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No, it does not rank with the band's best work. But yes, as long as Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey walk the earth in tandem, the Who live on.
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Endless Wire turns out to be more effective and more coherent than it has any right to be.
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The nine tracks you must navigate before you get to the mini-opera seem like a trudge.
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BillboardWhile the Who's acoustic side has always been underappreciated, Townshend revels in it here. [4 Nov 2006]
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The album is inconsistent -- sometimes impenetrable, sometimes enlightening -- but always engaged.
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UncutMadly ambitious and deeply heartfelt, it's a grand folly in the great tradition of British rock. [Nov 2006, p.96]
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The current Who takes what seemed, conceptually speaking, like a really bad idea - that is, recording without Entwistle - and turns it into a triumphant re-emergence after nearly a quarter-century of creative inactivity.
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It's the mini-opera that moves spryly compared to the proper rock album half.
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Strangely, all the missing elements and nostalgia-grabs that make the first half of Endless Wire such a sad listen organize themselves into a form that is faintly exciting for the second part.
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So they've got sprawl and focus issues. But this underproduced mess of an album also has an abundance of magnificent, quirkily anthemic songwriting.
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No, Endless Wire is not perfect -- its parts don't quite fit together, and not all of the parts work on their own -- but it is an endearingly human, impassioned work that more than justifies Townshend's and Daltrey's decision to continue working as the Who.
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Pete, sweetheart. Enough with the rock operas already, "mini" or otherwise.
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Daltrey and Townshend have made a record as brazen in its way and right for its day as The Who Sell Out and Tommy were in theirs.
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Townshend's faith in rock 'n' roll as an appropriate vehicle for his biggest ideas is admirable, but Endless Wire does little to justify his devotion.
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New Musical Express (NME)'Endless Wire' isn't quite as awful as it should be. [28 Oct 2006, p.33]
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Endless Wire is a not-quite-there return to late-period Who bombast, but the stadium-ready "It's Not Enough" makes an impression, and the second-half mini-opera—a quasi-sequel to Lifehouse and Psychoderelict—gets extra points for ambition.
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MojoNo one could have predicted Endless Wire would be quite this good. [Nov 2006, p.98]
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The album is unlistenable for a simple reason: Roger Daltrey.
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Q MagazineThat it doesn't fall completely flat on its face must be considered some kind of triumph. [Dec 2006, p.126]
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Paste MagazineThe songs are mostly weird, overly familiar, or simply bland. [Dec 2006, p.89]
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BlenderWhat remains is a concept that's been stewing too long and a singer who's one scream away from a hernia. [Dec 2006, p.180]
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SpinThe highlight "It's Not Enough"... proves [Townshend] hasn't lost his knack for pop precision. [Dec 2006, p.104]
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 45 out of 54
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Mixed: 2 out of 54
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Negative: 7 out of 54
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Jun 15, 2015
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BrandonC.Aug 2, 2007Got to be a true fan to enjoy it so i guess i am go to see the who it's great!!
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ChazS.Jun 3, 2007Every song is so good it could be from a greatest hits compilation.