Face Dances [Bonus Tracks] [Remaster]

Performer: The Who
Engineer: Bill Szymcyzk; Allan Blazek
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Originally released in March 1981, FACE DANCES was the Who's first album following the death of the group's original drummer, Keith Moon. He was replaced by Kenney Jones of the Small Faces. The Who: Roger Daltrey (vocals); Pete Townshend (vocals, guitar, keyboards); John Entwistle (vocals, bass); Kenney Jones (drums). Producer: Bill Szymczyk. Reissue producers: Jon Astley, Andy Macpherson. Principally recorded at Odyssey Studios, London, England from June-December 1980. Recording information: Odyssey Recording Studios, London, England. The Who's first album of the '80s and their first without drum maniac Keith Moon was viewed with cynicism by many longtime Who fans, who declared the band a dead issue. In fact, FACE DANCES was arguably the band's last aesthetically successful album. The reckless abandon of the Moon era was irretrievable, but the Who's sound was maturing all along, and Moon's madness fit Townshend's mature, sophisticated tunes less and less. FACE DANCES is no bland-out, but the band mines the subtle end of their dynamic range more extensively and successfully than ever before. With the advancing years, the tension between Townshend's thoughtful lyrics and the rock-hero bravado of Roger Daltrey's delivery had grown more pronounced, charging these songs with subtextual energy. Guest Rabbit Bundrick's keyboards add color to Townshend's increasingly introspective examinations of adult relationships and responsibilites (sounds boring as hell, but really it's not) on "Another Tricky Day" and "How Can You Do It Alone." Entwistle's bass still rages and rumbles like a nuclear submarine, and the band's fire still rages on FACE DANCES, albeit with a bit more finesse. Without Keith Moon, the Who may have lacked the restless firepower that distinguished their earlier albums, but Face Dances had some of Pete Townshend's best, most incisive compositions since Quadrophenia. "Don't Let Go the Coat" was one of his better odes to Meher Baba, "You Better You Bet" was a driving rocker, as was the rueful "Cache Cache," while "How Can You Do It Alone" was a solid ballad. While Townshend's songs were graceful and introspective, Roger Daltrey delivered them without any subtlety, rendering their power impotent. [The 1997 compact disc reissue adds five tracks to the original nine-song lineup, including three tracks that didn't make the album's final cut (Townshend's "I Like Nightmares," "It's in You," and "Somebody Saved Me") and two live tracks, a rough jam of "How Can You Do It Alone" and John Entwistle's "The Quiet One," from 1979 and 1982, respectively.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Cub Koda

CMJ (1/5/04, p.8) - Ranked #15 in CMJ's "Top 20 Most-Played Albums of 1981"

From the youthful arrogance of their early 1960s recordings to their ambitious rock operas and the more introspective FM rock staples of their mid-1970s albums, the Who raged like a rock & roll inferno. Pete Townshend's guitar fireworks and Keith Moon's larger-than-life drumming combined with the busy basslines of John Entwistle and Roger Daltrey's vocal roar to create one of rock's mightiest noises. The band reconvened numerous times following the hard-living Moon's death in 1978, and even continued to play for several years following the death of Entwistle in 2002.

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