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Liner Notes › Quadrophenia
QUADROPHENIA
John Entwistle Bass, Horns, Vocals
Roger Daltrey Lead Vocals
Keith Moon Percussion, vocals
Pete Townshend Remainder [except where noted below]
Front cover photography and design by Graham Hughes from an idea by
Roger Daltrey. [Ethan Russell's original idea for the cover was to combine head shots of the four members of The
Who into one face. The final cover photo was shot August 24, 1973 at Graham Hughes photo studio at 9 Rathbone Place,
London. It was Roger's idea to paint the "Who" logo on the back of Jimmy's parka.]
Inside and back cover photography, book photography and art direction
by Ethan A. Russell. [The photo booklet cost £10,000 and was shot over two weeks in London, Brighton, Goring
and Cornwall]
Conceived by Pete Townshend and Ethan A. Russell. |
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Mod kid played by Chad [Terry Kennett. He was a 23-year old paint
sprayer from Battersea discovered by Pete in The Butcher's Arms pub near Ramport Studios]. Hair by Dallas Amos.
All tracks written by Pete Townshend and published by Fabulous Music,
Ltd.
Produced by The Who [except where noted below]
Pre-production (with Pete Townshend): Kit Lambert
Engineer: Ron Nevison
Mixing continuity and engineering assistance: Ron Fawcus
Studio earphone mix: Bobby Pridden
(Special effects recorded by Rod Houison, Ron Nevison and Pete Townshend)
Recorded at "The Kitchen" in Thessally Road, Battersea
[except where noted], while building was still in progress. Ronnie "Lane's Mobile Sound" served as control
room while ours was being finished. Mixed at Eel Pie Sound [a/k/a Pete's Garage in Twickenham].
Liner notes by Brian Cady.
| "I think that our album clarifies who the real hero is in this
thing - it's the kid on the front. He's the hero. That's why he's on the front cover. That's why he's sung about.
It's his f***ing album. Rock 'n' Roll's his music. It's got nothing to do with journalists, and it hasn't really
even got anything to do with musicians, either." - Pete Townshend, 1973 |
Quadrophenia was originally released in the U.K. as Track 2657 013 on October 26, 1973.
However, it appears that due to a vinyl shortage caused by the OPEC oil embargo, only a limited number of copies
got to stores before production had to be halted. Most British Who fans failed to find a copy until after
The Who's U.K. tour. In the U.K., Quadrophenia reached the #2 position being held out of the top spot
by David Bowie's Pinups.
In the U.S. Quadrophenia was MCA2 10004 released on November
3, 1973. It reached #2 in the Billboard charts being beaten out of first place by Elton John's Goodbye Yellow
Brick Road.
Quadrophenia began shortly after the May 1972 session to
attempt to create a follow-up to Who's Next. Pete originally intended a mini-opera about the members of
The Who called "Rock Is Dead - Long Live Rock." Ultimately his attention went more to a central character
like Tommy, here called Jimmy, who would be a Who fan of the Mod era but would also embody The Who. Townshend had
played with this idea before; at one point in Tommy's genesis, Pete planned to have parts of Tommy's personality
represented by The Who. Another part of the form of Quadrophenia came from the failure to film Lifehouse.
Instead of creating a filmscript that would probably never be made, Pete planned Quadrophenia as an album
that would be the soundtrack to a never-made film with both music and sound effects and a photo album to supply
the images.
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Pete said that during the mix he had 16-track tapes piled up to the ceiling. Roger also estimated
that Quadrophenia was reduced from 15 hours of recorded music. Pete said he wrote "about fifty songs
for this and creamed off the best" and that Quadrophenia could have been a quadruple album. What those
other songs were is unknown but a few of them turned up on the Quadrophenia Soundtrack. |
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Pete Townshend: "The whole conception of Quadrophenia
was geared to quadraphonic, but in a creative sort of way. I mean I wanted themes to sort of emerge from corners.
So you start to get the sense of the fourness being literally speaker for speaker. And also in the rock parts the
musical thing would sort of jell together up to the thunder clap, then everything would turn slowly from quad into
mono and you'd have this solid sort of rock mono ... then a thunder clap and back out again. We spent months mixing
it and then found out that MCA was using the CBS quad system and ... you might as well forget it. So our engineer
remixed it in the same manner that it was mixed in stereo, the same sort of creative approach."
How successful he was with that mix is still a matter of contention
among Who fans. Is it a good mix, a bad mix or a technically flawed mix? In any case the rest of The Who hated
the mix, particularly Roger, and their reaction was the first of several disappointments for Pete stemming from
Quadrophenia. John remixed the album for the 1979 film but Roger thought it was worse than the original.
Pete and Roger were both involved in the 1996 remix. Their pleasure at the results was one of the primary reasons
for the 1996-97 Quadrophenia tour.
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I Am The Sea (2'08)
Pete Townshend: "Our story is set on a rock in the middle of a
stormy sea..." And where did the cat come from? In live performance, this was presented totally on tape in
quadraphonic sound coming from all sides of the arena.
The Real Me (3'22)
Pete Townshend: "Gets everything going with a quick look in at
the psychiatrists, at home and even a quick visit to the local vicar. Mental security is unfortunately not obtained."
The demo version has the additional lines, "Rock & Roll's
going do me in; do me an evil wrong. Funny how your best friends turn out; it was good for oh so long. I stop myself
getting letters and then the people try to turn me back. Publisher wants my memoirs and the limousines are black.
Can you see the real me, rock & roll?" On his liner notes to Scoop 3, where the demo appears, Pete
says these lines were to have been sung by The Godfather. The Who's version was released as a single in the U.S.
January 12, 1974 with b-side "I'm One." It peaked at #92 in Billboard and #82 in Cash
Box. The ending was edited to cut back to an instrumental section prior to the final "Can you see
the real mememememe" and faded out which gave it a running time of 3'26. It was also released as a single
in France, Belgium and Japan. A live version appears on The Who & Special Guests Live at the Royal Albert
Hall video (2000) |
Quadrophenia (6'15)
Pete Townshend: "The four-personality concept grew out of a naive
understanding of schizophrenia - a misunderstanding of schizophrenia. Jimmy is a kid who suffers from schizophrenia,
and when he takes pills, his schizophrenia divides up and he suffers from quadrophenia." This was only played
live during the British leg of the 1973 tour and was not revived until 1996.
Cut My Hair (3'46)
News read by John Curle
Pete Townshend: "A domestic interlude. The boy recalls a row with
his folks that culminated in his leaving home. We also hear a news broadcast mentioning riots in Brighton between
Mods and Rockers, events at which he was present the previous week."
This song quotes from The High Numbers' single "Zoot Suit."
"Cut My Hair" was only played live during the British leg
of the 1973 tour and was not revived until 1996.
The Punk And The Godfather (5'10)
Pete Townshend: "The hero goes to a rock concert. He queues up,
pays his money and he decides he is going to see the stars backstage as they come out the stage door. And one of
them comes up and says 'fuck off!' And he suddenly realizes that there's nothing really happening in rock &
roll. It's just another cross on his list." This song quotes from The Who's "My Generation." On
the U.S. album this was called "The Punk Meets The Godfather." |
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I'm One (2'39)
Pete Townshend: "When I was a nipper I felt that the guitar was
all I had. I wasn't tough enough to be in a gang, I wasn't good looking enough to be in with the birds, not clever
enough to make it at school, not good enough on my feet to be good football player, I was a fucking loser. I think
everyone feels that way at some point. And somehow being a Mod - even though I was too old to be a Mod really -
I wrote this song with that in mind. Jimmy, the hero of the story, is kinda thinking he hasn't got much going for
him but at least he's one." A live version with Eddie Vedder on lead vocals can be found on The Who
& Special Guests Live at the Royal Albert Hall video (2000).
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The Dirty Jobs (4'30)
Piano by Chris Stainton. Stainton, replacing the usual Who-keyboardists
Nicky Hopkins or Al Kooper, was an ex-member of Joe Cocker's Grease Band.
Pete Townshend: "Suitably disenchanted with his former religion
Rock & Roll, he gets a job as a dustman. Unfortunately, his extremely left-wing views are not appreciated by
his work mates and he passes on to greater things. No sound effects were available to get the stink across so we
used a brass band. Incongruous enough?"
Roger Daltrey: "He gets a job as a dustman like most kids have
to do when they leave school at fifteen. There's nothing much else. He gets pissed off with that. Of course, when
you do something that stinks there's always a lot of other stinky things around. And he gets mixed up with the
stinkiest thing of all, politics!" Dropped from the live act after one performance on October 28, 1973 and
not revived until 1996. |
Helpless Dancer (Roger's Theme) (2'32)
Pete Townshend: "We get a real look at where the aggression comes
from. Jimmy has a conscience that bites fairly deeply. His frustration with the world only makes him more angry,
even bitter."
The version of this song on the 1973 tour featured live horn work by
John. It was dropped for the last three shows of the 1973 North American tour and not revived until 1996.
Is It In My Head? (3'46)
Pete Townshend: "The track that shows Jimmy, although an ordinary
kid, has not only a conscience, but also self doubt. He worries about his own part, and feels maybe his outlook
is clouded by pessimism."
Produced by The Who and associate producer Glyn Johns. Recorded at
Olympic Studios, London May 1972. Dropped from the live act after one performance on October 28, 1973 and not revived
until 1996.
I've Had Enough (6'14)
Pete Townshend: "A lot happens around this bit, much of it in
the album cover story. Briefly, Jimmy 'snaps' when he sees a girl he particularly likes with a friend of his. In
a desperately self-pitiful state, he smashes up his prize scooter and decides to go to Brighton where he had such
a good time with his friends chasing Rockers and eating fish and chips."
Dropped from the live act after one performance on October 28, 1973
and not revived until 1996.
5:15 (5'00)
Piano by Chris Stainton. Recorded June 27, 1973.
Pete Townshend: "His train journey down to Brighton, sandwiched
between two city gents is notable for the rather absurd number of purple hearts he consumes in order to wile away
the time. He goes through a not entirely pleasant series of ups and downs as he thinks about the gaudier side of
life as a teenager that we see in newspapers like the News Of The World. '5:15' was written in Oxford Street and
Carnaby Street while I was killing time between appointments. I must try it again sometime, it seems to work!"
Unlike most everything else on the album, Pete did not make a demo
of this. The music was written in the studio on the day of recording. On September 28, 1973 it was released as
a single in the U.K. prior to the album's release. It went to #20. It was also released as a single throughout
the world with the exception of the U.S. The Quadrophenia Soundtrack remix was issued as a single everywhere
in September 1979. It did not chart in Britain but reached #45 in the U.S. Billboard charts and #53
in Cash Box. The b-side was the remixed version of "I'm One." Live versions can be
found on Join Together (1989), the 30 Years Of Maximum R&B video (1979), The Blues
To The Bush (1999) and The Who & Special Guests Live at the Royal Albert Hall video (2000). |
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Sea And Sand (5'01)
Pete Townshend: "Arriving at Brighton, Jimmy brightens up a bit...get
the pun? He talks about rows at home and is a little sarcastic as he recalls the evening on the beach with his
former girlfriend. This is 1965 and the Mod scene is already falling apart - and what does he do but go to Brighton
just to remember. The crazy days when 300,000 Mod kids from London descended on that little beach town were only
three weeks ago, but he's already living in the past."
The ending quotes from The High Numbers' single "I'm The Face."
Pete's demo version was released on his Scoop 3 album.
Drowned (5'28)
Piano by Chris Stainton
Pete Townshend: "This song, included in Quadrophenia, should
actually stand alone. I think in a sense it does. When the tragic hero of Q sings it, it is desperate and
nihilistic. In fact, it's a love song, God's love being the ocean and our 'selves' being the drops of water that
make it up. Meher Baba said, 'I am the Ocean of Love.' I want to drown in that ocean, the 'drop' will then be an
ocean itself. Anyway a tale - when recording this song it rained so hard in Battersea where our studio is that
the walls were flowing with sheets of water. Chris Stainton played piano in a booth and when the take was finished
he opened the door and about 500 gallons gushed out! Another glorious coincidence. The take on the album is the
one." The most often performed song from Quadrophenia during The Who's live shows probably because
it gave the band room to improvise. In the 1996-97 edition it was performed solo by Pete on acoustic guitar. Live
versions can be found on the Who Rocks America video (1982), the 30 Years Of Maximum R&B
video (1974) and The Who & Special Guests Live at the Royal Albert Hall video (2000).
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Bell Boy (Keith's Theme) (4'56)
Recorded June 1, 1973.
Pete Townshend: "He meets an old Ace Face who's now a bellhop
at the very hotel the Mods tore up. And he looks on Jimmy with a mixture of pity and contempt, really, and tells
him, in effect, 'Look, my job is shit and my life is a tragedy. But you - look at you, you're dead!'"
A live version with Keith can be found on the 30 Years Of Maximum R&B video (1974). |
Dr. Jimmy (including "Is It Me?" - John's Theme) (8'42)
Pete Townshend: "'Dr. Jimmy' was meant to be a song which somehow
gets across the explosive, abandoned wildness side of his character. Like a bull run amok in a china shop. He's
damaging himself so badly that he can get to the point where he's so desperate that he'll take a closer look at
himself. The part where he says, 'What is it, I'll take it. Who is she, I'll rape it.' That's really the way I
see Keith Moon in his most bravado sort of states of mind." A live version can be found on Who's
Last (1982).The Rock (6'37)
Pete Townshend: "It's getting in a boat, going out to sea and
sitting on a rock waiting for the waves to knock him off that makes him review himself. He ends up with the sum
total of frustrated toughness, romanticism, religion, daredevil - desperation, but a starting point for anybody."
This was only played live during the British leg of the 1973 tour and was not revived until 1996.
Love Reign O'er Me (Pete's Theme) (5'48)
Produced by The Who and associate producer Glyn Johns. Recorded May
1972 at Olympic Studios, London with additional tracks recorded at The Kitchen June 8, 1973.
Pete Townshend: "'Love Reign O'er Me' is similar to 'Drowned'
in meaning. This refers to Meher Baba's one time comment that rain was a blessing from God; that thunder was God's
Voice. It's another plea to drown, only this time in the rain. Jimmy goes through a suicide crisis. He surrenders
to the inevitable, and you know, you know, when it's over and he goes back to town he'll be going through the same
shit, being in the same terrible family situation and so on, but he's moved up a level. He's weak still, but there's
a strength in that weakness. He's in danger of maturing." It was released as a single in the U.S. October
27, 1973 where it peaked at #76 in the Billboard charts and #54 in Cash Box. It was
edited down to 3'11 with a different ending. The b-side was "Water." It was also released as a single
in Belgium and the Netherlands where the b-side was "Is It In My Head." Live versions can be found
on Who's Last (1982), the Who Rocks America video (1982), Join Together (1989), The
Who/Live featuring the rock opera Tommy video (1989) and the 30 Years Of Maximum R&B
video (1982). |
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You can read them by clicking here. |
If you want to contact me about something on this page, click on
my name. I want corrections! Brian
Cady
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