"Going Mobile" is a song written by Pete Townshend and originally released by the Who on their 1971 album '' Who's Next''. It was originally written for Townshend's abandoned '' Lifehouse'' project, with lyrics celebrating the joy of having a

mobile home A mobile home (also known as a house trailer, park home, trailer, or trailer home) is a prefabricated structure, built in a factory on a permanently attached chassis before being transported to site (either by being towed or on a trailer). Us ...

and being able to travel the open road. The Who's lead singer Roger Daltrey did not take part in the recording of the song, leaving the rest of the band to record it as a power trio; Townshend handles the lead vocals, guitars, and synthesizers, with

John Entwistle John Alec Entwistle (9 October 194427 June 2002) was an English musician who was the bassist for the rock band The Who. Entwistle's music career spanned over four decades. Nicknamed "The Ox" and "Thunderfingers", he was the band's only member ...

on bass guitar and

Keith Moon Keith John Moon (23 August 19467 September 1978) was an English drummer for the rock band the Who. He was noted for his unique style of playing and his eccentric, often self-destructive behaviour and addiction to drugs and alcohol. Moon grew ...

on drums. The song has attracted mixed reviews from music critics. This is one of only two songs on ''Who's Next'' not to feature Daltrey. (The

-penned composition "

My Wife "My Wife" is a song by the British rock band the Who, written by bass guitarist John Entwistle. It was originally released in 1971 on ''Who's Next'' and later as the B-side of the single "Baba O'Riley" on 6 November 1971 in Europe by Polydor Re ...

" was the other one)

Lyrics and music

"Going Mobile" is one of the lighter moments on '' Who's Next''. It was originally conceived as part of Townshend's abandoned '' Lifehouse'' project. Townshend described the use of the song in the proposed project as follows: "As the story unfolded, because of the vagaries of the modern world, because of pollution being caused mainly by people's need to travel, to be somewhere else. (People) had been told, 'You can't do that anymore. You have to stay where you are.' But people have got this lust for life, and adventure, and a bit of color." It celebrates the joys of having a

and being able to travel the highways at will – Townshend himself had acquired a mobile home about a year before the song was recorded. An example of the theme is illustrated by such lyrics as: "Going Mobile" was recorded without Who lead singer Roger Daltrey. Rather, guitarist and songwriter Townshend handled the vocals on the song. Instrumentation includes

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

, bass guitar and drums. A

VCS 3 The VCS 3 (or VCS3; an initialism for ''Voltage Controlled Studio, version #3'') is a portable analog synthesizer with a flexible modular voice architecture introduced by Electronic Music Studios (London) Limited (EMS) in 1969. EMS release ...

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

is also overdubbed on part of the song. Further, on his guitar solo, Townshend plays the instrument through an envelope follower, a feature of the

ARP synthesizer ARP Instruments, Inc. was a Lexington, Massachusetts manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, founded by Alan Robert Pearlman in 1969. It created a popular and commercially successful range of synthesizers throughout the 1970s before de ...

that produces what Townshend describes as a "fuzzy wah-wah sound". Author Chris Charlesworth describes the effect as being as if Townshend is playing underwater. Allmusic critic Tom Maginnis describes Entwistle's bass playing on the song as "ultra-fluid" and Moon's drumming as "exuberant."

Critical reception

'' Rolling Stones John Mendelsohn described the song as "faintly inane", adding that it "celebrates the joys of, ho hum, being free to roam the highways and byways in one’s trailer." However, in ''

The Rolling Stone Record Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...

'', John Swenson described "Going Mobile" as one of "Townshend's most beautiful songs". Allmusic's Tom Maginnis states that "Going Mobile" "shows the tremendous energy of the band without the support of powerful guitar amplification". Charlesworth states that "Going Mobile" "lacks the grandeur" of some other ''Who's Next'' songs, but nonetheless considers it "a witty and worthy contender".

Other appearances

The Who never performed "Going Mobile" live. Townshend included a version of "Going Mobile" on his solo album '' The Lifehouse Chronicles''. In 2011, Simon Townshend performed the song with Roger Daltrey's No Plan B band on its "Tommy Reborn" concert tour.

References

{{Authority control 1971 songs The Who songs Songs written by Pete Townshend Song recordings produced by Glyn Johns Pete Townshend songs Song recordings produced by Pete Townshend Songs about cars Decca Records singles Polydor Records singles Track Records singles MCA Records singles