131 Hello The Who - I Can't Explain

Chart  entered : 18  February  1965

Chart  peak : 8

Number  of  hits : 29

The Kinks fired up a lot of imaginations: London was full of bands playing blues and soul numbers, then suddenly Ray Davies and his mob were scoring big hits with their own material. This inspiration is all over "I Can't Explain", which means of course it goes back to "Louie Louie".

More so than any band so far, the Who - or more precisely, Townshend - were an Art School band. The guitarist was influenced by what he'd learned, and knew image was vital to the band: the band's logo and his own Union Flag jacket providing striking imagery that would resonate across generations of bands to come.

Despite his skills at songwriting and guitar playing, Townshend was never a strong singer, his nasally whine being only bearable to these ears in short dosages. Luckily, his old school friend John Entwistle was playing bass with a group fronted by a top frontman, and brought him into the fold. Roger Daltrey, from a more working class background than the other two, had an attitude and energy vital in putting across the songs the band would produce.

Townshend was from a musical family, contacts from which secured gigs and management. In time, their drummer position was filled by one Keith Moon, whose frantic style may have hit a chord with the amphetamine fuelled Mod scene growing at the time.

For a brief period, the band were rebilled as the High Numbers, and issued the doube A-side "Zoot Suit/I'm the Face". Both were somewhat lame efforts to cash in on the fashions, with the band clearly holding back their energy. To no surprise, it bombed, and the band sacked their manager and reverted to the Who name.

Things got moving when Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp (brother of actor Terence): the two pushed the band towards a more hard musical sound, coining the slogan "Maximum R&B" to describe their shows. They were signed, and thrown in the studio was producer Shel Talmy, an American exile who had already proved his skills by working the desk for the Kinks - leading us back to one of the chief influences for this song.

"I Can't Explain" is a classic mod anthem: it's sharp, full of teenage angst that doubtless many of those that bought it could listen to. Townshend takes a much-used riff and makes it own by playing the chords in sharp, clipped tones that hark back to the soul songs they used to cover, as well as throwing in two neat little solos. Moon's unique style is unlike much heard before, while Entwistle holds steady - essentially setting the tone for much of their subsequent work.

Over in just under two minutes, it's a great little slice of English pop, beginning a career that would take many interesting turns. 

 

D.C. Harrison