Roger Daltrey - One of the Boys

A pleasant surprise

(4.5 stars)

I was really surprised at how much I ended up liking this album, since Roger's solo career seems to be rather hit and miss. I thought I had already heard his two greatest albums, 'McVicar' and 'Under a Raging Moon,' really loved his 1987 album 'Can't Wait to See the Movie,' and have heard positive things about the 1992 album 'Rocks in the Head,' but didn't think there were any other of his solo albums that were really all that great. It just goes to show that one shouldn't take too much stock by what other people have said if one hasn't directly experienced that thing yet. Everyone's mileage varies, after all. I had never gotten the impression that this was considered one of his better solo albums, but I've been really impressed with just how strong and Who-like it is. Among my favorite songs are "Say It Ain't So, Joe," "The Prisoner," "Doing It All Again," "Avenging Annie," and the title track.

I think that part of the problem with his less-than-great solo albums has been the type of people he chose to work with. Here he's working with writers and musicians who are stronger than usual, and since Roger is almost entirely a singer and not a songwriter or musician, he's really only as good as the people he works with. They can make or break him, and they really made him in this album. This album, made in 1977, also marked the first time since "Here for More" in 1970 that he tried his hand at writing songs again. He co-wrote three of them, "The Prisoner," "Satin and Lace," and "Doing It All Again." Another issue with his lesser solo albums, I think, is that he can sound sort of conflicted and out of character, like trying to make an independent musical voice for himself yet at the same time stay with his safety blanket of Who-like songs. There's no real hint of such musical schizophrenia on this album, and there are even quite a few Who-like songs. The variety of musical styles also helps, and it just doesn't seem really dated like some of his other albums, like his self-titled debut or 'Ride a Rock Horse.' It still has a fresh modern sound to it.

When one listens to an album like 'Ride a Rock Horse' or (so I've heard) 'Parting Should Be Painless,' one can wonder just why Roger wanted a solo career in the first place. He just doesn't fit the profile of a bandmember who wants or needs a solo career, since he didn't have a unique musical message and wasn't having his contributions routinely ignored by the more prominent bandmembers. But when one listens to a nice album like this, it becomes obvious that under the right circumstances, Roger could be quite effective as a solo artist. January 10, 2008

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