I tend to write a lot about new music on this blog, but that is not to say that there aren’t a ton of older songs that I also love. During this music series I have going on this week I feel like it’s only fair to step away from new musical discoveries to talk about an older song that I really like. I literally settled on “Eminence Front” by The Who because I heard it on the radio driving home from the gym the other day, and thought to myself this is a really good song. I think it’s probably my favorite song by The Who. So here we are.

I like a lot of music from 1970s for two reasons. One the kinds of music I tend to gravitate too were very popular then, and two it was the music of my parents’ generation. I read an article at some point in the last year based on an academic study regarding musical tastes and it turns out people have almost equal good feelings towards music that was popular during their formative years and music that was popular during their parents formative years presumably because their parents played it a lot. That would totally fit with my feelings towards 70s music since my father stopped listening to new music round about 1985.

Granted “Eminence Front” was actually written in 1982, but like many songs and fashions that appear at the beginning of a new decade it still holds the sensibilities of the previous decade. This song definitely feel much more like a song from the 70s than it does the 80s.

The way this song builds from the beginning is what really makes it outstanding. It starts off with what sounds to me like the steady beat of a cymbals being tapped, then the keyboard comes in creating a steady beat. Then the drums fully kick in and just a couple of beats behind them the guitar follows until they are all working together to create a great instrumental riff. I also really love the way what has been a steady guitar riff changes going into the chorus at the 3:16 mark. It’s a brilliantly written song, and I love it.