Thanks for that. The Who are without doubt the best band ever. And of course I say that as thier biggest fan. The only stuff I've never really liked from them are Townshends lesser tracks on It's Hard, the overly synth heavy tracks on Who Are You, and until recently just about the whole of Tommy. Which I always thought was a bit silly and pretentious. But my perspective has changed as of late regarding that one.
And while it's true The Who did fizzle toward the end of thier initial run, I always think it's worth mentioning Townshends early eighties solo efforts Empty Glass and All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes. Whereas Face Dances came up a bit short and It's Hard simply sounded like leftovers, these two solo albums from Townshend are IMO as powerful as anything The Who had done since Who's Next. And indeed are more "Who like" then even The Who were at that point. If it wasn't for the band's (Daltrey mostly) insistence that the song lyrics were "too personal" for The Who, many of them would of made it onto The Who's final two albums and the band could of gone out with a bang instead of a whimper.
All that said, I think The Who today are nearly as good as they've ever been and I'm looking forward to the new record. Hopefully Townshend still has something worthwhile to say, and while Entwistle is sorely missed I think they can give it a go without him. I'm hoping for the best
