The Who Top 40 countdown! (please do not list spoilers/predictions)

"Christmas" is 54 and "Go to the Mirror!" is 63?!?!?!
The two best songs from Tommy!?!?!?!
I had "Christmas" at #8 and "Go to the Mirror!" was my #2.
How could these rate so low?
What is happening in your heads? I wish I knew.

 

Good call on Go to the Mirror!, peeps! I had 17th and am baffled again at how poorly it did. I mean, I get it at this point that voters at large don't hold Tommy in very high regard, but jeez.

 

really enjoying all the comments about the just-misses today! This is by far my most enjoyed comment section so far, hearing all the stories and reasons for why songs were picked that aren't going to get enough votes for inclusion.

I would disagree, though, with all the posts saying "surprised no one liked [insert name of song] enough to make the list". Behind Blue eyes finished third overall, yet was only even named on 80% of the lists. So, there are just too many songs getting votes that it makes it hard for consensus, not that a song isn't "liked".

I mean, the top 2 tomorrow probably won't have a much better hit rate than 80-something percent. People will say overplayed, or whatever, but honestly, these have a case as the greatest rock song ANYONE ever wrote, never mind The Who. My point is what an amazing band with so many incredible songs that even these amazing ones revealed today didn't make a top 40. We could probably do this thread again next year, and 15 songs would be different. A rich catalogue to be sure!! I just wouldn't take it as your personal faves weren't "liked".

My top ones that will miss the list:

My Wife #5. I've always rated this as my third favorite from Who's Next. Didn't think anything of it until I joined this site and saw I had a minority opinion. Oh well. I'll continue loving it!

Long Live Rock #17. One I would have thought would be a slam dunk to make it, and the reason I first bought Odds and Sods. An anthemic track for sure.

Here For More, my #20. I posted this earlier - assuming not everyone knows this track, so I hope you all enjoyed it. Anything else on my list not to make the top 40 was outside the top 20, so in that coin flip area. I'll finish up 30/40 after tomorrow's reveal.

 

I had Christmas at #12. Go to the mirror kinda gets grandfathered in through the overture at 40 as it's the main melody

 

I love it and totally overlooked it when doing my top 40. I included a fair bit of Tommy but so many of the songs on Tommy and Quadrophenia are so part of the whole I don't think of them separately, even forgetting the titles. I've heard both albums many times too. I'm regretting not including I've Had Enough from Quadrophenia.

 

Like pretty much everybody, i have a large number of songs on today’s reveal. Testimony to their large, high quality catalog.

Having said that, my biggest surprise is Young Man Blues at #41 (my#6) and to a lesser extent, Summer Time Blues (my #15). I would have predicted that Young Man Blues would easily be top 15. Good thing I’m not a gambling man. Some prior comments about it being a cover affecting their ranking.

 

I had Christmas at 13. I won’t even go into the rest of my list it would just make your head explode. Young Man Blues, Heaven and Hell, Long Live Rock, just to name a few that are in my top 40.
I always suspected I was a little odd, the last month or so on this thread has definitely confirmed it.

 

I thought they were saying "She's a horse" for a very long time because of the verse:

"Consumed, there was a beautiful white horse I saw on a dream stage
He had a snake the size of a sewer pipe living in his rib cage"

So don't feel bad. It doesn't sound like they're saying "She's a bomb".

 

I honestly thought it was “she’s a whore”

 

41 Young Man Blues (31): An amazing example of what The Who could make live in concert. Absolutely insane!
44 So Sad About Us (19): An amazing power pop composition. An early masterpiece and a favorite of mine. Essential!
51 I Can't Reach You (34): i just love this tune, the chords, the piano, the singing and the lyrics and the amazing sound they could get on Sell Out!
53 Our Love Was (26): Again, the same, those chords, the psychedelic pop tasteful sound, the singing, the harmonies and that guitar solo. A Perfect song for me. I love everything about The Who Sell Out.
54 Christmas (28): just hearing Roger Daltrey singing this song from second 0 is amazing. There’s so much urgency in his interpretation. I believe him. And the combination of those drums with that bass and the electric guitar! Love it.
55 I’ve Had Enough (24): An essential track from Quadrophenia. This song have everything, the tough verse with an angry state of mind, the n the insecurity mixed with a love feeling, and then a melancholy feeling of being tired of everything. Only The Who could create something like this. Masterpiece.
56 Relay (36) I have and soft spot for this 70s single. Great synths sounds combined with that punchy electric guitar and Daltrey vocals that once again make me believe him.
58 Blue, Red and Grey (23): A mind blowing masterpiece. One of the greatest songs ever by Pete Townshend or anyone.
63 Go to the Mirror! (7): This is an essential song of Tommy. That guitar riff is addictive sugar. Once again Daltrey sings with urgency, i can feel the desperation and the frustration. Love everything about this song.
64 Sunrise (22): Another mind blowing composition by Pete Townshend. This is one of the reasons why I believe he’s a genius.
67 Bell Boy (3): My absolute favorite song of Quadrophenia. Not an easy task knowing that is favorite album by The Who. Love the guitars, the synths, Keith Moon part and Roger Daltrey is just an amazing singer. Masterpiece.
69 Melancholia (33) A lost Masterpiece. I can’t believe they never released this song in the 60s. I love it.
76 Odorono (37): Another Sell Out song that i love with Townshend on vocals. Maybe my favorite vocals by Pete are in this album.
77 Quadrophenia (35): Wagner meets Townshend and create something unique in rock music. A Rock Symphony? Too pompous? Maybe, but i love it!
81 Imagine a Man: i wanted this in my 40 list but i had to leave it out. Sad because i like this song very much. The guitar arpeggios is so beautiful and Daltrey’s singing is amazing.
84 Is It In My Head? (40): Love it, those sounds, and how the song personality changes abruptly making us feel bloody quadrophenic.
91 1921 (29): an essential song from Tommy. This is where everything break. The harmonies and the sadness. Those guitar and piano chords at the end make me feel that something is broken forever and there’s no way back.

Bravo to The Who, the most amazing rock band ever.

 

#41-#91
THESE SONGS WERE IN MY TOP 40
I'M A BOY
My #6 song. I just love the drumming, the lyrics, the vocals (lead and backing), and the french horn. I knew it wouldn't end up as high as I had it, but I expected it to be top 40. I know it wasn't a US hit, but I'm from the US and first heard it on MEATY BEATY BIG & BOUNCY and loved it from first listen. I know other people who really like this too. Just not quite enough to get it on this top 40. Still this was the only song in my top 25 not to make the top 40 so I can't complain!
SO SAD ABOUT US
This was my #40. I originally had "Magic Bus" in that spot but then decided that this is a better song and I like it more, so I cut a song I knew would do well in the countdown. I'm pleased to see this made it so close to the top 40. I figured it wouldn't even be top 100.
SQUEEZE BOX
My #39 song. I just love the opening riff. Classic Who. Musically this is a strong song. The dumb lyrics keep it from getting higher and I suspect enough people felt that was reason enough to exclude it from the top 40 completely.
ARMENIA CITY IN THE SKY
#34 on my list and the only non-original to make my top 40. A great first song on THE WHO SELL OUT and perhaps their most psychedelic number. It sounds like a song the Who would have written at that time so I don't hold the fact that they didn't write it against them too much.
(CIRCLES) INSTANT PARTY
#27 on my list. This is excellent early Who and would have made a fine followup single to "My Generation" if the band had been so inclined!
HAD ENOUGH
#26 on my list. A favorite from QUADROPHENIA that I thought might crack the tail end of the top 40.

Other songs I considered in my original list of 80 or so:
42 Long Live Rock 829-probably 42 on my list as well!
48 Drowned
51 I Can't Reach You
52 Let’s See Action
53 Our Love Was
54 Christmas
56 Relay
57 Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand
60 Heaven and Hell
62 Sister Disco
63 Go to the Mirror!
65 Cut My Hair
66 Athena
67 Bell Boy
68 Boris The Spider-I'm glad this didn't make the top 40. It is nowhere near as good or clever as some people seem to think it is. But it is better than My Wife< which is the song I am most pleased did not make the top 40. My Wife keeps WHO'S NEXT from being a perfect album. Had they replaced it with Pure And Easy, WHO'S NEXT might rate as my 2nd favorite album (after the Beatles REVOLVER).
72 Summertime Blues
73 I Don’t Even Know Myself
75 A Legal Matter
76 Odorono
78 Disguises
79 The Dirty Jobs-another that just missed my top 40
89 Guitar and Pen
91 1921

 

Posting this again because I want it to get special notice:
I'M A BOY
My #6 song. I just love the drumming, the lyrics, the vocals (lead and backing), and the french horn. I knew it wouldn't end up as high as I had it, but I expected it to be top 40. I know it wasn't a US hit, but I'm from the US and first heard it on MEATY BEATY BIG & BOUNCY and loved it from first listen. I know other people who really like this too. Just not quite enough to get it on this top 40.

 

Below is a video of Pete standing up side stage (with his girlfriend/wife ???) where Jimi is playing Stone Free. I don't know which club this is at; whether or not it is The Bag of Nails. Its probably The Saville Theatre because maybe John Entwistle (???) is also there standing up side/back stage watching on.

 

Stone Free. Solo starts at 2:20

 

Melancholia. Solo starts at 2:42. Melancholia such an awesome song. Maybe it was too similar in theme to Jimi Hendrix's Manic Depression and the solo of Stone Free?

 

Manic Depression. Solo starts at 1:17. Also similar to the Melancholia guitar solo.

 

Fabulous commentary.

 

My Tommy Analysis

I ranked ten songs from Tommy in my Top 40. The group ended up having seven songs from Tommy in the Top 40, however, only four of those seven overlap with my ten. “Sparks” and “Overture” did not make the cut for my Top 40 and “See Me, Feel Me” was excluded because I considered it redundant with “We’re Not Gonna Take It” (although I recently purchased the 2003 Deluxe Edition and noticed that “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “See Me, Feel Me” are split into two tracks on that release). The four overlapping songs were “Pinball Wizard,” “Amazing Journey,” “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” and “I’m Free.”

That leaves six songs in my Top 40 that didn’t make the group Top 40. My three highest and three lowest ranked Tommy songs. First, the three lower were “Sally Simpson,” “Tommy Can You Hear Me?” and “Eyesight to the Blind (The Hawker).” In hindsight, I may have rated that last one too high, but not the others.

That leaves my three highest songs from Tommy (all in my Top 10) that didn’t break the group’s Top 40 (or even Top 50). These three songs, in some ways, could be considered key elements of the story as well, as they contain when the mental block is instilled in Tommy (i.e., “1921”), when the consequences for his life and soul are considered (i.e., “Christmas"), and when it is finally realized that it is not physical, but a psychosomatic mental block that must be overcome (i.e., “Go to the Mirror!”).

I already discussed my #10, “1921,” in a previous post.

I also posted my gut reaction to the other two, but wanted to expand...

“Christmas” was my #8. It starts with everything (e.g., music, vocals) at full tilt to demonstrate the excitement and chaos of a Christmas morning. It conveys the anguish of his parents as they consider the implications of his condition, both practical and spiritual (i.e., he can’t even experience the childhood joy associated with Christmas and how can his soul be saved if he doesn’t even know who Jesus is?). The desperation is conveyed in the first lyrical presentation of the “Tommy Can You Hear Me?” interlude, interspersed with the first lyrical presentation of the “See Me, Feel Me” theme. Yes, “Overture” introduces the music, but the lyrics are introduced here.

“Go to the Mirror!” was my #2. This song is amazing and, to me, is the best representation of the themes of the album. It is also the only Tommy song to make the RnR HOF list of The Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. It starts with a great riff and Daltrey coming in as the doctor. One of the reasons it eclipses other presentations of the theme for me is that this is the track where Townsend gives his own voice to his main character, Tommy, with the “See Me, Feel Me” theme (as Daltrey is already singing the doctor part). That hits me hard for some reason. Then, the “Listening to You” theme is introduced as everyone is wondering what is happening in his head as he stares into the mirror. “Overture” is sort of the "here are some of the cool riffs and themes we are going to play" and “We’re Not Gonna Take It” brings them back at the end, but “Go to the Mirror!” is the heart and soul of the album. Just my take.

Group Rank – Song – My Rank
12 – Pinball Wizard – 15
25 – Amazing Journey – 18
30 – We’re Not Gonna Take It – 20
31 – I’m Free – 16
32 – See Me, Feel Me – n/a
38 – Sparks – n/a
40 – Overture – n/a
54 – Christmas – 8!!!!!!!!!!!
63 – Go to the Mirror! – 2!!!!!!!!!!!
74 – The Acid Queen – n/a
85 – Underture – n/a
91 – 1921 – 10!!!!!!!!!
92 – Cousin Kevin – n/a
96 – Sally Simpson – 33
100 – Tommy Can You Hear Me? – 34
105 – Sensation – n/a
127 – It’s a Boy – n/a
133 – Eyesight to the Blind (The Hawker) – 24
157 – Smash the Mirror – n/a
179 – Welcome – n/a
197 – Fiddle About – n/a
213 – Tommy’s Holiday Camp – n/a
n/a – Do You Think It’s Alright? – n/a
n/a – There’s a Doctor – n/a
n/a – Miracle Cure – n/a

 

Such a great comment! I have to agree with you on Go to the Mirror! Is an essential track. Everything fits here, musically is amazing. And as you said, is an important part of the story, when we find out that Tommy is just blocked mentally. Is my number 7 of the list and the Overture my number 1.What a great record Tommy is!

 

Some of my favourites. My rankings in bold:

42 Long Live Rock 829 3 26
43 I'm a Boy 824 1 27
44 So Sad About Us 813 5 6
45 My Wife 782 1 18
51 I Can't Reach You 633 2 10
53 Our Love Was 590 4 11
57 Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand 538 4 12
75 A Legal Matter 375 8 19
76 Odorono 371 3 36

 

My last post focused on Tommy as three of my top ten songs not making the Top 40 is what I was most flabbergasted about in the most recent reveal, but there were a few other songs from my Top 40 that also came out.

Group Rank - Song - (My Rank)
43 I'm a Boy (23) - For a while I thought this one was going to still make the Top 40, but once it became obvious it would not I hoped it would be close and it is.
47 Squeeze Box (30) - I kind of thought the silliness of this song might put it out of contention for some people. I like it.
57 Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand (38) - I thought this might do better, but expected it outside of the Top 40.
66 Athena (37) - Didn't really know what to expect for this one.
68 Boris the Spider (36) - Also thought this would rank a bit higher, even if not in the Top 40. Didn't really how many people dislike it.
71 Summertime Blues (22) - I really thought this would do better. I didn't realize how many people prefer "Young Man Blues" over this from the Leeds album.

PS - I know Laura Branigan and Poison have also covered this, but my preferred cover of "Squeeze Box" is by Freddy Fender. It charted at #61 on the country charts.

 

Between 12 hour days at work and AXPONA I have not been able to follow this thread properly. I would have commented on every song but I will only comment on a couple.

ODORONO (my 33)
Some of Pete's best lyrics. What a narrative. He lured me in. I felt every emotion as if it was happening to me. I was anxious, hopeful, triumphant and eventually crestfallen only to find it was a joke song. I never heard of Odorono and thought it was a strange title until, you know....

YOUNG MAN BLUES (my 13)
A watershed song for me. As stated before, all of my Who knowledge was classic rock radio. Being a fan of heavy music I kept hearing rumors of The Who being a heavy band. At the time Who Are You had just come out and I was expecting something that rocked, but it didn't. One awesome song and a bunch of wimpy, verbose, hook-less boredom. Wasn't this the band that set the Guiness World record for the loudest concert of all time? You know, the one where all the dead fish were floating on the lake the next day? I guess you can't believe everything you read. Finally, on a whim I bought the remaster of Live at Leeds because the reputation was that this was the "best live album of all time". When they broke into Young Man Blues my jaw hit the floor. This was quite possibly the heaviest song I'd ever heard. Not in the thrash metal sense, but in the raw power and aggression sense. It was a locomotive racing down the tracks that just barely held itself together. This was the moment I became a Who fan.

I'd also like to give thanks to George Starostin (and other similar online reviewers) for providing context to the Sixties releases (especially Sell Out) that led to my appreciation of music I had considered "old" and therefore boring. I find it amazing how one song of theirs could start entire genres.

 

I had Another Tricky Day (29) and Let's See Action (28) but I just wanted to make a quick comment on my number 23, Long Live Rock. The first time I heard this song was in the end credits for The Kids Are Alright - the brilliant, mad, exciting, exhausing, destructive, instructive, funny and sad documentary. It was used in the end credits over a montage of end-of-show instrument carnage and bows to the audience. I remember smiling and crying at the same time. Since then, it's always been a Top 40 Who song for me.

 

The Final Two Revealed: A very close finish.

#1 Baba O’Riley
How many lists this song appeared on: 118
How many participants included this song in their top 10: 92
The highest rank for this song: 1 (@jeffd7030, @bare trees, @AllAboutTheMusic , @MPLRecords, @RickenBackerSurfer, @marc with a c, @babyblue, @George Co-Stanza, @bkgMusic, @Steve Westwood, @smith6552, @Devotional, @SRC, @texron, @gmeese34, @Keungy, @Chadmiral, @Son of Dork, @Proggy Man, @beatleswho, @DocShipe, @glittering-girl, @GreenFuz, @Cimrya Deal, @Steve Westwood)
Total points: 3940

#2 Won’t Get Fooled Again
How many lists this song appeared on: 115
How many participants included this song in their top 10: 90
The highest rank for this song: 1 (@picket131, @ScottishStuart, @BackWhereItAllBegins, @J. R., @mark winstanley, @Can you see the real me,@blair207, @bagofsoup, @AllAboutThe Music, @Shoeshine, @Mud Newt, @Ringmaster_D, @MPLRecords, @bato, @Mark in FL, @Chadmiral, @Artificial Man, @Proggy Man, @neo123)
Total points: 3927

 

what can possibly be said about these two that hasn't been said? Baba is my favorite song by my favorite band. Period and always.

I also voted WGFA my #2, finishing with 30 of the 40 on my list.

@Pete Puma thanks for running this!!!