"Athena" by The Who

Song#:  1169
Date:  09/04/1982
Debut:  77
Peak:  28
Weeks:  14
Genre:  Rock



Pop Bits:  The band's previous album, "Face Dances," was another platinum success thanks to the #18 single "You Better You Bet." However, the band was already having internal issues that just got worse through their next LP "It's Hard." Label pressure for a new album and tour forced the band to work under further stress and it was all too much and they decided to call it a day. Once the album was released, they embarked on a "farewell tour." They would reunite occasionally over the years and issue an album in 2006 ("Endless Wire"), but "It's Hard" would be the last recording to feature the original three founding members, Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, and John Entwistle (Entwistle died in 2002). Although this single from the album reached the Top 30, listeners seemed less interested and the LP limped to only gold status.

ReduxReview:  My appreciation of The Who didn't occur until much later, so this song was completely lost on me. I didn't dislike it, but didn't care about it either. It seemed a bit old school at the time - a little stuck in the 70s. It's a good song, but it is definitely not one of their most memorable singles.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  The original title of this song was "Theresa." Townshend wrote it about American actress Theresa Russell. He met her after a screening of the film "The Wall" and fell instantly in love (with thanks to booze and cocaine). However, Russell rebuffed his advances, most likely because she was already engaged to director Nicolas Roeg. Townshend later changed the title to "Athena."

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