Introductory Songs

[wolof7]

When I started collecting vinyl 5 years ago I asked a bunch of my friend's parents if they did not need their old records and if I could put them to good use. I came into around 60 records including the full cataloges of Tom Petty, Queen and the Who. Now I have a confession. Already knowing all of TP and Queen I was psyched for coming into the Who, a band I only knew through classic rock radio and whose back catalog I always wanted to discover. 5 years has gone by and I have, at most, admired the album covers. So my question being, with all the love for Quadrophenia I'm reading as of late, where do I start with the Who to grasp their vision? What songs? Additionally, with this thread I am asking what bands do we obsess over and what songs would you claim to be the essential way to discover them? (popular and not so popular songs all count, limit of 7 songs). I am assuming someone can take the Who to help me out...So if you want to get Queen, I suggest listening to:

1) Death on Two Legs - A Night at the Opera
2) It's Late - News of the World
3) Somebody to Love - A Day at the Races
4) Under Pressure - Hot Space
5) Stone Cold Crazy - Sheer Heart Attack
6) Bohemian Rhapsody - Night at the Opera
7) Fat Bottomed Girls - Jazz

[he.who.forgets]

I'm not a Who fanatic by any means and dont know if I'm correctly following your purpose of this thread but since their catalogue is so vast, I'd start with the most popular and accessible:
1. My Generation (My Generation)
2. The Real Me (Quadrophenia)
3. Squeezebox (?)
4. Love Riegn O'er Me (Quadrophenia)
5. Baba O'Reilly (Who's Next)
6. The Kids are Alright (?)
7. Eminence Front (It's Hard)
I'll admit that it's hard to get into something like Tommy, but once you do it's quite amazing.

[el_chode]

Everything I never needed to learn about the Who I learned from listening to MMJ and Phish

[Ruckus]

Everything I never needed to learn about the Who I learned from listening to MMJ and Phish

[Ruckus]

I'm surprised others haven't chimed in here.  I know there are a bunch of Who fans here.  I'm not too knowledgeable about their entire catalog but I do know that I'm not a huge fan of their 1st couple of albums.  Even A Quick One doesn't excite me on the album the way their live version (on youtube) does.  I do love all of Tommy, Quadro, and Who's Next.   And Live at Leeds is just awesome!  Wish I could be of more help.

[wolof7]

I'm surprised others haven't chimed in here.  I know there are a bunch of Who fans here.  I'm not too knowledgeable about their entire catalog but I do know that I'm not a huge fan of their 1st couple of albums.  Even A Quick One doesn't excite me on the album the way their live version (on youtube) does.  I do love all of Tommy, Quadro, and Who's Next.   And Live at Leeds is just awesome!  Wish I could be of more help.

Hey Ruckus,

After I posted this I had Saturday to myself and decided to give all of Quadrophenia a spin beginning to end w/o interruption. Holy Shit! Amazing album, I guess all it took was some free time to put it on. Love Side D Doctor Jimmy> The Rock> Love Reign O'er Me was an amazing finish. I will definitely try Tommy next!

[Jaimoe]

I've been a Who fanatic since '77-'78 (I'm not thaaat old; I've just liked music at a very young age). Anyway, The Who are one of the most powerful live bands in rock history and have scores of good to great studio albums. Making an introductory list, including movies, is kind of a tough task. It really comes down to taste; some fans love their early Mod period ('64-'66/67), whereas I like their edgy late '60s to early '70s stuff. And I prefer hearing them live and in their prime ('65-'73), but I'm an old jaded fan. You should know that The Who were only as good as Moon, and Moonie went downhill from '72 onwards. He had splashes of greatness '72-'78 (especially on Quadrophenia), but his debauched lifestyle caught up to him in hurry. 

Here goes:

1 – I'd start with the early hits album, Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy (it has a similar intro impact as Hendrix's excellent Smash Hits compilation); the LP covers most of their '60s singles.

2 – Who's Next; their most consistent and compelling studio record; the expanded versions are fantastic too, especially the hard funk groove on the cover of "Baby Don't You Do It".

3 – Live at Leeds; one of rock's great live LPs and it captures The Who in their late peak live power; "Young Man Blues" is worth the price of admission alone... and pick up one of the expanded editions - you should also get The Who @ The Isle of Wight too, either double CD or the terrific film/DVD (it's from the same era as Live at Leeds, but it's rawer and more sonic; and you'll find Moon's drumming and antics mesmerizing).

4 – Tommy & Quadrophenia are must buys (but avoid both movie soundtracks); they remain influential, but quite different sounding; the latter is more rockin' and hip, but many of The Who's later '60s material on the aforementioned live albums are from Tommy - and are killer live.

5 – The Who Sings My Generation – brilliant and innovative mod album and it lived up to their motto: Maximum R&B.

6 – The Who Sell Out: arguably their most ingenious album; a concept album before concept albums became popular – a pirate radio station, complete with faux commercials.

7 – A Quick One – another brilliant effort, although the title track is far more powerful live, especially on The Kids Are Alright movie (more on that below).

8 – Odds & Sods – unreleased studio cuts; some tunes became Who live standards such as "Naked Eye", "Long Live Rock", "Pure and Easy" (another version is on the expanded Who's Next); buy the expanded version – it contains tons of good stuff including a punk/garage rock studio cut of "Young Man Blues" along with a jammy version of "Love Ain't for Keeping" and "Water" (another live fav).

9 – Who Are You – the title track rocks hard and "Sister Disco" and "Had Enough" are great tunes; it's Moon's swansong.

10 – The Who by Numbers – contains some good songs including the almost rap rocker, "Slip Kid", along with  "Squeeze Box" (a song hated by many old Who fans), the Townsend ukulele solo effort, "Blue Red and Grey", and Entwistle showcase, "Dreaming From the Waist".

For curiosity, check out but not necessarily buy their two initial "comeback" efforts, Face Dances and It's Hard. The former is pretty good while the latter has only a couple of decent tracks, most notably "Eminence Front". Townsend was accused, rightly, of hoarding the good songs for his solo career. So keeping this in mind, you may want to get Townshend's Empty Glass album; it's better than the last two Who efforts (not including 2006's Who album, Endless Wire, which plays out like solo Townshend) and arguably better than Who By Numbers and Who Are You.


BUT...

Any fan of rock and documentaries about rock bands should own The Kids Are Alright movie/DVD (preferably the new expanded release). Rock docs don't come any better than this: It's funny, insightful and it rocks hard. Moon is hysterical throughout too. You'll see why The Who were such an unrivalled visual live band (rivaled only by Hendrix) to go along with the powerful music. Oh, and the version of "A Quick One, While He's Away" culled from The Rolling Stones Rock 'n' Roll Circus show may be the best one-off/live performance they've ever done, except maybe the "Young Man Blues" from the Isle of Wight. 

Quadrophenia is a very good film too.

[wolof7]

Wow, I thank you kind sir

[Jaimoe]

Wow, I thank you kind sir

No problem. I'm you guy if you need any pointers on the Allmans, Hendrix, White Stripes, Coltrane, Television, Rush, Neil Young etc... just let me know.

[Ruckus]

Wow, I thank you kind sir

;D  I knew Jaimoe would step up   ;D

When I was in high school, I started listening to the Who when I ordered a greatest hits cd from BMG because my girlfriend at the time's father was a rock drummer and would always go on and on about Keith Moon.  About a year later, I went with her and her family to see Tommy on Broadway and I was completely blown away.  I was about 16 or 17 and had seen Phantom and Les Mis before but THIS WAS DIFFERENT!  I immediately purchased the album and listened to it over and over on many a stoned high school night.  I just finished watching a Queen documentary and they mentioned how Tommy had such an influence on Freddie.  Makes sense

[Jaimoe]

Wow, I thank you kind sir

;D  I knew Jaimoe would step up   ;D

When I was in high school, I started listening to the Who when I ordered a greatest hits cd from BMG because my girlfriend at the time's father was a rock drummer and would always go on and on about Keith Moon.  About a year later, I went with her and her family to see Tommy on Broadway and I was completely blown away.  I was about 16 or 17 and had seen Phantom and Les Mis before but THIS WAS DIFFERENT!  I immediately purchased the album and listened to it over and over on many a stoned high school night.  I just finished watching a Queen documentary and they mentioned how Tommy had such an influence on Freddie.  Makes sense

About The Who and their seemingly many "Greatest Hits" albums: I don't recommend them, other than the aforementioned Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy. Their first Greatest Hits album - the single CD disc with Union Jack jacket on the front cover - is subpar and has edited versions of songs (or it used to), while the others leave off too many key fan favourties, important album tracks and live songs. There is an older box-set, I believe called Maximum R&B, that I own and is worth picking up, but not as a first purchase; it works as a good companion once you delve deeper into their catalogue. The BBC Sessions album is also good, if a little clean at times. The Who are one of those bands that you need most of their albums and once you are a fan, you'll own them all. I think my list order makes sense, although some might move one or two of the middle albums up.