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Who Are You

Who Are You is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Who, released on 18 August 1978 by Polydor Records in the United Kingdom and on 21 August 1978 by MCA Records in the United States. Although the album received mixed reviews from critics, it was a commercial success, peaking at number 2 on the US Billboard 200 chart and number 6 on the UK Albums Chart.

Who Are You was the Who's final studio album to feature Keith Moon as their drummer. He died three weeks after it was released. The uncannily coincidental nature of the text "Not to Be Taken Away" that was stencilled on Moon's chair on the album cover was noted by some critics.

Who Are You incorporates elements of progressive rock and, according to biographer Tony Fletcher, it was produced in such a way as to appeal to commercial rock radio at the time.

The album showcased some of Pete Townshend's most complicated arrangements, with multiple layers of synthesizer and strings. Many of the songs also revisited themes from Townshend's never realized Lifehouse project, featuring lyrics about songwriting and music as a metaphor for life, as indicated by titles like "Guitar and Pen", "New Song", "Music Must Change", and "Sister Disco". The latter two, along with "Who Are You", ultimately appeared on the 2000 box set Lifehouse Chronicles, Townshend's later actualization of the project. Several of the song's lyrics also reflect Townshend's uncertainty about the Who's continued relevance in the wake of punk rock, and his dissatisfaction with the music industry.

There was a three-year hiatus between Who Are You and the Who's previous studio album, The Who by Numbers (1975). The band was drifting apart during this period, for band members were working on various solo projects, and Keith Moon and Townshend were driving deeper into drug and alcohol abuse. The initial sessions at Ramport Studios, produced by Glyn Johns and Jon Astley (who was Townsend's brother-in-law at the time,) were lackadaisical; Jon Astley recalled that "no one wanted to work", and the members looked forward more to drinking and reminiscing at six in the evening. Astley felt that he and Johns pushed Moon too hard to play a simpler style, while Johns believed that Moon had "lost confidence in his ability" and would deliberately go out of his way to resist his suggestions.

Moon's health was especially an object of concern, for his drumming skills had noticeably deteriorated and his performances for most of the sessions were substandard. He was unable to play in 6
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time on the track "Music Must Change", so the drums were removed completely from the track, and replaced with the sound of footsteps and a few cymbal crashes. Bassist John Entwistle remarked that Moon "couldn't think of anything to play". Townshend writes in his memoir Who I Am that he offered to remove "Music Must Change" from the album due to Moon's struggles, and that Moon retorted, "I am still the best... Keith Moon-type drummer in the world!".

On another occasion, Astley recalled, "I was doing a drum track, and he hadn't learned the song. I actually had to stand up and conduct. He said, 'Can you give me a cue when you get to the middle part?' [...] He hadn't done his homework." Entwistle similarly described Moon as "really out of condition", and "disgusted with himself" as a result. Townshend wrote, "Musically his drumming was getting so uneven that recording was almost impossible, so much so that work on the Who Are You album had ground to a halt."

The recording was further delayed when lead singer Roger Daltrey underwent throat surgery, and when during a lengthy Christmas break, Townshend sliced his hand in a window during an argument with his parents. Former Zombies and Argent member Rod Argent was also called in to replace session keyboardist John "Rabbit" Bundrick after Bundrick suffered a broken arm falling out of a taxi at the studio door in March 1978. Townshend attributed Bundrick's broken arm to drunkenly throwing himself out to avoid paying the fare.

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