Hope I die before I get old.”
For those who somehow do not already know, that famous lyric comes from The Who’s 1965 hit song “My Generation.” This music in review is not going to focus on “My Generation” specifically, but I think this is a going starting point of the longer conversation I wish to have with myself and the internet.
I have a dark sense of humour, so I have found an extra layer of comedy in that old line about dying before getting old. The only member of The Who who fulfilled this promise was Keith Moon. Like the rock god that he was Keith Moon partied to death at age thirty-two, and I like to imagine that if there is an afterlife, then Keith Moon might be shouting to earth to the rest of The Who yelling “we had a deal!”
I think it’s funny, but I also acknowledge the enormity of the loss that was Keith Moon. Obviously for the world, and music at large, we lost one of the greatest drummers of all time. But for the rest of The Who, for Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, and John Entwistle, they had lost more than that, they had lost an irreplaceable member of their band, and they also lost a good friend.
Keith Moon died in 1978, five years before I was born, so I grew up knowing the end of the story. I grew up with no sense of loss, so I probably underappreciated the impact of Moon’s death had on the rest of The Who. For young me I always saw The Who as this really upbeat, happy band. They had great songs that carried really get humour and watching their live performances and all the destruction of guitars they seemed like they were having a lot of fun. That did not change very much in their later albums, not as far as I could tell.
Also, before I was born, The Who released two more albums with Kenny Jones on drums. “Face Dances” released in 1981 and “It’s Hard” released in 1982. I really liked both of these albums, though if I am being perfectly honest the principle reason is because of one powerhouse son on each album. “Face Dances” has the wonderfully whimsical, honest love song, “You Better You Bet,” I wrote about that song a while back on this blog: https://colinkellymusicinreview.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-who-you-better-you-bet.html
“It’s Hard” has one of the greatest Who songs ever in “Eminence Front.” I always did like the title track on “It’s Hard” as well, but like most songs in the history of all music, it pales in comparison to the greatness of “Eminence Front.”
As young me listened to “Who are You,” “Tommy,” and “Who’s Next,” I was also listening to “Face Dances” and “It’s Hard.” I never thought much of the changes in the Who’s later day works back then. Over time I began to hear how Daltrey and Townshend hated those last two albums, which I thought was sad because they are pretty good. But the more I thought about it became clearer that Moon’s absence from those albums could be heard. I believe that Kenny Jones probably never got a fair chance to shine with The Who, but that happens when you are tasked with filling the shoes of a rock god. I thought I understood why Daltrey and Townshend disliked “Face Dances” and “It’s Hard,” but I knew very little.
Then I watched this youtube video by the channel Polyphonic:
Polyphonic and others hail “Eminence Front” as the last great Who song and based on the chronology of their discography this statement is rather inarguable. This factoid is both appropriate and sad. Being a rock star had caught up with The Who, but the show must go on, so Townshed, being the rather forward individual that he is made one last final statement when he wrote “Eminence Front.”
One of the first things I hate to admit not knowing was the meaning of the word eminence. All these years I have been singing along to “Eminence Front” and I never bothered look up the title meaning. Apparently, eminence is fame or recognized superiority. Pete Townshed burned out and recovering from a cocaine addiction wrote a song about how the whole persona of being a rock star was a ruse. The Who were at a low point creatively at this time, but they had contractual obligations, so Townshed dug deep and ripped this song out of his soul, letting loose all the ugliness he saw in the industry and inside of himself. All that glam and partying, it was a put on.
A part of me always knew “Eminence Front” was about the dark side of the human condition, but without deeper thought into Townshed’s life, I took it as a general sentiment. People of all walks of life are hiding behind a false image, and I think that is part of the brilliance of “Eminence Front” that everyone can relate to it. We put on a strong face sometimes or smile through our teeth. At the very least we all someone who has to pretend to be something they are not just to survive whatever situation they are in. Townshed was able to make the woes of his complex extraordinary life relatable to everyone, and this is clearly intentional. The first two verses are about recreational activities and drug use, but the later verses are about gambling and the stock market. In all four examples hazardous risk and reward are in play, but we can easily take the thought further. Everyone puts on a brave show in the face uncertainty, but people forget, that they are hiding behind a false image, and eminence front.
“It’s Hard” and “Eminence Front” while sourced creatively from unpleasant moments in the life of Townshed, the result is one of the best songs The Who ever wrote, and I hope this gives Townshed some comfort and peace. Sometimes starting our demons down helps us conquer them, and I suspect that is the case for Townshed and “Eminence Front.”
Until next month keep on rocking in the free world.
- King of Braves
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