Lost and Found - Quadrophenia
by Ric Stewart
Lost and Found: Quadrophenia
by Ric Stewart
Brighton Beach Memoirs
1996
marked the unexpected return of Pete Townshend's central work Quadrophenia as his most savvied stage presentation
to date. The Who premiered the rock opera chronicle of the British mod
movement as a performance piece in London and New York during the summer,
proceeding to over 20 autumn U.S. dates. Meanwhile, MCA quietly continued
its excellent Who reissue series remastering the landmark 1973 album,
replacing its poor mix and highlighting musical details such as the guitar
attack on The Real Me.
The energetic 1996 staging revises the heady music which overwhelmed the
original foursome on stage. Guest star Gary Glitter took some bouffant
screams as the rocker, while Billy Idol preened on the opposite podium
as the silver suited mod. During the October 1996 San Jose shows Townshend
spun off trademark Dixieland/Flamenco strums and Indian style finger moves
as he sang to a receptive audience.
With Entwistle back on board for the karma and Daltrey surely tested delivering
half of the vocals, Quadrophenia allows the Who a great Rock 'n' Roll
"What if?" What if you could go back and pull off your most elaborate
work with a little help from some friends (including Ringo's son Zak Starkey
on drums, 70's Who veteran John "Rabbit" Bundrick on keys, and Simon Townshend
dazzling on electric leads). Judging by the Shakespearian grin on Townshend's
face as he exited the second San Jose Arena show, Quadrophenia has exceeded
all expectations; Tommy's younger brother may get the last word in, finally.
 The Story -- Anyone Can
Crash and Thump!
The
story takes place during the band's early years when The Who (still teenagers)
were already too old to take part in the mod movement as participants,
but they did provide a soundtrack for much Mod pill popping. As Quadrophenia
demonstrated, the cultural impact of the movement was undeniable, as was
the power of R&B and soul which motivated the Brits to record trans-Atlantic
sounds. The resulting influential hard rock sound was early art/punk rock,
morphing Rock's landscape forever. An alternative to the Beatles or Stones
models, the Early Who's influence continues unabated into the '90's.
Quadrophenia
displays the breadth of Townshend's musical range capping years of growth
in developing compositions, storylines, and instrumentation -- building
around piano. Taking a cue from Classical composers, the longer works
were eventually dubbed Rock Operas: A Quick One (1966), 
Sell Out's Rael (1967), Tommy (1969) and the abortive Lifehouse
(1971). The latter, a sci-fi plot based around a global community wired
together for something like a concert on today's internet (with white
jump suits for all), yielded the scraps that became Who's Next. At this
point Townshend's heavy metal stylings on 1970's Live At Leeds
pointed to a new direction and the band itched to get back to work in
the studio. This follow-up project made for his most grandiose effort.
Quadrophenia introspectively looks at the life of a mid-sixties mod from
a vantage point of less than a decade, sometimes quoting the music of
that time, other times lyrically simulating teen confusion.
Sea
and Sand
...I'm wet
and I'm cold,
But thank God I ain't old.
Why didn't I say what I mean?
I should have split home at fifteen,
There's a story that the grass is so green.
What did I see?
Where have I been?
Nothing
is planned by the sea and the sand.
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Quadrophenia
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