Quadrophenia: Can You See The Real Me?

[Adam Blake]

Intensely irritating programme in which a bunch of elderly men attempt, with varying degrees of success, to find deep and meaningful significance in a bunch of middling to occasionally great songs written by a 28 year old alcoholic rock star undergoing an identity crisis. What is barely alluded to is that the only reason anyone gives a damn forty years later is that the songs were originally performed by The Who at a time when they were far and away the best rock band on the planet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQw1bNgdCf8

[john poole]

I finally got around to watching this at the weekend, and actually thought it was quite a good documentary - the only irritating aspect for me would be the two "critics" who should have been saved for an avoidable DVD extra. I particularly liked the two women who had appeared in the booklet with the LPs. I still wouldn't want to listen to the whole album again though (even if I still had a copy).

It's gone from i-Player now but will doubtless be repeated on BBC4 in due course.

[Adam Blake]

Yeah, I was so pissed off with Townshend's ungrateful revisionism and those idiot critics I completely forgot about those ladies. They were very entertaining.

[AndyM]

But there weren't any really truly great songs on the album, were there ? All part of that steep decline that went from 'Baba O'Riley' to 'Squeeze Box' in five (?) years.

[Adam Blake]

All part of that steep decline that went from 'Baba O'Riley' to 'Squeeze Box' in five (?) years.

A steady diet of brandy and cocaine'll do that for ya.