Growing up I was a big fan of The Who. Since I didn’t always have a lot of money for records I tried to “stretch” my budget often times by buying “greatest hits” albums. Initially I thought that “Who’s Next” by The Who with the iconic photo of them pissing on some sort of concrete slab WAS a “best of” album simply because almost every track had been played to death on the radio with the exception of “My Wife” by Entwistle (which was a song I liked a lot) and “Love Ain’t for Keeping”.
Recently I saw a presentation by the photographer Ethan Russell who took that classic cover photo along with an amazing amount of other images you’d recognize instantly, from the pictures of the Beatles on the “Let It Be” album to some great Rolling Stones’ photos from their classic late 1960’s – early 1970’s era. If he comes to your town I would highly recommend that you go out and hear him talk.
I bought a signed print of that Who’s Next cover and sent it on to a friend of mine who also was a big fan of The Who growing up. I’m sure he’ll like it.
Cross posted at LITGM
mentalfloss.com provides this:
Sometimes you can’t go when you need to. That’s what photographer Ethan Russell found out when he shot the cover for Who’s Next.
Turning away from a concrete piling, located in an old English mining town called Easington Colliery, the band appear to have just left their urine signatures on the stone. But Russell recalled discreetly, “Most of the members were unable to go, so rainwater was tipped from an empty film canister to achieve the desired effect.
In 2003, VH1 named Who’s Next the second greatest album cover of all time.
Radio? “Who’s Next” was interrupted on my floor freshman year only by “Layla” at greater volume. I don’t think I heard Baba O”Riley on the radio until after 2000.
I can’t pretend there’s any meaning here or in the things I’m saying, but Daltrey’s primal screams and Townshend’s power chords sure sounded great on that album. Although, I think I prefer their mod era better. Maybe as I get older I just have more appreciation for the simpler, elemental times.
I always liked this one:
http://flavorwire.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/frank-zappa-were-only-in-it-for-the-money-front.jpeg
The Who greatest rock’n’roll band in the world. Who’s Next legendary album, adore all lyrics.