The WHO: WHO’s Last(1984)

 

The WHO will always hold the distinction of being a band I got into a month before they broke up!

Now were going back to November 1982 and The WHO are finishing up what was supposed to be The Farewell Tour (or so we were led to believe) as Pete Townsend was sick of it all and didn’t want to continue being in the band. I’m sure certain additions and a successful solo album (Empty Glasses in 1980) didn’t help matters either for Pete!

So as the tour that year finished up in Toronto that show was broadcast all across Canada on National TV! Wow! So as a 15-year-old as I was enamoured with that show. Here’s band packing it in and  all the other  bands I was listening too at the time weren’t breaking up so The WHO were a band I wanted to delve into by this show as the songs I heard were riveting….

Perhaps to the diehard fan The WHO were fragmented. To me they were cool. Old of course, but these buzzards could still pack a punch!

Too make a longer story short The WHO did break up and got back together and to this day they are still touring even this year in 2019!

Ha..We Won’t Get Fooled Again! Well we were all fooled again by these Fella’s…..

So two years after the break up comes the Record Company cash grab with a Live Album released in November of 1984 which features songs played on the 1982 Tour!

WHO’s Last I got for Christmas that year from my Parents and it was  a great introduction for me to hear some of the classics that these guys had put out up to that point!

Course record company politics dictated that all the songs on here are from the MCA  years(1970’s) whereas the two 1980’s albums (Face Dances:1980 and It’s Hard:1982) were released on Warner Brothers Records! So no Warner Records songs were released on WHO’s Last!

Kind of a drag but what can you do. Damn Suits at the Company!

In any case with this double  you get  17 classics mostly recorded in Cleveland on the final hurrah and even though the production is not fixed up by any stretch of the imagination. It sounds raw n rough sounding by the Who’s standard.

Pete’s guitar sounds like a buzzsaw at times. Nothing slick sounding about his tone on here but it comes across the vinyl grooves awesome.

John Entwistle slaps that Bass like no one’s business! No wonder they called him ThunderFingers! John could rip along on 4 strings like a guitarist ripping on 6 strings!

Kenny Jones had the task of replacing Keith Moon and does an admiral job as he does not play like Moon at all! I always dug Kenny’s work with The WHO. Jones shows up and gives the songs his spin on them.

In between Microphone twirling and smashing and thrashing tambourines comes Roger Daltry who has one of the most identifiable voices in Rock! Look at the job Daltry had to do to convey all of Pete’s lyrics throughout the history of this band. No easy feat folk’s!

For myself a great mish mash of songs. One of my favourites has to Dr Jimmy. The song has all the trimmings I like about The Who.  A driving rock track with a splash of Synth and a couple of time changes to keep Dr Jimmy from getting stale!

Considering that in 1984 a ton of albums came out WHO’s Last never set the world on fire which is a shame but perhaps people knew at the time them guys were finished(ha) and didn’t care anymore…

Who Know’s!

This is basically  a Greatest Hits set done Live as the other tracks on here are huge The Who’s hits through the years up to that point in time!

So if you ever come across this album I would recommend you picking it up!

 

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