Who's That? Love, Reign o'er Me

From the 1973 rock opera “Quadrophenia,” The Who’s “Love, Reign o’er Me” remains one of the band’s better-known selections even though the original single peaked at #76 on the Hot 100. The title is a play on words, as Pete Townshend took the inspiration from Meher Baba who believed that rain was a blessing from God. Even the original version opens with the sound of rain and the lyrics reference rain over reign. Perhaps the title indicates that Jimmy, the protagonist of “Quadrophenia,” isn’t beckoning for love to rain on him, but rather he is wanting love to reign over him.

Music critic Mark Deming believed that Roger Daltrey was at the peak of his singing career with the “Quadrophenia” album in general and “Love, Reign o’er Me” in particular. It would be difficult for any vocalist to duplicate Daltry’s performance. Eddie Vedder, however, tried and succeeded with Pearl Jam’s 2007 rendition. While Vedder’s voice is lower than Daltry’s and he often strains to hit the high notes, he reaches his intended goal. His lower timbre gives “Love, Reign o’er Me” a distinctive character.

While the original Who version is referenced in the movie, “Reign over Me,” Pearl Jam’s version plays over the credits. When I saw this movie about post traumatic stress disorder, I automatically realized that it wasn’t The Who, so I waited for and waded through the credits to see who had recreated this classic. Pearl Jam’s version peaked at #32 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Good stuff.