| Who Are You | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 18 August 1978 | |||
| Recorded | September 1977 – April 1978 | |||
| Studio | ||||
| Genre | Hard rock | |||
| Length | 42:13 | |||
| Label | Polydor (UK) MCA (US) | |||
| Producer | ||||
| The Who chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Who Are You | ||||
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Who Are You is the eighth studio album by the Englishrock bandthe Who, released on 18 August 1978[1] byPolydor Records in the United Kingdom and on 21 August 1978 byMCA Records in the United States.[2] Although the album received mixed reviews from critics, it was a commercial success, peaking at number 2 on the USBillboard 200 chart and number 6 on theUK Albums Chart.[3]
Who Are You was the Who's final studio album to featureKeith Moon as their drummer. He died three weeks after it was released. The uncannily coincidental nature of the text "Not to Be Taken Away" that was stenciled on Moon's chair on the album cover was noted by some critics.[4]
Who Are You incorporates elements ofprogressive rock and, according to biographerTony Fletcher, it was produced in such a way as to appeal to commercialrock radio at the time.[5]
The album showcased some ofPete Townshend's most complicatedarrangements, with multiple layers ofsynthesizer andstrings. Many of the songs also revisited themes from Townshend's never realizedLifehouse project, featuring lyrics about songwriting and music as a metaphor for life, as indicated by titles like "Guitar and Pen", "New Song", "Music Must Change", and "Sister Disco".[6] The latter two, along with "Who Are You", ultimately appeared on the 2000 box setLifehouse Chronicles, Townshend's later actualization of the project. Several of the song's lyrics also reflect Townshend's uncertainty about the Who's continued relevance in the wake ofpunk rock,[7] and his dissatisfaction with the music industry.[8]
There was a three-year hiatus betweenWho Are You and the Who's previous studio album,The Who by Numbers (1975). The band was drifting apart during this period, for band members were working on various solo projects, and Moon and Townshend were driving deeper into drug and alcohol abuse. The initial sessions atRamport Studios, produced byGlyn Johns andJon Astley (who was Townsend's brother-in-law at the time,)[9] were lackadaisical; Jon Astley recalled that "no one wanted to work", and the members looked forward more to drinking and reminiscing at six in the evening.[5] Astley felt that he and Johns pushed Moon too hard to play a simpler style, while Johns believed that Moon had "lost confidence in his ability" and would deliberately go out of his way to resist his suggestions.[7]
Moon's health was especially an object of concern, for his drumming skills had noticeably deteriorated and his performances for most of the sessions were substandard. He was unable to play in6
8 time on the track "Music Must Change", so the drums were removed completely from the track, and replaced with the sound of footsteps and a few cymbal crashes. BassistJohn Entwistle remarked that Moon "couldn't think of anything to play".[10] Townshend writes in his memoirWho I Am that he offered to remove "Music Must Change" from the album due to Moon's struggles, and that Moon retorted, "I am still the best... Keith Moon-type drummer in the world!".[11]
On another occasion, Astley recalled, "I was doing a drum track, and he hadn't learned the song. I actually had to stand up and conduct. He said, 'Can you give me a cue when you get to the middle part?' [...] He hadn't done his homework."[12] Entwistle similarly described Moon as "really out of condition", and "disgusted with himself" as a result.[13] Townshend wrote, "Musically his drumming was getting so uneven that recording was almost impossible, so much so that work on theWho Are You album had ground to a halt."[8]
The recording was further delayed when lead singerRoger Daltrey underwent throat surgery, and when during a lengthy Christmas break, Townshend sliced his hand in a window during an argument with his parents. FormerZombies andArgent memberRod Argent was also called in to replace session keyboardistJohn "Rabbit" Bundrick after Bundrick suffered a broken arm falling out of a taxi at the studio door in March 1978.[13] Townshend attributed Bundrick's broken arm to drunkenly throwing himself out to avoid paying the fare.[8]
When the sessions resumed in March, they were moved toRAK Studios, which caused further delays due to the equipment malfunctioning, including the wiping of a backing track. Astley stated that the RAK equipment made the existing material sound different when played back, necessitating further delays as he attempted to fix the audio problems.[13] In one incident, Daltrey punched Johns in the face due to an argument over a rough mix, rendering him unconscious.[13] The argument was fueled byTed Astley adding a string arrangement to "Had Enough", which Daltrey derided as "slushy".[14] (“Had Enough” and “905” were originally part of arock opera that Entwistle never completed.) After one long and frustrating day, Townshend planned to fire Moon from the band unless he cleaned up his act.[13] The plan drove Moon to attempt to kick his alcohol habit and work more enthusiastically. Due to a prior commitment to produceJoan Armatrading's studio albumTo the Limit, Johns had to leave in April, with Astley remaining as sole producer. Under Astley's command, the sessions returned to Ramport, with all of the drums except for "Who Are You" recorded in the last two weeks of production.[10]Who Are You was released on 18 August 1978.
Moon died on 7 September 1978, just under a month after the album's release; on the cover, he is shown sitting in a chair labelled "Not to be taken away". PhotographerTerry O'Neil had insisted Moon sit with the back of the chair facing the camera so as to hide hisdistended stomach, a result of his alcoholism.[15][6]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [16] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | B+[17] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [18] |
| MusicHound Rock | [19] |
| Rolling Stone | (favourable)[20] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [21] |
The album was a commercial success, going 2×platinum in the US and Canada, gold in UK, and peaking at number 2 on theBillboard 200.[22] Thesoundtrack toGrease preventedWho Are You from achieving number 1 status in the US. The success ofWho Are You generated excitement at the prospect of a new Who tour for the album. The songs on the album were later performed ontour in 1979, when the Who were joined by new drummerKenney Jones and keyboardistJohn Bundrick.
Reviewing inChristgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981),Robert Christgau said: "Every time I concentrate I get off on some new detail in Daltrey's singing or Townshend's lyrics or Entwistle's bass parts—though not in Moon's drumming, and I still don't relate to the synthesizer. But I never learn anything new, and this is not my idea of funrock and roll. It ought to be one or the other, if not both."[17]
Across the band's entire career, only four of the songs on the album ("Sister Disco", "Music Must Change", "Trick of the Light" and "Who Are You") have been played live.
"Who Are You" was the first of the album's songs to be performed live; this was at a concert in the band's1976 tour at theMaple Leaf Gardens inToronto, Ontario, albeit in a very raw and abbreviated version extremely different from the finished product. Another early and abbreviated live performance with Moon can be found inThe Who at Kilburn: 1977, a film of two live performances as a two-disc DVD set released in 2008. It was also played as part of the encore for the Who's 2012Quadrophenia and More tour.
On the Who's 1979 tour, only four songs were played live: "Sister Disco", "Music Must Change", "Trick of the Light", and "Who Are You". On that tour, "Sister Disco" was played quite close to the studio version, but with the country-style acoustic guitar outro replaced by a more bluesy, electric one. The country-style outro returned in1989 with Townshend on acoustic guitar, and in2008–09, when he could switch hisFender from 'electric mode' to 'acoustic mode'. Townshend actually stated in an interview that this was one of his least favourite songs to perform live (the other being "Dreaming from the Waist"), as Daltrey encouraged Townshend to share a microphone whilst harmonizing on the final vocal tag, evoking a camaraderie Townshend stated didn't really exist.[23] It was played in the tours of 1979,1980,1981,1982,1989, 2008 and 2009.[24]
"Music Must Change" was often given an extended workout live, with performances usually ranging from seven to nine minutes. It was played in the 1979, 1980 and 1981 tours; it was rehearsed for the2002 tour, but Entwistle died before the start of that tour and the band were not able to perform the song.
"Trick of the Light" was performed occasionally on The Who's1979 tour, with Entwistle on eight-string bass and Townshend playing one of the Alembic basses Entwistle used on the1975–1976 tours. It made its return to the setlist in1989, with Townshend on electric guitar for the twoToronto dates in June, and on acoustic guitar for the rest of the tour.
The Who have not been known to play "New Song", "Had Enough", "905", "Guitar and Pen", and "Love Is Coming Down". However, theJohn Entwistle Band used to play the Entwistle-penned songs.[25]
In May 1985,MCA Records released the album on CD. There were no extra tracks on this CD, as it only contained songs from the original LP.[26]
In 1996, the album was reissued on CD.[citation needed] This re-release was remixed and remastered by Jon Astley and Andy Macpherson;[27] some of the elements from the original mixes were eliminated or changed, including an alternate guitar track on "Music Must Change", while other elements were restored, such as "Trick of the Light" being restored to its full length of 4:45. This remaster included five bonus tracks: outtakes "Empty Glass" and "No Road Romance", and alternate mixes for "Guitar and Pen", "Love Is Coming Down", and "Who Are You".
On 24 December 2011,Universal Japan reissued the original analogue mixes of the album on limited, numbered edition SHM-CD, remastered by Jon Astley.[citation needed] The bonus tracks from the 1996 album were also included using vintage mixes where possible; however, the full band version of "No Road Romance" was included instead of Townshend'sdemo from the 1996 issue. The album was reissued in a miniature replica of the vinyl album for CD. In 2014, the album was released in its original mixes onHDtracks andiTunes, along with the rest of the Who's catalog.
In 2018, Universal Japan released aWho Are You: 40th Anniversary Edition.
On 31 October 2025, a 7CD & 1 Blu-Ray disc boxed set was released which includes unreleased Glyn Johns mixes and rehearsals, the original stereo mixes plus new stereo, Dolby Atmos and 5.1 mixes bySteven Wilson.[28] A separate, standalone, limited edition release by Superdeluxe Edition on blu-ray also includes the original and Steven Wilson mixes plus instrumental mixes also by Steven.[29]
All songs written byPete Townshend, except where noted.
Original LP Release and MCA Records 1985 CD re-release
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "New Song" | 4:12 | |
| 2. | "Had Enough" | John Entwistle | 4:30 |
| 3. | "905" | Entwistle | 4:02 |
| 4. | "Sister Disco" | 4:21 | |
| 5. | "Music Must Change" | 4:37 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Trick of the Light" | Entwistle | 4:48 |
| 7. | "Guitar and Pen" | 5:58 | |
| 8. | "Love Is Coming Down" | 4:06 | |
| 9. | "Who Are You" | 6:21 | |
| Total length: | 42:13 | ||
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 10. | "No Road Romance" | 5:05 |
| 11. | "Empty Glass" (Demo, title track forPete Townshend's second solo studio albumEmpty Glass) | 6:23 |
| 12. | "Guitar and Pen" (Olympic '78 Mix) | 6:02 |
| 13. | "Love Is Coming Down" (Work-in-Progress Mix) | 4:05 |
| 14. | "Who Are You" (Lost Verse Mix) | 6:22 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 15. | "No Road Romance" (Studio Outtake [Bonus Track]) | 14:02 |
| 16. | "Guiter and Pen" (Alternate Mix) | 2:00 |
| 17. | "Who Are You" (Extended Version) | 4:01 |
The Who
Additional musicians
| Chart (1978) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[31] | 9 |
| Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[32] | 2 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[33] | 29 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[34] | 49 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[35] | 13 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[36] | 21 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[37] | 27 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[38] | 6 |
| USBillboard 200[39] | 2 |
| Chart (2025) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| German Rock & Metal Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[40] | 4 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[41] | 2× Platinum | 200,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[42] | Gold | 100,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[43] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
