Love Reign O'er Me

Well, we made it! This is the last song on Quadrophenia, and goodness it is a great one! Love Reign O’er Me is one of those songs that I get goose bumps every time that I listen to it. There is not one thing that is bad about it, and it is by far the best song on Quadrophenia.

As far as the story goes what we know is that Jimmy was heading toward a rock in a boat. He actually jumps onto the rock and this is where Love Reign O’er Me takes place. During one of my first blogs I mentioned that Quadrophenia is happening in flashback, Jimmy is remembering what has led him to a certain point and this is it. I don’t think that Jimmy isn’t actually dying, but I think that he has gone all the way out to this rock and gets stuck. He starts to think about everything has happened and has an epiphany.

Love Reign O’er Me starts out with the sound of rain and a solitary piano, the song has a somber sound to it and the piano really sets the mood. The piano that you hear on this recording is actually what Pete Townshend had recorded for the demo version, when it came time to re-record everyone involved thought that the piano sounded great and wanted to use that same take. Pete on the other hand never thought that his piano playing was good enough and wanted someone else to record it for the album.

As for vocals Love Reign O’er Me has some of the best vocals ever recorded. This is a difficult song to sing and Roger Daltrey pulls it off magnificently. There is quite a range of notes and emotion that is held in the vocals and it not easy to pull off. I have heard Roger sing this song live and he does not disappoint. People often say that when singers get older they can never sing as well as they use to but I have to say that Roger still sounds pretty good. Yes, Roger’s voice is not quite what it used to be 40 years ago, but he still sounds really good and I can’t wait to hear how he sounds on this tour!

I think that by listening to the song that you can probably figure out on your own what the epiphany Jimmy had on the rock. Love Reign O’er Me is such a great way to end this story, the sentiment that is held within the song is universal. Things for Jimmy are not completely resolved, but you can tell that they will get better from here.

I hope that you enjoyed my musings on Quadrophenia because I have really enjoyed writing them! This project has gotten me very excited for the concert tomorrow! I can’t believe that the concert is tomorrow! When I wrote the first blog it felt like it was so far away! It is going to be such a great show!

 

I've Had Enough

If you want a song that is full of emotion then listen to I’ve Had Enough. This song hops around to all the different emotions that Jimmy is feeling at the moment. The furthering of Jimmy’s breakdown is caused by something that probably won’t surprise many people…a girl. He sees the girl that he likes out with his best friend and something just snaps.

The first emotion that Jimmy feels is anger, he is just pissed off at his luck and that his life isn’t going the way that he wanted it too. I feel like during the angry sections of I’ve Had Enough he is yelling at himself about how crap everything is and how it’s all his fault. Jimmy sort of mentally beats himself up about the way his life is going.

Then Jimmy goes into a short I can do better section where he talks about being the perfect Mod. It is like he rallies a bit and thinks if he does everything right and becomes the model Mod then he might be able to win the girl back. This feeling doesn’t really last long.

Lastly, Jimmy slides right into full on depression. He basically says that he is tired of everything, he is giving up. I love realistic this segment is; I can image someone saying these lines over and over in their head or even out loud. The desperation comes through in the vocals and conveys that the feelings that Jimmy is having is not something to take lightly.

I think that it is really interesting how the emotions don’t go in a straight line; they circle around until they end with depression. It makes the whole breakdown seem more real. Thoughts don’t happen in a point A to point B sort of way, they weave around each other affecting/creating each other. I’ve Had Enough really demonstrates how Jimmy’s mind is working at this point in time.

In the end Jimmy is pushed over the edge and he crashes his scooter. You get to hear the sound of the crash happening at the end of the song along with Roger screaming the last line. This is such an interesting way to end the I’ve Had Enough, it shows that the feelings took over Jimmy and this is the consequence. Plus it sounds cool.

End of disc one.