As you’ll notice from the count-down thing-a-ma-bob on the right (which I had to correct, for some reason), today is the anniversary of my birth. I shall reach 45 years of life at twenty minutes past noon local time (GMT –7:00).

This has not gone un-recognized by the World’s Artists, including that “nice rock and roll band from Shepherd’s Bush”: The Who. Behold:

Whose Birthday is It?

Thanks to Pete and Rodger, and with the sincere hope that John and Keith get better soon.

Anyone who doesn’t feel the need to promote the purchase of their latest album (unless it’s Jann Arden, who could probably do with the sales, because what Canadian musician doesn’t?) can feel free to offer their congratulations below.

Hooray for me: still alive at 45! Some days that seemed an impossibility, if not at least an unlikelihood.

For countless years (merely because I don’t have the courage to know how many are involved) the music of The Who has enveloped me. Hours have been wasted willingly devoted to listening to the arrangements and lyrical structures of the group’s songs, most of which were the creative output of the leader of the band: Pete Townshend.

Much of the need of discussion of the group’s ‘final tour’, followed startlingly quickly by a ‘re-union tour’, and then recently by simply ‘a tour’ followed by ‘another tour’ has been handled by many people before – including a lyrical jab by Joe Jackson in his song “Nineteen Forever”; he was one of the supporting acts on the ‘farewell tour’ – so permit me to speak specifically to the pair of remaining members regarding matters of their continuance of creative efforts.

Stop. Please, for the sake of yourselves and any respect I have for you, just stop.

When news of the album Endless Wire reached me, the thought that occurred was ‘it may be the first original album since 1982’s It’s Hard, but Pete’s always been the creative driving force for the band and he’s been hard at it in the intermediate period. You never know…’

In fact, the album is pretty good. Perhaps not perfect – there’s only so much recorded perfection people in their 60s can attain when in the middle of a cross-continental performing tour (most of the mixing was done during the day by Pete Townshend on the 2006 – 2007 tour) – and at least they were willing to ‘give it a go’. Somehow, something was lacking, however…

Something like 50% of the band, actually.

In 1978, Keith Moon, the band’s drummer, was found dead. Then in 2002, John Entwistle, who played bass, was found dead by the stripper who had shared cocaine and his bed during the preceding night. In effect, the four-man group is now half-dead, with only the original singer, Roger Daltrey, and guitarist / songwriter / leader, Mr. Townshend, making up the surviving 50% of the original line-up.

Oddly, this is the same amount of surviving members of The Beatles, and we don’t see Ringo and The Big Macca touring and recording… but I digress…

My point here is that the excitement and original joi de vivre of the band isn’t there anymore. The whole of The Who was greater by far than the sum of its parts. As excellent as the drumming of Zak Starkey is, as well as the playing of bass guitar by Pino Palladino (the man tours with Jeff Beck, for Pete’s sake!), there was a certain energy created between the original members which cannot be matched with simple attention to timing and faithful reproduction of original recordings.

I’ve often thought that what needed to be done was the retiring of the name “The Who” when applied to Pete and Rog’. Perhaps they could call themselves “The Survivors”, or possibly “The Wholigans”, or even return to their original earlier name “The High Numbers” as a way of ‘starting afresh’. Sadly, I think even this is more than ought to be done.

Along with the CD of Endless Wire, you see, came a DVD of a portion of the group’s concert at Lyon, France. I’d not bothered to listen to it until a week or so ago.

Now I wish I hadn’t.

Oh. My. God.

Daltrey’s voice has never been one which has been described as being ‘too smooth’, or of having a bel canto delivery style; rough, raw, angry singing is his, reflecting the vox populi which was in short supply in popular music at the start of the 1960s. He has, however, been able to deliver both accurate notes and a full tone which has distinguished songs by The Who above others’ efforts in my list of “music what I does love, I does”.

Until now.

His voice on this recording is thin, scratchy, hesitant with entry notes, and at times is down-right out of tune. The demands of the road may be to blame – he’s in his mid-60s, and I can’t imagine my Father keeping up Daltrey’s schedule with any ease – but that’s no excuse for releasing the material.

So… here’s my plea to the two remaining boys in that very nice Rock & Roll band from Shepherd’s Bush: please stop touring, and please stop calling yourselves ‘The Who’. the work you’ve both already done is admirable for a career. Tremendous music has been recorded (and re-mastered for superior sound, thankfully), and you’ve shared it with us; we all thank you sincerely for it.

If albums are created in the studio under the moniker “Peter & Rodger’s Music Project”, they’ll be bought by many people, myself included. If you want to do a special evening of songs in an intimate setting – much like Pete’s Live > Sadler’s Wells 2000 event – then people will buy tickets to the event and copies of the recording; again, I’ll be there if possible, and will slap on the headphones when the CD is available. Pete’s writing and guitar-playing sits as the finest part of my vast musical collection, and Roger’s voice – until recently – only enhances the emotion of the songs.

But please, limit yourselves to the studio and ‘one-off gigs’. You’re starting to be put in the same category as the Rolling Stones: “when are they going to call it quits once and for all?”

All of the above is delivered with the utmost of respect for the musical body of work crafted over nearly a half-century.