By the time they stunned the music world with
Tommy in 1969,
the Who had already proven themselves to be one of rock’s greatest singles bands. Tracks such as “My Generation,” “Substitute,” and “I Can See for Miles” showcased the group’s mastery of the three-minute pop song. But as early as the summer of 1966―in the form of the mini opera “A Quick One, While He’s Away”―Pete Townshend was pushing at the boundaries of rock’s “singles” formula.
Clocking in at just under 10 minutes, “A Quick One” weaves together six distinct sections. Following a brief intro in which the band announces―in a cappella, barbershop-quartet style fashion―that the heroine’s lover has long been absent, the song kicks in in earnest. Adopting a nasal, Dylan-like vocal, Roger Daltrey sings of the young girl’s crying jags. Abruptly the music becomes stately and the existence of a “remedy” is announced via “Ivor the Engine Driver,” who woos the heroine back to “his place.”
Following a cloppity, mock theatrical-Western interlude―during which Daltrey croons that the girl’s “man” will soon be home―the band unleashes the song’s final, most ambitious section. Playing a signature riff that would later adorn much of
Tommy, and taking over the lead vocals, Townshend details the heroine's confession and offers up a denouement in which all is forgiven.
Unconventional though it was, “A Quick One, While He’s Away” subsequently became an integral part of the Who’s live set. The band performed the song during their appearance on the
Rolling Stones’ notorious “Rock and Roll Circus;” likewise, an incendiary version can be heard on the 1970
Live at Leeds album. But most importantly, the epic track―along with “Rael,” from 1967’s
The Who Sell Out―served as a template for the rock-opera masterpiece that would come two years later.
Fun Facts:Because the album title,
A Quick One, was thought to be too risqué for American audiences, the disc was released in the U.S. as
Happy Jack, with the single “
Happy Jack” replacing the British album track “Heatwave.”
The Who wanted to feature a cellist in one section of “A Quick One, While He’s Away,” but the cost proved prohibitive. Therefore, in lieu of the actual instrument, the band simply chanted “cello cello cello cello!” in the spot where the instrument would have appeared.