The folk record Roger Daltrey called “one of the best albums ever made”
Young, free, and, above all else, loud, The Who blazed a path for the adolescent rebellion of the 1960s. With their amphetamine-fueled proto-punk sound, the group operated as the voice of a disenfranchised post-war generation in Britain. Not only did the Roger Daltery-fronted group have an undeniable impact on the punk revolution that would arrive in the 1970s, but they were also responsible for laying the foundations of hard rock. You wouldn’t think, then, that Daltrey is more inclined towards the gentle sounds of folk than any furious rock and roll.
Nevertheless, The Who frontman has repeatedly espoused the joys of folk music. Although the singer never really explored that genre style during his time with The Who, it reportedly makes up the vast majority of his listening habits. In fairness, if you are the lead singer of one of the most legendary rock and roll bands of all time, sitting down and listening to Motörhead is probably something of a busman’s holiday.
Furthermore, you have to take into account the fact that Daltery has been an icon of rock music for around six decades. It would make sense, therefore, that he has become somewhat bored of the abrasive nature of rock. In fact, the closest the singer gets to listening to rock and roll comes with the folk-rock stylings of the Toronto group The Band. In an interview with Classic Rock, he revealed, “I very rarely listen to rock music at home at all: the last rock record I listened to properly at home was Music from Big Pink, by The Band.”
Formed in 1967, at the peak of the hippie age, The Band combined a variety of styles, including folk and jazz, creating a pretty unique sound. The confusingly named outfit were incredibly influential on various artists, including the likes of Eric Clapton and The Grateful Dead. Daltrey seems to have a deeper appreciation for The Band than most, however, going so far as to dub their 1968 debut project “one of the best albums ever made,” explaining, “It’s got a real sense of freedom to it, it’s incredibly loose and incredibly tight all at once.”
That explanation is equally befitting of a lot of The Who’s material, which was both technically proficient and very natural in sound. The Band, however, were generally much more mellow than The Who; they would never be caught smashing up their instruments at the end of a show, or blowing up a kick-drum on American television.
Despite the disparities in sound between The Band and The Who, Daltrey’s appreciation for the Toronto group is clear. Previously, on BBC Radio Two, he espoused the joys of Music from Big Pink, saying, “What an album! I’ve met The Band with Bob Dylan when they supported him on his tour in Belfast”, explaining, “I thought ‘This is gonna be something’. But when I heard this album, Music from Big Pink, this song in particular [‘The Weight’], the musicianship, there is a relaxed looseness. Just the sound is so wonderful.”
It is certainly difficult to disagree with Daltrey on this topic – in contrast to most other topics which he regularly discusses in interviews – as The Band’s debut is regularly hailed among the greatest records of the 1960s. That is certainly no mean feat when you consider the volume of groundbreaking art being released in that decade, but Music from Big Pink certainly earns its place.