Roger's Singing

So on my run today, I listened to the good part of The Who's Endless Wire, their 2007 album. (The good part is the second half of the album, what Townshend terms the "mini opera".) It's pretty good music, but really suffers from the lack of a live drummer: Zak Starkey, their normal drummer, was tied up with his other job (as Oasis' drummer), and couldn't make the recording sessions. Which is a damned shame, because I realized today that Roger's voice really carries these songs. The pathos of Tea and Theatre really speaks for itself - rarely has Roger allowed himself such a wide range of emotions - but it's the other songs that he really carries. We Got a Hit is a pop song with good lyrics, but Daltry picks it up and makes it into a war cry. His singing on the mini-opera's climax "Mirror Door" is the only thing that turns this average rock song (the drum machine really cripples this song - it could have been so much more!) into something majestic. Just hear how he cries out the chorus... his confidence and powerful voice fills the energy gap left over by the instruments. The best is the final bridge that leads to the coda, where he repeats "Mirror Door!" several times, every time heightening the tension and energy until the song explodes and all that is left is the denouement... it's a masterful piece of singing, and I only hope that he's got more of this left in him.