A Quick One (Happy Jack)

Bruce Beatlefan (February 6, 2008)

Nothing from The Who's debut album My Generation even remotely suggests what is to come in this follow-up album, A Quick One. This almost sounds like the effort of a different group.

To begin with, Pete Townshend strips back his songwriting to only four of the ten tracks. He didn't stop writing songs; what happened is that four new songs of 1966 became parts of different projects (three singles: "Substitute", "I'm a Boy", and "Happy Jack", and "Disguises", which was part of the Ready Steady Who EP). Filling in the gap is another dubious R&B cover ("Heat Wave"), and debut original compositions from the other three members of the group. This is where the album gets a little wiggy, as John Entwistle proves to be rock and roll's answer to Grimm's Fairy Tales ("Boris the Spider" and "Whiskey Man"), and Keith Moon contributes two songs which are similarly loony ("I Need You" and "Cobwebs and Strange").

A second change is in the vocals, as Roger Daltrey's snarling growl no longer dominates. In addition to the other members' vocals being added to the mix, The Who adapt their sound to accomodate a Beach-Boys style of tight high harmonies (particularly in the Townshend songs "A Quick One While He's Away" and "So Sad About Us").

The crowning change (and the change which is to point directly toward the Who's immediate future) is found in the final track, the nine-minute final track "A Quick One While He's Away". Pete Townshend deviates drastically from his three-minute power pop to compose a "mini-opera" of six short melodies that tell the story of a lonely young woman. This startling change in direction indicates the creative restlessness in Townshend's muse which is to express itself in projects like Tommy, Life House, and Quadrophenia.

There'a a lot to get used to in this latest Who album, and not all of the new sounds succeed (Entwistle's "Whiskey Man", Moon's "I Need You", and Daltrey's "See My Way" are not particularly good), but the album is entertaining and fascinating, and contains some of the Who's finer moments, particularly the superb final track.

The extended CD expands on this new-found Who goofiness by including the contents of the EP Ready Steady Who with its three screwball covers ("Batman", "Bucket T", and "Barbara Ann"), along with a superb Townshend original ("Disguises"). Also included are Enwistle B-Sides "I've Been Away" and "In the City" which demonstrate his growing songcraft. Overall, a worthwhile if uneven collection of music.