The Who – Endless Wire Review

Had The Who marked Endless Wire as their final album, there’d likely be little complaint. The quality leaves a lot to be desired, but this is a checklist of what the Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend band did for all those years. With a rock opera stapled to the end of Endless Wire, it does feel a bit like The Who are playing off the hits without the heart and soul needed to carry them. What you have without the innovation and iconic flair that the band provided during their first run is stock rock options. Endless Wire was, at the time, one last hour with The Who in the studio. Like all reunions and farewells from the Daltrey-fronted band, there was another one around the corner. But Endless Wire at least has a sense of farewell to it, particularly because the band gets a chance to properly grieve the losses of John Entwistle and, to an extent, Keith Moon.  

It’s no mistake that opening song, Fragments, sounds a lot like Baba O’Riley. Then, Daltrey starts to sing. He sounds a little off here. Strained, a little under the weather even. A shame to hear since all he’s doing here is singing of contrast. Breathing out and in is a direction he should’ve been given before entering the studio for Endless Wire. He sounds a little panicked to be making new material with The Who, as though he bought into the dedicated fans who believe the band had no business touring after Moon’s death. It’s an interesting start, at least, but much of that is because of the familiarity of the tone. The Who finds that they don’t need to expand or explore their sound, just invest some time in what they were already doing. A Man in a Purple Dress is quite forgettable but the follow-up song, Mike Post Theme, is a beautiful occasion carried by Daltrey’s vocals. He has his moments after a rough start to Endless Wire.  

Hearty moments like It’s Not Enough set the standard but there isn’t enough of that momentum. Occasionally staggering moments make Endless Wire a tad lopsided. What is crucial for Endless Wire is that none of the work found across this penultimate album by The Who is anywhere close to bad. All of it is relatively nice, and there’s the odd highlight to keep you staggering on from song to song. Wire & Glass: A Mini Opera features right after You Stand By Me, and had you not been told it’s meant to be a mini opera, you may not have realised it at all. Periods of stagnation do appear across Endless Wire, with Daltrey just listing artists and musicians on Mirror Door. It’s nice enough though and provides a decent foil to the follow-up song, Tea & Theatre.  

That’s where the emotional context of the album comes through best of all. Daltrey and Townshend reflect on their careers together, and it comes to the inevitable, heartfelt moments that define many late-stage bands. Those they lost along the way is not quite the core of Endless Wire, though it sounds as though The Who wanted it to be. They’re not as confident in giving such a performance though, instead devolving into a bit of nostalgia bait that’s, at the very least, written up well. They may lose that purpose and style, but it comes together in the end. Daltrey at his best and worst, and no instrumental standouts for Townshend or the rest of the modern-day Who members. Endless Wire does well to keep the thrills of the band alive, but they all feel like they’re safe choices. Tried and tested moments from a band whose exploration of grief is more an excuse to revisit their greatest hits.