;
;
R
E
C
0
R
D
S
s .urr. ... tc .erotiers: ,atir , 1
By R. J. SMITH
I cannot imagine my life or anyone
:ese's being defined by Who _Aire You
n the way that so many Who songs and
.abums have, and in a way that has
-become the mantle the Who must live
with perpetually. "My Generation,"
K;'The Kids Are Alright," "The Who Sell
*Out," Tommy, "Pure and Easy,"
"Won't Get Fooled Again," Who's
Next-none are like Who Are You.
It's almost as if Pete Townshend has
,edged his bet here, postponing
anything too ambitions for fear of
losing the sheer ioy of playing with a
Who not fighting among themselves for
the first time in years.
Who Are You is instead a mixture of
disconnected songs: tunes scrapped
from projects Townshend has been
'working on, tunes scrapped from
projects bassist John Entwhistle has
been working on, and some songs which
seem to have been assembled right in
the studio.
'k Missing is much -of the slashing
trademark Townshend guitar work,:
because Townshend felt too many solos
would crowd out the others' playing.
But in this instance, democracy exacts a
sad toll, and Moon and Entwhistle too
often must struggle to fill up the
familiar spaces that Townshend
leaves open.
At the same time, much good can be
said about the new Who album. Though
Townshend is laying low (even his.
vocal work. is restricted to a single
bridge of "Sister Disco"), the others
have, except for solo work,
monopolized on the situationquite well.
ENTWHISTLE PROVIDES a
dynamite rocker called "Trick Of The
Light," and another of his three tunes,
"Had Enough," is one of the highlights
of the LP. Charted with a magnificent
string and horn arrangement that some
have found overripe but I find
incredibly well integrated with the
Who's playing, it's a truly apocalyptic
vision borne of anger and despair. Not a
"Paint It Black, 1978," it's effortlessly
driven home like an ecstatic fantasy.
Truthfully, song-by-song, Who Are
You is a very fine collection of
Townshend material. Delving further
into the intricacies of the synthesizer,
Townshend's songs - while not as
introspective as "Rough Mix" or as
wrenching as many on The Who By
Numbers or Who's Next-nonetheless
show him to be the most fearlessly
honest and self-assailing artist in rock
today (he wins this prize hands down,
considering Lou Reed died many years
ago).
Just as the despondency of "Had
Enough" is unfolded in an uplifting
arrangement, so is the self-doubt and
depression of "Guitar and Pen"
uncovered by music that might have
achieved near anthem-like intensity
had Townshend only taken it upon
himself to risk losing the stability with
some of his grandstand power-
chording. As it is, it's merely a fine,
memorable song.
AND FINALLY, there is the title cut.
It's essential that the "Who Are You"
printed on the album's cover does not
appear with a question mark - in
terms of the song, it makes a world of
difference. "Who Are You" is an
indictment of the Who's audience, a
call to action, a demand to maintain a
life of vitality and danger. From the
beginning, there is Roger Daltry at his
historic best, sounding like thunder as
he tells a tale of debauchery:
I woke up in a Soho doorway,
a policeman knew my name
he said you can go to sleep at home tonight
if you can get up and walk away
Istaggered back to the underground
and the breeze blew back my hair.
I remember throwing punches around
and preaching from my chair
The sing-song chorus drives the
message home - this is what we are;
what can you do that won't be boring?
But also implicit in that title, a little
deeper down, is a good deal of the love
Pete Townshend has for his audience.
"Who ARe You" as a phrase in tune
with the audience. But in the lyrics,
Townshend shows he has his doubts
about being good enough for his
audience:
I spit up like a sewer hole,
yet still receive your kiss
how can I live up to where you are now
and such a love as this?
It is a tremendous question to be
asking, even more tremendous since
after 14 years, Townshend still doesn't
know if his abilities can possibly match
his desires.1
"Who Are You" is propelled by some
of the best rapid-fire mood-changing
the Who have ever employed in their
songs, and is accompanied by a sparse
but axial guitar attack in the midst of a
contemplative portion, that, well, rips
the old lungs out every time.
Who Are You is a collection of songs
- not too strongly bound together - by
a group very much in flux. Although it
does not have the power to key the
emotions of the masses as previous
albums have, and shows Pete
Townshend in a sometimes-state of
studiousness and deference, it's a
collection of songs often extremely vital
by themselves.
ramousjurniture
Three of the members of the "All In the Family" cast, Sally Struthers, Jean
Stapleton, and Rob Reiner, look on with Norman Lear, the series' creator, as
the two chairs which adorned the living room of Edith and Archie Bunker are
given to the Smithsonian Institute Tuesday in Washington.
UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME
POP CONCERT COMMITTEE.
PRESENTS
An Introduction To The Basics
of Waldorf Education
a lecture by PROFESSOR HANS GEBERT
Waldorf Institute of Mercy College, Detroit
Sunday, September 24, 1978-3:00 PM
Rudolf Steiner House
1923 Geddes Avenue THE PUBLIC IS INVITED
Ann Arbor
Sponsored by the Rudolf Steiner Institute of the Great Lakes
FREDDIE HUBBAR D 1FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 22- 8:00 PM
NOTRE DAME ATHLETIC & CONVOCATION CENTER
H"eTICKETS $7.50: Send certified check or money order payable to Notre Dame
YES Show, Notre Dame Athletic & Convocation Center, South Bend, Indiana
aIt*a46556
t~' a' ......ri' ri.. .". .:.. .'}..<::.%... ~
Performance:
it's more than
just a
piece of paper.
"Born To Win" is the book that shows you how to
become the winner you were meant to be. When first
published, it cost $5.95. And over a million people felt it
was a small price to pay.
Butthe new Signet paperback edition of "Born To Win"
costs just $2.50.
"Born To Win" will help you develop self-confidence.
Take charge of your life. Even improve your sex life.,
"Born To Win," If you don't read it, you've got a lot to lose.
A SIGNET PAPERBACK BESTSELLER $2.50
IF U THINK ITS
CHNGE TIE NFL
Certified Peformance is a
committment to better sound and
value to our customers.
People like Sherwood's Susan Boos
(above) and Absolute Sound's sales
staff are committed to making sure
you get the best sound for your
investment.
They see to it that everything you buy
is of the highest possible quality.
That's why Sherwood has been
recognized as a leader in the hifi
industry for over 25 years. That's why
Absolute Sound is considered the
stereo store by stereo perfectionists
and value-conscious music lovers.
See all the new Sherwood CP Series
receivers at Absolute Sound.
In addition to the S-7450 CP,
Sherwood also offers the model S-7250
with 20 watts per channel, the S-75 CP
with 70 watts per channel, the Model
S-7650 CP with 45 watts per channel
and the top of the line Model S-110 CP
with 100 watts per channel.
All receivers are conservatively rated
at 0.2 percent THD at full power.
Many units measure ten times better
at 0.2 percent but you can be assured
that each unit will meet this level,
which is so low as to be undetectable
when listening to music.
Certified Peformance: A genuine
breakthrough in value.
Sherwood's exclusive Certified
Performance program represents
three important advances in quality
control.
First,you are assured of consistent
performance because each individual
unit is stringently tested to conform
with high minimum requirements. All
units must pass these tests before they
can be sold. This is why Sherwood CP
components are so reliable and
trouble-free.
Second, each unit is 'tweaked' or
fine-tuned to deliver maximum
performance. This means you'll enjoy
better sound than mere published
specs show. Typically, Sherwood CP
products may check out at 10-30
percent better that their rated
specifications.
Third, you can inspect for yourself
the real measured performance of a 1
unit before you buy. This eliminatesc
all uncertainty and shows just how E
much Sherwood cares about their s
product and their reputation.1
Notary public Susan Boos [above] verfies that all measurement data has been
correctly recorded onto the Certified Performance certificate. "tWe go through
elaborate testing in the plant to assure the performance of every unit, "Susan
says. "But with handwritten numbers, there is always a chance-that a 4 may look
like a 9, or something like that. I just make sure that a 4 looks like a 4 and that all
measurements have been entered correctly. Certified Performance means we
check everything.
Certified Performance and high
accuracy sound at a price you can
afford.
Just like all Sherwood products, the
S-7450 CP comes complete with its
own notarized performance sheet. It's
rated at 30 watts per channel RMS into
8 ohms from 20-20,000 Hz with no
more than 0.2 percent. It includes two
tuning meters and Sherwood's famous
tuner quality, a super quiet phono
preamp and a sub-sonic filter that
eliminates phono overload due to
warped records.
- tihcrw4NN L i~cc4ronic I aIMr ri wk
!cer~ltik~d Pirf4rMancc 4 ric ij
This notarized Certified Performance
document comes with every Sherwood
SHERWOOD
Sherwood's new Model S-7450 CP Certified Performance Stereo Receiver.
Our Ann Arbor staff,
Steve Wu [left], Steve
Sinelli friaht1 and Paul
wl c wl i
TI~r .""..- W ~ j
~z.