Ranking the 5 Best Album-Closers by The Who

The Who managed to marry art rock ambition with hard rock potency in a way few other bands have ever achieved. They didn’t release all that many studio albums in their time together, but most of the ones they did yield packed quite a wallop, both musically and emotionally.

This was a band that understood the importance of a great closing track, whether tied to a larger concept or standing on its own. Here are the five best album-enders by this legendary unit.

5. “A Quick One, While He’s Away” from Happy Jack (1967)

It’s always tricky to credit any band as the first to do this or that, especially when it comes to the 1960s, where there were so many artists staking their claim to new musical ground. But it seems pretty safe to say The Who were the first band to go all-in on the practice of stringing smaller songs together into one long piece, and this was their first honest attempt at it. Very impressive for a first try. Don’t worry too much about the kitchen-sink drama of the lyrics, but instead focus on the variety and force of the music, especially the stirring You are forgiven climax.

4. “We’re Not Gonna Take It” from Tommy (1969)

It’s interesting to compare this to “A Quick One, While He’s Away” to see just how far The Who had come in scope and polish in just a few years. The transitions from section to section are much smoother on “We’re Not Gonna Take It.” The production is less murky, and Pete Townshend’s messaging is more focused. This is one of the Tommy tracks that stands out the best away from the narrative, perhaps because Townshend wrote most of it before he even conceived of the album’s storyline. Roger Daltrey delivers the varying emotional colors in the lyrics in actorly fashion.

3. “Who Are You” from Who Are You (1978)

It’s a fair assessment to say all the heavy, concept-related albums took their toll on The Who’s energy and enthusiasm for their records from the mid-‘70s onward. Who Are You was also the last album to feature drummer Keith Moon, who died just a few weeks after its release in 1978. The song “Who Are You” proved they still had it in them to reach back and deliver an epic. It’s an ingenious structure: Twice the song veers off in quieter directions, only to come smashing back in with that synthesizer-power chord combo to thrillingly snap listeners back to attention.

2. “Won’t Get Fooled Again” from Who’s Next (1971)

Pete Townshend did everything he could to wrangle his Lifehouse concept into workable shape before finally giving up on it and simply having the band record the best songs he’d written for it. In the process, he inadvertently led The Who into their finest album. And “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” a rock epic that was borne of Townshend’s skepticism about rock’s power, plays a big role in its success as the definitive closing statement. This is Keith Moon’s finest moment, proof that his maximalist style could serve a song in ideal fashion when catharsis was the goal.

1. “Love Reign O’er Me” from Quadrophenia (1973)

The story isn’t as easy to follow, but we’re going on record to say that, pound for pound, we believe the music on Quadrophenia is better than it is on Tommy in the great Who concept album battle. And this masterful power ballad is the ideal way to end the album. Pete Townshend was one of the first rock musicians who understood the potential of synthesizers to both add atmosphere and play off the power of the rock instruments, and that dynamic is all over this track. Meanwhile, Townshend’s moving, spiritual lyrics are given a magnificent spin by Roger Daltrey, especially via the monumental screams in the last refrain.

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