Peter Townsend, left, Roger Daltry and John Entwhistle of the 1960's English rock band The Who are going on tour again with their 23-year-old 'Quadrophenia' album as a concert centerpiece. They stop in Albany tomorrow.

Guess Who's on tour

By Jim Sullivan

The Boston Globe

BOSTON

The Who. It began in 1964, exploded with the defiant anthem of "My Generation" in 1965, peaked in the early/mid-1970s and has staggered ahead — off and on — ever since. Fans have gotten used to saying hello and goodbye to this venerable English rock band many a time over the years. Every few years, it seems, there's a farewell tour crossing the land.

"I feel a bit like Frank Sinatra," says bassist John Entwistle, with a chuckle, about all the comebacks. "The Who Comeback Tour. The Who Goodbye Tour. But I guess they (the fans) don't want us to lay down."

And how's the ever-volatile relationship between guitaristsongwriter Pete Townshend and lead singer Roger Daltrey?

"They're getting along fine," says Entwistle. "There will always be differences of opinion, but we have a good time. No arguments about what we're doing. Not much to argue about."

In Albany tomorrow

This tour [which includes a stop tomorrow night at the Knickerbocker Arena in Albany, N.Y.] is a bit of an odd duck in today's rock world. There is no new Who album — there will likely never be a new Who album. In fact, the centerpiece of the show is the full, 90-minute rendition of The Who's 1973 concept album, "Quad

It's just about the most improbable revival you can imagine.

rophenia." That's right: a 23-year-old double album.

"Quadrophenia" started as a one-off in June at the Prince's Trust benefit concert in London. It was brought across the Atlantic for a six-show run at New York's Madison Square Garden. And now, the darn thing is out on the road proper and The Who are halfway through a tour.

Until this year, "Quadrophenia" never really got its due. The album never approached the pop-cultural impact of its rock opera predecessor, the classic "Tommy." It followed the hit-packed "Who's Next," and spawned nary a hit single. For an American audience, especially, "Quadrophenia" was overtly Anglocentric: All these pill-popping, short-haired mods on scooters scuffling with'these leather-clad rockers on motorcycles over . . what? A piece of beach turf in Brighton? Self-respect in society's lower echelon? And the lead character, Jimmy, in part a composite of the four personality strains of the players in The Who — hence the term "Quadrophenia" being "schizophrenia doubled" and serving as a pun on quadraphonic sound — a sonic movement that had already come and gone.

When The Who tried to play it live for the first time, they reportedly couldn't handle it. Too tricky. The tapes that had the orchestral parts kept miscuing. The audience was unfamiliar with the work, reportedly grumpy that they had to endure it.

Improbable revival

And in 1996 . . . it's just about the most improbable revival you can imagine. "Quadrophenia" is back on its feet, played by the three surviving Who members — Townshend, Daltrey and Entwistle — and a broad supporting cast, which includes Billy Idol, Gary Glitter and the late Keith Moon's disciple Zak Starkey, son of Ringo Starr.

Whether there is a Who or not is pretty much always on Townshend's shoulders. Eleven years ago — when The Who were broken up — Townshend told the Globe: "Bitterness is a terrible, terrible thing, and I think I started to get bitter about the fact that we seemed to be facing a fait accompli. We were a show business band. That's what we had become. We were out there to deliver. I think we forgot the essential premise of artistic entertainment, and that is, the people on the stage must genuinely be getting something from what they're doing as well. I'm not saying 'Baba O'Riley,' 'Won't Get Fooled Again' and 'Behind Blue Eyes' are not good, they're great — it's the fact that they do nothing for us. They're just old hat."

Feels fresh

Which may explain why "Quadrophenia," old as it is, feels as fresh as it does. There is a challenge; there is vitality. And in re-assessing the work, earlier this year, Townshend called it "probably the best record The Who made."

"The music is timeless," says Entwistle. "It was a sound of its own. It doesn't fit any into any mode. It's not old-fashioned. It's a story about an adolescent trying to find himself and there are still adolescents, and there always will be, and it works. And, there are still mods, oddly enough."