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Quadrophenia
Studio album by The Who
Released	19 October 1973
Recorded	May 1972 and June 1973 at Olympic Studios and "The Kitchen" in Battersea, London
Genre	Rock, progressive rock
Length	81:35
Label	Track, Polydor (UK) Track/MCA, MCA (U.S.)
Producer	The Who, Kit Lambert, and Glyn Johns
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Robert Christgau (A-) link PopMatters (favorable) 10 Mar 2004 Rolling Stone link
The Who chronology
Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy (1971) Quadrophenia (1973) Odds and Sods (1974)
Alternate cover
Original soundtrack version

Quadrophenia is a double album released by The Who on October 19, 1973, the second of the group's two full-scale rock operas.^[1] Its story involves social, musical, and psychological happenings from an English teenage perspective, set in London and Brighton in 1964 and 1965.

The name is a variation on the incorrect popular usage of the medical diagnostic term schizophrenia as multiple personality disorder to reflect the four distinct personalities of Jimmy, the opera's protagonist. It was also tied in to the Quadraphonic sound schemes then being introduced.

Contents 1 History 2 Story 3 Musical structure 4 Theme 5 Critical reaction and impact 6 Subsequent productions 7 Track listing 7.1 Original release 7.1.1 Side one 7.1.2 Side two 7.1.3 Side three 7.1.4 Side four 7.2 The original soundtrack 8 Personnel 8.1 Additional personnel 8.2 Production 9 Charts 9.1 Album 9.2 Singles 10 Certifications 11 Notes 12 References 13 External links

Quadrophenia was originally released as a two-LP set with a butterfly jacket and a thick booklet containing lyrics, a text version of the story, and photographs illustrating the tale. MCA Records re-released it as a two-CD set in 1985 with the lyrics and text story line on a thin fold-up sheet but none of the photographs. The remastered CDs of 1996 include the full original booklet in miniature.

In the liner notes to the remastered Odds and Sods Townshend revealed that Quadrophenia evolved from an idea for a self-indulgent autobiography of the band (which was allegedly to have been titled Rock Is Dead--Long Live Rock). Two of the opera's tracks date from 1972 (i.e. "Is It In My Head?" and "Love Reign O'er Me"), a year that also produced The Who's singles "Join Together" "Relay" and "Long Live Rock" (the latter not actually released until 1974). However, by the time Quadrophenia was released the band's role in the story was only symbolic, via Jimmy's four personalities.

Quadrophenia reached #2 on the U.S. Billboard album chart.

The band views the tour in support of the album as disastrous. Performances were plagued by malfunctioning sound effects tapes. Once the tapes started, the band had to play to them. The band felt constrained in playing to these recordings. The Who preferred a more free-form attitude.

On the first night of the U.S. leg at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, California, drummer Keith Moon collapsed onstage. Scott Halpin, an audience member, was brought on to finish the show.

Pete Townshend now looks back on the album with great praise. "The music is the best music that I've ever written, I think and it's the best album that I will ever write." [1]

The story covers about five days of the life of a certain Jimmy, a participant in the circa 1964 Mod lifestyle in England. "The story is set on a rock!" announced the composer, Pete Townshend, at one live performance, indicating that the opera represents Jimmy's looking back at the events of the previous day or two that led him into the gloomy situation where he finds himself at the end of the story. The narrative is difficult to derive from the lyrics alone, but becomes clearer with the benefit of a short story (also written by Townshend) related from Jimmy's first person perspective, that is included in the album's booklet.

The first half of the opera consists of songs that allude to the frustrations and insecurities that govern Jimmy's life, including brief glimpses of his home life, his job, his psychoanalyst, and his unsuccessful attempts to have a social life. Halfway through the opera he sings "I've Had Enough", finds himself kicked out of his home when his parents find his box of 'blues' (blue pills of some unnamed drug, possibly amphetamine) (this happens in the song Cut My Hair). Distraught and with nothing better to do, Jimmy takes a large dose of blues and takes a train ride to the coast (Embodied in the song 5:15, which is supposed to be the time when the train departs). During his stay near the beach in Brighton, he encounters the former "Ace Face", the leader of a group of Mods, whom he admires greatly. However, "Ace Face" now works as a bell boy at a nearby hotel. Ironically, this is the very same hotel Ace Face had smashed the windows of two years before. This display of masculine bravado had earned him the admiration of many of his fellow Mods two days before during Jimmy's first stay in Brighton. Jimmy is disgusted to learn that the person he had admired as a Mod had "sold out".

At this point, Jimmy is inconsolable. Everybody from his parents to his girlfriend had disappointed him before, but he had never expected the Mod lifestyle to let him down. Drunk and depressed, he steals the now former Ace Face's scooter from the front of the Brighton hotel where he is employed, takes it out to a barren rock protruding from the sea, and crashes psychologically. With nothing left to live for, he nontheless finds redemption in the pouring rain which is expressed in the final song, "Love, Reign o'er Me", leaving an ambiguous but hopeful ending.

Each of Jimmy's four personalities is supposed to be associated with one of the four musicians in The Who. The liner notes illustrate this concept as follows (names added):

• A tough guy, a helpless dancer. (Roger Daltrey)
• A romantic, is it me for a moment? (John Entwistle)
• A bloody lunatic, I'll even carry your bags. (Keith Moon)
• A beggar, a hypocrite, love reign o'er me. (Pete Townshend)

In addition to describing a personality/band member, the four descriptions refer to four theme songs that portray Jimmy's personalities in the opera: "Helpless Dancer", "Is It Me?", "Bell Boy", and "Love Reign O'er Me". The four musical themes (or "leitmotifs" as described by Townshend) are mixed together in both the title track (bridging "The Real Me" and "Cut My Hair"), and the penultimate track, "The Rock," (bridging "Doctor Jimmy" and "Love, Reign O'er Me"). The two pieces were the most musically complex pieces that Townshend ever wrote for The Who, combining all four themes into two six-minute musical medleys. The two pieces have neither a definite beginning or end, as they begin with a fade-in from the previous track, starting with the theme of "Bell Boy" (Moon's theme). This is followed by the themes of "Is It Me" (Entwistle's Theme), "Helpless Dancer" (Daltrey's theme), and "Love, Reign O'er Me" (Townshend's theme). "Quadrophenia" fades into rain sound effects after the "Love Reign O'er Me" theme. "The Rock" however ends with a combination of the four different themes, using the "Bell Boy" theme as the chord sequence, the "Helpless Dancer" theme as the melody, the "Is It Me?" theme as a lead (played on guitar and synthesizer), and the piano part to "Love Reign O'er Me" as a countermelody. The whole song abruptly ends on a downbeat layered with the sound of thunder and descends into "Love Reign O'er Me" proper.

The four themes also surface on many other songs throughout the album; the most subtle example being when the "Helpless Dancer" theme appears on "Bell Boy" (the main song) played on synthesizer as a brief interlude. Some themes from other songs also make "surprise" reappearances here and there. These leitmotifs help giving the work an impression of a cohesive unity.

Like much of Townshend's work, Quadrophenia is about a teen establishing his identity. Some of the themes include belonging, rejection, rebellion, and trying to define oneself. The story describes Jimmy's search to establish who he really is by trying to belong somewhere and be a part of something. However, he is frustrated and sequentially betrayed by everything he tries to be a part of, including his family, his job, drugs, his friends, love, and being a mod. Eventually (at the Rock) he has a spiritual revelation by symbolically "drowning" and being reborn drenched in seawater. (On the album, the symbolic suicide is drowning; in the film it involves riding Ace Face's stolen scooter off a Dover cliff and smashing it into the sea).

In the end, Jimmy triumphs by realizing that he doesn't have to define himself or try to be part of anything at all.

In 2000 Q magazine placed Quadrophenia at number 56 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. In 2001, the TV network VH1 named it the 86th greatest album of all time. In 2003, the album was ranked number 266 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. IGN placed Quadrophenia at number 1 in their list of the greatest classic rock albums of all time.^[2]

In 1979 the film Quadrophenia was released, with three additional songs written by Pete Townshend for the soundtrack. While the film was an accurate visual interpretation of Townshend's vision of Jimmy and his surroundings, the inspired casting of a very young Sting as the Ace Face remains one of the most memorable moments of the film.

In summer 1996, The Who, with a large backing group featuring among others Zak Starkey on drums (his first appearance as The Who's drummer), Geoff Whitehorn and Simon Townshend on electric guitar (the former played lead guitar on almost all of the songs) and keyboardists Jon Carin and John "Rabbit" Bundrick, performed Quadrophenia in its entirety for the first time in many years in London's Hyde Park, with guest performers Phil Daniels as the Narrator/Jimmy, Gary Glitter as The Rocker, Adrian Edmonson as the Ace Face/Bellboy, Stephen Fry as the hotel manager (screaming, "Bellboy!"), Trevor McDonald as the newsreader and Pink Floyd's David Gilmour as the bus driver. Gilmour also played additional lead guitar for that first performance – he sang and played lead guitar on The Dirty Jobs, plus performed lead guitar on Sea and Sand, Dr. Jimmy, The Rock, Love, Reign O'er Me and 5:15 (Reprise). For the subsequent extensive tour of the UK and the U.S., Daniels was replaced and Gilmour's role was taken over by Simon Townshend. Gary Glitter and P.J. Proby (subsequently) made guest appearances as The Godfather, and Billy Idol also guested as the Ace Face/Bellboy, also subsequently being replaced.

In 2005, A live performance of Quadrophenia from The Who's late 1996/early tour was included in a 3-disc DVD box set released by Rhino Entertainment, also featuring a live performance of Tommy from 1989 as well as other hit songs performed live. Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey provided special commentary, and an interview with Billy Idol was also included.

The album was covered in its entirety by Phish on October 31, 1995 as part of the band's "Halloween musical costume extravaganzas", which was later released as Live Phish Volume 14. The jam band also covered the track "Drowned" on their live album New Year's Eve 1995 - Live at Madison Square Garden .

In November 2005, Luna C Productions staged a theatrical version of Quadrophenia in Los Angeles, starring Stephen Shareaux as Jimmy. Additional performances occurred in March and November 2006. [2]

In February 2007, students from the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama staged "the first independent theatrical production (of Quadrophenia) blessed by Pete Townshend" at the Sherman Theatre in Cardiff, Wales. [3]

On the episode of the Simpsons, Behind The Laughter, the cover of the Krustophenia record is a parody of Quadrophenia.

All songs written by Pete Townshend.

1. "I Am the Sea" – 2:08
2. "The Real Me" – 3:20
3. "Quadrophenia" – 6:15
4. "Cut My Hair" – 3:46
5. "The Punk and the Godfather"^[3] – 5:10

1. "I'm One" – 2:39
2. "The Dirty Jobs" – 4:30
3. "Helpless Dancer" – 2:32
4. "Is It in My Head" – 3:46
5. "I've Had Enough" – 6:14

1. "5:15" – 5:00
2. "Sea and Sand" – 5:01
3. "Drowned" – 5:28
4. "Bell Boy" – 4:56

1. "Doctor Jimmy" – 8:42
2. "The Rock" – 6:37
3. "Love, Reign O'er Me" – 5:48

This version of Quadrophenia contains some of the music that was used in the film. This CD includes several tracks that were produced by other bands, a few tracks made by The Who when their name was changed to The High Numbers for a short period. It also includes 3 tracks by The Who that did not appear on the original two disc edition.

1. "I Am the Sea" (The Who) – 2:03
2. "The Real Me" (The Who) – 3:28
3. "I'm One" (The Who) – 2:40
4. "5:15" (The Who) – 4:50
5. "Love Reign O'er Me" (The Who) – 5:11
6. "Bell Boy" (The Who) – 4:55
7. "I've Had Enough" (The Who) – 6:11
8. "Helpless Dancer" (The Who) – 0:22
9. "Doctor Jimmy" (The Who) – 7:31
10. "Zoot Suit" (The High Numbers) – 2:00
11. "Hi Heel Sneakers" (Cross Section) – 2:46
12. "Get Out and Stay Out" (The Who) – 2:26
13. "Four Faces" (The Who) – 3:20
14. "Joker James" (The Who) – 3:13
15. "The Punk and the Godfather" (The Who) – 5:21
16. "Night Train" (James Brown) – 3:38
17. "Louie Louie" (The Kingsmen) – 2:41
18. "Green Onions" (Booker T. & the M.G.'s) – 2:46
19. "Rhythm of the Rain" (The Cascades) – 2:28
20. "He's So Fine" (The Chiffons) – 1:52
21. "Be My Baby" (The Ronettes) – 2:30
22. "Da Doo Ron Ron" (The Crystals) – 2:09
23. "I'm the Face" (The High Numbers) – 2:29

• John Entwistle – bass guitar, horns, vocals
• Roger Daltrey – lead vocals
• Keith Moon – drums, percussion, vocals on "Bell Boy"
• Pete Townshend – guitars, synthesizers, piano, banjo, sound effects, vocals, etc.

• Chris Stainton – piano on "Dirty Jobs", "Helpless Dancer", "5:15" and "Drowned"
• John Curle – newsreader voice

• Pete Townshend – pre-production, special effects
• Chris Stamp – executive producer
• Pete Kameron – executive producer
• Kit Lambert – executive producer
• Ron Nevison – engineer, special effects
• Ron Fawcus – mixing continuity, engineering assistance
• Bob Ludwig – Remastering
• Rod Houison – special effects
• Graham Hughes – front cover design and photography
• Ethan Russell – art direction, insert photography

Year	Chart	Position
1973	Billboard Pop Albums	2

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1973	"Love, Reign O'er Me"	Billboard Pop Singles	76
1974	"The Real Me"	Billboard Pop Singles	92
1979	"5:15"	Billboard Pop Singles	45

Organization	Level	Date
RIAA – U.S.	Gold	29 October 1973
BPI – UK	Gold	1 December 1973
RIAA – U.S.	Platinum	2 February 1993

1. ^ In a conventional use of the word "opera" as Quadrophenia is mostly a monologue work rather than a varied drama.
2. ^ IGN
3. ^ On the U.S. release of the album, "The Punk and the Godfather" was renamed "The Punk Meets the Godfather"

• Townshend, Pete. "The Who Vh1 Mexico Interview Part 1", VH1, February, 2007. Accessed April 14, 2007.

• Lyrics
• Guitar tablature
• Quadrophenia.net - extensive fan site to all things Quadrophenia
• QUAD - A Musical Staging of The Who's Quadrophenia
• The Who Location Guide - features 'Quadrophenia' album booklet and movie locations
• The Who Forum - Features an exclusive Ron Nevison interview about the making of the album
• Quadrophenia liner notes - Song-by-song liner notes for the album

v • d • e The Who
Personnel
Current members: Roger Daltrey - Pete Townshend
Other official members: John Entwistle - Keith Moon - Kenney Jones
Other personnel: John "Rabbit" Bundrick - Pino Palladino - Zak Starkey - Simon Townshend Simon Phillips - Doug Sandom - Colin Dawson - Gabby Connolly - Tim Gorman - Steve "Boltz" Bolton - Brian Kehew
Discography
Studio albums	My Generation - A Quick One - The Who Sell Out - Tommy - Who's Next - Quadrophenia - The Who by Numbers - Who Are You - Face Dances - It's Hard - Endless Wire
Live albums	Live at Leeds - Who's Last - Join Together (1990) - Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 - The BBC Sessions - Blues to the Bush - Live at the Royal Albert Hall - Encore Series 2002 - Encore Series 2004 - Encore Series 2006 - Live from Toronto
Compilations	Magic Bus - Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy - Odds & Sods - The Kids Are Alright (soundtrack) - Hooligans - Join Together (1982) - Rarities Vol. I 1966-1968 - Rarities Vol. II 1970-1973 - Who's Greatest Hits - Who's Missing - Two's Missing - Who's Better, Who's Best - Thirty Years of Maximum R&B - My Generation: The Very Best of the Who - The Ultimate Collection - Then and Now
Filmography
Rock operas	Tommy - Quadrophenia
About The Who	The Kids Are Alright - See Me Feel Me: Keith Moon Naked for Your Pleasure
Other appearances	Monterey Pop - Rock and Roll Circus - Woodstock - McVicar - Buddy's Song
Related articles
Production	Peter Meaden - Kit Lambert - Chris Stamp - Bob Pridden - Duncan Nimmo - Bill Curbishley	Other	Influence - Performance - In the studio - Lifehouse - Track Records - 2006-07 Tour - The Boy Who Heard Music - Scott Halpin - A Tale of Two Springfields