Slurpees & Tacos

The Ben 500:

336. The Who - “Who Are You” (1978)

BEN: In my opinion, “Who Are You” is the last great Who song. Part of the reason I say that is because this is the last recording Keith Moon ever did. By 1978, The Who had become rock n’ roll dinosaurs. Punk rock was exploding, utilizing the same devil-may-care energy that Pete Townshend and company had in their “mod” days 15 years earlier. Even though they were old farts - Keith Moon was a crusty 32 years old - The Who were not done rocking. They showed the younger generation how it was done with this explosively fierce track. Roger Daltrey displays his roughest, most bruising vocal ever as he belts out this first-person tale of debauchery and excess. “I woke up in a Soho doorway, a policeman knew my name. He said you can go sleep at home tonite if you can get up and walk away”. Daltrey practically tears out his vocal chords on this track. The rest of the band are also in “attack mode” as Pete and John Entwistle stab at some chords while old man Keith Moon does his best to give it another signature sloppy effort. It’s a ramshackle, hedonistic mess, but just like a drunken bender complete with a fistfight, there’s some dark and twisted poetry to it that could only come from The Who. Keith Moon - another one done too soon.

Key lyric: “My heart is like a broken cup, I only feel right on my knees”

MARK: As much as I like classic rock, I am not the biggest Who fan.  I can appreciate their hard rocking ways, but they don’t really blow me away (maybe besides the Live at Leeds album… it melted my face).  The beginning has a cool feel, but I don’t like the ‘Who are you?’ part, maybe just because I have heard this song so many times.  I love the verses though, they are nice and gritty.  I do love the little breakdown around 2:25.  Entwistle solo… check.  It’s an ok song to me.

GRADE: C+

Claudia’s Review:  (Singing) Who, who, who, who. 

T H E   B E N   5 0 0  -  

444. The Who – “Young Man Blues (live)” (1970)

BEN: One of the greatest live albums of all time has to be The Who’s Live at Leeds. A blistering 60+ minutes of high-energy rock mayhem, it’s the band’s finest hour. Sandwiched between their groundbreaking rock opera Tommy, and Who’s Next, the album considered by most fans to be The Who at their absolute peak, Live at Leeds is nothing flashy, nothing technically amazing, it’s just a raw recording of one of the greatest live bands ever completely melting your face from one song to the next. “Young Man Blues” was written by Mose Alison. It’s a depiction of a young person’s anger at the rest of the world when he realizes he’s got nothing. The jam that follows the two quick verses is legendary. Check out how Pete Townshend’s guitar, John Entwistle’s bass and Keith Moon’s drums create a manic hurricane of sound that barely holds itself together. THIS IS HOW YOU JAM, PEOPLE.  Phish-heads take note.

Key lyric: “You know in the old days, when a young man was a strong man, all the people, they’d step BACK when a young man walked by.”

GRADE - B

CLAUDIA’S ALL-AMERICAN REVIEW: (She sticks her nose up at it) It’s boring

T H E   B E N   5 0 0   -   The countdown to Ben Eisen’s top 500 jams.

464. The Who - “I’m A Boy” (1966)

BEN: The Who were still entrenched in their “mod” phase in 1966, and “I’m A Boy” is one of their best singles from this era. It seems to be a song about puberty and awkwardness in one’s own skin, something Pete Townshend wrote a lot about. I love the clean guitar tones and the big tom tom drumming of Keith Moon. Top it off with a great sing along chorus and wonderful (and very underrated) harmonies, and you’ve got a pre-punk rock classic.

MARK: Cool groove and the lyrics are hilarious.  I like the melody a lot.  It’s so happy and fits the song perfectly.  The mix is so 60’s… the voices are panned mostly to the left side and the band is on the right.  The drums sound like they were recorded so poorly.  Poor Keith Moon, he was rocking so hard and the recording doesn’t do him justice.  The crash cymbals at the end almost make my head explode.  I love the bridge of the song.  Great chords and very simple.  Is it true that Keith moon never used a high hat?

Mark Rating: 4.6

Claudia’s Mainstream Review - I don’t think I’m a fan.