THE WHO – WHO'S NEXT

THE WHO – WHO'S NEXT with special guest Jon Astley.

This interview took place before and after we listened to the vinyl album.

Apart from Live at Leeds, the Who have never sounded as LOUD and unhinged as they do on Who’s Next, yet that's balanced by ballads, both lovely ("The Song Is Over") and scathing ("Behind Blue Eyes"). That's the key to Who's Next – there's anger and sorrow, humour and regret, passion and tumult, all wrapped up in a blistering package where the rage is as affecting as the heartbreak.

This is a retreat from the '60s, as Townshend declares the "Song Is Over," scorns the teenage wasteland, and bitterly declares that we "Won't Get Fooled Again." For all the sorrow and heartbreak that runs beneath the surface, this is an invigorating record, not just because Keith Moon runs rampant or because Roger Daltrey has never sung better or because John Entwistle spins out manic basslines that are as captivating as his "My Wife" is funny.

This is invigorating because it has all of that, plus Townshend laying his soul bare in ways that are funny, painful, and utterly life-affirming. That is what the Who was about, not the rock operas, and that's why Who's Next is truer than Tommy or the abandoned Lifehouse. Those were art – this, even with its pretensions, is rock & roll. Allmusic.

With Special Guest JON ASTLEY.

We were delighted to welcome mastering engineer JON ASTLEY back to The CAT Club. John has worked with The Who for many years and has remastered Who's Next for a deluxe release in 2023. Jon brought along a test pressing of the new vinyl version of Who's Next for The CAT Club to listen to (a world exclusive).

Among the many artists on his impressive cv are the Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, Van Morrison, Paul McCartney, Norah Jones, Peter Gabriel, George Harrison, Abba, Stereophonics and Sting.

In the interviewer’s chair was CAT Club stalwart, Heath Common.

This event took place on 23rd February 2023 in the Pigeon Loft at The Robin Hood, Pontefract, West Yorkshire.

To find out more about the CAT Club please visit: www.thecatclub.co.uk

This podcast has been edited for content and for copyright reasons.

Happy Trails.