Quadrophenia: 1973 Studio Album Pure Audio

This review pertains to the 2011 Geffen/UM Vinyl Remaster…THE REMASTER:There was nothing wrong with my vintage 1973 MCA/Track Records brown-label vinyl (that I bought brand-new that year when I was in High School), which is amazing considering how much I listened to it (more on that later)…Even back in the day, though, I always thought Daltrey’s vocals got a little lost in the original mix; But I wondered if that wasn’t deliberate. His voice (and the whole enterprise) always sounded a little misty - like it was coming out of the fog from across the water of a coolish, overcast day on a south England beach (Moon’s majestic drumming seemed to conjure the crashing sound of waves on gigantic rocks).The slight murkiness of the mix actually seemed to add to the experience - you had to strain a little to hear things…This re-master cleans up the proceedings nicely, yet looses nothing of that misty aura. The whole production STILL has the right icy sheen to it.THE MUSIC (AND IT’S MESSAGE):After reading a lot of these other reviews, I see I wasn’t the only one that Townshend reached out to, read their mind, and connected with… and at a most confusing, yet pivotal moment in most of our adolescent lives.It didn’t matter, that as a U.S. citizen, you might not have known that much about the Mod/Rocker movement in the U.K. - the universal themes of confusion (“…can you see the real me?”), loneliness (“leaves start falling, come downers calling”), the yearning to be part of a group (“…I work myself to death just to fit in”) and yet stand out (“…you’ll all see, I’m the one”) were/are all there, as is the quiet, underlying message that love could/can be the answer.It didn’t solve any of my adolescent problems, but at least I knew I wasn’t alone… Pete (God Bless him) really KNEW what his fans were thinking and feeling.This is what differentiates The Who from Led Zeppelin… Not to take anything away from Page & Company, but for all Zepp’s brilliance, they always seemed a little psychologically aloof and somewhat distant - un-accessible to the mortal man (or kid!); The Who seemed more like your older friends who could channel your thoughts and reflect them back to you.And make no mistake - even though Townshend wrote the whole thing, each member of the quartet puts their individual stamp on the proceedings… yet no one individual overrides the other three; they all unite to a single unified final vision. This is amazing.Its interesting how your perspectives can change around a piece of art as you grow older; “Dirty Jobs” was probably my least favorite track back in the day; now I consider it one of the strongest on the album.THE GATEFOLD ALBUM (AND THE BOOK) / ORIGINAL AND REISSUE:One of the treats of a vinyl record back in the day was it’s BIGNESS…You would go to the record store, buy a record (like this one), take it home, sit down and actually listen to it (in order, and all the way through). You would look at the album (and it’s artwork) while you listened - the whole thing became a complete experience; the more you listened and the more you looked, the more the two (aural and visual) became intertwined with each other.In THIS album’s case, the brilliantly photographed enclosed book (which is totally wordless), completely illustrated the music, and the music acted as a soundtrack to it.The incredible photography, actors and staging communicates volumes without needing a single typed word of accompaniment…This is something I didn’t think about much back in the day, but am astonished now at the cohesiveness of this whole endeavor.The MCA gatefold jacket from 1973 is made of very thick, heavy cardboard. More than weighty enough to carry two LP’s and the book - but I understand why so many lost the book: it was just inserted inside the gatefold - not even attached (how could it be? The book was so thick and heavy).Even though the re-issue jacket is made of thinner paperboard, one neat trick Geffin/UM does is make the front enclosure of the jacket (where the first record would sit) able to accommodate the book being slipped in it, while the other (back) enclosure is thinner, yet can accommodate both LP’s being slipped into it.A comparison of the original and re-issue Cover Art is fascinating… The image on the re-issue is clearer, and yet murkier(!) than the original, and the individual pictures of The Who in the scooter’s mirrors are (slightly) different on the re-issue than the original (not that any of this matters, it’s just interesting to see the differences).Also of note: The original was pressed to be played on an automatic record changer, with Side 1 and 4 on one LP, and Side 2 and 3 on the other. The re-issue is conventional Side 1/2, Side 3/4.CONCLUSION:Vinyl Purists, if you are even on the edge about getting this, don’t wait - go for it.

This review is only for those interested in sound quality and/or collecting Japan mini-sleeves. For reviews regarding content, please see other posts in this forum, or go to All Music Guide (dot com). Also, due to Amazon's persistant and unfortunate programming policy of cross-pollinating reviews across different versions of the same CD title, this review may appear elsewhere: It was posted only on the  July 2012 Japan mini-sleeve edition  of this album.Prior to this, you had to go all the way back to the 1991 Mobile Fidelity edition, if you wanted to hear the best audio of the original LP mix. All of the other Quadrophenia releases, and there have been a ton of them, were either remixed and/or were remastered with unacceptable levels of loudness compression (see the 2011 "Deluxe Edition").But, no more. Now, the Japanese have released a Japan-only 2012 remaster that HAS the original mix (yes, Jeff L, your "seal sounds" are back in "The Dirty Jobs" after the "you men should remember how you used to fight" lyric) and HASN"T been louded-up: The overall sound level of this new Japan version is approximately the same as the MFSL, so you won't get the speaker-blasting result like when you cue up the "Deluxe Edition".So, for Who purists who have been unhappy for over twenty years, the glorious day of finally getting the ultimate edition, of what many (including Townshend) consider to be the best Who album of all time, is finally here. There is improved clarity in this edition, so there is no longer any need to go big-bucks out-of-pocket for the long-defunct MFSL set.In addition to the original LP booklet replication and the standard Japan lyric sheet, there are also two plates with the original Track vinyl LP Side A/B labels, a nice touch in many SHM releases.Although Japan has repeatedly reissued both SHM and Who mini-sleeve titles, there are no guarantees that this will be re-issued in the future. Being that there are only 5000 copies of this release for world-wide distribution, if you really want the best-sounding original mix, I wouldn't delay in buying this.If you go to the Comments section below this review, I've included a link to a Tokyo-direct mini-sleeve retailer where you can get it at the lowest price. A last note: Yes, there may be a few U.S. Sellers here on Amazon who will be close to the Tokyo price, but be aware that "ImportCD's" (who in actuality is Super D Distribution in Irvine CA, the U.S.'s largest CD wholesale distributor) and "blowitoutofhere", utilize flimsy adhesive-corrugated packaging that offers ABSOLUTELY no protection to a fragile mini-sleeve during transit; it's hard to just get the packaging open without bending the mini-sleeve jacket, as the adhesive interior sticks to the outer re-sealable plastic sleeve, and can actually bend/crease the mini-sleeve jacket! I've received bent and damaged mini-sleeves from both, but ImportCD's/Super D is the WORST company to try to get a postage-paid return from (they claim to reimburse the return postage after they've received the return, but then they bone you on the postage refund and don't respond to e-mails), so I would definitely advise against buying this title, or any mini-sleeve, from either. I've been dealing with the Tokyo retailer for over a decade now; they know how to pack 'sleeves correctly, and you can pre-order months in advance of release at the lowest prices. So, be forewarned: As stocks dwindle for this title, if you choose to buy from either of those U.S. retailers, if you get a bent or damaged 'sleeve, you may not be able to get a replacement for it.WHAT IS A JAPAN "MINI-LP-SLEEVE" CD?Have you ever lamented the loss of one of the 20th Century's great art forms, the 12" vinyl LP jacket? Then "mini-LP-sleeve" CD's may be for you.Mini-sleeve CDs are manufactured in Japan under license. The disc is packaged inside a 135MM X 135MM cardboard precision-miniature replica of the original classic vinyl-LP album. Also, anything contained in the original LP, such as gatefolds, booklets, lyric sheets, posters, printed LP sleeves, stickers, embosses, special LP cover paper/inks/textures and/or die cuts, are precisely replicated and included. An English-language lyric sheet is always included, even if the original LP did not have printed lyrics.Then, there's the sonic quality: Often (but not always), mini-sleeves have dedicated remastering (20-Bit, 24-Bit, DSD, K2/K2HD, and/or HDCD), and can often (but not always) be superior to the audio on the same title anywhere else in the world. There also may be bonus tracks unavailable elsewhere.Each Japan mini-sleeve has an "obi" ("oh-bee"), a removable Japan-language promotional strip. The obi lists the Japan street date of that particular release, the catalog number, the mastering info, and often the original album's release date. Bonus tracks are only listed on the obi, maintaining the integrity of the original LP artwork. The obi's are collectable, and should not be discarded.All mini-sleeve releases are limited edition, but re-pressings/re-issues are becoming more common (again, not always). The enthusiasm of mini-sleeve collecting must be tempered, however, with avoiding fake mini-sleeves manufactured in Russia and distributed throughout the world, primarily on eBay. They are inferior in quality, worthless in collectable value, a total waste of money, and should be avoided at all costs.

Having seen the Who at Wembley recently I realised how little of their music I actually owned, of course I should have realised this before the gig and done something about it then and not afterwards. Yes, I have Tommy and Who's Next, and of course Live at Leeds, but apart from a couple of greatest hits compilations (don't ask) that's it so I felt a little bit of out of my depth particular as a quarter of the set-list came from Quadrophenia (alright that quarter included 5:15 and Love Reign Over Me, but it still left a large gap.) So I dashed-off an emergency Amazon order [my definition not necessarily the Memsahib's] and now I am the proud owner of Quadrophenia and only some 45 years after it was released!So, sitting here listening to Quadrophenia's two CDs back-to-back, I am relieved to realise that this isn't Tommy Part 2; unlike Tommy this is the sound of a grown-up rock band performing real rock songs that are not just an artifice for telling a pretentious story. I say that because I always thought Tommy to be a bit superficial, OK it has a couple of killer singles, but it isn't mature, some of the tracks are frankly feeble and let's be honest the story is a bit silly particularly around the edges. Quadrophenia on the other hand may lack the killer singles, but has a consistency and quality that Tommy lacks and the story is stronger although really a bit irrelevant; in short this is thoughtful wall-to-wall early 1970's rock being performed by one of the greatest bands to emerge from the 60's largely unscathed.So why only four stars? Firstly, while the quality of the songs is generally high there is insufficient variety across the length of the double album to sustain interest; as a concept album it was intended to be heard in one continuous sitting and needs some variety to sustain interest [maybe that is just a reflection of the dip-in/dip-out world we now inhabit], and secondly I don't like the silliness that the Who had a tendency to and find Bell Boy particularly annoying. So while it's good, in my opinion it isn't the best Who album, for me that title currently belongs to Who's Next, but as I have already explained I have more Who yet to explore, and next up is The Who By Numbers (hopefully a steal at only £5).

I realise I am flying in the face of accepted opinion, but this is not their best work.A life long admirer of The Who I was fortunate to see the original line-up perform Tommy in '69, and the Who's Next setlist twice in the months it was a new release. Both masterpieces are way above Quadrophenia.It's good, and it's certainly based on a good concept, but it's just too "busy": Too many layers in the production, too much going off in the arrangements, and Roger gets rather buried under it all. Yes, I bought this again recently, thinking I must be missing something? But no, I just don't see it, and I doubt Jimmy would have given it much playing time. Not his style.Sorry.

I have copies of this album on vinyl from the 70s, CD from the 80s and now Bluray Audio from the 10s. The Bluray Pure Audio has both a 5.1 remix and the 2.0 audio only versions in high res 24 bit / 96Khz so you could say this is the definitive quality version of this classic Who album.I obviously like this album lots so I'll leave you to read other reviews on its musical content, so I'll restrict my comments to this new format and it is that I give 4 stars.This Hi-Res audio format should be a real winner, unlike previous attempts to drag up the digital quality from MP3 by the likes of SACD and DVD Audio this format can be played back at an improved quality by anyone with a decent standard Bluray Player and surround sound system, so why is it dying on its feet. This disk (along with many of the other disks in this format) as I write this in June 2017 is "currently unavailable" from Amazon! Shameful.They've done a good job here for both the purist who want to hear the original stereo mix and those like me who want something different in the surround sound version. Normally I'd favour the 5.1 version (as with Hotel California and Rumours DVD Audios) but here I find it a little stretched and hollow. Turn up the volume on the stereo version and/ or put it though a DSP processor to give an artificial surround effect and this is the best version of the album so far. The only reason I've given it 4 rather than 5 stars is that there could have been better video content i.e. more than just a few publicity stills from the movie.I'm glad I bought it when I found it at a reasonable price as the manufacturers seem determined to make this disks collector items at ridiculous prices, good luck getting one now unless its re-launched.

The bands second rock opera originally released in 1973. It reached number 2 in the UK and the U.S. Set in London and Brighton in1965 it follows a young mod named Jimmy on his quest for self-worth and importance. Entirely composed by Pete Townshend. On release it received positive reviews and a few years later the successful film was made. Rolling Stone magazine have rated the album 267 in its top 500 all time albums. It still sounds good after all these years and Roger Daltrey’s voice in fine form.

I've always been a fan of The Who, and was surprised how many of their songs I've never really listened to properly. Watching Quadrophenia, I never took much notice of the music as I was too busy watching the film and enjoying the plot. Pleased with my purchase.