The Who are back

As someone who used to listen to The Who's 1971 album Who's Next once a day for about a year, I can tell you that their first studio effort since 1982's It's Hard is, in fact, hard. Hard in a good way, though. Contrary to 1969's rock opera "Tommy," which consisted of a smattering of excellent full-length compositions stitched together with small fragments of tracks that served the purpose of gelling the narrative, Endless Wire is frontloaded with full songs, saving its own mini-opera for tracks 10 through 21.\nThere are many factors that make Endless Wire both a frustrating and rewarding experience for longtime Who fans. The most frustrating factor is the most unavoidable. The band's frenetic drummer, Keith Moon, passed away in 1978, and 2002 saw the untimely passing of one of the most lyrical bassists in rock history in John Entwistle. Remaining members Pete Townshend (guitars, lyrics, music, backing vocals) and Roger Daltrey (lead vocals, theatricality, gravitas) are left virtually on their own to bring the compositions to life. Along with competent assistance from session bassist Pino Palladino and drummer Zak "Ringo's kid" Starkey, Townshend and Daltrey make a spirited go of it.\nAs for the songs, many of them are Townshend's best since the Who By Numbers era. "Fragments" commences with synth blips reminiscent of "Baba O'Riley" and brings to life Townshend's new kind of antithetical wasteland. The rest of side one finds Townshend flexing his impressive but rarely seen acoustic chops on "A Man in a Purple Dress," "God Speaks of Marty Robbins," and "Two Thousand Years," and recalling The Who's glory days with the stunners "Mike Post Theme" and "It's Not Enough." The only real clunker among the first nine tracks is the bizarre "In the Ether," which finds Townshend taking over on vocals with a bizarre, croaking delivery.\nAt album's end, the most rewarding aspect of the whole experience is having heard an album 24 years and its own share of tragedies and triumphs in the making. While it doesn't hold even half a candle to Who classics like Quadrophenia and The Who Sell Out, Endless Wire is an impressive, cerebral and forward-looking collection. In an age where other dinosaurs like The Rolling Stones, U2 and Springsteen seem to be stuck in their own personal holding patterns, The Who continue to at least suggest innovation in their twilight years.