"Eminence Front" by The Who: Pete Townshend's midlife crisis

“Eminence Front” by The Who was recorded at a crucial time for the band, after the death of drumming legend Keith Moon and during a very rocky period in songwriter Pete Townshend’s life. Hear the story in the new episode of Behind The Song.
Music Producer: Christian Lane
Video Director: Michael Collier
Video Editor: Julian Romano
Listen on:
Apple: apple.co/3aXfikP​
Spotify: spoti.fi/3rjHeW1​
Google: bit.ly/3b4huH7​
PodcastOne: bit.ly/2zho2y6​
About Janda:
Behind The Song podcast host and creator Janda Lane is a radio DJ at WDRV-FM in Chicago, the city she calls home with her husband and podcast partner, Christian Lane, and their two cats, Ollie and Liam. She is a transplant from Los Angeles, where she was a video director at Fender, Executive Producer at Yahoo Music, playlist curator for ITunes, worked in rock management with artists like the Foo Fighters and Beck, was on the radio at KCRW, and she was a DJ at online radio pioneer site Soundbreak. She has not worked a day in her life.
Follow Behind The Song on TikTok @behindthesongpodcast.

[@bigchief8493]

i accidentally found this channel by trying to find a rumored version of Eminence Front with Roger Daltrey on lead vocals, but i ended up binging hours worth of content! you’re massively deserving of so many more subscribers, great work!

[@behindthesongpodcast]

So glad you found us, and thank you so much!

[@TheWorldofGood79]

Really pleased to have come across this, you explain The Who & Eminence Front so well. Pete is an extraordinary songwriter, & guitar player & The Who are an extraordinary band. For me the music of The Who is more relatable than anything ever by The Beatles The Stones, or any other band.

[@behindthesongpodcast]

Thank you!

[@davidscottsandoval68]

My favorite Who song. Love love love this song

[@tomscott3]

I played it every day on the way to school, and then later, to work. My theme song. I've even quoted it in legal filings against the syndicate. Very Best Regards, Tom Scott Author ● Speaker ● World's Leading Expert on the Corrupt U.S. Legal System _Stack the Legal Odds in Your Favor_ _Our American Injustice System_

[@TimmyJoePCTech]

I can't thank you enough for this video essay. I recently found Eminence Front in a spotify wormhole and it is such a song of the era, very Peter Gabriel. It's so good and i knew fhere had to be a story behind it. Good show!

[@behindthesongpodcast]

So glad you enjoyed it! And yes, what a song. Thank you!

[@plasticoflamingo2952]

Nice take. I've been a Who fan for 50 years. When Moon died, everyone had to grow up, a little. Even us kids. To me, there are no bad Who albums, no bad Who songs. The point of the post-Moon songs, I believe, is to find the meaning of your individual life, and figure out how to fit that into larger society, while maintaining your true self. In other words, find your inner Keith. Hopefully, without working so hard to destroy yourself. Fitting in, while being your true self, seems to be what Keith Moon was all about. Unfortunately, that's one of the hardest things to do. If Pete Townsend has a core message, I think that is it.

[@behindthesongpodcast]

Very well said.

[@mrupert22]

You found your channel. Love it! Thank you!!!!

[@JimAllen-Persona]

Love this song. Thanks for the deep dive.

[@behindthesongpodcast]

Thanks for watching.

[@PatrickMontgomeryAyreWolf]

I rediscovered this song while watching an old GMC truck TV commercial. Found out what it was after talking to a trade publication, and have since run the long version as the intro on My Radio show AyreWolf FM.

[@thomascostello2651]

This song goes to 11 every time.

[@behindthesongpodcast]

Absolutely!

[@iainholmes2735]

Enjoyed the analysis. It's an amazing song: 42 years old yet still as fresh as a daisy. Cheers from London.

[@behindthesongpodcast]

Thank you. Cheers!

[@saint.vitus.7775]

Strong Miami Vice vibes with this song. I think it's more popular now than when it first came out.

[@Dabgram34]

Great video

[@behindthesongpodcast]

Thanks so much!

[@seanhayes1965]

One of my favorites!

[@behindthesongpodcast]

Such a great song!

[@mnavrrojr]

Gawd-damn!! Great review! The Who ROCK!

[@richardkorpel3251]

Townsend marriage was pretty Rocky from the beginning. In his own autobiography, he says they were not a happy couple.

[@behindthesongpodcast]

The remarkable thing was the longevity they had through the ascent of the band and so on. Not many couples stay together that long under those circumstances, which is different from saying that they were happy.

[@freddiespinoza]

Well written, congratulations!

[@behindthesongpodcast]

Thank you very much!

[@peteanderson4395]

An excellent piece on my favourite song from it's hard... which to me is a better album than face dances...better sounding and also features cry if you want...a close to eminence front..... thank you

[@peteanderson4395]

A close SECOND to eminence front

[@BrianLopez-dv7ep]

Talk about a swan song.

[@williampaul8556]

There is a whole lot of pretending going on. Authentic people is in rare supply....................................................=

[@kayakuprising5914]

Hottie!!!