A few years before there was ‘Anarchy in the U.K.,’ the Who totally capture the punk sneer, with Roger spitting Pete’s words like a Tommy gun: “ Breathe the air we have blown you!” But everything here is edgy and sharp and explosive.
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‘Quadrophenia’ chestnut ‘The Punk and the Godfather’ spells it all out, with the young mod Jimmy going to see the Who and declaring them another phony element of society. What does it say about Pete Townshend’s state of mind that as soon as he became a rock star he was almost instantly questioning his role in music and his relationship with the audience. All of that adds to the song’s nervy energy, which was never adequately captured in the studio.Ģ ‘The Punk and the Godfather’ From: ‘Quadrophenia’ (1973) ‘Naked Eye’ was Townshend’s exploration of the darkness beneath the hippy-dippy ’60s as well a hard look at what life on the road was doing to his relationship (“ You sign your own name and I sign mine / They’re both the same but we still get separate rooms”). The dynamic difference between Roger (who sings the first and third verses) and Pete (who sings the middle one) is electrifying here – with Roger roaring confidently as a rock titan and Pete ripping into his part like he really had something to get off his chest. The song required these tight little turns but also presented the real estate for Pete, John and Keith to stretch out into. It’s big and sweeping and thunderous in the verses, then breaks out into this pummeling rampage just after the refrain. Especially in its stage incarnation (which can be heard on deluxe editions of ‘Who’s Next’), ‘Naked Eye’ encapsulates everything that was great about the Who at the peak of their powers as a live band. The Top 10 Underrated Who Songs would be incomplete without this long-standing fan favorite and early-’70s concert staple.
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