Who’s Next, one of the Who’s greatest albums, is actually the remnants of another project. After the rock opera Tommy, Pete Townshend started working on another multimedia project called Lifehouse. The project fell through, but eight of the songs were salvaged for the Who album. The only song on the album that wasn’t from Lifehouse is My Wife.
Who’s next was released in August of 1971. It is considered by many to be one of the greatest classic rock albums of all time.
Classic Rock Review says that Who’s Next is “Perhaps THE most complete rock album in history, Who’s Next has just about everything a classic rock fan can want in an album. It has plenty of three-chord power riffs, melodic piano ballads, cutting edge technological innovation, virtuoso performances, raw power, accessibility, depth, message, anthems, a nice balance between acoustic and electric, and an even nicer balance between electronic and analog.” They go on to say “In total, this album by The Who is satisfying, wildly entertaining, and hits its absolute peak at the very end.” I couldn’t agree more.
Cover Artwork
Beyond the amazing music that is on the album, the cover art is amazing itself. Amazing? Yeah, it’s different. It’s 100% original and 100% fitting of the band. The photo was taken at Easington Colliery and depicts the band having just urinated on a large concrete piling. Pete Townshend was the only one to actually take a piss on the concrete. Rainwater was used to achieve the desired effect fr the other members.
First photo taken by kubacheck in Philadelphia PA Oct. 26, 2008
Second photo taken in 2012 by Ross