Quadrophenia - The Director's Cut (Deluxe 2-CD) [Deluxe Edition, Original recording remastered]

 

 

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One of the greatest albums in Rock, "Quadrophenia", now, actually seems even greater than it did when it first came out. It's pared-down, intensely focused, sheer, titanic power and ingenious song-craft make it so completely contemporary that it could've been released this morning. Arriving in the mid-70's, when 2-disced grand statements like YES' "Tales From Topographic Oceans" and Genesis' "The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway" were flying out of studios and over the top complexity from bands like ELP, Gentle Giant and Jethro Tull were the order of the day, "Quadrophenia" despite its conceptual and 'rock-opera' nature was no kin to any of its contemporaries. It stood apart, noticeably and gloriously. And it was The Who at their very, very best. Nothing else they ever did matches its power, its concept and the sheer perfection of its composition. The only other Who album that rises to the heights achieved by this album, is, of course, "Who's Next". For me it is matched in its eternal relevance, its musical timelessness and perfection of craft only by Pink Floyd's album of the same year, "The Dark Side of the Moon".

Peter Townshend is a genius. We've all heard it said. Roger Daltrey himself has gone on about it and "Quadrophenia" bears this out. There was something about the period that spanned 1971 to 73 in his work that coalesced every aspect of his abilities in exactly the right balances. There was an intense muscular power, a clarity of thought and concept, an aching passion and the skill to craft perfectly composed Rock songs that really marks this best of his periods. The band's instrumental format was fairly static - Townshend on guitar, keyboards, and "fiddle", as he calls his more rhythmic violin playing, the mighty "Ox" on a bass that could scatter hundreds like Sauron's mace, not to mention his largely underestimated brass contributions, the demonic, thundering fury of Keith Moon ( the Loon ) on drums, and Roger Daltrey, whom I believe was one of the greatest Rock vocalists of all time. And yet, on "Quadrophenia" there is such a feeling of immediate freshness about each song as it appears, one after the other, that you don't even notice the relative consistency of the instrumentation. That's because of Townshend's impressive versatility and skill at songwriting. With a moderately limited palette he arranged and shaped his songs, each with a new 'ear' and a very careful consideration of the emotional tenor he was looking to achieve in each one, yet the songs remain QUINTESSENTIALLY "WHO". He understands the ebb and flow of dynamic structure, composing the album as carefully as he puts together each song. His 'macro' is just as skilled and carefully considered as his 'Micro'. As on "Who's Next', here, Townshend is at the very top of his game.

Still possessing the original vinyl copy that I bought the day of it's release it's a wonder that I have never bought this on CD until now. "Quadrophenia" was something utterly iconic to me in my late teens and I played it endlessly, learning it all by ear on guitar during those countless listenings. It struck a chord in me at a time when I was also feeling out of sync with my contemporaries - half boy, half man, getting disturbing and compelling glimpses of something beyond myself and wondering about the huge spectre of life before me. And even though its story is VERY English and set in a very specific time and place, it nevertheless spoke of something quite universal. Townshend always found a way to be so utterly English and universal at the same time and his band, The Who, followed suit. You can listen to "Quadrophenia" and focus on it as a period piece, which it surely is, but you can also hear in it, as in everything Townshend has penned, a deeper, more 'pan-human' longing for meaning that transcends time and local cultures. Marry that with some of the most exciting, ball-busting and ingeniously written Rock songs ever laid down on tape and you have a masterpiece.

The mix is excellent, the rhythm section of Entwistle and Moon finally coming across with all of it's force and precision. Townshend's guitars and synths are symphonic and Daltrey's voice is at it's clear, hair-raising best. As Townshend notes in his introduction, Roger Daltrey's voice was capable of a hugely dynamic range of emotional nuance that he didn't have to write sad songs, or introspective songs. Daltrey was capable of pulling all that out in turn, often with one "bellow", as Townshend calls it. So despite all the talk of this mix or that mix, which most likely has merits for a finely atuned audiophile, I nevertheless was blown away by the quality of this release. This is my first "Quadrophenia" since buying the original on vinyl and I am completely knocked out by it. Hearing this one-time constant companion of mine, again, after so many years I find this package to be WELL worth the price I paid for it.

The Deluxe Edition is for those who LOVE "Quadrophenia". The sound is excellent ( let's remember this thing is almost 40 years old! ) and the inclusion of the original "photo-story" book, albeit in CD size, is jubilantly welcomed. The second booklet contains the lyrics, which is also a must, and commentary from Townshend about the 11 demos that have been included. His thoughts and memories about the creation of each of the songs reveals a lot, providing a whole new dimension to the appreciation of them. His perspective from 2011, looking back on the songs and their genesis, gives a whole new 'take' on each one. He even apologizes for the now-politically incorrect nature of some of the lyrics. It's also interesting to read how he sees his band as a bunch of crass thugs in comparison to the musical sophistication of his father's musical efforts, a generation earlier. But, indeed, let's not forget the demos. You pretty much get all the key moments in the song cycle and it is quite surprising just how GOOD they are. They could've almost been released as a "Pete Townshend does Quadrophenia". The instrumental tracks are very full and some sound exactly the same as the final mixes. Some are still to be fleshed out. Townshend's voice is in fine shape here and at times he achieves a gritty growl that goes beyond his usual choir-boy purity and clarity. For a lot of the songs it works extremely well but on the tougher pieces like "Doctor Jimmy" and the god-sent "Love, Reign O'er Me", it becomes hugely obvious why Townshend needed Daltrey as much as Daltrey needed him.

"Quadrophenia" easily joins the ranks of THE greatest ROCK albums of all time, like "Abbey Road" or "The Dark Side of the Moon" and it sounds, like they do, utterly timeless. This packaging of it is near-perfection.

I don't want to be overly critical here as I know this album/recording is near 40 years old. I have always seemed to gravitate to this album when I feel like hearing The Who. It's one of those albums for me that you listen to from beginning to end, much like that of DSOTM or Abbey Road. This remastering is done quite well with great clarity and depth, but to be absolutely honest I am a bit disappointed with the lack of warmth or bottom end. The mids and high frequencies are quite prominent, maybe a bit too much so that I find I'm straining to hear Entwhistle or the lower toms and kick from Moonie. It's there, but just not as much as my original LP version. It seems to be missing the warmth (for lack of a better word), or fullness to my ear. I don't want to say shrill to describe the higher frequencies, but it does approach it at times. Apart from that the clarity is excellent, and with a bit of eq adjustment it is most enjoyable

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