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Pictures Of Lily (1967, 4)
Pictures Of Lily begins so much tougher than the song actually is. Listening to the opening chords you could expect to hear a new 'My Generation'. It is a far softer song, despite the huge power chords played on guitar and the pumping bass. The topic of the lyrics of course are quite different once again. This is the summer of love and we hear about fevered adolescent dreams and pictures of a woman called Lily. You can guess the rest. The vocals by Roger Daltrey are so fine. He's truly singing in his strength, he does not have to exert himself for a second. He's sweet singing as if the memories are his own. Behind him the band is totally unleashed. John Entwistle, once again, is the lead guitar, despite playing bass. The band is totally comfortable with him exploring where the bass can take him. At the same time Pete Townsend is truly getting into his own as a rhythm guitarist, with some extra notes here and there. This makes Keith Moon to reign in and be the mainstay of the band and not the "animal" as in the first songs. Pictures Of Lily shows a few sides to The Who promising of what is to come from 1967 onwards. The band has captured a few worlds for the first time and shows progress as writers and players. The harmonies had been there already. The Who proved to be on its own path in rock. There were not many bands moving in this direction and have hit single successes.
The second single of 1967 of The Who, a track from the 'The Who Sell Out' album, is I Can See For Miles. Psychedelia finally caught up with the band. It did not become a huge hit and the question is: why not? The song has a lot of elements that make up The Who's music and hits. Listening to it in 2022, my only explanation is that it may simply have been to complex to be played on the radio and digested by the average music fan. I can imagine The Who was asking a lot from the average music fan. To score a huge hit, more people have to buy the record than the hardcore fans. The song contains a long interlude where not that much is happening, yet is so forceful. The singing is totally "out there" but not nice to sing a long to. The stop-starts are less powerful than in the previous hit singles. What I arrive at in 2022, I Can See For Miles is so much better than I remembered it to be. The single contains everything what makes a The Who single a great song. On the one hand it is more poppy than any of the band's other hits, while on the other it goes far beyond what they ever done before. In the middle is an extremely strong single, with great harmonies, fantastic music, a guitar part where David Bowie/Mick Ronson built the solo of 'The Jean Genie' on and psychedelia where a whole strand of bands built their career on since the 2010's. Without this song, no fill in your favourite modern psychedelic band here. I'm truly surprised.
Call Me Lighting? A hit single? Now I'm truly surprised, because I didn't even know the song existed. Perhaps it's explained by the fact that it only got to number 38 out of 40. Playing it, it doesn't ring a bell as well. This is a pop ditty. A tough one, but far more The Small Faces before they got into psychedelia in 1967 than The Who. It probably shows The Who before the band found it's own voice. Townsend wrote it in 1964, to record it later. There's some American rhythm 'n' blues elements, the music where Roger Daltrey's love truly lay at the time. Surprise aside, Call Me Lighting is a nice song, I find. It has power and stride. Perhaps the most party song The Who ever made. It is extremely straightforward, until the moment John Entwistle's bass solo kicks in, cutting the song in two. Not the most special song of The Who, the introduction is well received and welcome. Call Me Lighting is extremely pleasantly alive.
And here, finally, is the first song by The Who that I remember being released, or better, entering the chart. The acoustic guitar, intercepted by that huge power chord, the entering of the huge chorus singing "sure plays a mean pinball", followed by the power guitar chords. In 2022 Pinball Wizard is still a fantastic song. Has an acoustic guitar ever been driven to such powerful playing as Townsend is doing here? Of course now the world knows that Pinball Wizard was the introduction to 'Tommy', the first rock opera. "Tommy" is the topic being sung about in Pinball Wizard. In 1969 I had no idea of course. There was no way I could buy singles on a regular basis. And Pinball Wizard would not have been on the top of my list at the time. Let alone albums. I still haven't run into Pinball Wizard second hand. What this song stands for, is that it shows what a tamed The Who is capable of. All the band's strong elements are in here but the music is aligned to serve the song and not the "antics" of individual members. The Who grew into its next level. On the other hand Pete Townsend may have pulled in the reigns on Moon and Entwistle making himself come out stronger, think the accented power chords and make Daltrey shine, as in truly shine. The result is an incredibly strong single, that will outlive us all.
The second hit single from 'Tommy' was I'm Free'. A more simpler song, despite all the changes it contains, then Pinball Wizard, yet containing the same sort of inner strength. The central riff powers the chorus the song starts with. The mood is set immediately. The song has the most dreamy atmosphere of all the The Who songs in this series of 1960s hit singles. The verses are quite different, with a piano taking a large part of the song, played by Townsend. The dreamy part goes down quite well. Especially at the end. One of the central themes of 'Tommy' the 'Pinball Wizard' riff, present in a few parts in I'm Free, returns before the song slowly but surely slides towards the end, in a post-psychedelic way. I can't describe it in any other way, except that it is beautifully done. The acoustic guitar solo is great as well. I'm Free is a bit chaotic in a way, as there are so many changes, that it is hard work to keep up with The Who. It shows the brilliance Pete Townsend had reached and the band could easily follow. Another great song that should have reached a higher spot, but most likely was to difficult for many people to follow.
Post 1969
In 1969 the career of The Who was far from over. A host of brilliant singles and albums followed. 'The Seeker', 'See Me Feel Me', 'Behind Blue Eyes', Won't Get Fooled Again, just to name a few are all among my favourites hit singles of the band. A band that never became one of my true favourites. Where singles are concerned this is a totally different story.
My top 5 singles
5. I'm A Boy
4. Pictures Of Lily
3. Substitute
2. Pinball Wizard
1. My Generation
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