The Who, despite having been around for 57 years now, do not have that big of a studio discography. Live and compilation releases aside, they have just twelve albums, released between 1965 and 2019. Their lineup has stayed consistent over the years, for the most part. Their main lineup consisted of Pete Townshend on guitar, Roger Daltrey on vocals, John Entwistle (died 2002) on bass, and Keith Moon (died 1978) on drums. For their two 80s albums, the band brought in Kenney Jones of the Small Faces on drums, and then Zak Starkey (son of one quarter of the Beatles, Ringo Starr) for Endless Wire and WHO. Since Entwistle’s death in 2002, they’ve had a number of session bassists.
12. Endless Wire
The Who’s first album in 24 years, and their first album without John Entwistle, is also their most meandering, dull, and unmemorable. With nineteen songs on the album, there are only a handful that stand out: A Man in a Purple Dress, Mike Post Theme, In the Ether, the title track, Fragments of Fragments, and Sound Round. The album feels lifeless without the presence of Entwistle, and Roger Daltrey isn’t at his best on this album. Unfortunately, it’s just not great. It’s not bad, but it isn’t particularly good either.
11. Who
While an improvement over Endless Wire, the feeling of lifelessness is still present on the album. Fortunately, the album is shorter than its predecessor, and has few filler songs. There are plenty of rockers on this album. Ironically, the opening track, All This Music Must Fade, is about writing unoriginal songs, yet its title is almost identical to the song “Music Must Change” from the Who Are You album. Other noteworthy songs include Ball and Chain, I Don’t Wanna Get Wise, Beads on One String, Hero Ground Zero, Street Song, I’ll Be Back, and Break the News. It’s a fun album to listen to every now and then. It’s not new, it’s not diverse, it won’t light up your parade. It’s just simple verse, and it does that job well. Daltrey’s voice seems to be better on this album, while Pete’s vocal on I’ll Be Back is a massive improvement over In the Ether.
10. It’s Hard
This album has a similar issue to both Who and Endless Wire: It feels flat. This album, however, does have the extra advantage of actually being released in Entwistle’s lifetime. This album is also the band’s second with replacement drummer Kenney Jones (who, despite not being Keith Moon, is a fabulous drummer, which is why I’m not slagging off the two post-Keith albums as much as the two post-John albums.) The album produced two of the band’s most popular hits, Athena and Eminence Front, while also including other great songs like the rocking One at a Time, as well as Cooks County, It’s Hard, I’ve Known No War, and Cry If You Want.
9. Who Are You
Most Who fans would probably have this a little higher on their list, but I beg to differ. Keith Moon was barely functioning at this point. In fact, he couldn’t even keep up with the 6/8 time signature on “Music Must Change”, so the drums were just omitted from the song completely. The album feels dull, and Pete Townshend, the band’s primary songwriter, is clearly losing steam at this point. Thankfully, this does mean John Entwistle had more songs on this album (he has three: Had Enough, 905, and Trick of the Light.) Apart from the three Entwistle songs, Music Must Change, and the big hit Who Are You, the album also has Sister Disco and Guitar & Pen. The rest is fairly forgettable.
8. Face Dances
The first album after Keith Moon died, Face Dances features an about face from previous Who records. It’s a lot more pop orientated than rock, minus Entwistle’s “The Quiet One” and “You”, which are the clear highlights of the record. The album also has the hit single “You Better You Bet” and album tracks “Don’t Let Go the Coat”, “Cache Cache”, “Did You Steal My Money”, “How Can You Do it Alone”, “Daily Records”, and “Another Tricky Day.” Yes, this is the first album on the list where I actually listen to every song quite frequently, which gives it a clear advantage over the previous four. Did I mention that, unlike most Who fans, I actually think Kenney Jones is a good drummer? Quite recently, an expanded edition of Face Dances was released for Record Store Day 2021 as part of drop one, which I hope to review some time this week.
7. My Generation
Going back a bit earlier in The Who’s career, next on my list is My Generation (released as “The Who Sings My Generation” in the U.S.) My Generation’s title track is legendary, and was ranked in the top 10 greatest songs of all time by Rolling Stone magazine. On top of that, it has another highly famous and influential single, The Kids Are Alright, and the fabulous songs Out in the Street, The Good’s Gone, La La La Lies, Much Too Much, It’s Not True, and A Legal Matter. So, why is it coming in so low? Partially by process of elimination, and partially because it’s a pretty typical 60s album. Most of the songs are conventional mid 60s, R n’ B inspired rock songs with a few blues covers here and there. Overall, while an influential record, the band have done better.
6. The Who Sell Out
This was Pete Townshend’s first attempt at a concept album. It’s supposed to replicate a radio session, complete with gags and advertisements sprinkled between songs. The Who advertised many products from Heinz Baked Beans all the way to acne creams, hence “The Who Sell Out.” The album also includes “I Can See For Miles”, another successful single from the band. My favourite song on the album is probably the Entwistle-penned “Silas Stingy” (in case it wasn’t obvious by now, I’m a huge Entwistle fan), as well as Armenia City in the Sky (“I’m an Ear Sitting in the Sky”), Mary Anne With the Shaky Hand, Our Love Was, and I Can’t Reach You. The recent super deluxe edition also has several great extras, including the tracks “Premier Drums” and “Kids! Do You Want Kids?”
5. Tommy
Yes, I really only put Tommy at number five. It’s a great album, but also has several flaws. Apart from the dreadful film adaptation, the album also suffers from a condition I like to call “double album syndrome”: The first half is really strong, but the second half is fairly inconsistent. “Underture” should have never been included on this album. The album tells the tale of a deaf, blind, and mute person named Tommy, who goes on to become a pinball champion. He then starts his own religion, and his followers rightfully turn on him. The highlights of the album are “Pinball Wizard” (no, this was not written by Elton John) and “We’re Not Gonna Take It”. It’s a great first attempt at a rock opera, but 1973’s Quadrophenia would prove to be superior by miles (and miles and miles and miles and miles.)
4. A Quick One
Also known by its American name Happy Jack, The Who’s second album features songwriting from all four members of the band: Entwistle’s Boris the Spider and Whiskey Man (for once, these aren’t my favourites on the album), Moon’s I Need You and Cobwebs & Strange, Daltrey’s See My Way, and Townshend’s Run Run Run, Don’t Look Away, So Sad About Us, and his mini-opera A Quick One, While He’s Away. The re-releases of this album also feature several other great bonuses: Bucket T, Disguises, I’ve Been Away, In the City, and Man With the Money. This album is all killer, no filler, even accounting for the extra tracks.
3. Who’s Next
It’s really hard to pick a favourite song from Who’s Next. I have no real favourite, it just depends on what mood I’m in that day. Am I in a “Baba O’Riley” mood? Or a “My Wife” mood? Or a “Behind Blue Eyes” mood? Pretty much every song on this album is equally good. You can’t really cherry-pick from this one. The album also has its fairly famous cover: The band members pissing near an obelisk. Whatever good things I’d like to say about this album, have likely been said a million times before in the past, so I won’t bore you any further.
2. The Who By Numbers
Yes, I’m seriously putting Who By Numbers at number two. No, this is not a joke. This album, in my opinion, has some of Pete Townshend’s best and most relatable songwriting. “How Many Friends” and “Success Story” are some of my alltime favourite songs. Blue, Red and Grey, the only song somewhat representing positivity, is another highlight of the album. If you listen to the radio at all, you’ve almost definitely heard “Squeeze Box” at some point or another. This album is really underrated in my opinion. I was tempted to put it at number one, but to me there’s only one true answer as to what the best Who album is…
1. Quadrophenia
There’s only one true answer as to what the best Who album is. Quadrophenia, unlike Tommy, does not suffer from double album syndrome. There’s not a single bad song on this almost 90 minute album. Along with Dark Side of the Moon, it’s likely as close as you’re going to get to a truly perfect album. The only thing it’s missing is an Entwistle lead vocal, but I’ll settle for his staggering bass parts instead. This is Townshend, Daltrey, Moon, and Entwistle all at their peak. Daltrey’s scream on Love Reign O’er Me rivals his one on Won’t Get Fooled Again. There just aren’t enough good things to say about this album. It’s the one clear winner.
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