Album: The Who <!-- none onestar twostar threestar fourstar fivestar -->

Endless Wire, POLYDOR

Andy Gill
Friday 27 October 2006 00:00 BST
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

With both Moon and Entwistle gone, there's only half of The Who left - sadly appropriate, as this is only half a Who album, really. The grand swagger one expects only arrives when Zak Starkey's drums punch along "Black Widow's Eyes", a song about being transfixed by a suicide bomber's eyes just before she detonates. Elsewhere, the energy seems dissipated through weak arrangements - a "Baba O'Riley"-esque sequenced synthesiser for "Fragments", a Tom Waits-wannabe blend of piano and gravel voice for "In the Ether", and a weedy alliance of cello and mandolin for "2000 Years", a song about Judas's destiny which is one of several religious-themed pieces here. But any goodwill built up via the themes of spiritual isolation and religious hypocrisy in the album's first half is squandered on the mini-opera Wire & Glass, which comprises the latter half, a preposterous fantasy about a mixed-belief trio (Catholic, Muslim and Jew) whose music aims to bring the world together, until the Jew shoots the Catholic - though it could all be being dreamed by a washed-up old rocker in a sanatorium.

DOWNLOAD THIS: 'Black Widow's Eyes', 'A Man in a Purple Dress'

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in