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!
