This here is ‘New Song’, the opener to The Who’s 1978 album Who Are You, one that many may argue to be their last great record solely due to the fact that it’s the last one Keith Moon played on before he died a few weeks after its release. I think it’s okay. The predominant use of synthesizers throughout definitely gives the album a sound of its own. Certainly unique compared to the albums that preceded came before. But they also make the album sound quite dated on there as a result. And ’cause of that lack of those usual balls-to-the-wall rock-and-roll performances, the majority of tracks don’t possess that power that The Who were usually known for. But I like this track though. I like it quite a bit.

At the time of its release, Who Are You was the arrival of new Who material in three years. In the period, all four members went their separate ways pursuing their own individual interests and journeys. But now they were back. And the first track was suitably titled ‘New Song’. So what would this about? Turned out it was a song about making music. Pete Townshend tackles the subject of writing songs in the cynical, joking, almost mocking way that only he could. He explains to the listener how hard it is to write material without inadvertently creating a song that’s been done in the past. How despite his aging appearance and his tendency to go to the bottle to drown his sorrows away, he can write a hit song that’ll get us all up on our feet and make everything okay. And how in the end, the new songs he writes aren’t really that different from those he’s written before, and yet we all come grovelling for more. It’s a track that self-deprecates as well as pokes fun at fans as well. Something to say the artists are chumps and so are the followers, but as long as the music’s there it’s all fine. I think that’s why I like it in a way, everyone gets a fair share of ridicule.

It’s a solid performance from all four Who members. As I said before, it’s not the manic teetering-out-of-control type of show that The Who would give in the past. Instead, it’s more of a controlled affair. Townshend seems to have put his guitar down to have more control on the synths, but he does come in with neat guitar fills and strident chords here and there. Daltrey sings almost each line with that trademark growl of his, but when the music changes and calls for a softer approach he obliges. Fair to say Keith Moon isn’t as spectacularly flamboyant with his drumming here, but he definitely still includes those fills that shouldn’t work but somehow do. There’s a moment at about 3:20 where I think he overlaps into the chorus a bit too late, but comes into it like nothing happens. Arguably the best performer on here is John Entwistle on the bass, who provides a drone-like atmosphere during the introduction and provides a standard rhythm during the verses, before going all funky on the choruses when the track goes into half-time. More than 40 years on, the album may not be The Who had their best, but there was a certain magic that always happened when the four individuals played together. Such a bummer Moon went so soon. Music goes on and all that, still.