Who's Next

Who's Next was never supposed to exist. Pete Townshend had spent years developing Lifehouse, a sprawling multimedia science-fiction project about a dystopian future society that rediscovers liberation through rock music. It was too complex, too conceptually overwhelming for everyone around him, and eventually the weight of it drove Townshend to a nervous breakdown. The project was cancelled. The songs survived.

What emerged from the wreckage is one of the most explosive-sounding rock records ever made. The opening synthesizer sequence of "Baba O'Riley" is one of the most instantly recognizable moments in rock history, a cascading keyboard loop that Townshend programmed using the life statistics of Meher Baba, his spiritual teacher, fed through a synthesizer as numerical data. It runs for two minutes before the band comes in, and when they do the impact is physical. "Won't Get Fooled Again" closes the album with eight minutes of kinetic fury capped by Roger Daltrey's primal scream, which remains one of the most cathartic moments in rock. Keith Moon plays like a man trying to destroy the drums before the song ends and somehow never loses the beat.

The Who in 1971 were four of the most dangerous musicians alive in a room together: Townshend's slashing power chords, John Entwistle's melodic bass lines that sang over the rhythm, Moon's controlled chaos behind the kit, Daltrey's voice used like a blunt instrument and a precision tool in the same song. Who's Next is what happens when that chemistry reaches its absolute peak.