First Time Ever Listening to the Who - I Can't Explain | ​⁠​⁠@thewho5803 #reaction #firsttime

The entire album “Quadrophenia” is a real mental health journey. Some of their most amazing compositions. “Love reign o’er me“ is one of the most recognizable songs from this album.

The Who are a great British rock band formed in London in 1964. They are considered one of the most influential rock bands of the 20th century & have sold over 100 million records worldwide. They have so many great songs such as "The Kids Are Alright", "Who Are You", "My Generation", "Baba O'Riley", "Won't Get Fooled Again", "Substitute", "Happy Jack", "I Can See For Miles", "Behind Blue Eyes", "Boris The Spider", "Pictures Of Lily", "Magic Bus", "Pinball Wizard" etc.

This is a great song. The beginning of the hippy era. A true classic. But till you see a live performance song from Tommy . You really cannot understand. They transformed the world. Won't be Fooled Again changed me. Turned me against the establishment. Made me a rebel.

Won’t Get Fooled Again live at Shepperton Studios in 1977. Written following the revolutionary youth movement of the late 1960’s. I think that this performance is the answer to the question “What is rock music?” Enjoy.

The Who is a whole universe of music that you need to go into (down the rabbit hole.) And, epic live performances. Great reaction!

The Who had the Guinness World Record of Records of loudest Rock band live according to decibels , twice. ❤

I saw The Who for the first time in 1972 in Amsterdam. This was the opening song. The sound was amazing, verry verry loud, but brilliant. Never heard better till this day. Great live rockband. Fan for life. Nice reaction, thanks. 👍😁💪❤️

I am in that "last generation growing up without beepers, cell phones, video games and social media"..yes it is sad!

This is fairly early Who. They're an especially interesting band because they emerged from the Mod scene in early 60s England and evolved into a phenomenon. Pete Townshend, the lead guitarist, wrote most of their stuff and it got increasingly ambitious, withe rock opera "Tommy" and "Quadrophenia" being genuinely innovative concept albums. "Who's Next", probably their most popular album, was made up of what remained of an even more ambitious Townshend project that he didn't quite bring to fruition. They're well worth investigating.

Their rock opera 'Tommy' was absolutely mind blowing! Saw it live in Detroit many moons ago! Seeing them live was awesome! Thanks Rosalie!!!

BTW, there are no female backing vocals. It's all them.

You should watch concert version of Don't get fooled again you'll get an idea of the energy they bring to their shows.

Pete has a very distinctive high-energy chaotic style of guitar playing.

The Who was the most explosive band to emerge in the 60's... The Beatles were the phenomenon... The Rolling Stones were the bad boys of rock n' roll... The Beach Boys were the summertime party... The Doors were the psychedelic kings... Cream were the pioneers of improvisation... The Jimi Hendrix Experience was the ultimate power trio... The Kinks were raw and underrated... The Who were the band u could not contain onstage. U have to hear the original band live and realize that the studio could not capture what they were capable of in concert. Starting as kids in London, Roger Daltrey met John Entwistle (bass), who had built his own instrument and invited him to join his band in the early 60's.... Entwistle brought in his friend from school, Pete Townshend (guitar) and they played cover songs, mostly American rhythm & blues... Switching from guitar, Roger Daltrey became the band's vocalist and they sounded great live as a 4-piece band. However, the band's sound was completed when Keith Moon (drums) joined the band and brought in his maniac drumming that pushed up their power and unpredictability... Drummers in the 60's usually played to a beat or groove... jazz drummers were better at improvisation... Keith Moon was the first rock drummer to pound his drums to a pulp and earned him the nickname 'Moon the loon'. After using various names, they settled on The Who... and were still an R&B cover band by 1965 when they were offered to make a record... Pete Townshend wrote his first ever song "I can' explain" ... trying to emulate The Kinks. It was released as a single and did well. Pete Townshend took it upon himself to become The Who's primary songwriter and bassist John Entwistle also contributed some songs. It was the single 'My Generation' by The Who that broke the band big and they were touring relentlessly by 1967... When The Who appeared on US television in 1967 to perform 'My Generation' live, drummer Keith Moon pulled a stunt that made The Who instantly famous... At the end of The Who's concerts, the band would trash their instruments - Pete Townshend would smash his guitar and Moon would trash his drum kit... and they did this every night... For the live TV appearance, they agreed to smash their instruments to end the song and they installed a small cannon in Keith Moon's bass drum that was supposed to fire off a bang. Keith Moon didn't like the test 'bang'... so, he overloaded the cannon without telling anybody (not even the band)... At the end of 'My Generation', as Townshend smashed his guitar, Moon fired the cannon and it exploded on the set w/ a boom, destroying his drum set, injuring him and could have killed Pete Townshend (whose hearing was permanently damaged as a result) The Who had arrived. After numerous hit singles, Pete Townshend decided in 1969 that The Who needed a new idea... He wrote songs that created the concept album 'Tommy'... about a boy who is born deaf, dumb and blind, but uses his remaining senses to become a gifted pinball player. Roger Daltrey captured the character of 'Tommy' w/ his vocal delivery and the album became known as a 'rock opera' and was a huge success. In 1971, Pete Townshend used the new technology and synthesizers to develop new sounds and songs. What emerged was The Who's biggest album "Who's next"... and the massive singles "Baba O' Reilly"... "Won't get fooled again"... The Who were a massive concert attraction when they toured in the 70's and opening bands would usually get hassled by their fans when they played... Roger Daltrey was an animated singer, spinning his mic... Pete Townshend was jumping all over the stage, while John Entwistle was the quiet bassist onstage... and Keith Moon was the explosive drummer and everybody notice him for his playing. However, drugs and alcohol were causing problems within The Who, especially after the tour for 'Quadrophenia'... another concept album in 1973.... Keith Moon encountered numerous incidents due to his alcohol and drug intake... In 1978, The Who recorded another stellar album 'Who are you' and were expected to tour... Tragically, drummer Keith Moon was found dead that year from misuse of pills that he was using to curb his alcoholism. The Who announced that they would continue and tour w/ session drummers but the magic was gone without Keith Moon... Tragedy struck The Who again in Cincinnati, Ohio when the venue of their concert failed to control the crowd waiting outside to get in... 11 people died in the mayhem. The Who released 2 more albums by 1982 and decided to disband after a final tour... However, none of the members - Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey or John Entwistle... had any major success as a solo artist. They decided to start performing again as The Who occasionally. In 2001, The Who played the charity Concert for New York City in NYC after the 9/11 attacks on the city... and The Who stole the show that night... It would be the last performance of bassist John Entwistle... He was found dead in 2002 from a heart attack, just before The Who was to start a massive comeback tour... The Who carried on touring as a duo (Townshend and Daltrey) w/ session musicians... One of them was Zak Starkey (drums) who is the son of legendary Beatles drummer Ringo Starr, and he could emulate what Keith Moon did onstage. The Who released 2 more albums - 'Endless wire' in 2006... and 'Who' in 2019.

1982, Chicago. Went to see The Who with my now wife of 40 years and some friends. We were told it was their last concert so we thought it to be very special. They did tour after that but it was special to us. We were all under age and had open beer in the car on the way to the concert. When we arrived at the toll booth just outside the venue, the Illinois State Police was searching cars. We were freaking out. The car just in front of us was getting searched and the officer at the booth let us pass without an inspection. The rest of the evening was epic. What a great band and a great show. It was an evening we will never forget. Only one thing would be greater, to have seen Led Zeppelin in their prime. 🙂

I saw the Who on December 15th, 1975 at the Spectrum in Philadelphia PA. It was the best concert that I ever attended. They ended the concert with playing Won't Get Fooled Again. It was an unbelievable light show and the Who blew the roof off of the building that night. It was my opportunity to see The Who with the original band as drummer, Keith Moon died in 1978.

You should checkout their video for their first hit "I Can't Explain". They looked so young! I believe they were teenagers. They progressed very rapidly. From their signature song "My Generation" to rock opera "Tommy" & "Quadrophenia" and more. Lots to dive into here. "Love Reign O'ver Me" still gives me chills when I hear it. Political gems "Won't Get Fooled Again" & "Baba O'Reilly". And you can't forget "Who Are You"! Saw them twice in concert in 1983 and in 2016! loved it both times!

You gave me a bit of a chuckle,. There are no female background singers on this. The Who were part of the background music in the soundtrack of my life. I was 8 when this was released. For the rest of my young years after this The Who were always just there, coming out of radios, played on records by older siblings of friends, etc. Other early songs of theirs that you might like were I Can See For Miles, and Magic Bus, and you really must listen to My Generation, at some point.

I grew up on all this stuff. That’s why I’m “talking about my generation”. Lol. By the way that’s another one of their hits.

I am the youngest of 7 (in my 60s now!). The brother who influenced my musical journey the most was heavy into the Who. When I hear 'early' Who (to me late 60s-'74), I think of my growing years and my sibs. I am more of the group that followed The Who from the mid 70s forward. Like other comments, there's a LOT of good songs to look into. Behind Blue Eyes should be on your list. Their "quietest' song, but moving lyrically... Cheers, Rosilee!