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| Foam-O-Graph© - Nuance out th' ass! |
You'll know T.V.'s Th' Fonz from the popular and long-running show Mork N' Mindy, featuring the young Quentin Tarantino as Shitface. Tarantino famously went on to helm H'wood blockbusters The California Raisins Movie and Carrot Top's Christmas [are you sure about this? - Ed.]. The' Fonz famously jumped the shark - the first celeb to do so! And who can forget [apart from me? - Ed.] his endearing character quirk of never admitting to be wrong, a word he - hilariously! - couldn't even get out of his mouth!
In what is sure to be a FoamFlagship® series, T.V.'s Th' Fonz has agreed to "'fess up" about the albums he wrongly dismissed at the time but has grown to appreciate and even love!
For our series premiere, T.V.'s Th' Fonz has chosen an album that few now listen to, on account lack of whistleable tunes, forbidding length, and incomprehensible story. We relaxed in th' IoF©'s three wall maltshop set whilst Kreemé [18 my ass - Ed.] served signature Party Cheese n' Beetroot malteds.
FT3 Hey! T.V.'s Th' Fonz! Lookin' good n' greasy!
TVTF Heyyyyyy!!!!!
FT3 Heyyyyyy!!!!
TVTF Heyyyyyy!!!!!
FT3 So - leave us talk Quadrophenia!
TVTF Quadrophenia is the sixth studio album by the English rock band the Who, released as a double album on 26 October 1973 by Track Records. It is the group's second rock opera. Set in London and Brighton in 1965, the story follows a young mod named Jimmy and his search for self-worth and importance [citation needed]. Quadrophenia is the only Who album entirely com-
FT3 Waitta furshlugginer minute there, T.V.'s Th' Fonz! You're reading this off of your telephone! This is the wikipedia article!
TVTF It ain't - is not -
FT3 What kind of maroon do you take us for? Think the Four Or Five Guys© won't pick up on this?
TVTF Uh - (two-thumbs up gesture) Heyyyyy!!!! (slumps) I got nuthin'.
FT3 This is majorly, majorly disappointing. You've let me down, you've let th' Four Or Five Guys© down, but most importantly, you've let you down. Got anything you'd like to say?
TVTF Uh ... I wus wr- wro- wr-
(boos, Bronx cheers from invited audience)
(Note from Farq: I intended to do an in-depth think-piece about Quadrophenia, because it's an album I've only recently discovered. But then I thought - fuck it.)
I'm really enjoying Quadrophenia. It's been staring at me for decades, but finally clicked. Doesn't matter that the story makes no (or little) sense - what opera libretto does? The thing is to get swept up by it, by the sound, which is astonishing. Moon's drums never sounded better.
ReplyDeleteIts makes more sense if you watch the movie
Deletehttps://yts.mx/movies/quadrophenia-1979
It was Townshend 'homage' or perhaps epitaph to the mod culture that basically made the Who what they were.
Nobody wants to talk about th' Oo? Huh? Hoo hah?
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkocF-WlGgE
ReplyDeletenow THATS what i call good
[the sound of it yesterday popped up in my head unbid/years since heard, took me some seconds before realizing the group/cut]... Like you i shunned Quadro since buying in 72 or whatever] not sure i can join you there, now...at risk to my fragile sanity [deciphenia]
Well, yeah - there are two or three shitloads of Who songs anyone in their right mind would listen to before Quad. I love the band more and more over the years (unlike some others *cough* Beetles). But this is really an opportunity, challenge - call it what you will - to let Quad play, without lamenting the lack of hit singles or expecting it to be anything other than what it is - a sometimes demanding work of art from the heart and soul of an artist. Sometimes making an effort is repayed, and the only effort Pete's asking of us here is attention.
DeleteWhile there were no singles, FM radio in '73 was all over Quadrophenia. So in effect, "Love, Reign o'er Me" and "5:15" were essentially "hits".
DeleteI saw the Quadrophenia tour during the winter of '73 at the Boston Garden. A friend had an 8-track in her car and during my favorite part of "The Punk and the Godfather" it would fade out and fade back in as it changed to a new track. Very annoying.
I currently don't own Quadrophenia, and can't remember the last time I heard it.
5:15 Bucko!!
ReplyDeleteSaw em do it at the Lyceum. Better than the record. One of those groups where the bass and drummer are the best musicians.
ReplyDeleteQuadrophenia is certainly much better than Tommy. My first introduction to The Who was a double best of (Story of The Who) from the early years, and I've never found a better collection of their tunes. Tommy was condensed onto one side of the vinyl. I must give Quadrophenia a spin again soon. The film of Quadrophenia was better than the Tommy film too, and was Stings' best acting roll? Sorry if you're a fan of Tommy, both album and film left me cold.
ReplyDeleteThe cover design of Tommy - Mike McInerny I think - is fantastic, and I bought the album on the strength of it. But there's a thin, unfinished sound to the album that was resolved with Quadrophenia. I understand there's a history of which pressing of Quad is best, but the one I have - whichever it is - sounds like Tommy should have sounded. It's overwhelmingly powerful - everything that opera should be. I remember Townshend in an interview saying something along the lines of the music he was making sounds greater than Wagner (whomever), and thinking "wanker" - but he was right. In terms of sound, rock music can and does make Wagner sound like show tunes. Melodically, it's not as strong as a lot of his work, but in terms of overall power and scope, it's unmatched.
DeleteThe original vinyl is spinning away, and sounds great. I'd forgotten quite how handsome and heavy (as in weight) this album is, with its beautiful 44 page photo/lyric book. Album only got to number 2 in both UK and USA charts. 1973 the same year as Yes, Yessongs o.t.t. live triple album and Pink Floyds DSOTM, with its posters and stickers, the record companies were not afraid of spending on lavish packaging in that year.
DeleteYup, dem wus th' days okay. Tell kids today? They just don't want to know ...
DeleteLike Bambi I definitely prefer Quadrophenia to Tommy. It's a lot to listen to but the recurring themes are solid and well woven into the fabric of the album. But, yes, the drumming as you point out is friggin' off the charts and Entwistle is locked in too. When everything comes together (melody, song structure, playing) it's friggin' epic as in the already cited "Love, Reign o'er Me" and "5:15." The cascading guitar lines in LROM are among my favorite of Pete's work (what's his name too for that matter -- the curly haired one) and that song can give me chills if I'm in the right frame of mind and haven't heard it in a while. But there's a lot of shit to slog through in between those high points to be honest.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, MrDave, it's a damn shame you feel that way. A damn shame. Because there comes a time, in every man's life, when he must be strong - it says that in the Good Book - and do what needs to be done. He may not want to do what needs to be done. He may ask questions of himself - am I man enough? When the chips are down, as they certainly are here, can I bring them back up? Can I even bend over far enough? And he may find a shaming want of courage. He may look inside himself and see a snivelling yellow-bellied coward, without the cojones to step up to the plate. I too have seen that coward, hiding in the darkness. But I drew him out! (PRAISE HIM!) I drew him out!! (HALLELUJAH!) And I put Quadrophenia on the gramophone and I played that record! (HE PLAYED THAT RECORD!)
DeleteAnd now, as MrDave passes among you with the plate he's going to step up to, The Random Choir Of Blessed Forgetfulness, led by our onanist UU. Gefiltefish on the mighty Farfisa Onan, will play selections from the shit-slog sections of Quadrophenia. Hallelujah! (HALLELUJAH!)
I loved the band right up to Tommy as they were young and snotty. After that, it's only the singles which interest me.
ReplyDeleteFavourite Who track is "Anyway Anyhow Anywhere".
"Naked Eye" maybe my favorite Who song; that's another one that sends chills down my spine every time
Delete*might be. I'm so careless with my grammar these days
DeleteNothing beats: young, loud and snotty rock.
Delete... unless it's a family freebie from a teenage crack whore in a double-wide in Kenton, Oklahoma.
Deletethat turned quickly...
Delete"Go to" Kenton via Google Maps satellite street view!
DeleteFavorite Who song probably I Can See For Miles.
DeleteFavorite Who album, any best of that includes I Can See For Miles.
It's only my opinion, please don't give me a hard time. :-)
My favoritest Who album is Meaty Beaty Big And Bouncy, which is also the best best-of, like, ever.
DeleteI went, I saw, I was shook...how'd you find it? Never mind about the trailer and its inhabitants, I mean Kenton. Blergh.
DeleteMe too! Haven’t seen old school gas pumps like that in ages. We should all meet up in the single-wide “diner” there and debate the relative merits of Who albums with the locals some day.
DeleteIm a SELLOUT man----pretty damn perfecto alvin
Deletenot skimping on the humor element reliefs, the psychy experimentation/sonic
sweetening present. throw a copy in me grave mateys!
"Kenton is terrifying" - as someone commented somewhere on an internet, which led me to it. It is. There's an unintentionally hilarious web page about it here : https://www.travelok.com/Kenton - hilarious in a bleak, slash-your-throat kind of way:
Delete"Nestled [!!! - Ed.] among mesas formed by ancient lava flows, Kenton is the only town in Oklahoma on Mountain Standard Time [and that's its USP]. Tour [!!!] the Kenton Museum, the oldest building in the hamlet, which was built of native rock in 1902 and houses No Man’s Land artifacts [!!!]. Or, take a hike up Black Mesa, Oklahoma's highest point at 4,973 feet [!!!]. For pure Jurassic pleasure [!!!], don't miss the dinosaur tracks just a hop and a skip [!!!] down the road in a dry creek bed. After a day spent exploring, be sure to rest up at one of two guest ranches, a guesthouse or a B&B in town [or why not simply avoid the place like the plague?]."
It goes on. The cheery, inviting tone ("After a day spent exploring ..." ie trying to find a way out of town) is entirely at odd with the desolate grimness of the place. I like to think when Covid is over, we can all meet up there for a holiday of a lifetime.
I think I'd rather listen to Stan Kenton.
DeleteNew Concepts of Artistry in Rhythm, très cool.
Imagine the exquisite nuance of listening to Kenton in Kenton! It'd be like listening to Black Oak Arkansas in Black Oak Arkansas!
DeleteJust not Boston in Boston.
DeleteYou guys can laugh at Kenton, we have different geology/geography here in England (UK), but the way this country is going we'll be just like Kenton OK soon. We're running out of petrol (massive shortage/panic buying), food prices are rising and many shop shelves are empty of certain goods. Our 'buffoon in chief' Boris is a fukwit, that one of the opposition party called 'scum' yesterday. That's before we get to our winter, where the heating of homes is going to cost a third extra for many, with no guarantee we will have enough heating gas to last for 6 months.
DeleteAnyway sorry to get political, hopefully our 'buffoon in chief' will be gone soon, and.....We Won't Get Fooled Again.
Bambi reporting from a third world island just off the coast of Europe. Anybody seen the Magic Bus I want to get on.
non quis sed quid....
ReplyDeleteand, uhm, this "Naked Eye": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NhqN0KcWAE
Love that album...only saw the Who once...well past their prime... in 2013 at the Oakland Coliseum. Took my son and daughter (22 and 20, at the time...). They were not familiar with the band (well, they knew it was the group that wrote the CSI theme song...). They did the entire Quadrophenia album. Probably incomprehensible to them.... Years from now, they'll figure it out.
ReplyDeletecan i share an offtopic?
ReplyDeletehas anyone ever uttered the word 'scars' so movingly?
quite the version
of Love Hurts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNNwj3ZnhgU&list=RDMM&index=8
#metoo #amberalert #shankarnotshankher #creeperalert #handsoffbro #hashtag #amidoingthisright #woke
ReplyDelete(jk, that was swell and only mildly creepy; Keifer gets a pass I suppose)
The 4 years between 'Tommy' & 'Q' seem a great great gulf in part thanks to the unprecedented(?) sound achieved on 'Who's Next' where thee 'oo anticipate the hair-blown-back-in-the-wind epic-ness of U2 by 15 years or so, but much much better.
ReplyDeleteWho's Next is definitive. I have zero interest in anything after Quad, but everything they did before that is fantastic, in one way or another.
DeleteBTW Fonzie was the template for the titular lead character in 'Hey, It's The King', a Hanna-Barbara series about an oh-so-cool Lion with a DA in a leather-jacket and a loyal posse of other anthropomorphised animals (inc an alligator with a bucket on its head IIRC) cruising for plot-lines suitable for kids. Diminishing returns from the same strategy that turned Bilko into 'Top Cat'.
ReplyDeleteCan agree with "Meaty Beaty" and "I Can See For Miles", yet Quadrophenia pales in comparison to lying on my bedroom floor in 1969 with the Montgomery Ward speakers 12 inches on either side of my head listening to "Tommy". You go ahead and do the same, and perhaps I'll play all four sides of "Q" without wondering if it would have been a more commercial single LP. And what about the Quadrophenia soundtrack???
ReplyDeleteNever seen the movie, never heard the soundtrack or the *shudder* orchestral version. Do I haveta? And the old "would of made a swell single album" solution can be applied to any and every double album ever released. Except The White Album, which doesn't even have a decent single in it, leave alone single album.
DeleteI forgot how great Meaty Beaty is.
DeleteIf you want a slightly different take on The Who, the soundtrack cd of The Kids Are Alright film/doc is rather splendid too, plus a great document of their career. I haven't heard the Quadrophenia soundtrack in years.
I'm also puzzled by people who rate "The Wall" higher than "Dark Side Of The Moon", so I suppose it all comes down to how old you were when you first heard various albums, as is often (not always) the case. The most remarkable thing about the Quadrophenia film soundtrack - besides reducing the Who's music to 3 of the 4 LP sides - is that Entwistle overdubbed an alternate bass part onto "The Punk Meets The Godfather", seriously compromising a great song, IMHO. I imagine he had a difference of opinion with Pete on that tune from the start, and finally got his chance to "fix" it as Musical Director of the Film...
DeleteDSOTM came out the same year as Quadro, '73, and they have some similarities - both are monolithic Artistic Statements, and generally downbeat (as opposed to fun, which had mostly been used up by '73). At the time, I ignored Quadro, and felt like a stranger to DSOTM, which I cannot now listen to. But right now I can forgive Quadrophenia everything, and it's a pleasure just having it go through my head.
Delete