The songwriting abilities of Pete Townshend were undeniably impressive in The Who. Every band member could write a catchy song. When he entered the studio, Townshend always focused on the bigger picture. He was pioneering the intricate rock and roll stories that would shape the modern concept album. However, Townshend had detractors, and Roger Daltrey was not afraid to express his concerns, especially when he felt a song like ‘Dogs‘ fell short of expectations.
For all of Townshend’s accolades over the years, the band began as primarily Daltrey’s outfit. After making some noise in the London mod scene, Daltrey persuaded Townshend to join the group. He believed he would be good at creating original material.
The band initially attempted to collaborate with each member sharing writing duties. The songs like ‘Rael‘ and ‘A Quick One While He’s Away‘ foreshadowed where they would go in the coming years. Leaving most of the covers and bluesy tones behind, Townshend created songs that all connected into one story on albums like Tommy and Quadrophenia. He did it all while trying to maintain his sanity while doing so.
No writer achieves that level by chance, and ‘Dogs’ was an example of Townshend flexing his songwriting muscles for the first time. My Generation included a few covers by American R&B groups. “Dogs” was another attempt to create a fiercer rocker that could compete with the blues rockers of the late 1960s.
When the band first began recording it, Townshend wasn’t sure the group even could work on it. The recorded version would appear on several singles and the compilation album 30 Years of Maximum R&B. Townshend believed Ronnie Laine, who had already begun working with The Faces with Rod Stewart, would have been better suited to play it.
Daltrey believes the track should have remained in the vaults or been given to Laine, telling Uncut. “He was such a lovely geezer, Ronnie, and they were all great guys, The Faces. But I think it would have been better if Pete had simply given the song to Ronnie in the first place. As a Who record, it was all a bit frivolous for me.”
Given the timing of the song’s release, it’s understandable that Daltrey would be critical of it. The entire piece intends to operate in a bluesy mode. It’s difficult to take it seriously when the same people who created some of the most forward-thinking rock music of their time, such as ‘I Can See For Miles‘, sing it.
The Who would only improve after ‘Dogs’, becoming more outlandish both in the studio and live, turning their songs into massive exercises every time they took the stage. The Who never intended ‘Dogs’ to be their latest new direction.
