Track Listing

1. I'm the Face - High Numbers
2. Zoot Suit - High Numbers
3. I Am the Sea
4. Real Me
5. I'm One
6. 5:15
7. Love Reign O'Er Me
8. Bell Boy
9. I've Had Enough
10. Helpless Dancer
11. Doctor Jimmy
12. Get Out and Stay Out
13. Four Faces
14. Joker James
15. Punk and the Godfather

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #265494 in Music
• Released on: 1994-03-22
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack

Amazon.com
During the '70s, Tommy went from being the Who's finest hour to excessive pop-culture cliché--precisely the sort of bloated musical albatross that fueled the decade's punk and new wave reactionaries. Consequently, director Frank Roddam imbued his 1979 version of Quadrophenia (Pete Townshend's 1973 introspective ode to teen angst set against the English mod versus rocker clashes of the early '60s) with a conscious sense of scale and humanity. Unlike the often embarrassing Tommy film spectacle, the band's musical presence on Quadrophenia is both concise and surprisingly fresh. They contribute three new songs ("Get Out and Stay Out," "Four Faces," "Joker James") that help flesh out the story and cut much of the original material down to its musical and emotional essence. Credit Who bassist/film musical director John Entwistle (who'd no doubt perceived the sharp musical changes just then happening around him) with stripping Quadrophenia down to size, in the process underscoring his thunderous, cascading bass lines; Pete Townshend's slashing power chords; Keith Moon's maniacal drum fills; and Roger Daltrey's vocal power. After Tommy, less was indeed more. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews

more quadrophenia, less who
The movie is a great way to aproach to the band, but it`s more a timetravel experience: it's the 60's UK; it's the mods; it's the rockers; it's the drugs (sure, man! since then!); the mopeds; and giving meaning to existence -as always-, it's about the music. The Who is having a great musical moment here, but there is music that becomes important in this context that only had a mere frat rock reference before.
For the customer, be sure of what you want:
* Quadrophenia [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED] -- The Who; Audio CD Double, features only The Who's music. This album is trully amazing, but don't expect to find something very close to Tommy. Yet the album totally rocks!
* Quadrophenia [SOUNDTRACK] -- The Who; Audio CD
1979 version with 25 tracks, including (i think all the) music that is not played by the who but appears on important scenes in the movie. An unbeattable document, to have along the VHS AND the DVD, to understand the mod mechanisms.
* Quadrophenia: Songs From The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack [SOUNDTRACK] -- The Who; Audio CD
1993 version with 15 tracks. Who fans love it. Remastered versions, rerecorded parts. I think it sounds more powerful, but lack the historic part (which doesn't matter for a die hard Who fan) This is like an action concentrate if that is what you were looking for.
c'mon! save some bucks, get the three of them, plus the vhs plus the dvd.
get involved.

Remastered Quadrophenia songs have more oomph.
The omission of the Motown songs is no great loss to me. In fact, I don't even care about the film so much. But the remastered versions of the Quad songs are _much_ ballsier than the originals. This is due to bassist John Entwistle re-recording the bass parts with an eight-string bass, wiping some superfluous keyboard parts, and restoring some great Keith Moon drum parts. Thus, "5:15" sounds like the hit it should have been, and "Bell Boy", "Doctor Jimmy", and "The Punk Meets the Godfather" are even more dramatic than before. The only miscues are his decision to fade "Love Reign O'er Me" instead of using the gong ending, and using a conventional ending for "The Real Me" instead of the "me-ME-me-ME-me" vocal ending. An optional purchase for casual fans, but a solid pick for real Who-heads.

Good Moments But Go With The Original
I bought this record back in the early eighties. There are several great songs(Dr. Jimmy, The Real Me, The Punk And The Godfather, 5:15). I also enjoy several of the songs contributed by other artists such as She's So Fine, Da Do Run Run, and Be My Baby.

However the new who tracks Four Faces, Joker James, and Get Out And Stay Out are inferior additions when they replace missing tracks like Cut My Hair, Drowned, The Rock, and The Dirty Jobs. Also cutting only 34 seconds of Helpless Dancer is oh so annoying. What is the point please?

If you like the early sixties at the end of the CD, you might want to pick this version up. Otherwise go with the all Who Quadrophenia.