The Who – Quadrophenia

Disc 1 is perfect, wonderful sound, no faults. Disk 2 has been holed off-centre, and the wow is so bad I can't listen to it. I've just emailed the supplier - Musicroom.com, in the hope of a replacement. I've only purchased from them twice, and the first purchase got lost in the post. I must say though that their customer service was superb. As soon as the delivery date grace period expired they sent me another copy by courier.

Beautifully presented vinyl set and sounds fantastic. The Who at their best.

Is it the 2011 remaster or a repress of the original ?

Great reissue of a fantastic album. Looking at The Who's catalog you can see the progression, this was the album Townsend was trying to make. Moon is spot on, leading the assault in a highly underrated performance. I can see the smirk on Pete's face, "this is what I've been trying to do". They did some great stuff after this one, but this was the peak. One of the greatest rock records ever made.

The Who's 'Quadrophenia' is an absolute classic album. I feel that the story/concept behind the album is something that any male in the 18-25 age range can relate to. The basic plot focuses on a boy, Jimmy, who is living in London, but feels he has no identity or place in the world. It is not long before Jimmy ends up in Brighton, contemplating his life.

'Quadrophenia' also happens to be the first vinyl I ever purchased. On that note, I will point out that it is the 2011 reissue, is a double LP, is remastered, and contains all the original inserts from 1973. In of the sound, well, for the most part, it is spot on. The instrumentation and background effects are absolutely sublime on vinyl; I was very impressed with this. However, the main problem is that the vocals suffer. They are buried behind the instrumentation and background effects and, overall, I must confess that this annoyed me greatly.

All things considered, though, I would highly recommend a listen to The Who's 'Quadrophenia'. If you happen to be a male in the 18-25 age group, the story/lyrics of the record should strike a chord with you. However, just be warned that the lyrics/vocals are buried behind the sublime instrumentation and background effects. If you buy the 2011 reissue on vinyl, you should encounter this issue. It is not a big issue and will not upset your overall enjoyment of the record. However, that being said, it is an issue that I would like potential buyers to be aware of prior to making a purchase.

Hope this review is helpful. Thanks for reading.