So, it's 1978. The heroes of Classic Rock are losing their grip while disco and punk are rising like water before high tide… bad simile, I know. But the Who are still going at it, partially opposing both sides while embracing some of their qualities (after all, who was doing the "all-power chord and angst" deal in the spotlight before the Who?). So, with that, they cut their album Who Are You.

Who Are You is the last studio Who album to feature drummer Keith Moon, who by now was already past his prime. There isn't much knockout drumming on this album. He mostly keeps time, according to the liner notes, at the urging of the rest of the band.

Synthesizers also coat this album like frosting on a cake. Too much frosting… almost sickness-inducing. Most of the songs come close to having a larger part than the guitars, a precursor to the synth-pop styled Face Dances and It's Hard post-Moon albums. The synthesizers on "New Song" don't do anything for the song. "Had Enough" is just under whelming.

But the synths aren't all bad. "Sister Disco" and "Who Are You" have some interesting synth use. They're the best two tracks here, too. "Sister Disco" is an anti-disco song… rock triumphs!!! And other such sayings. "Who Are You" is based off of Pete Townshend's encounter with one of the Sex Pistols… Bitter song from a bitterer man who can still out-write any of those punks any day of the week at any time period. Ever. Well, alright, most of those punks at most time periods. There.

The rest of the songs aren't really remarkable. "905" and "Trick of the Light" are the last two GOOD songs bassist John Entwistle ever wrote for the band. "905" is a cute tale of a robot that sounds like it belongs on a soundtrack… But that's all it is: Cute. "Trick of the Light" is the rockingest song on the album (yeah, "rockingest"). Not quite up there with "Boris the Spider" or "Whiskeyman," but it's better than pure shit like "The Quiet One."

"Music Must Change" is boring, other than Roger Daltry's thunderous vocals. Wait, no, I take that back… it's just boring. I'll leave it at that. "Love Is Coming Down" is slightly better. By this period, most of Townshend's songs were focused around the theme of "the current music scene is shallow, why, back in MY day…" but that doesn't stop him from writing some damned good music in the process. Also on here is "Guitar and Pen," which, like "905" isn't much better described than "cute."

"Who Are You" was the last true (studio) Who album. The synth-driven Faces was missing their signature sound, and the boredom-fest It's Hard wasn't much better (it was, actually, far far worse). Still, a mostly consistent album of Who material… can't go wrong with that.

The 1995 remaster (the one currently in print) also features un-remarkable some bonus tracks: "No Road Romance" is better than "Music Must Change," but that's not saying much. "Empty Glass" isn't memorable in the least. The "re-mixes" of "Guitar and Pen" and "Love Is Coming Down" aren't that different from the final product. Finally, the alternate second verse in "Who Are You" is iffy at best.