The Who - Who's Next

Taking a jump back to 1971(40 years!!!) to a classic in every sense of the word - Who's Next by the Who. It was the fifth album by the classic Brit quartet of Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle and Keith Moon. This album appears on the "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die" list as well as ranked number 28 in Rolling Stone's "500 Best Albums of All-Time" list and number 13 on the VH-1 countdown of greatest albums ever.


Side one opens with the incredible "Baba O'Riley" an anthem of the youth of the 70's (and often mistakenly called "Teenage Wasteland" based on part of the chorus). It is an amazing song, appearing on Rolling Stone's "500 Great Songs of All-Time" list, and one that is just as awesome in concert as it is when you're listening to it with your headphones on. It is easily my favorite of the universally known tracks on the album.

Next up is "Bargain", another iconic tune that was often played on the hard rock stations since the albums release.

"Love Ain't For Keeping" slows things down a bit.

"My Wife" features vocals by John Entwistle who wrote the song as well.

The fifth track is "The Song Is Over" which is fitting as a side-ender. It could easily have worked as the last track on the album too, in my humble opinion.

Side two kicks off with "Getting In Tune".

Next comes "Going Mobile", one of my personal favorites of the deep tracks from this album.

It is followed by "Behind Blue Eyes", which was the second single released from the album in late 1971.

The first single was the albums final track - "Won't Get Fooled Again" - which reached number 15 on the Billboard charts. The song also ranks on the "500 Greatest Songs" list from Rolling Stone, and a portion of it is used for the opening theme of the CBS series CSI: Miami.

I know I heard a majority of these songs dozens upon dozens of times growing up. My older brother was a huge fan of the Who, second only to his love of the Rolling Stones growing up. I had the pleasure of being able to see the Who perform a number of them in the late 80's on one of their many "farewell" tours. These songs are ingrained in the foundations of rock and roll for anyone who grew up in the 70's - they are (to borrow from another of the band's tunes) some of the songs of "my generation". Most rock fans will agree that this is one of the best albums of all-time and certainly one of the best from the Who. I am in full agreement.