Got the books, folks! And it’s up to the high standards Quarto has done for me—slipcase included—with my recent Pink Floyd and The Dark Side of the Moon 50 Years and Bowie @ 75 books.

As the publisher’s hype text expounds:

Take a deep dive into one of the best-selling albums ever on the 50th anniversary of its release with this beautifully produced and authoritatively written slipcased edition.

Veteran rock critic Martin Popoff leaves no stone unturned in taking apart The Who’s generation-spanning masterpiece, Quadrophenia, while exploring each of the album’s 17 tracks and their themes of identity, anxiety, and mental health. Chapters cover:

• The state of The Who as of 1973, including their role in mod culture
• The recording sessions at famed Olympic Studios and the band’s own Battersea location, including techniques used
• Song-by-song studies of each album side, including analyses of lyrics and the guitars, drums, keyboards, and synthesizers employed by members Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle, and Keith Moon
• The 1979 motion picture based on the album’s song cycle
• The continent-hopping tours that supported the album
• The rock group’s trajectory post-Quadrophenia, including notable albums and tours

Popoff also takes you on side journeys examining each band member, mod vs. rocker culture, the album’s famous graphic design, manager/producers Chris Stamp and Kit Lambert, Quadrophenia collectibles and more. There’s even a brief discography and complete LP tour dates.

Presented in a 10" × 10" slipcased book, The Who and Quadrophenia is illustrated with stunning performance and candid off-stage photography as well as rare memorabilia. The result is a richly presented celebration and your ultimate tribute to the rock opera masterpiece.

Here’s the Table of Contents, which pretty much spells out what I did with it:

Introduction

• Chapter 1: “Remember when stars were in reach:” The Context: The Who as of 1972
• Sidebar 1: Mods
• Sidebar 2: Chris Stamp and Kit Lambert
• Chapter 2: “You only see what we show you:” The Sessions
• Sidebar 1: Concept Albums versus Rock Operas
• Chapter 3: “Can you see the real me, can you?:” Side One
• Sidebar 1: The Graphics
• Sidebar 2: Pete Townshend
• Chapter 4: “I hear the music of a heartbeat:” Side Two
• Sidebar 1: Roger Daltrey
• Chapter 5: “Let me flow into the ocean:” Side Three
• Sidebar 1: Keith Moon
• Chapter 6: “Oh God, I need a drink of cool, cool rain:” Side Four
• Sidebar 1: John Entwistle
• Chapter 7: “You fight computers and receipts:” The Tour
• Sidebar 1: Tour Date Archive
• Sidebar 2: Charts, Sales and Rankings
• Chapter 8: “I’m dressed right for a beachfight:” Quadrophenia: The Movie
• Sidebar 1: Quadrophenia: The Soundtrack Album
• Sidebar 2: The Mod Revival
• Chapter 9: “I pick up phones and hear my history:” The Who Post-Quadrophenia
• Sidebar 1: Performances of Quadrophenia in the Modern Day
• Sidebar 2: Quadrophenia Collectibles
• Sidebar 3: A Selected Quadrophenia Discography