Parting Should Be Painless

Musically, according to Daltrey the album covered areas that he had wanted The Who to pursue. "Pete [Townshend] and I both said the Who was an alternative to heavy metal, but toward the end, John [Entwistle] got more into that and Pete and I further away from it. Because we were compromising so much, we ended up just settling into what we knew how to do best. It bored me to tears, and I know it bored Pete to tears, too."{{citation |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/how-the-whos-breakup-shatters-roger-daltreys-illusions-about-the-power-of-rock-19840524|title=How The Who's breakup shatters Roger Daltrey's illusions about the power of rock|date=25 May 1984|accessdate=18 September 2014}}

The track Parting Should Be Painless was one of two tracks written by the former Marshall Hain bass player, Kit Hain, whose songs were written for or covered by many artists. Daltrey was again relying on other artists writing contributions to make a cohesive album, and this time, the list included songs written by former Roxy Music lead singer, Bryan Ferry ("Going Strong"), the Eurythmics co-founders Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart ("Somebody Told Me"), and ex-Ian Gillan keyboardist Colin Towns ("How Does the Cold Wind Cry"), as well as successful professional songwriters Nicky Chinn and Simon Climie.

"I'm not a songwriter, but within this album I tried to get songs that — the majority of the songs, anyway — sum up my feelings in the last year," he explained during an appearance on Good Morning America. "Parting Should Be Painless" is a song that refers to the demise of the Who."{{citation |url=http://ultimateclassicrock.com/roger-daltrey-parting-should-be-painless|title=Roger Daltrey Parting Should Be Painless|accessdate=18 September 2014}}

{{Album reviews

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|2|5}}

}}

The album received negative reviews upon its release, with William Ruhlmann of AllMusic retrospectively writing that the album "contains some interesting tracks, including Bryan Ferry's "Going Strong," which gives you an idea what Roxy Music would sound like if Daltrey was its lead singer", but "for the most part, it consists of mediocre material indifferently sung."{{citation |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/parting-should-be-painless-mw0000673412|title=Parting Should Be Painless|accessdate=18 September 2014}} Writing for The Wall Street Journal, critic Pam Lambert described the album as "bland". During an interview in promotion for his 1987 album Can't Wait to See the Movie, Daltrey defended the album explaining, "it's a depressing album. It wasn't what people wanted to hear from me. To appreciate it you have to be depressed. That's the frame of mind I was in."{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-07-26-ca-1431-story.html|title=Daltrey and the Who--Who Knows?|website=Los Angeles Times|date=26 July 1987}}

Cash Box said praised the title track's "self-assuredness and consistently choice musicianship" and Daltrey's "powerful" vocal.{{cite magazine|title=Reviews|magazine=Cash Box|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/80s/1984/CB-1984-05-19.pdf|date=May 19, 1984|accessdate=2022-07-23|page=12}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Side one

| title1 = Walking in My Sleep

| writer1 = {{flatlist|

• Jack Green
• Leslie Adey

}}

| length1 = 3:28

| title2 = Parting Would Be Painless

| writer2 = Kit Hain

| length2 = 3:41

| title3 = Is There Anybody Out There?

| writer3 = {{flatlist|

• Nicky Chinn
• Steve Glen

}}

| length3 = 4:17

| title4 = Would a Stranger Do?

| writer4 = {{flatlist|

• Steve Andrews
• Simon Climie

}}

| length4 = 3:33

| title5 = Going Strong

| writer5 = Bryan Ferry

| length5 = 5:08

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Side two

| total_length = 40:03

| title6 = Looking for You

| writer6 = Kit Hain

| length6 = 3:20

| title7 = Somebody Told Me

| writer7 = {{flatlist|

• Annie Lennox
• Dave Stewart

}}

| length7 = 3:07

| title8 = One Day

| writer8 = Gerald Milne

| length8 = 3:10

| title9 = How Does the Cold Wind Cry

| writer9 = Colin Towns

| length9 = 3:46

| title10 = Don't Wait on the Stairs

| writer10 = Steve Swindells

| length10 = 6:33

}}

File:Parting Should Be Painless Advert.jpg

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.{{cite book|title=Parting Should Be Painless liner notes|year=1984|publisher=Atlantic, WEA}}

• Roger Daltrey – lead and background vocals; harmonica
• Chris Spedding – guitars
• Mick Gallagher – keyboards
• Allan Schwartzberg – drums
• Norman Watt-Roy – bass guitar
• Michael Brecker – tenor saxophone
• Mike Thorne – synthesizers
• Robert Medici – marimba
• David Tofani – clarinet
• Billy Nicholls – backing vocals
• James Biondolillo - string and horn arrangements

;Production team

• Mike Thorne – producer
• Harvey Goldberg – engineer
• John Brand – engineer
• Don Wershba – engineer
• Lincoln Clapp – engineer
• Graham Hughes - photography

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Category:1984 albums

Category:Roger Daltrey albums

Category:Atlantic Records albums

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