"Eminence Front" | ||||
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Single by the Who | ||||
from the album It's Hard | ||||
B-side | "One at a Time" | |||
Released | December 1982 | |||
Recorded | 1982 | |||
Genre | Arena rock, [1] funk [2] | |||
Length | 5:39 | |||
Label | Polydor (UK) Warner Bros. (US) | |||
Songwriter(s) | Pete Townshend | |||
Producer(s) | Glyn Johns | |||
The Who singles chronology | ||||
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Promo music video | ||||
"Eminence Front" by the Who on YouTube |
"Eminence Front" is a song by The Who, written and sung by lead guitarist Pete Townshend. It appears as the sixth track on the group's tenth studio album It's Hard (1982). The single entered Billboard Hot 100 on 25 December 1982, reaching number 68. [3] [4]
In the song, Townshend sings about the delusions and drug use of the wealthy and hedonistic. The lyrics describe a party in which people hide from their problems behind a façade. Townshend has introduced the song in live performances with: "This song is about what happens when you take too much white powder; it's called 'Eminence Front'." [5] In an interview, Townshend explained:
"Eminence Front" was written around a chord progression I discovered on my faithful Yamaha E70 organ. I hesitate to try to explain what it was about. It's clearly about the absurdity of drug-fueled grandiosity, but whether I was pointing the finger at myself or at the cocaine dealers of Miami Beach is hard to recall. [6]
In the originally released version, there is a timing flaw or a syncopation in the first chorus, where Townshend sings "behind an eminence front" at the same time Daltrey sings "it's an eminence front", with Townshend one syllable behind. A more linear-sounding remixed version appears on the 1997 re-release of It's Hard (a live version, recorded on the band's final stop on their 1982 tour in Toronto, appears as a bonus track on the re-release). Additionally, the remix has Townshend's vocals panned centrally rather than hard right in the stereo field.[ citation needed ]
"Eminence Front" was scheduled to be released as a single in the UK by Polydor Records in 1982; the catalog number was WHO 7 but the single was never released. The picture sleeve, by Richard Evans, depicted a 1930s Art Deco house in Miami. [7] The single in its picture sleeve was finally released in 2017 as part of The Who's The Polydor Singles 1975-2015 box set. [8] It was released as a promotional 12" single in both the US and UK, and as a 7" single in the US and Canada.
In a wholly negative review of It's Hard, Robert Christgau gave faint praise to "Eminence Front" as the album's high point, sarcastically noting how the aging Townshend "discovers funk. Just in time. Bye." [2] Cash Box said that it "rides along on Pete Townshend's cleanly slicing guitar and the band's patented synth sound" as well as a "strong bottom" from the drums and bass guitar." [9] Rolling Stone ranked the song as the Who's tenth best song, stating, "'Eminence Front' showed they could connect Townshend's new wave-influenced solo work with the classic sound of Who's Next ." [6]
The song has been used as the intro music for Dallas Mavericks games since it was adopted during the 2000–01 NBA season, the team's final season at the Reunion Arena. [10]
Chart (1982–1983) | Peak position |
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US Billboard Hot 100 [11] | 68 |
US Mainstream Rock ( Billboard ) [12] | 5 |
Who's Next is the fifth studio album by the English rock band the Who, released on 2 August 1971, by Track Records in the United Kingdom and Decca Records in the United States. It developed from the aborted Lifehouse project, a multi-media rock opera conceived by the group's guitarist Pete Townshend as a follow-up to the band's 1969 album Tommy. The project was cancelled owing to its complexity and to conflicts with Kit Lambert, the band's manager, but the group salvaged some of the songs, without the connecting story elements, to release as their next album. Eight of the nine songs on Who's Next were from Lifehouse, with the lone exception being the John Entwistle-penned "My Wife". Ultimately, the remaining Lifehouse tracks would all be released on other albums throughout the next decade.
A Quick One is the second studio album by the English rock band the Who, released on 9 December 1966. In the United States, where the song "Happy Jack" was a top 40 hit, the album was released in April 1967 under the title Happy Jack with a slightly altered track listing.
My Generation is the debut studio album by English rock band the Who, released on 3 December 1965 by Brunswick Records in the United Kingdom, and Festival Records in Australia. In the United States, it was released on 25 April 1966 by Decca Records as The Who Sings My Generation, with a different cover and a slightly altered track listing. Besides the members of the Who, being Roger Daltrey (vocals), Pete Townshend (guitar), John Entwistle (bass) and Keith Moon (drums), the album features contributions by session musician Nicky Hopkins (piano).
The Who Sell Out is the third studio album by the English rock band the Who. It was released on 15 December 1967 by Track Records in the UK and Decca Records in the US. A concept album, The Who Sell Out is structured as a collection of unrelated songs interspersed with fake commercials and public service announcements, including the second track "Heinz Baked Beans". The album purports to be a broadcast by pirate radio station Radio London. The reference to "selling out" was an intended irony, as the Who had been making real commercials during that period of their career, some of which are included as bonus tracks on the remastered CD.
Live at Leeds is the first live album by English rock band the Who, recorded at the University of Leeds Refectory on 14 February 1970 and released on 11 May 1970, by Decca and MCA in the United States and by Track and Polydor in the United Kingdom. It is the band's only live album that was recorded with the classic line-up of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon.
Empty Glass is the third solo studio album by English rock musician Pete Townshend, and his first composed of original material, released on 21 April 1980 by Atco Records.
The Who by Numbers is the seventh studio album by English rock band the Who, released on 3 October 1975 in the United Kingdom through Polydor Records, and on 6 October 1975 in the United States by MCA Records. It was named the tenth-best album of the year in The Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics poll.
It's Hard is the tenth studio album by English rock band the Who. Released in September 1982, it was the final Who album to feature bassist John Entwistle, who died in 2002. It was also the second and final Who studio album with drummer Kenney Jones, as well as the last to be released on Warner Bros. Records in the US. It was released on Polydor Records in the UK, peaking at No. 11, and on Warner Bros. in the US where it peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart. The US rights to both this album and Face Dances subsequently reverted to the band, who then licensed them to MCA Records for reissue. The album achieved gold status by the RIAA in the US in November 1982. It was their last album for over two decades until Endless Wire in 2006.
Who Are You is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Who, released on 18 August 1978 by Polydor Records in the United Kingdom and on 21 August 1978 by MCA Records in the United States. Although the album received mixed reviews from critics, it was a commercial success, peaking at number 2 on the US charts and number 6 on the UK charts.
Face Dances is the ninth studio album by English rock band the Who. It was released in 1981 by Warner Bros. in the United States and on Polydor in the United Kingdom. It is one of two Who studio albums with drummer Kenney Jones, who joined the band after Keith Moon's death three years earlier.
Odds & Sods is an album of studio outtakes by British rock band the Who. It was released by Track Records in the UK on September 28, 1974, and by Track/MCA in the US on October 12, 1974. Ten of the recordings on the original eleven-song album were previously unreleased. The album reached No. 10 on the UK charts and No. 15 in the US.
"Won't Get Fooled Again" is a song by the English rock band the Who, written by guitarist and primary songwriter Pete Townshend. It was released as a single in June 1971, reaching the top 10 in the UK, while the full eight-and-a-half-minute version appears as the final track on the band's 1971 album Who's Next, released that August. In the US, the single entered Billboard on 17 July, reaching No. 15.
The discography of the English rock band the Who consists of 12 studio albums, 18 live albums, four soundtrack albums, 36 compilation albums, four extended plays, 58 singles and 25 video albums.
"I Can't Explain" is a song by English rock band the Who, written by Pete Townshend and produced by Shel Talmy. It was released as a single in the United States on 19 December 1964 by Decca and on 15 January 1965 in the United Kingdom by Brunswick. It was the band's second single release and first under the Who name.
"My Wife" is a song by the English rock band the Who, written and sung by bass guitarist John Entwistle. It was originally released in 1971 on Who's Next and later as the B-side of the single "Baba O'Riley" on 6 November 1971 in Europe by Polydor Records.
"Love, Reign o'er Me", subtitled "Pete's Theme", is a song by English rock band The Who. Written and composed by guitarist Pete Townshend, it was released on 27 October 1973 as the second single from the band's sixth studio album and second rock opera, Quadrophenia. It is the final song on the album, and has been a concert staple for years. The song peaked at number 76 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 54 on Cash Box.
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"Slip Kid" is a song from the Who's seventh album, The Who by Numbers. Written originally for Pete Townshend's shelved Lifehouse rock opera, "Slip Kid" was revived in 1975. The song was originally written as a warning about the music business, though Townshend has pointed out the song's relevance in different contexts. The song was released as a single in the US, backed by "Dreaming from the Waist", but failed to chart.
"It's Hard" is a song written by Pete Townshend that featured on British rock band The Who's tenth album, It's Hard, of which it was the title track. It was released as the third and final vinyl single from the album in 1983, backed with the John Entwistle written song "Dangerous", but failed to chart, although it reached number 39 on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks. This would become the last Who single of new material until "Real Good Looking Boy" in 2004, and the last album single by them until "Black Widow's Eyes", two years later.
...one final blast of greatness with "Eminence Front", one of their meatiest, beatiest arena-rousers...
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