Quadrophenia (Super Deluxe Edition) [Box set, CD+DVD]

I love this album. It connects somehow, the frustration of My g-g-g-generation extended to an entire double album, played with the frenetic energy and genius of The Who, and intermingled with a dash of Pete Townshend's mystical leanings. I am the sea.

It is not only the music, the whole package was perfect when it arrived in autumn 1973. The black and white cover with the scooter and the four faces of the band reflected in its mirrors, and a breathtakingly good series of monochrome photographs. If any record deserves a deluxe edition, this one does.

And here it is - or is it? What we have is something half-way between the sumptuous, informative, historic collector's edition which the album merits, and the kind of money grabbing release you get when some record company notices how much people are paying for boxed sets these days and says, "Quick, let's get Quadrophenia out before the CD market disappears completely".

Because there is a lot wrong with this release, though I still cannot give it less than four stars. Still, time to stop rambling and tell you what you get. Within a very solid slipcase you will find a poster advertising the original double album (actually this is a fine reproduction and one of the better things here), a colour envelope holding various bits of memorabilia: reproductions of some of Townshend's draft lyrics, a rather darkly reproduced colour photo of Jimmy (the central character) on a scooter, and a 7-inch single of 5.15 backed with the slightly rare track Water.

Then there is the main event: a 100-page hardback book of photos and an essay by Townshend, within which nestle the original double CD remastered, a DVD with 8 tracks remixed for 5.1 surround sound, and two CDs of Townshend's demos for the album.

The book is certainly nice to have, though bear in mind that the original album came with a 46 page insert which is all included in the book, so that accounts for nearly a quarter of it. I am also upset to report that the quality of those wonderful photographs is poor; I was really hoping that I would get better copies than those in my falling-apart LP but in fact these are noticeably worse; they have that grainy look you get when photos are reprinted from a print rather than from the originals.

Still, the *other* photos in the book are nicely reproduced and the essay is fascinating if you love Quadrophenia half as much as I do. Townshend recounts how he came up with the story that is printed in the front cover of the LP (and also here), when remembering how he slept under Brighton pier once "after a riotous night at the Aquarium ballroom." He also describes how the album came together, how it was recorded, and adds notes on the songs and demos.

If you are a fan, you will definitely want to hear the demos too. They form a sort-of alternate version of the album, lacking the Who's energy but with its own appeal. There are also songs here that are not on the album, and others that did not show up until the soundtrack of the Quadrophenia film. Some of the songs have overdubs which I personally would rather had been omitted.

Note that the standard-price 2CD set has 11 of the demos as bonus tracks. This box has 25 demo tracks.

The 5.1 mix is enjoyable too. This album is ideal for surround sound, especially at those moments when sea noises swirl around.

It's curious though that only 8 tracks have been mixed to 5.1. Why? But the rest of 5.1 Quadrophenia is not the only thing missing.

The important thing to realise is that this is Townshend's deluxe box, rather than The Who's deluxe box. I have not spotted any contribution to the package from Roger Daltrey, despite his massive contribution to the quality of the album, nor even any attempt to collect existing quotes from the two members of the band who are no longer with us, Keith Moon and John Entwistle. There are no outtakes from band sessions, nor are there any live tracks from when Quadrophenia was performed live back in the day; yes I realise that the concerts at the time had some problems but I would still love to hear how they sounded.

Quadrophenia was remixed in 1996 and it is the remix that is offered here - there are small differences in the remaster including a new train noise in 5.15 but no big leap in sound quality - but for completeness I would have liked both mixes to be included, in line with what has been done in deluxe boxes for other classic albums such as Jethro Tull's Aqualung and King Crimson's In the Court of. To my mind the original mix is still important, the Quadrophenia that is as I first heard it in the seventies.

So this is a frustrating production, much less than it should be; but then again frustration is what Quadrophenia is all about so that is curiously fitting. Fans will still want this package, hard though it is to justify the cost. And I suppose when and if the full 5.1 release is done eventually we will be asked to pay again.

Who's bright idea was it to only put half the album on the DVD?
Who buys these box sets? The fans and collectors who have supported the band for years and are willing to part with 70 quid to get something special, so why not mix the whole album in 5.1? That would be wasted on those people, it's only a concept album so who's going to miss half of it? This shows a total disrespect for the loyal fans.
Badly done Pete, very badly done.
The album itself is worth 5 stars but it's loosing 2 stars because of the bad taste it's leaving me with.

I thought I'd give this release a few months' stay of grace before delivering my verdict. Too often, day-of-release reviews are either over-exultant or suicidally dissatisfied. And now that the dust has settled and 'Quadrophenia: The Director's Cut' is bending the shelf, what do I think? Was this 70-something quid well spent?
The answer, in short, is 'No'. I feel shortchanged in almost every regard. True, Pete Townshend's extended essay is very interesting, and there is some tasty period memorabilia (the letter from Townshend to his solicitor asking to get him out of the band is astonishing). And there is something perversely pleasing, in this age where everything in the world can be stored on the head of a pin, in turning a record into a monumental box.
But where it falls apart is when we look at what is actually IN the box. The original 1973 vinyl double-album came with a book of black and white photos to visualise, or set the scene, of 'Quadrophenia'. They are reprinted here - however, they are not FAITHFULLY reproduced. They are, judging by the poor quality, merely scans or photocopies of the 1973 photos. These pictures are not taken from the original negatives.
The two CDs of 'Quadrophenia' itself sounds pretty identical to the Jon Astley-remixed/remastered reissue from over 10 years ago. I didn't like the changes made - some of Roger's yells disappearing on 'The Real Me', the removal of the brilliant, mad chicken-squawk noise on the last verse of 'The Dirty Jobs'. In comparison to the original mix, it's bland, frankly.
As for the 5.1 disc, I can't really comment as to its quality because I haven't got that kind of audio rig, but, if I had, I would be utterly crestfallen to be fobbed off with a mere selection of songs instead of the complete album. Much as though the Pink Floyd Immersion sets have come in for a fair bit of stick with their silly marbles and scarves, what can't be denied is that, when it came to the music itself, the listener was well served. If they can fit 5.1, original stereo and 4.0 Quad mixes of an album onto one Blu-ray disc (and still find room for stereo and 5.1 mixes of Concert Screen Films), why couldn't The Who?
The two CDs of Townshend demos are worthwhile - both musically and historically. It's interesting to see, for example, the altered lyric emphasis in the early 'Punk & The Godfather', and revelatory to learn that, in a few cases, John Entwistle and Keith Moon were merely replacing Townshend's bass and drums on fully-realized instrumentals.
Townshend missed out on a golden opportunity with this release. He could have unleashed a brain-boggling monster of a record here, not the tame tabby cat content to sleep undisturbed on the shelf all day. This is what the Quadrophenia box should have contained:
- The original, wayward, eccentric 1973 mix on two CDs;
- The Jon Astley-neutered mix on two CDs;
- The Townshend demos (WITHOUT the new drum tracks, and WITH the song 'Ambition'. This track was supposed to be available on Q-Cloud website but, when I went there, this cut was unavailable for some specious reason);
- A CD of John Entwistle's mixes for the 'Quadrophenia' film, plus album outtakes ('We Close Tonight') and band studio recordings (early run-throughs, rehearsals, chatter, alternative takes);
- A DVD of film footage. The Who shot some footage to be screened onstage (a snippet appears in the 'Amazing Journey' biopic) - although it was a rejected idea, it'd have been good to see it. Plus live footage of The Who performing 'Quadrophenia'. Contrary to legend, it worked powerfully onstage. There's a good hour's worth of basically-shot but extremely effective footage available to see on YouTube. Why couldn't it have been cleaned up and included here? Plus TV clips - '5.15' on 'Top Of The Pops' or other relevant TV news items;
- A live CD of 'Quadrophenia' material. The 2010 'Greatest Hits & More' CD included a 1973 live '5.15' so there ARE tapes in existence. Let's hear them!
- The original photos reproduced from the actual negatives;
- Blu-ray disc with 5.1 mix of the entire album (with chicken noises reinstated).
Oh, and rather than house it in a box, place it inside a GS scooter.
Now THAT would have been worth shelling out 70 sheets for!