The Seeker (song)
| "The Seeker" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by The Who | ||||
| B-side | "Here for More" (Daltrey) | |||
| Released | 21 March 1970 (U.K.) | |||
| Format | 7" | |||
| Recorded | January 1970 at IBC Studios, London | |||
| Genre | Rock, art rock | |||
| Label | Track 604036 (U.K.) Decca 7-32670 (U.S.) |
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| Writer(s) | Pete Townshend | |||
| Producer | Kit Lambert, The Who | |||
| The Who singles chronology | ||||
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"The Seeker" is a song written by Pete Townshend and performed by English rock band The Who, and featured on their 1971 compilation album Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy.
Contents |
[edit] Background and writing
Around the time of song's release, Townshend explained its meaning in an interview with Rolling Stone: "Quite loosely, "The Seeker" was just a thing about what I call Divine Desperation, or just Desperation. And what it does to people. It just kind of covers a whole area where the guy's being fantastically tough and ruthlessly nasty and he's being incredibly selfish and he's hurting people, wrecking people's homes, abusing his heroes, he's accusing everyone of doing nothing for him and yet at the same time he's making a fairly valid statement, he's getting nowhere, he's doing nothing and the only thing he really can't be sure of is his death, and that at least dead, he's going to get what he wants. He thinks!"[1]
"I suppose I like this least of all the stuff", wrote Townshend the following year. "It suffered from being the first thing we did after Tommy, and also from being recorded a few too many times. We did it once at my home studio, then at IBC where we normally worked then with Kit Lambert producing. Then Kit had a tooth pulled, breaking his jaw, and we did it ourselves. The results are impressive. It sounded great in the mosquito-ridden swamp I made it up in, Florida at three in the morning drunk out of my brain with Tom Wright and John Wolff. But that's always where the trouble starts, in the swamp. The alligator turned into an elephant and finally stampeded itself to death on stages around England. I don't think we even got to play it in the States."[citation needed] This is not entirely true, as the band did perform it for about two weeks on their 1970 American tour[2][3][4][5]. Released in the UK as Track 604036 on 21 March 1970, it reached #19 in the charts. Released in the U.S. as Decca 7-32670, it hit the Billboard charts on 11 April 1970, eventually peaking at #44. The Who revived the song briefly in 2000 and then extensively starting on the 2006-2007 tour for Endless Wire. Canadian progressive rock group Rush included a version of "The Seeker" in their album Feedback and again on their live album/DVD R30: 30th Anniversary World Tour.
[edit] Appearances
- Cover version appears in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.
- It appears in American Beauty.
- It was covered by The Smithereens, as a B-side of their single "Only a Memory". A live version appears on the live CD Smithereens Live.
- It was covered by The Black Crowes on their 2006 tour, featuring guitarrist Rich Robinson on lead vocals.
- It appears in the opening few minutes of the Masterpiece Mystery Inspector Lewis episode "Whom the Gods Would Destroy".
- It appears in Grand Theft Auto IV and its expansion packs on the radio station Liberty Rock Radio.
- It appears in the opening credits of The Limey starring Terence Stamp.
- It appears in the opening credits of "Religulous."
- It was covered by Rush on their 2004 album Feedback.
[edit] Charts
| Chart (1970) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 21 |
| UK Singles Chart | 19 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 44 |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Cott, Jonathan (May 14, 1970). "A Talk with Pete Townshend". Rolling Stone (Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc.) (58): 33.
- ^ "The Who Concert Setlist at Memorial Auditorium, Dallas on June 19, 1970". setlist.fm. http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-who/1970/memorial-auditorium-dallas-tx-1bd6116c.html. Retrieved 2011-01-14.
- ^ "The Who Concert Setlist at Berkeley Community Theatre, Berkeley on June 16, 1970". setlist.fm. http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-who/1970/berkeley-community-theatre-berkeley-ca-13d6116d.html. Retrieved 2011-01-14.
- ^ "The Who Concert Setlist at Berkeley Community Theatre, Berkeley on June 15, 1970". setlist.fm. http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-who/1970/berkeley-community-theatre-berkeley-ca-bd6116e.html. Retrieved 2011-01-14.
- ^ "The Who Concert Setlist at Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim on June 14, 1970". setlist.fm. http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-who/1970/anaheim-stadium-anaheim-ca-3d6116f.html. Retrieved 2011-01-14.
