鈥淲ho's Next/Life House鈥� 鈥� The Who's massive new box set 鈥� dives deep down the archival rabbit hole to shed light on the development of one of the band's greatest records 鈥� and one grandiose idea that (mostly) slipped away.
The 10-disc, 155-track collection out Friday shows how 鈥檚 self-described 鈥渕ad idea鈥� for a science fiction rock opera 鈥淟ife House鈥� project, which was abandoned and eventually became 1971's 鈥淲ho鈥檚 Next.鈥�
But the sprawling original concept from The Who鈥檚 songwriter, lead guitar player and vocalist never left his mind and got refashioned numerous times in various formats over the ensuing half century.
At its most basic, Townshend's original 鈥淟ife House鈥� concept foresees a future where an autocratic government, in a land ravaged by pollution, enforces a national lockdown where every person is hooked up to an entertainment grid to distract them. Music becomes an inconvenient diversion to the powers that be, while inhabitants search for the perfect note to create a sort of musical rapture.
More or less.
The exhaustive box set allows the listener to observe the evolution of some of The Who's best and most well-known songs, including 鈥淲on't Get Fooled Again,鈥� 鈥淏aba O'Reilly鈥� (aka 鈥淭eenage Wasteland鈥�), 鈥淏ehind Blue Eyes鈥� and 鈥淕oin' Mobile.鈥�
While first envisioned for 鈥淟ife House,鈥� the songs eventually were released on 鈥淲ho's Next,鈥� a record that to the uninitiated may appear to be a greatest hits compilation, it's just that good.
There鈥檚 plenty here for Who nerds to take a deep dive. One fascinating bit is hearing the difference in the demos, sung by Townshend, and the versions that were ultimately released with Roger Daltrey鈥檚 signature vocals 鈥� including the epic scream that defined the official version of 鈥淲on鈥檛 Get Fooled Again.鈥�
Townshend writes the liner notes for the original 鈥淟ife House鈥� demos he recorded at his home studio, working tirelessly with some of the earliest synthesizer technology. His devotion to the material is reminiscent of other artists from that time, most notably Brian Wilson and , who struggle to translate the ideas and songs in their head into a finished product.
In fact, Townshend reportedly came close to having a nervous breakdown while working out the material.
鈥淚 have to say I am still so deliriously proud of the work I did on this music,鈥� Townshend writes. "When The Who perform it on stage, I sometimes give a little prayer of gratitude to that young man I once was who worked so hard on this for several weeks in that tiny studio full of dozens of excluded lengths of tape edited out to make it fly."
As an added bonus, the box set also includes other songs recorded in the era, a 鈥淟ife House鈥� graphic novel and two complete 1971 concerts that showcase The Who in their prime debuting the material with some crowd pleasers like 鈥淧inball Wizard鈥� and 鈥淢y Generation鈥� sprinkled in.
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AP music reviews:
Scott Bauer, The Associated Press
