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The Who's Weirdest Songs #9
11:46 AM GMT 23/02/2009
9. Eminence Front
(It's Hard, 1982)
Recently "rediscovered" by such trendy club DJ types as Erol Alkan, this supposed disco anomaly from 1982's confusingly wrong It's Hard, stands as one of most frightening examples of Pete Townshend's ability to immerse himself in a lyric. Zeroing in on the cocaine superiority and self-deceptions behind the monied smiles of early Thatcherism ("The sun shines / And people forget / Forget they're hiding / Behind an eminence front / It's a put on"), the song's sinister disco rhythms and Townshend's cold vocal delivery suggest that he and his band are as much a part of this, harsh white-powder world as anyone. The only track from It's Hard that the band continued to play live, Eminence Front remains eerily relevant ("The shares crash / Hopes are dashed / People forget / Forget they're hiding / Behind an eminence front"), closer to the icy terrains of post-punk funk than the cokey studio rock of their '80s peers. [AM]
WATCH! The Who rehearse Eminence Front. The only thing better than Pete's hair is Roger's hair!
To read our massive The Who Sell Out feature, pick up a copy of MOJO magazine - on sale now!
Posted by Ross_Bennett at 11:46 AM GMT 23/02/2009
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