Who’s Next

pete townshend suffered a nervous breakdown when the planned followup to the rock opera Tommy [see No. 190], his ambitious theatrical project Lifehouse, fell apart. But he was left with an amazing cache of songs the Who honed into their best studio LP. “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” “Bargain,” and “Baba O’Riley” beam with epic majesty, often spiked with synthesizers, Townshend’s favorite new tool.