Who Are You
Encyclopedia
Who Are You is the eighth studio album by English rock band The Who
. It was released on 18 August 1978, through Polydor Records
in the United Kingdom and MCA Records
in the United States. It peaked at #2 on the US charts and #6 on the UK charts. It is The Who's last album with Keith Moon
as the drummer; Moon died approximately three weeks after the release of this album.
In 1996, the album was re-released in remixed form. Some of the elements from the original mixes were eliminated, including on the songs "Had Enough", "905" and "Guitar and Pen". However, "Trick of the Light" was restored to its full length at 4:45.
and punk rock
, were conflicting due to their antipodal styles. Pete Townshend
's compositions were written as an attempt to bring the two styles together. The album showcases some of the most complicated song structures Townshend had ever composed, with multiple layers of synthesiser and strings
. Many of the songs also represented another attempt by Townshend to complete his long-contemplated Lifehouse project. Like Who's Next
, many of whose songs were also inspired by Lifehouse, many tracks on Who Are You feature prominent synthesiser parts and lyrics about songwriting and music as a metaphor for life (as indicated by titles like "Music Must Change", "Guitar and Pen", "New Song", and "Sister Disco").
There was a three-year hiatus between Who Are You and The Who's previous album, The Who by Numbers
. The band was drifting apart during this period, due to the band members working on various solo projects, Moon sinking deeper into alcohol and drug abuse, and general exhaustion from the gruelling tour schedule the band had kept over the decade. Moon's health was especially an object of concern, as he only managed to come in during the last few weeks of recording and was unable to play in 6/8 time on the track "Music Must Change", so drums were removed completely from the track and only a few cymbal crashes were added. Moon died just under a month after its release, and on the cover, he is shown sitting in a chair ironically labelled "Not to be taken away". Moon had insisted on sitting in the chair with the back to the camera so as to hide his distended stomach, the result of his alcoholism.
, although it could be construed to be a criticism of it. Nevertheless, the song could be interpreted to be about a prostitute character within a larger Tommy-like concept album.
It features complicated synthesiser tracks that are the result of hours Townshend spent programming an ARP 2500 synthesiser.
The song was never performed with Moon. However, it was performed regularly when The Who toured with Kenney Jones
as drummer, and quickly became a live favourite, despite Townshend's claim that this was his least favourite song to perform. It was included on the band's 2002 Ultimate Collection album. It was also revived for their fall 2008 tour.
prevented Who Are You from achieving #1 status in the US. The success of Who Are You generated excitement at the prospect of a new Who tour for the album. However, the album is surrounded by tragedy for Who fans due to Moon's death shortly after the album's release. The songs on the album were later performed on tour in 1979 when The Who were joined by new drummer Kenney Jones and keyboardist John Bundrick
. Bundrick had been invited to play on the album, but broke his arm falling out of a taxi at the studio door and was unable to participate.
"Who Are You" was the first of the album's songs to have a live performance, its first dating to a concert from the band's 1976 tour
at the Maple Leaf Gardens
in Toronto, ON, albeit in a very raw and abbreviated version extremely different from the finished product. Another early and abbreviated live performance with Moon can be found on the DVD The Who at Kilburn: 1977.
On The Who's 1979 tour
, only four songs were played live: "Sister Disco", "Music Must Change", "Trick of the Light", and "Who Are You". On that tour, "Trick of the Light" was actually performed live with both Entwistle and Townshend on bass; Entwistle on eight-string and Townshend on one of Entwistle's old Alembics from the By Numbers tour. However, it was dropped in December and only made its return to the setlist in 1989, with Townshend on acoustic guitar.
"Sister Disco" was played quite close to the studio version, except that the guitar outro was changed from country-style to a more bluesy one, except in 1989, where Townshend used acoustics, and 2008-09, where he could switch his Fender from 'electric mode' to 'acoustic mode'. Townshend actually stated in an interview that this was one of his least favourite songs to perform live (the other being "Dreaming From the Waist"). It was played in the tours of 1979
, 1980
, 1981
, 1982
, 1989, 2008 and 2009.
"Music Must Change" was oftentimes given an extended workout live, with performances usually ranging from seven to nine minutes. It was played in the 1979
, 1980
and 1981
tours, and was also rehearsed for the 2002 tour. Sadly, Entwistle died before the start of the tour and the band were not able to perform this song.
The Who have not been known to play "New Song", "Had Enough", "905", "Guitar and Pen", and "Love Is Coming Down". However, the John Entwistle Band
used to play the Entwistle-penned songs while he was still alive.
Additional musicians
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
. It was released on 18 August 1978, through Polydor Records
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
in the United Kingdom and MCA Records
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
in the United States. It peaked at #2 on the US charts and #6 on the UK charts. It is The Who's last album with Keith Moon
Keith Moon
Keith John Moon was an English musician, best known for being the drummer of the English rock group The Who. He gained acclaim for his exuberant and innovative drumming style, and notoriety for his eccentric and often self-destructive behaviour, earning him the nickname "Moon the Loon". Moon...
as the drummer; Moon died approximately three weeks after the release of this album.
In 1996, the album was re-released in remixed form. Some of the elements from the original mixes were eliminated, including on the songs "Had Enough", "905" and "Guitar and Pen". However, "Trick of the Light" was restored to its full length at 4:45.
Composition
Who Are You was put out at a time when the two major camps of rock, progressive rockProgressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
and punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, were conflicting due to their antipodal styles. Pete Townshend
Pete Townshend
Peter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career...
's compositions were written as an attempt to bring the two styles together. The album showcases some of the most complicated song structures Townshend had ever composed, with multiple layers of synthesiser and strings
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
. Many of the songs also represented another attempt by Townshend to complete his long-contemplated Lifehouse project. Like Who's Next
Who's Next
Who's Next is the fifth studio album by English rock band The Who, released in August 1971. The album has origins in a rock opera conceived by Pete Townshend called Lifehouse. The ambitious, complex project did not come to fruition at the time and instead, many of the songs written for the project...
, many of whose songs were also inspired by Lifehouse, many tracks on Who Are You feature prominent synthesiser parts and lyrics about songwriting and music as a metaphor for life (as indicated by titles like "Music Must Change", "Guitar and Pen", "New Song", and "Sister Disco").
There was a three-year hiatus between Who Are You and The Who's previous album, The Who by Numbers
The Who by Numbers
The Who by Numbers is the seventh album by English rock band The Who, released on 3 October 1975 in the United Kingdom through Polydor Records, and on 25 October 1975 in the United States by MCA Records...
. The band was drifting apart during this period, due to the band members working on various solo projects, Moon sinking deeper into alcohol and drug abuse, and general exhaustion from the gruelling tour schedule the band had kept over the decade. Moon's health was especially an object of concern, as he only managed to come in during the last few weeks of recording and was unable to play in 6/8 time on the track "Music Must Change", so drums were removed completely from the track and only a few cymbal crashes were added. Moon died just under a month after its release, and on the cover, he is shown sitting in a chair ironically labelled "Not to be taken away". Moon had insisted on sitting in the chair with the back to the camera so as to hide his distended stomach, the result of his alcoholism.
"Sister Disco"
"Sister Disco" seems to mourn the death of discoDisco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
, although it could be construed to be a criticism of it. Nevertheless, the song could be interpreted to be about a prostitute character within a larger Tommy-like concept album.
It features complicated synthesiser tracks that are the result of hours Townshend spent programming an ARP 2500 synthesiser.
The song was never performed with Moon. However, it was performed regularly when The Who toured with Kenney Jones
Kenney Jones
Kenneth Thomas "Kenney" Jones is a veteran English rock drummer best known for his work in Small Faces, Faces, and The Who.-Small Faces to the Faces:...
as drummer, and quickly became a live favourite, despite Townshend's claim that this was his least favourite song to perform. It was included on the band's 2002 Ultimate Collection album. It was also revived for their fall 2008 tour.
Reception
The album was a commercial success, going 2× platinum in the US and Canada, Gold in UK, and peaking at #2 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart. The soundtrack to GreaseGrease (soundtrack album)
Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture is the original motion picture soundtrack for the 1978 film Grease released by Polydor Records. The song "You're the One That I Want" was a US and UK #1 for stars John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John...
prevented Who Are You from achieving #1 status in the US. The success of Who Are You generated excitement at the prospect of a new Who tour for the album. However, the album is surrounded by tragedy for Who fans due to Moon's death shortly after the album's release. The songs on the album were later performed on tour in 1979 when The Who were joined by new drummer Kenney Jones and keyboardist John Bundrick
John Bundrick
John Douglas "Rabbit" Bundrick is an American rock keyboardist, pianist and organist. He is best known for his work with The Who and associations with others including Eric Burdon, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Roger Waters, Free and Crawler. Bundrick is noted as the principal musician for the cult...
. Bundrick had been invited to play on the album, but broke his arm falling out of a taxi at the studio door and was unable to participate.
Live performances
Spanning the band's career, just slightly less than half of the album has been played live."Who Are You" was the first of the album's songs to have a live performance, its first dating to a concert from the band's 1976 tour
The Who Tour 1976
The Who Tour 1976 was The Who's second concert tour for their The Who By Numbers album.-History:After spending most of the last three months of 1975 supporting The Who By Numbers, the group again embarked on a series of tours in 1976, with two stints in North America and several shows in the United...
at the Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens is an indoor arena that was converted into a Loblawssupermarket and Ryerson University athletic centre in Toronto, on the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto's Garden District.One of the temples of hockey, it was home to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the...
in Toronto, ON, albeit in a very raw and abbreviated version extremely different from the finished product. Another early and abbreviated live performance with Moon can be found on the DVD The Who at Kilburn: 1977.
On The Who's 1979 tour
The Who Tour 1979
The Who Tour 1979 was The Who's first concert tour since the death of original drummer Keith Moon, supporting their 1978 album Who Are You.-History:...
, only four songs were played live: "Sister Disco", "Music Must Change", "Trick of the Light", and "Who Are You". On that tour, "Trick of the Light" was actually performed live with both Entwistle and Townshend on bass; Entwistle on eight-string and Townshend on one of Entwistle's old Alembics from the By Numbers tour. However, it was dropped in December and only made its return to the setlist in 1989, with Townshend on acoustic guitar.
"Sister Disco" was played quite close to the studio version, except that the guitar outro was changed from country-style to a more bluesy one, except in 1989, where Townshend used acoustics, and 2008-09, where he could switch his Fender from 'electric mode' to 'acoustic mode'. Townshend actually stated in an interview that this was one of his least favourite songs to perform live (the other being "Dreaming From the Waist"). It was played in the tours of 1979
The Who Tour 1979
The Who Tour 1979 was The Who's first concert tour since the death of original drummer Keith Moon, supporting their 1978 album Who Are You.-History:...
, 1980
The Who Tour 1980
The Who Tour 1980 was The Who's second concert tour since the death of original drummer Keith Moon, supporting their 1978 album Who Are You.-History:...
, 1981
The Who Tour 1981
The Who Tour 1981 was The Who's third concert tour since the death of original drummer Keith Moon, with most dates performed in advance of the release of their recently-recorded Face Dances album...
, 1982
The Who Tour 1982
The Who Tour 1982 was The Who's last with drummer Kenney Jones. While the tour was originally intended to support their 1982 album It's Hard, the band later announced it would be their final tour, though they would eventually reunite twice and then tour again in 1989.-History:Aside from two warm-up...
, 1989, 2008 and 2009.
"Music Must Change" was oftentimes given an extended workout live, with performances usually ranging from seven to nine minutes. It was played in the 1979
The Who Tour 1979
The Who Tour 1979 was The Who's first concert tour since the death of original drummer Keith Moon, supporting their 1978 album Who Are You.-History:...
, 1980
The Who Tour 1980
The Who Tour 1980 was The Who's second concert tour since the death of original drummer Keith Moon, supporting their 1978 album Who Are You.-History:...
and 1981
The Who Tour 1981
The Who Tour 1981 was The Who's third concert tour since the death of original drummer Keith Moon, with most dates performed in advance of the release of their recently-recorded Face Dances album...
tours, and was also rehearsed for the 2002 tour. Sadly, Entwistle died before the start of the tour and the band were not able to perform this song.
The Who have not been known to play "New Song", "Had Enough", "905", "Guitar and Pen", and "Love Is Coming Down". However, the John Entwistle Band
John Entwistle
John Alec Entwistle was an English bass guitarist, songwriter, singer, horn player, and film and record producer who was best known as the bass player for the rock band The Who. His aggressive lead sound influenced many rock bass players...
used to play the Entwistle-penned songs while he was still alive.
Side one
- "New Song" – 4:12
- "Had Enough" (John EntwistleJohn EntwistleJohn Alec Entwistle was an English bass guitarist, songwriter, singer, horn player, and film and record producer who was best known as the bass player for the rock band The Who. His aggressive lead sound influenced many rock bass players...
) – 4:30 - "905" (Entwistle) – 4:02
- "Sister Disco" – 4:21
- "Music Must Change" – 4:37
Side two
- "Trick of the Light" (Entwistle) – 4:06 (original mix), 4:47 (1996 remastered CD)
- "Guitar and Pen" – 5:58
- "Love Is Coming Down" – 4:06
- "Who Are YouWho Are You (song)"Who Are You", composed by Pete Townshend, is the title track on The Who's 1978 release, Who Are You, the last album released before drummer Keith Moon's death in September 1978. It was released as a double-A sided single with the John Entwistle composition "Had Enough", also featured on the album...
" – 6:21
1996 remastered edition bonus tracks
- "No Road Romance" – 5:05
- "Empty Glass" – 6:23
- "Guitar and Pen" (Olympic '78 Mix) – 6:02
- "Love Is Coming Down" (Work-in-Progress Mix) – 4:05
- "Who Are You" (Lost Verse Mix) – 6:22
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Billboard Pop Albums | 2 |
| 1978 | UK Chart Albums | 6 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | "Who Are You Who Are You (song) "Who Are You", composed by Pete Townshend, is the title track on The Who's 1978 release, Who Are You, the last album released before drummer Keith Moon's death in September 1978. It was released as a double-A sided single with the John Entwistle composition "Had Enough", also featured on the album... " |
Billboard Pop Singles | 14 |
| 1978 | "Who Are You" | UK Singles Chart | 18 |
Sales certifications
Personnel
The Who- Roger DaltreyRoger DaltreyRoger Harry Daltrey, CBE , is an English singer and actor, best known as the founder and lead singer of English rock band The Who. He has maintained a musical career as a solo artist and has also worked in the film industry, acting in a large number of films, theatre and television roles and also...
– lead vocals, percussion - Pete TownshendPete TownshendPeter Dennis Blandford "Pete" Townshend is an English rock guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and author, known principally as the guitarist and songwriter for the rock group The Who, as well as for his own solo career...
– guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
s, backing vocals, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, synthesiser, lead vocals on "Sister Disco" (bridge), "No Road Romance" and "Empty Glass" - John EntwistleJohn EntwistleJohn Alec Entwistle was an English bass guitarist, songwriter, singer, horn player, and film and record producer who was best known as the bass player for the rock band The Who. His aggressive lead sound influenced many rock bass players...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, backing vocals, synthesiser, brassBrass instrumentA brass instrument is a musical instrument whose sound is produced by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips...
on "Had Enough" and "Music Must Change", lead vocals on "905" - Keith MoonKeith MoonKeith John Moon was an English musician, best known for being the drummer of the English rock group The Who. He gained acclaim for his exuberant and innovative drumming style, and notoriety for his eccentric and often self-destructive behaviour, earning him the nickname "Moon the Loon". Moon...
– drums, percussion
Additional musicians
- Rod ArgentRod ArgentRod Argent is an English rock musician and a founding member of the 1960s English pop group The Zombies and the 1970s band Argent....
– synthesiser on "Had Enough", piano on "Who Are You" - Ted AstleyTed AstleyEdwin Astley was a British composer, occasionally credited as Ted Astley. His best known works are British television themes and scores, most notably the theme to The Saint...
– stringString instrumentA string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
arrangementArrangementThe American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents... - Andy Fairweather-LowAndy Fairweather-LowAndrew Fairweather Low is a Welsh guitarist, songwriter and vocalist. He was a founding member of 1960s British pop band, Amen Corner, and in recent years has toured extensively with Roger Waters, Eric Clapton and Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings.-Early career:Fairweather Low first found fame as a...
– backing vocals on "New Song", "Had Enough", "Guitar and Pen", "Love Is Coming Down", and "Who Are You"
External links
- Allmusic. [ Who Are You Credits]. Retrieved 27 December 2004.