The Who & Quadrophenia

Martin Popoff

Hardcover in slipcase | 26.64 x 2.49 x 27.13 cm | 176 pp

Motorbooks | 2023 | 9780760379271 

Take a deep dive into one of the best-selling albums ever with this beautifully produced and authoritatively written slipcased edition. Veteran rock critic Martin Popoff leaves no stone unturned in taking apart The Who’s generation-spanning masterpiece, Quadrophenia, while exploring each of the album’s 17 tracks and their themes of identity, anxiety, and mental health.

Popoff also takes you on side journeys examining each band member, mod vs. rocker culture, the album’s famous graphic design, manager/producers Chris Stamp and Kit Lambert, Quadrophenia collectibles, a brief discography and complete LP tour dates.

Presented in a 10" × 10" slipcased book, The Who & Quadrophenia is illustrated with stunning performance and candid off-stage photography as well as rare memorabilia. The result is a richly presented celebration and your ultimate tribute to the rock opera masterpiece.

Chapters cover:

• The state of The Who as of 1973, including their role in Mod culture
• The recording sessions at famed Olympic Studios and the band’s own Battersea location, including techniques used
• Song-by-song studies of each album side, including analyses of lyrics and the guitars, drums, keyboards, and synthesizers employed by members Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle, and Keith Moon
• The 1979 motion picture based on the album’s song cycle
• The continent-hopping tours that supported the album
• The group’s trajectory post-Quadrophenia