The Who

After the death of Keith Moon, the Who soldiered on and recruited former Small Faces/Faces drummer Kenny Jones as Moon's replacement and continued performing live up until late '82 before suspending band activity for an indefinite hiatus. Choosing famed producer Bill Szymczyk(Joe Walsh, the Eagles, Elvin Bishop), the Who worked on Face Dances over a 5 month period at Odyssey Studios in London and despite some critical objections, the album pushed its way into the top 5 and produced a top 20 single in You Better, You Bet, which consolidated the Who's updated sound for the 1980s. After the release of Townshend's Empty Glass and success of the single Let My Love Open the Door from the previous year, many claimed that Face Dances really didn't sound very Who-ish and was merely an extension of Townshend's solo work with the members of the band as back-up musicians. This is simply not true to my ears, as I hear a revitalized band that has gained a second momentum to survive, at least for the few more years that remained for itself, and does so accordingly.

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Pop sensibility and a somewhat, "New Wave" influence permeates throughout Townshend and the group's collective sound that culminates in a forward moving fashion with tracks like You Better, You Bet, Don't Let Go the Coat and Daily Records displaying a totally revamped and modified sound for the band. Gone, of course, is the maniacal drumming of Moon in exchange for the more contemporary, but just as powerful, drumming skills of Jones and I think he does a credible job throughout the recording. Entwistle weighs in with some heavier tracks on the record in the ripping Quiet One, where he sings lead, and the short, sharp, snappiness of You rendered by a powerful vocal from Daltrey.

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Townshend offers a varied sense of nuances within his songwriting and it comes to the fore on tracks like Cache Cache, Did You Steal My Money(which utilizes stereo mixing to a high advantage) and Daily Records that are found to be compelling numbers and show a significant amount of growth within Pete's songwriting skills. How Can You Do It Alone seems a bit banal at times and slightly pedestrian in its delivery, but still maintains a fresh poppy feel within itself. John "Rabbit" Bundrick adds a fifth element with his keyboard contributions all over this record and songs that benefit greatly from his presence are You Better, You Bet, Daily Records, Did You Steal My Money and the record's closer Another Tricky Day, which is one of the more consistently powerful numbers on offer here. Even though the Who were entering the final stages of their 18 year career, Face Dances proves that the band could, in fact, remain relevant to an ever changing genre of music and do it with the strength and wisdom of a well weathered and refined rock outfit.

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Rating Grade- B+