Face Dances
| The Who
Face Dances
Face Dances is the ninth studio album by the English rock band The Who. It was released in 1981 on Warner Bros. Records in the United States (it was the band's first release on that label) and on Polydor Records in the United Kingdom. It was one of two Who studio albums with drummer Kenney Jones, who joined the band after Keith Moon's death three years earlier. Despite mixed reviews from Rolling Stone Magazine and other critics, Roger Daltrey went on record saying he liked this album in a 1994 interview.-Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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Rolling Stone
May 1981 Surely it was obvious for some time that Keith Moon’s style didn’t fit in with Townshend’s ideas, to the point where Kenney Jones meshes more fluidly with the group’s current sound than Moon had in years. Why shouldn’t it happen with the others as well?
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Sputnik Music
This is an underappreciated classic from perhaps the greatest band in rock history.
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Stereogum
Feb. 2013 It's a fine piece of 1980s nostalgia, but the song -- and the record, itself -- is more comparable to A-Ha than Led Zeppelin in the grand scheme.
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All Music
While Townshend's songs were graceful and introspective, Roger Daltrey delivered them without any subtlety, rendering their power impotent.
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WMMR
Dec 2013 The album has long gotten a bad rap with die-hard fans -- but still contains the massive Top 20 hit, "You Better You Bet" -- which literally put the band on MTV and is still a mainstay of their live shows.
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Musicko
Dec. 2009 Personally, I have always treasured Face Dances, and dearly treasured it for that matter. It was actually one of the first Who albums I purchased, mainly on the strength of “You Better You Bet” and “Don’t Let Go The Coat”.
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Steve Hoffman
Oct. 2013 As an album, Face Dances is neither triumph nor failure. Like every Who LP from Quadrophenia on, it makes the most sense as Episode 442 in the band's continuing story. On its own, it's winsomely slight at best, bafflingly circumlocutory at worst.
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Carrie Anne Brownian
May 2015 At least give it a few listens so you can decide you don’t care for it, instead of dismissing it out of hand. They made some truly classic early Eighties songs. I still stand by the 4-star rating.
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Jive Time Records
Also, I now prefer a introspective Pete Townshend even if Roger Daltry still delivers his words with all the gusto of “Baba O’Riley.” Jan. 2011 For anyone who’s written this one off, pick up the next 99¢ copy you see and give it a fresh listen the way you might approach a Townshend or Entwistle LP.
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Metal Music Archives
Face Dances isn't an album the Who should have been proud of. It doesn't stink, but it's just incredibly mediocre.
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Warr
Everywhere the sound is agreeably close to Empty Glass, but it's just not as solid.
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Smaulgld
Not bad for any one else but not representative of what the Who is capable of.
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Adrian Denning
It's an LP that certainly isn't offensively bad whilst it's playing, just that, one or two songs apart, it's an entirely forgettable LP when you try to remember it more than ten minutes later.
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Robert Christgau
Problem is, his pretty-boy mouthpiece sounds like he's forcing the passion.
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Muzik Mag
That they have mellowed out, is admirable. That they can still produce quality music is equally admirable. That they are no longer the rough-and-tumble leaders of a movement celebrating youth is my problem.
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Don Ignacio
That doesn’t mean to say that Face Dances is a great Who album … but I think if you’ve been following The Who this far, you’d have already come to realize that Quadrophenia marked the end of their ‘great period.’ But there’s plenty of good times to be had during the band’s late period … and Face Dances is a highly entertaining album. That’s all I ever really wanted.
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John McFerrin
I used to give this album a 5, but at this point I'd say a high 6, bordering on a 7, seems more reasonable. I mean, there are a whole lot of potentially decent songs on here, and that has to count for something. Buy it if you're really curious.
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Plastic Love Monkey
Nov. 2006 , I decided to revisit The Who‘s 1981 album, Face Dances, and found it better than I remembered it. I found that I appreciate different aspects of Townshend‘s writing now than I did as a freshman in high school.
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Classic Rock Review
April 2011 The material seems to flow along a consistent vibe that is at once deep and a bit comical, but always strong and forward. It is a credit to their ability to adapt to changing times and changing tastes in the music world.
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Sputnik Music
April 2006 If you don't expect too much greatness, you may very well find you like what you hear.
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MQS
Sept. 2015 While a mood of introspection lurks throughout, it is clear The Who’s fire still burns bright and no less furious.
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Slacker
"Don't Let Go the Coat" was one of his better odes to Meher Baba, "You Better You Bet" was a driving rocker, as was the rueful "Cache Cache," while "How Can You Do It Alone" was a solid ballad.
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All CD Covers
If you like the introspective and sometimes painfully confessional songwriting of those two albums, then you may find that on Face Dances Townshend reveals his bruised soul (shorn of grand allegories) as on no other record. A quiet classic.
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Jeremy ETC
Sept. 2012 Pete and Roger’s harmonies are spot on, and it’s got a pretty Quadrophenia-esque bridge. There’s real life to it
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Daily Vault
Amazingly, The Who would decide to give the ol’ college try one more time with the gut-wrenchingly awful It’s Hard. With Face Dances, the band at least had the excuse of trying to go on without Moon, testing the waters, in a way. Unfortunately, Townshend and co. ignored the poor quality of this record and continued on. Face Dances should have been the last Who album.
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