He felt that rock fans would be out to find the same answers he was seeking.
As someone who had recently become a follower of the teachings of Indian spiritual leader Meher Baba, Townshend was looking for an outlet to explore what he was learning. Townshend endeavored to address themes of spirituality in pop music. He also wanted to reach new audiences who had not been particularly interested in the Who’s blasts of "Maximum R&B," and felt people would be interested in a longer musical piece. Townshend wanted to do something to fully capitalize on the album as a continuous art form – even more so than Sell Out. The rock opera Tommy followed on May 23, 1969.īy then, full-length studio projects were becoming more important than the single in rock 'n' roll, thanks to parallel successes from bands like the Beatles, and the Beach Boys. Townshend’s ambitions continued to grow as the Who were creating a larger global presence for themselves with the American breakthrough of "I Can See for Miles" and the band’s electrifying performance at the Monterey International Pop Festival. Listen to the Who's 'A Quick One, While He's Away' A year later, the Who released arguably the decade’s best concept album: The Who Sell Out didn’t link songs by subject matter, but by the idea of a pirate radio broadcast complete with goofy fake ads. When extra material was needed for his band’s sophomore LP in 1966, he wrote the six-part, nine-minute "A Quick One, While He’s Away" – the most significant precursor to the album-length story of Tommy. Townshend continued to think about musical stories that could expand beyond a quick-hit radio single. The bigger project was never completed – and may not have been really attempted – but it did result in a great slice of power pop for the Who and a No. The main conflict of the story (and the one at the heart of "I’m a Boy") is that one couple gets a boy instead of the girl they ordered, but make do the best they can with the unwelcome child. When the idea of a “rock opera” was just a glimmer in Pete’s eye, he had the idea of a larger musical piece called Quads that was set in a future when parents could select the genders of their children.
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