My wife and I will celebrate our 15 year Wedding Anniversary on February 11th. Wow, how time has 
flown by! Tonight, while strolling about at K-Mart, my wife informed me my anniversary gift from her is The Who – Greatest Hits. (Not too shabby, in my Metal opinion). Heck, I’m the guy, I never expect an anniversary gift to begin with… I always make sure my wife gets a gift for certain, still, this feels like a bonus to me!
What’s very exciting about getting this CD from my wife is the pure fact: I have never owned The Who on CD my entire life!! You read that correctly… never did I upgrade The Who to CD, after all these years. Go figure. Of course, I have owned some, (not all), of The Who titles on vinyl and cassette… still have them floating around somewhere. It’s an invigorating feeling to have this Greatest Hits by The Who now… 19 songs and all! What sweetens the deal about this CD is that it was on sale for $9.99! Yes, maybe I have given off hints now and again that I am frugal… it’s from growing up in New England for most of my life… in extremely expensive Connecticut. Believe me, if you live or ever lived in Connecticut, you know what I mean. Living there, man, you have to know how to cut corners and clip coupons… or go broke trying.
Back to The Who… my wife and I, along with my best Metal buddy Scott Coverdale, saw The Who back in the mid ’90’s… seeing them was a thrill beyond belief for me. Drivin N Cryin was the opening band too. I’m thankful I was able to witness John Entwistle live, on bass as well. This legendary show was at the Meadows Music Theater in Hartford, Connecticut.
The Who is a band that I can never, ever, grow tired of. Honestly, The Who just strikes that certain chord within my psyche… and I’m not concerned about figuring it out either. Seeing Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend Rockin’ out during the Super Bowl XLIV half-time special… was something special. I could only hope and pray, that I am in that kind of shape when I hit that age! Sure, Roger Daltrey may not sound like he did in 1980… yet c’mon… he belted it out for the world to know that The Who is still around and damn proud! Pete Townshend also reminded us all, that he too… can still kick some Rock and Roll ass.
My favorite song ever, from The Who, is: Eminence Front. I’m not going to attempt any explanation here, other than this is THE song. You know how it is… there’s always that one particular song from a band that resonates with your mind and soul… Eminence Front is just that song by The Who. I’m thankful for my beautiful wife of 15 years and counting… nothing beats the memories, life experiences and love we have both shared with each other. (We actually have been together since 1988, married in 1995). I’m also thankful I have the memory of seeing The Who, live, with my wife and best friend. Money can’t buy love and memories… but $9.99 can buy me the coolest wedding anniversary gift – The Who, Greatest Hits.
The Who – Greatest Hits was released on December 21, 2009.
LONG LIVE THE WHO!
Reflecting on the good memories of life and staying positive and true to yourself… is what it’s all about. Music is the stimulus of good life memories for me… the Rock Music of The Who is no exception.
The Kinks – another legendary Rock and Roll Band, (and Hard Rock Band too), that I have never forgotten about… no Metal way. I first caught on to this great band upon their Low Budget album being released – back on September 7, 1979. The Kinks were huge back in the day… I specifically remember the late 1970’s into the 1980’s version of The Kinks. This band had one hell of a work ethic – always touring. There used to be a horde of kids wearing The Kinks concert shirts to High School back in the early ’80’s… as a Metalhead back then, I thought that was cool, due to my fondness for this band. I never was lucky enough to catch The Kinks in concert… back in the early 80’s would have been the choice time too. That is alright, I can always Rock out to The Kinks by listening to their songs whenever I want, like I have been doing since 1979. The Kinks were rightfully inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame back in 1990. I could not endorse a band like The Kinks any louder to the younger generation of Rock/Classic Rock fans… they really put out some incredible music spanning four decades.
Today is May 11, 2009 and is also – the birthday for Eric Burdon, the legendary lead vocalist for the (legendary) 1960’s Rock band – The Animals. Eric Burdon and The Animals are deservedly enshrined in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, (inducted in 1994). Eric Burdon has turned a rockin’ 68 today! Today is as good an excuse as any to slap on some tunes from The Animals and play them LOUD. The Animals were an integral part of the historical “British Invasion” of Rock & Roll, straight from England, back in the storied 1960’s. Man, the voice of Eric Burdon is just plain timeless, in my Metal opinion. I have always been captivated by the vocals of Eric Burdon, I always wonder how he would have sounded fronting a Metal band today, he has that voice that is deep, cool and ominous. The three tunes from The Animals that I always find stuck in my head are: “House of the Rising Sun”, “Sky Pilot” and “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”. (Now I am gonna have these tunes stuck in my head today, that is cool with me though). The Animals career may have been short compared to many other bands of that time period, however, I always feel it is quality and not quantity that matters most in Rock & Roll. To me, The Animals and Eric Burdon exemplify Rock & Roll quality.
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