10 Best Hard Rock Songs Of The '70s
2. Baba O'Riley - The Who (1971)
This wasn't how most bands built a rock song. It defied all the typical conventions of the genre. The lead hook was played on organ, the guitar didn't come in until around the 2 minute mark and the main solo was given over to a folk inspired violin section.
In the lead up to the release of Baba O'Riley, Pete Townsend had been wrestling with an ambitiously convoluted idea for a rock opera. As was the trend with rock stars of the '60s and '70s, Townsend was heavily into Eastern mysticism and spirituality, not to mention having a predilection for LSD. The combined interests resulted in him having some pretty lofty ideas.
Townsound started feeling so connected with his audience at live shows, that he started to believe truly pure music could unify the world. Townsend never managed to complete that particular rock opera but much of the ideas ended up on The Who's later albums.
Baba O'Riley was one such song. And you can certainly hear the grandiosity in it. The song sounds like a celebration but the lyrics were inspired by the destruction caused to the land, during Woodstock and the Isle of Wight festivals.