One of the difficulties facing authors of books covering the entire span of an enduring band’s career is the need to edit the story to fit a finite number of pages. Unterberger, a much respected author and archivist, has side-stepped such concerns by restricting himself to half a decade – but what a fascinating five years it was.
The ambition of Tommy became an albatross around Pete Townshend’s neck, putting him under pressure (much of it self-applied) to up his game even further. Drunk on the envelope-pushing possibilities of rock music, the guitarist started work on the multi-media project Lifehouse, a concept and narrative so densely plotted that he had a hard time explaining it to anyone in the Who camp. But while he struggled with the technology of the times and a baffled reception from management, he nonetheless went on to produce an iconic concert (rather than concept) album, Live At Leeds, and then parlay the more accessible elements of his grand design into the band’s most celebrated “straight” record, Who’s Next.
If Quadrophenia was initially perceived as a more manageable or accessible rock opera (a term Townshend himself has always hated), it’s to his credit that it wasn’t dismissed as a compromise, a dumbing down of his sense of creative adventure. The early 70s meant no more Beatles and, of the two main pretenders to the Fabs’ throne, the Stones embarked on consolidating their louche rock image, but it was The Who that tried their damnedest to challenge their listeners. Unterberger painstakingly charts their intentions, as magnificent folly is salvaged to produce some of their finest work.
