usual it’s Pete Townshend’s posturing and grandiose ideas coming to the fore. Townshend, after all, is the man who made the Lifehouse Chronicles, a six disc concept box set. More recently, he’s more well known for accessing illicit material for his memoirs. What most people don’t know is that Townshend never actually looked at any of the photos. He just wanted to prove how easy they were to gain access to. But I’m not here to talk about that, I’m here to talk about the music.
Wire & Glass shows that The Who never lost it. While they’re only half the band they once were (bassist John Entwhistle and drummer Keith Moon are both playing the great gig in the sky), they still rock like they’re in their teens. Just go to one of their live shows, and you’ll see Roger Daltrey swinging his microphone round and round, and Townshend windmilling like he’s a man possessed. On the cover, it’s Townshend at the fore and also it’s his name which follows the “Written by” credit. He’s also the sound engineer and producer. Oh, and he plays a bit of guitar too. But perhaps the most notable thing is that Townshend sings on this EP. That’s right, Daltrey doesn’t do all the vocal work. It seems The Who is becoming less and less a band, and more and more a Pete Townshend project. Heck, even his brother is on backing vocals (and also is a second guitarist at live shows). This doesn’t take from the music however. It still sounds like The Who. Even after three decades.
The eleven minute mini-opera is divided into six sections. Sadly, these are not separate tracks on the CD, but all one long track. So I can’t really call them “songs”. But I don’t want to have to refer to them as “sections”. ‘Sound Round’ is the first section, and clocks in at just over a minute. It’s punchy, very percussion-oriented, and basically is one crescendoed chorus. It also shows that The Who haven’t lost any of the energy of their recent live performances when moving to the studio.
‘Pick Up The Peace’ begins like any other Who classic (‘Magic Bus’ and the like), but is let down by a weak chorus. “Come on it’s time to pick up the peace / You and I on our hands and knees / Come on it’s time to pick up, pick up, pick up the peace”. It does end strongly though. Which leads us in to the Townshend vocals of ‘Endless Wire’. I find it strange to hear him singing rather than Daltrey. And since Daltrey only really sings, what does he do in the live performances? The song is somewhat repetitive, but works well as a counterpoint to the rest of the mini-opera. It kind of provides a break from the usual proceedings.
‘We Got A Hit’ is The Who at their best: telling stories. Actually it’s their own story of having a hit record: trying to make it in the music business, and then being delighted when their dream of having a hit is filled. ‘They Made My Dreams Come True’ has Townshend on vocals again. Here I feel that he ruins the song. Daltrey should have been left singing the whole thing.
A big applause soundbyte leads into the final part of the mini-opera, the four minute ‘Mirror Door’. I find it very strange to be commenting that a song is four minutes. Most songs these days are four minutes. But after cramming so much into one minute sections, four minutes feels like a lifetime here. Daltrey lists off some other talented artists who inspired him (well Townshend really) – everyone from Mozart to Doris Day. “Music makes me, makes me strong.” The song itself has all the qualities of a Who classic, and undoubtedly will be a staple part of their live performances as long as they remain performing. Who else could get away with a line like “Golden stairway to a Zeppelin heaven”? The whole thing is really a celebration of music. And after 30 years in the business, aren’t they right to celebrate it?
Tracks to download: There’s only one, duh.
Score: 8.8
The album ends with applause, and rightly so. The Who still put on an excellent show live (I saw them about a month ago), and they still can make great music. Townshend, even with all his controversy, still makes great music. Really, really great music. All the wannabe rockstars should take a leaf out of his book. Are you listening Pete Doherty?
- Ronan Hunt-Murphy