Rock Reaches New High With The Who

Wednesday night saw the first Montreal appearance of the Who, an English rock and roll quartet. In the three years that they have been recording the Who have become a major influence on the development of rock music.

The Who originated the use of electronic distortion as a part of contemporary pop music, and they created a blue-based, electrically augmented sound that was a major innovation in the usually eclectic world of rock and roll. Their experimentation with sound led to a stage presentation which climaxes with a wild melee in which their instruments are thrown about the stage and a guitar is ultimately smashed to bits.

The Who ran onto the stage of the Forum, resplendent in clothes of velvet, silk and sequins. They are indeed a spectacular group to watch. They play so long and loud that one's head begins to ring, wondering where all the sounds are coming from. And all the time they move about and attack their instruments with a satisfying violence. Keith Moon, the drummer, leans forward with his arms flying, crashing his sticks down on drums and cymbals, sustaining a rhythmic pattern which is unmatched by any other rock drummer. Peter Townshend, the guitarist and leader, is tall and overpoweringly elegant, as he flails his guitar with great circular sweeps of his outstretched arm. John Entwhistle stands unmoving through everything and plays a solid bass line, while vocalist Roger Daltrey hits things with his microphone, prances around the stage, kneels penitentially before the drums, and sings.

The compositions, mostly by Townshend, are characterized by an unrelenting drive created by the drums, bass and guitar, over which the lead vocals and harmonies soar. The lyrics are marvellously unpretentious. They are not quite the normal love songs nor are they incomprehensible poetry. Often they are humorous narratives, as is the case with Townshend's mini-opera, A Quick One. The composition is in five distinct parts, and tells the tale of a girl whose lover is away, and she, in loneliness, is a little unfaithful. In the end she is forgiven. The singing begins with an a capella bass trio, and ends with a lengthy rococco rendition of the single line "you are forgiven" sung falsetto.

The Who create an atmosphere, not of potentially explosive excitement for which the Beatles or Rolling Stones are famous, but rather one of awe. The crowd at the Forum sat almost impassive as they were bombarded by the deafeningly loud sounds from the stage and the Who's frenetic actions. Only a few times when the Forum guards became hostile was the spell broken, but for the most part even those guards unclenched their fists and watched.

In the end the Who sang their modern classic My Generation, and fulfilling their image, and broke things up. While the bass continued to beat out a steady rhythm, drums began to roll about and Daltrey ran around swinging and striking his microphone. Townshend extracted an amazing variety of sounds from his guitar and amplifier, threw it in the air, caught it, pushed it aside and then smashed another one.

The sacrifice had been made, and everyone went home happy.

DANE LANKEN