portrait of this blog's author - by Stephen Blackman 2008

Wednesday, August 15, 2018

Again an album purchased when it came out. I couldn't believe the cover, so funny and so naughty! We were shocked and of course absolutely loved it!

This album is is regularly in my top ten albums of all time and is a masterpiece. Did you know Keith Moon produced the violin on 'Baba O'Riley'?

I was talking  elsewhere about Keith and 'The Kids Are Alright' film and the last two recorded 'concerts' [77-78*] which were used for that film and the demise of Keith at the end dead from taking anti-alcohol medication [Heminevrin, a sedative widely used to aid alcohol withdrawal] which he had on prescription to "take one when he felt like a drink and no more than three in any twenty four hours". His system post-mortem was found to contain 32.
Doesn't this constitute suicide? 
Seems so shocking now. A raging alcoholic and some of his best stories are from other people's accounts. Grahame Chapman (Monty Python) told some of the funniest in his autobiography but after a while the drunken antics take over completely and become sad and unfunny and one has to take account and either stop entirely or . . . . . . well, to be blunt, kill yourself. Both did

On this day in music history: August 14, 1971 - “Who’s Next”, the fifth album by The Who is released. Produced by The Who and Glyn Johns, it is recorded at Olympic Studios in London from March - May 1971. The project is initially planned by Pete Townshend as the follow up to the band’s landmark “Tommy” as an even more ambitious rock opera and film titled “Lifehouse”. The overall concept of the piece loses direction during the initial recording, causing friction among the band members and major falling out between Townshend and producer Kit Lambert. Scrapping the initial recordings, The Who start over again with producer Glyn Johns. Townshend takes several of the songs from the abandoned “Lifehouse” project (along with one song written by John Entwistle), shaping them into the final version of the album. The LP’s now iconic cover photo is taken by photographer Ethan Russell (“Get Back/Let It Be”), features a shot of the band on top of a coal slag heap (staged to look as if they had just urinated on a concrete piling) in the mining town of Easington Colliery in Country Durham, UK. The album yields some of The Who’s best known and loved songs including “Won’t Get Fooled Again”, “Baba O'Riley”, and “Behind Blue Eyes”. In 2003, Universal Music Group releases a 2 CD Deluxe Edition of the album featuring a remastered version of the original album, with the second disc including previously unreleased outtakes recorded during the initial sessions for the the album in March of 1971 at The Record Plant in New York City. As well as becoming rock radio staples and anthems, many songs from “Who’s Next” have been used in other media over the years. “Won’t Get Fooled Again” has appeared in films and television programs, including as the theme for the series “CSI Miami”. “Baba O'Riley” has also been featured in numerous films and TV programs as well, and has served as the intro music for Los Angeles Lakers during home games. “Going Mobile” and “Behind Blue Eyes” have also appeared in commercials for various products. The album is spotlighted in an episode of the series “Classic Albums” in 2006, and is also inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame in 2007. “Who’s Next” hits number one on the UK album chart, peaking at number four on the Billboard Top 200, and is certified 3x Platinum in the US by the RIAA.

* 15 December 1977 at the Gaumont Cinema in Kilburn 
   25 May 1978 at London's Shepperton Studios four months later Keith was dead

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