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Roots & Influences - The World of The Who
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Jazz. R&B. Skiffle. Surf. Rockabilly. Soul. Dixieland. [i]Opera[/i]. We’re pretty sure there isn’t a sound or style that didn’t find its way into the Who’s powerhouse musical palette. Long before there was rock opera, there was [i]opera[/i] opera, and Giuseppe Verdi’s [i]Rigoletto[/i] ratchets 19th-century Italian theatricality to [i]Tommy[/i]esque proportions; its breathtaking finale, “La Donna è Mobile,” demanded a lighter raised in the air . . . a century before there were lighters to raise in the air. James Brown’s dreamy, doo-wop-y “Try Me” is a far cry from the cape-flinging sex-machine funk workout of later years, but his early sides shaped the Who’s vision of “Maximum R&B"; of all the British Invasion bands who covered him — and there were many — only the Who managed to pull it off without sounding like mere mod mimics. Mose Allison’s been covered by everyone from the Clash to Elvis Costello; the Who cut his “Young Man Blues." According to Pete Townshend, “Without Mose, I wouldn't have written ‘My Generation.’ (He’s) the epitome of restrained screaming power" — a tension you can practically [i]taste[/i] in his jazzy jailhouse blues “Parchman Farm.” From Jan & Dean to John Lee Hooker, you're about to learn who made the Who sound like they do.