Of course, his shouts of “Love!” at the top of every chorus grab the spotlight. Then there’s Roger Daltrey’s vocal, which is one for the ages. As a whole, “Love, Reign O’er Me” exemplifies the band’s ability to combine tough and tender. In the breaks, Townshend churns out some stinging lead guitar. Townshend’s tone-setting synths eventually give way to Keith Moon’s peppery drums and John Entwistle’s thudding bass. The drama conjured up by the music is potent. You don’t need to know any of that to drink in the song’s majestic catharsis. He’s weak still, but there’s a strength in that weakness. He surrenders to the inevitable, and you know, you know, when it’s over and he goes back to town he’ll be going through the same s–t, being in the same terrible family situation and so on, but he’s moved up a level. It’s another plea to drown, only this time in the rain. He explained in the liner notes to the album how the song, one final plea for deliverance by the album’s protagonist Jimmy, sprung partially from the teachings of the spiritualist Meher Baba: “It refers to Meher Baba’s one time comment that rain was a blessing from God that thunder was God’s Voice. “Love, Reign O’er Me” closes out Quadrophenia, which Townshend used as a way of telling one put-upon kid’s story while also summarizing the personalities within his band.
From among those albums, The Who were able to create individual songs, like “Love, Reign O’er Me” as just one of many superb examples, that stand apart and don’t need any larger context to shine. Tommy and Quadrophenia might have been intended by Pete Townshend to be mixed media experiences, but they are ultimately best enjoyed with a phonograph and a good set of headphones, heard from start to finish. The Who are rightly hailed as experts in the realm of concept albums, or “rock operas” as they were called once upon a time.
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