The Who have revealed more of the details behind their upcoming ‘Quadrophenia’ box set.
Released in 1973, ‘Quadrophenia’ remains one of The Who’s finest achievements. Already pushing back what was capable in the studio, the band matched this to an ambitious rock opera.
On one level, ‘Quadrophenia’ is the straight forward tale of a young Mod becoming disillusioned with his lifestyle. Yet on another level, the album is a portrait of The Who with each side representing one of the four members.
Sparked by renewed interest in the album, The Who have decided to re-master ‘Quadrophenia’ for a new box set. Containing four discs and a DVD, the ‘Director’s Cut’ edition was overseen by The Who’s Pete Townshend.
“The time has come for me and my team to honour ‘Quadrophenia’ with a carefully presented package that features examples of the impact surround sound (quadrophonic) would have on the music, to remaster the vinyl mixes, and to collect and restore my demos” explained the songwriter.
“I am also going to try to shed some light on the way ‘Quadrophenia’ came about, and how it was inspired by events in my life in 1970 and 1971 when I scribbled or typed the very first notes and lyrics for some of the songs that made it onto the final record.”
Due for release on November 14th, the forthcoming edition of ‘Quadrophenia’ contains four audio discs: Discs one and two will feature the original album in a completely re-mastered format, while Discs three and four will contain demo material and songs which were not included on the original album.
The DVD meanwhile is an eight track venture which has been remixed for surround sound. Alongside this, the box set contains a brand new 100-page, hard-back book featuring a brand new 13,000 word essay by Pete Townshend shedding light on the band’s creative process.
Supplying a track by track guide, Pete Townshend has included rare photographs, han-‘written notes and more.
‘Quadrophenia: The Director’s Cut’ is due to be released on November 14th.