Review Summary: Love, reign over me
In 1965, London teenager Jimmy Cooper had enough. He hated his job, his parents, and struggled to maintain the support and appreciation of his superiors. Jimmy seemed to be mindlessly living in a world that he felt he had no connection with. He continued to go through the motions during the day, but with his friends he became a nihilistic and reckless drug abuser; attempting to escape his clinically depressed life with substance use. Soon enough, Jimmy’s life began to spiral out of control as he became dependent on the drugs and isolated from his society, his family, and even his friends. Jimmy was suffering from quadrophenia, which refers to a type of schizophrenia in which segregates the victim’s personality into four parts. His schizophrenic personalities of hypocrisy, romanticism, insanity, and toughness ultimately lead to his tragic demise; when he commits suicide. The Who’s “Quadrophenia” is a direct depiction of his catastrophic downfall, the first disc representing his home troubles. By
I’ve Had Enough Jimmy has been kicked out of his house, and his drug problem becomes more apparent, “Out of my brain on the five-fifteen.” The second disc is the intensified version of his collapse, as his demise draws closer.
The Who’s “Quadrophenia,” is a concept album for the ages. It would be easy to hype the album due to the fact that it is a concept record alone, but is one that could not have been developed any better. Following their 1971 hard rock classic “Who’s Next,” The Who were able to create something so incredible, that concept albums such as Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” pale in comparison. The most obvious theme of the album is the fictional, yet very realistic story of Jimmy Cooper, but is not the only notion buried in the record. The four-part schizophrenic personality that is the term quadrophenia, represents the behavior of each of the members of the band. Not only are these themes contained in the double-album, but specifically refer to four of “Quadrophenia’s” tracks. These four tracks identify the different musical movements of the record as well. As the front man, Roger Daltrey was the band’s
Helpless Dancer; the hot-tempered one who always seemed to come out on top during inter-band scuffles. In fact, during the preparation of the “Quadrophenia” tour, Daltrey landed a punch that would injure Townsend for a brief time.
Helpless Dancer expresses the anger of the record with an ominous and furious piano part and brutally honest vocals by Daltrey.
Doctor Jimmy most accurately depicts the personality of bassist John Entwistle as the romanticist. The lyrics, “Is it me, for a moment?” can be directly related back to Entwistle, who was the thinker and hushed member of the band. The line “Is it me, for a moment” is a reoccurring theme that is featured throughout the record including during the roaring tide in
I Am the Sea.
Keith Moon’s behavioral schism in the band may have been the most tragic, for it was his reckless lunacy that led to his death in 1978. Moon takes on the theme of
Bell Boy; the wild and careless drummer who had overdosed on drugs on several occasions, finally catching up with him just five years after “Quadrophenia” was recorded. Moon’s death is almost eerie considering Townsend had written the rock opera prior to the incident, and in a way predicted his downfall.
Townsend’s theme in “Quadrophenia” could very well be the deepest, and most significant out of the entire band. Despite being arguably the least musically talented member of the band (which says a hell of a lot), Townsend was the heart and soul and the musical genius of the group. He wrote “Quadrophenia” almost entirely by himself, which may be his greatest achievement of his illustrious career. The musical movement associated with him is the most powerful,
Love Reign O’er Me standing as the present day as arguably music’s most emotional song. Townsend is essentially begging for love and appreciation, something that the main character Jimmy had been pleading for throughout the album.
Each of these themes are infused into the climax of the record,
The Rock, which is intended to symbolize the rock that Jimmy is narrating the story from. By this time, the personalities of the band have been expressed multiple times, and
The Rock is where they clash. Just reading this without listening to the record may make
The Rock seem to be a complete and utter mess, although it is quite the opposite. These themes are battling back and forth, developed beautifully by the orchestra, piano, guitar, bass, and drums. Jimmy by this time can no longer deal with Keith’s insanity, John’s reflective nature, Roger’s aggressiveness, and especially Pete’s cry for love. Jimmy commits suicide,
Love Reign O’er Me being his final beg for some sort of understanding. Returning at the close of the record are water sounds that can be found in opening track
I Am the Sea, but in a different form. Rather than the roar of waves on the ocean,
Love Reign O’er Me concludes with the sound of pouring rain, which perfectly closes out what could have been Daltrey’s greatest vocal performance.
The concepts and themes of “Quadrophenia” are not to overshadow the music however, which is inconceivable on its own. Each member of The Who is at their absolute finest, and are complemented virtuously by an orchestra that features both horns and strings. The title track may be the record’s best track musically, for Townsend’s leads are both technical and emotional, and the ambience is something to admire. Entwistle has been most prominently known for his incendiary basslines throughout “Quadrophenia,” and absolutely tears up one of the record’s most famous tracks,
The Real Me. Moon’s underscore is that of his theme song
Bell Boy, in which he most convincingly delivers his immense talent.
“Quadrophenia” is the band’s most memorable and incredible accomplishment in their hall of fame career, and is more than just a concept album. It is the conflict of personalities in The Who, and a likely and extremely tragic story of a misunderstood teenager. The rock opera is flawlessly delivered with four movements, many themes, unbelievable talent, and full-fledged emotion.
Recommended Tracks:
The Real Me
Quadrophenia
Cut My Hair
Bell Boy
Doctor Jimmy
The Rock
Love Reign O’er Me
