September 24th, 2024 - A Kickstarted Quadrophenia

 

Hello and happy Tuesday my rocking, rolling, and beer lovin' friends!  The Meister here today pairing the amazing "Quadrophenia", the 6th album by rock and roll legends The Who and a crisp and crushable Kickstart Kölsch from the fine folks at the Ogden Beer Company in collaboration with Salt & Hops!  Oh, hell yeah!! 

Album Info:

• Artist: The Who
• Title: "Quadrophenia"
• Recorded: May through September 1973 at Olympic Studios, London and Ramport Studios in Battersea, London with Ronnie Lane's Mobile Studio
• Release date: November 1st, 1973 (6th studio album by The Who)
• Record company: Track Records / MCA Records
• Production: The Who, Kit Lambert, and Glyn Johns
• Album cover art: Graham Hughes 
• Personnel: Roger Daltrey (lead vocals), John Entwistle (bass, horns, and vocals), Keith Moon (drums, percussion, and vocals), and Pete Townshend (guitars, keyboards, banjo, cello, vocals, and sound effects)
• Additional musicians: Jon Curle (spoken vocals) and Chris Stainton (piano)
• Musical style: Hard rock, rock and roll, and progressive rock with elements of jazz, folk rock, and blues rock
• Sound: In order to do any justice in describing the sound of this phenomenal album, I think it is important to state that The Who literally built their own studio in order to record "Quadrophenia".  This may very well be one of the most important albums ever recorded... seriously!  It is nothing short of brilliant on all levels.  It is incredibly ambitious, intricate, beautiful, painful, and honest.  In short, musical perfection!
• Major themes: A concept album, "Quadrophenia" tells the semi-autobiographical story of a disillusioned working-class mod named "Jimmy".  Themes include criticism of social mores, sex, drugs, dead-end jobs, self-destruction, states of sanity, aggression, angst, disillusionment, pain, life, death, reality, etc.
• Tracks:  
1. "I Am The Sea"
2. "The Real Me"
3. "Quadrophenia"
4. "Cut My Hair"
5. "The Punk And The Godfather"
6. "I'm One"
7. "The Dirty Jobs"
8. "Helpless Dancer"
9. "Is It In My Head"
10. "I've Had Enough"
11. "5:15"
12. "Sea And Sand"
13. "Drowned"
14. "Bell Boy"
15. "Doctor Jimmy"
16. "The Rock"
17. "Love, Reign O'er Me"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Ogden Beer Company (Ogden, Utah) in collaboration with Salt & Hops (Ogden, Utah)
• Website: http://www.ogdenbeercompany.com/ and 
• Brew: Kickstart Kölsch
• Style: German-style Kölsch
• Serving: 12 ounce can
• ABV: 5.0%
• Pour: The Kickstart Kölsch pours a clear, pale, golden-yellow hue with a 1+ finger, bright white, light and frothy head with great retention and soapy, sudsy lacing.
• Nose: The nose is a characterized by grainy, malty, grassy, and floral aromas.  There are aromas of toasted white bread, cracked wheat, crackery biscuit, freshly cut hay, lemon zest, and light grassy and floral hops.
• Taste: Well-balanced, the Kickstart Kölsch has a nice blend of grainy, malty, and grassy flavors.  There are notes of crackery biscuit, bright grains, light lemon zest, grassy and floral hops, and a slight hint of honey.
• Mouthfeel: Light in body and well-carbonated, the mouthfeel is very crisp and refreshing with a dry, clean finish. 

Overall pairing: The Ogden Beer Company / Salt & Hops Kickstart Kölsch is a very crisp, delicious, and crushable brew... a great companion to the brilliance that is the indelible "Quadrophenia"!  And the album cover looks great alongside the beer label!  'Nuff said!

Cheers!!