Pete Townshend - Classic Quadrophenia

4/5
Review:

Much to enjoy, but ultimately rather unsatisfying

My judgement of this may be coloured by the fact that I still own and love my 2LP-set of Quadrophenia, bought on the day of release in 1973. My tastes have broadened a lot since then and now include a lot of classical music, so I was very interested to hear this, and I think it has a lot to commend it. In the end, though, it lacks something overall.

Pete Townshend, behind all the on- and off-stage antics, is a genuinely gifted, original composer, as has been obvious since the harmonic masterpiece of I Can See For Miles. Kit Lambert likened him to a modern-day Purcell, and it's an apt comparison - just listen to the introductions to Substitute or Pinball Wizard, with their constant bass notes with brilliantly shifting harmonies above. His music deserves proper appreciation, and orchestral settings of it stand up very well. Here, the synthesiser parts in particular lend themselves excellently to orchestration, and the originality and richness of the harmonic structures really shine. The instrumentation is neatly done throughout; the oboe taking Townshend's solo guitar part in The Rock is brilliant, for example.

Similarly, the solo vocal parts are very good: in the supporting roles Billy Idol is excellent and Phil Daniels acquits himself well. Alfie Boe himself is a superb singer, of course. He often (but not quite always) manages to get that muscular edge into his delivery which this music needs, and he gives it real energy and meaning throughout. However, there's an edge and a bite missing sometimes, replaced by very fine, operatic tone and occasionally a little too much vibrato for my taste. I don't mean to denigrate Alfie Boe in the slightest - it's what he does, he's brilliant at it and in it's place it's magical. However, in that great finale of Love, Reign O'er Me, for example, I ended up thinking it was a very fine vocal performance, whereas, as Townshend once observed of this track, "Roger gave it his bollocks."

And that's the difference pretty well throughout, I think. I kept trying to put my finger on what it needed, and it's the bite and aggression of the pilled Dr Jimmy, and the depth of his isolation in other places, all really provided by Townshend's inimitable guitar work and, most of all, Keith Moon's brilliant, brilliant drumming. Orchestral tympani parts just don't cut it, I'm afraid, and the work loses an essential component.

There's a good deal to enjoy here, but as a whole it's a bit unsatisfying in the end. It's interesting and I'm very glad to have it in my collection, but I'd recommend the original every time, and as an alternative version I far prefer the excellent Quadrophenia Live In London. Only a rather qualified recommendation from this long-term Who fan, I'm afraid.