Without a little passion for their work, most rock and roll bands will never make it very far. Fans are typically aware of when artists lose their passion or cease caring about producing quality music, even though there are moments when their work doesn’t resonate as strongly as their masterpieces. Although all bands must have passion for their music, this does not mean that they must enjoy every song. Pete Townshend had already distanced himself from the message of “Behind Blue Eyes.”
However, Townshend’s disregard for the release order of a song on Who’s Next is entirely justified. It was never going to be easy for him to see some of his story-driven material without an actual story behind it because the original idea that he had to turn the album into his next rock opera had fallen through.
It’s unfortunate that Townshend abandoned his next rock opera. If this is what the leftovers from the table are like, it could have been the best rock record ever. Not only was “Baba O’Riley” a powerful call to action, but “Won’t Get Fooled Again” is still regarded as one of the greatest epic songs ever released. As compared to the other tracks on the album, “Behind Blue Eyes” is actually much more muted.
At this point, he was pleading for some sort of release because the songs were portraying the inner struggles of a man who discovers his calling through music in a dystopian future. Pete Townshend was clearly very knowledgeable about his ballads, but initially he wasn’t overly fond of what he had created.
“Behind Blue Eyes” is not a song about me, Pete Townshend told Classic Rock Stories. He also added that even though he wrote the heartfelt song, he didn’t always agree with its message. It was written to illustrate how isolated the powerful can feel. When I write about emotions that other people experience, I can sometimes write really well. Even though Roger Daltrey and I both have blue eyes, I’ve never felt that “love was vengeance.”
But given the amount of work Townshend put into the song, it sounded as though Daltrey became the intended vocalist. One of the most revealing songs the lead singer has ever sung may be about needing to suppress his anger and do his best to allow himself to be open, since he already had issues with picking fights with his bandmates.
On the other hand, listening to Townshend’s rendition of “Behind Blue Eyes” again is fascinating. The song has undergone a shift up a few keys, and the lyrics remain essentially unchanged, but his performance exudes a lot more heart, as if he’s allowing himself to be vulnerable for the duration of one track before it all dissipates.
Its creation for a rock opera begs further questions about its place in the Lifehouse narrative. Who’s Next contains bits and pieces of an excellent concept album. However, this feels like one of the best rock monologues ever, with no real plot to support it.
