Long Live Rock
This was my first Who themed compilation. It still remains my favourite, mostly because it contains such great Who music, and the most coherent theme.
This "Rock Opera" tells the story of a rock star's rise and fall. It uses 22 Who songs (inc. a few solo tracks), merged together, and arranged to tell a story.
- Part 1 - Getting In Tune
- Part 2 - Success
- Part 3 - The Song is Over
It's just under 80 minutes - so it can be burnt to CD, or played from an MP3 player, etc. For best results, it should all be played back-to-back.
Here's the tracklist, and where the songs came from (where I can remember):
Part 1
1. Long Live Rock / The Who 03:53:43 - studio version
2. One Man Band / Roger Daltrey 03:31:48 - from his Moonlighting compilation
3. Getting In Tune (Alt Take) / The Who 06:11:34 - Who's Next reissue
4. Odorono / The Who 02:16:02 - from Who Sell Out (if I remember correctly)
5. We Close Tonight / The Who 02:51:71 - Odds and Sods
6. Put The Money Down / The Who 04:11:72
7. Join Together / The Who 04:09:15
8. Success (Demo) / Pete Townshend 00:07:72 - from Tommy Demos boot
9. We Got A Hit / The Who 01:17:47 - taken from Wire & Glass single (this CD was put together just before Endless Wire was released)
10.Sensation (Demo) / Pete Townshend 02:19:28 - from Tommy Demos boot
Part 2
11. Success Story / The Who 03:11:10 - Who by Numbers
12. Guitar and Pen (Olympic 1978 Mix) / The Who 05:56:62 - from Who Are You Reissue
13. Endless Vacation (Live) / John Entwistle 03:19:26 - Left for Live
14. Postcard / The Who 03:26:22 - Odds and Sods
15. Cell Number Seven (Live) / John Entwistle 03:56:48 - King Biscuit Flower Hour boot
Part 3
16. New Song (Demo) / Pete Townshend 04:47:40 - LifeHouse Elements
17. Stardom In Acton / Pete Townshend 03:28:70 - All the Best Cowboys have Chinese Eyes.
18. The Punk And The Godfather / The Who 04:55:73 - Quadrophenia (Soundtrack, I think)
19. The Song Is Over / The Who 06:04:00
20. Music Must Change (Demo) / Pete Townshend 04:37:25 - from Music Must Change boot
21. Long Live Rock (Demo) / Pete Townshend 03:41:45 - Another Scoop
22. Long Live Rock (Live Reprise) / The Who 01:38:50 - Who's Last
As for the storyline - it's very loose. Just one guy wants to be a rock star, forms a band, struggles, gets famous, tours a lot, but then gets dissatisfied with stardom.
This is my interpretation of the songs, and how they fit in to this story:
1. Long Live Rock - the recurring theme of this Rock Opera
2. One Man Band - guy starts off just making music on his own
3. Getting In Tune - forms a band, and they start getting better
4. Odorono - they start to play small local gigs, trying to get noticed. This is the story of one of their fellow female performers.
5. We Close Tonight - still struggling to make it big
6. Put The Money Down - playing for money now
7. Join Together - start to get better, and build up a local following
8. Success - suddenly: success!
9. We Got A Hit - they're making hit records
10.Sensation - really famous now
11. Success Story - still really famous
12. Guitar and Pen - story of their success
13. Endless Vacation - start touring a lot, and enjoying it
14. Postcard - still touring, but not enjoying it as much. Spend a night in jail.
15. Cell Number Seven - still touring, but not enjoying it as much. Spend a night in jail.
16. New Song - starting to get dissatisfied with rock stardom. Want to do something more.
17. Stardom In Acton - dissatisfied with rock stardom
18. The Punk And The Godfather - their fans become disenchanted with them too
19. The Song Is Over - they've had enough of making music
20. Music Must Change - they not going to go on making music like this any more
21. Long Live Rock (Demo) - recurring theme again
22. Long Live Rock (Live Reprise) - the credits roll, the finale.
With Punk & the Godfather in particular: I like the way the meaning of this song has become reversed.
In Quadrophenia, the song is about the Punk (Jimmy) becoming disillusioned with the GodFather (The Who).
In my story, the focus is now on the GodFather (the rock stars), and how the Punks (their fans) react to them.
Attached below is also some of the the artwork I used in my CD Cover.
Includes a very dated picture of The Who from the late 70s, on the cover of the Long Live Rock single.