The Who Album: “Endless Wire”

Opening with a synthesizer that deliberately reminds fans of "Baba O'Riley" providing a bridge from the past to the present (and rather tongue-in-cheek), "Endless Wire" demonstrates that Townshend and Daltry aren't just resting on their laurels. This is the most vital sounding Who album since "Who Are You" and producer Pete Townshend dispenses with the bloated sythnesizer sound that dominated "It's Hard" for less straight forward imaginative arrangements. It's hard to pick out favorites at this early stage but "Fragments" that opens the album and "God Speaks of Marty Robbins" are two I've listened to quite a few times already. The latter tune features Townshend playing acoustic guitar and singing sounding as direct as he did on "Who Came First" his first solo album. Daltrey is in good voice throughout.

The "mini-opera" Wire & Glass begins with the tenth opening with a propeling drum roll by Peter Huntington that recalls Moonie when he was a lot more focused. The gourgeous "Trilby's Piano" also has Pete at the mic with some lovely piano playing by Rachel Fuller and a orchestral arrangement by Townshend with help from Fuller. "Mirror Door" closes the album out with a full band and like much of the album proves that Townshend's writing has been re-energized by his collaboration with Daltry. His music within the Who hasn't sounded this vital, energetic or as lyrically interesting since "Who Are You" (which at times sounded fatigued compared to some previous albums). The Who wasn't always the best at choosing Pete's best material (look at the outtakes from "Who Are You" and "Face Dances" which features great material that Pete would record solo)but here both Daltry and Townshend have presented some of Pete's best material in years.

Kudos to all the support musicians that appear on the album including Zak Starkey, Rabbit and Pino Palladino. While they can't make up for the absence of Keith and John they certainly fill in for them nicely.

The DVD has five tracks recorded live at the Vienne Amphitheatre in Lyon, France from July of this year. The DVD is a nice bonus to a terrific album from the duo. Best Buy also is offering a limited edition 7 track live album that duplicatest two of the tracks and offers "The Seeker", "Who Are You", "Relay", "Greyhound Girl" and "Naked Eye" in place of "I Can't Explain", "Behind Blue Eyes" and "Baba O'Riley".

Welcome back guys you've been missed! Recommended for Who fans.

People write that: WHO RETURN TO FORM.

Where does that come from. When did The Who ever deviate from form?

These reveiwers are just regurgitating the PR release to sell this CD.

This is The Who's first studio album since 1982. I think it is different and worse than any previous studio album. And bonus live DVD is just depressing.

There are some good songs on ths CD. Some sound like typical The Who songs and others are more like Pete Townshend solo material. There are some interesting twists, like the Tom Waits gravely vocals on In The Ether.

However, there are a number of stark, under produced songs that are simply boring.

The biggest problem is the Endless Wire mini-rock opera. It is a bunch of unrealized song snippets. All of the songs are 1 to 2 minutes long and really aren't fully realized songs. It is not like Tommy or Quadrephenia, where the songs can be enjoyed on their own or as a part of a whole. And it is not like the mini-rock opera, A Quick One While He Is Away, where the story moves and the pieces blend well together.

The DVD of a 2006 concert in Lyons is really depressing. It is a dinosaur reunion concert at its worst. It is only 5 songs and about 25 minutes long. The performance is uninspiring and Roger Daltry's voice is horrible. And except for Mike Post's Theme, it contains the same songs that are on all of The Who's live albums since 1970. I love Baba O'Riley, but there are many better versions on other live albums.

This album will be misunderstood by a great deal of listeners. What makes it so attractive is its diversity. As a buyer you get a great deal of bang for your buck. The only weak track on the album to my ears is In the ether, but otherwise there is an amazing amount of great stuff. From fantastic acoustic numbers like God speaks of Marty Robbins to the fantastic Mike Post theme. This is great stuff with full liner notes with lyrics. Go out and spend $10 to celebrate a 24 year delay from the greatest live band of all time. A nice collection trust me..

I thought I knew what to expect when I first heard they were making this album, but I was wrong. Dead wrong. It doesn't occur often... the resurrection of genius. But when it does, it just goes to show that you can't assume genius is no longer genius simply because you haven't heard from it in a while. Endless Wire is everything that I had always hoped for from The Who, ever since they first announced they would go on after Keith's death. It is lush, inspired and soaring. It is magical in a pure and uncomplicated kind of way. They've been able to present something totally fresh and unique here without losing touch with who they are as a band.

I won't bore you with my take on the production and songwriting details, the performer's skills, etc. Those are the very things that make it so beautiful and complete to begin with. I leave you to find that out on your own. But I do think that in the end, this album will stand the test of time as a great Who record. It is the first album that I have ever purchased where I played it a second time immediately after hearing it the first. Because it was that good. I couldn't believe what I had just heard.

Comeback album of the year....? Rubbish. Genius was there all along. It never really went anywhere. It just wasn't ready to be seen. That's all.

While not The Who's best work, we should be only grateful to have this wonderful CD. Is it "the best Who CD since _______ ?" (place your favorite Who CD here) Probably not. Does it break new ground or add anything significant to The Who's body of work? Definitely. Is it flawed? Yes. Does Roger's voice sound frayed at times? Yup. Does that matter? Nope. Is it a moving CD in its own way? Very. Does it bring a sense of repose that is unique to The Who's body of work? Yes. Would it have benefited from Entwistle's participation? Absolutely. Do Pete and Roger embarrass themselves in any way with this? Absolutely not.

Thank you, Pete and Roger, for giving us this music, which didn't need to exist, yet which is a moving and welcome addition to a tremendous body of work.