Record Reviews

WHO ~ QUADROPHENIA (DELUXE EDITION) POLYDOR 2780503 (Barcode: 602527805030) ~ UK ~ Classic Rock Recorded: 1972 - 1973 Released: 2011 This was the 6th studio album (7th including "Live At LeedsFind albums with this title") by the legendary British band The WhoFind albums by this artist and their second "Rock Opera" ("TommyFind albums with this title" was the first of course). In order to comprehend the enormity of Who´s output of that period, one must recall that the three successive studio albums: "Tommy", "Who`s NextFind albums with this title" and "QuadropheniaFind albums with this title" were all double LPs, were based on literary plot / storyline and were written and composed by one man: Pete TownshendFind albums by this artist. The story behind "Quadrophenia" talks about a teenager boy called Jimmy, the opera protagonist, who suffers from quadruple schizophrenia (hence the title), where each of his multiple personalities represents one of the band´s members. The social, psychological and moral aspects of Jimmy´s life, set in London and Brighton in the mid-1960s are the opera´s plot. In spite of the relative success of the album at the time of its release, it was severely criticized as self-indulgent and excessive, and was mostly completely misunderstood musically by the contemporary critics, which happened repeatedly with Who´s albums. Often even passing time and perspective did not make significant difference in the order of recognition of the album´s standing as one of the great masterpieces of British Rock. In 1979 the opera was transformed into a script and filmed, to be later released under the same name. The film´s soundtrack features ten remixed songs from the original album and three new songs that did not appear on the album. In retrospect the music serves as a glorious reminder of times, when music was at the epicenter of Artistic expression with unprecedented and unfortunately unrepeated power and aptitude. This Deluxe Edition, produced by Townshend, adds a set of previously unreleased demo versions of the songs, which would later on become "Quadrophenia", and of course a remastered versions of the original album. Do I need to remind everybody again how essential it is? Side Note: In addition to this Deluxe Edition there is also a Super Deluxe Edition of "Quadrophenia", a lavishly packed LP-sized Box Set, which includes 5 CDs, a beautiful book with text by Townshend and beautiful photographs and a plethora of other goodies. It is expensive, but worth every penny for a true Who fan!

Updated: 26/01/2019Posted:

CD 2 Digipak Remastered Bonus Tracks Essential Recommend To A Friend