The incredible songwriting talents of Pete Townshend helped to define the swinging sixties era in the UK, but the band also showcased an innate ability to adapt and develop their sound with the changing tides of rock and roll. Their early period as mod rockers soon gave way to the profound rock operas of records like Tommy.
In 2021, Wilson compiled a list of her all-time favourite records for Spin. Included within that list was Quadrophenia, which has consistently provided inspiration for the hard rock icon. “I love this album because I feel it’s The Who with all cylinders firing,” Wilson explained, before clarifying, “Don’t hate me for not thinking Tommy was the one. I just feel Quadrophenia has more depth, more beauty… it has it all.”
Following the story of a young mod named Jimmy, Quadrophenia is largely autobiographical of the band’s early experiences immersed in the vibrant modernist subculture. The album was later immortalised in cinema when Phil Daniels played the character of Jimmy in Franc Roddam’s 1979 film. “This music and story of alienation feels to me like Pete Townshend and the lads could really relate close up,” Wilson shared, adding, “and so can I”.
Continuing in her deep-rooted love of the double album, the Heart singer said, “The songwriting is iconic and shows a band at the apex of their development. ‘Love, Reign o’er Me’ and ‘The Real Me’ alone are worth the price of admission, and the whole piece is a beauty, full of power, poetry and ‘Who-ness’.”
“All my favourite albums are timeless and ageless, and this is another. I could listen to Quadrophenia all my life,” Wilson concluded. The inspiration provided by profound records like Quadrophenia is clear when listening to some of Heart’s best love tracks, which expanded upon the foundations of defiant hard rock during the early 1970s.
Ann Wilson appeared on the latest episode of SiriusXM’s Fierce: Women In Music.
During the conversation, Ann also recalls first meeting her husband when they were younger and reveals how they actually weren't a match back then. She also shares that there are two new songs she wrote about their meeting and love story.
"That's an autobiographical account of our first road trip together. We'd only known each other for a few days. I mean, we knew each other from before from a failed blind date way back in the '80s. And then we both, we separated and went our separate ways after the failed date. And he got married and had kids, and I had kids. And we came back together 30 years later in 2014. And it worked this time. I guess we just had to mature enough and, you know, it wasn't his fault either. It was kind of mine 'cause I was a wild rock person, you know. I was just, everything you wanna say about rock guys could also be applied to me during my 30s.
Check out the complete interview on SiriusXM’s Fierce: Women in Music here.
nspiring."
