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“Fragments,” the first song on The Who’s excellent new Endless Wire, immediately echoes past glories. With a swirling synth loop, a splash of frenetic drums and a single crashing power chord, Maestro Townshend ushers in the band’s first studio album in 24 years. Featuring only Pete’s acoustic guitar and Roger’s voice, the second song (“A Man In A Purple Dress”) cleverly asserts that just two surviving members can still constitute a vital working version of The Who. A scathing indictment of Catholicism, it alone makes a strong case that Pete’s writing might actually be better than ever. The incisive “Mike Post Theme” indicts the cheezoid background music of pop culture for its role in destroying individualism. Pete even employs a few of Mr. Post’s signature sounds, piling musical irony on top of the witty lyrics. Roger Daltrey remains a vocalist of unmatched visceral impact. And though the years have taken some of his legendary lung power, he instinctively uses this to his advantage by portraying a previously unheard frailty and vulnerability in his voice. Reflecting the fragility and impermanence of human existence, the slight cracks in Roger’s voice sounding like tiny tears in the fabric of life. Pete sings quite a few here, too, including the achingly beautiful ode to lost love “In The Ether.”
The second half of the new disc is Pete’s latest mini-opera, a quaint little song cycle called Wire And Glass. More than a little autobiographical just beneath the surface story, it is rife with moments of glory (“We Got A Hit”) and revelation (“They Made My Dream Come True”). If Tommy and Quadrophenia are novels then Wire & Glass is a short story, and the leaner, less demanding model works quite well. A tightly wound string of disjointed but interrelated song fragments, this short form concept piece is a not so distant cousin to the band’s early Rock Opera trial, “A Quick One (While He’s Away).” The narrative’s final statement is “Tea And Theater,” a bittersweet assessment of their personal history and a wistful little glimpse into Pete and Roger’s relationship. Perpetually pouring his heart out over the course of his long career in the public eye, Endless Wire contains some of Townshend’s most confessional lyrics. After all the wild, restless years of tumult, triumphs, traumas and tragedies, it is a heart-warming curiosity to hear recurring references to “Breathing in/Breathing out,” “Are we the parts? Are we the whole?” and “The parts of me … belong to you.” The best news to emerge from between these lines is a vision of Pete, the notorious, cantankerous crank, the heartsick cynic, now emanating an almost Zen-like glow of acceptance and contentment. (Ric Hickey) Grade: A Shake It Records – Click here to listen
This article appears in Nov 29 – Dec 5, 2006.