The Who [ tickets ] will not go quietly.

Two of the original members are dead, and more than two decades have passed since the band's last studio album, the unloved "It's Hard." Having entered their 60s, Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey could probably live out the rest of their days licensing their art to commerce and "CSI" episodes, but both men clearly had something new to say.

"Endless Wire" is crammed with 21 songs, including a 12-song mini-opera called "Wire & Glass" based on a Townshend novella. It's a lot to digest, and things do not start promisingly. The opening notes of track one, "Fragment," imitate the swirling synthesizer intro of "Baba O'Riley"--a faint rehash of greater glories--and the rest of the song is nothing special. But after that misstep, Townshend and Daltrey begin to find their footing. Even without the late John Entwistle and Keith Moon, there are moments when the old Who magic bubbles up: in the infectious choruses of "Mike Post Theme" and "We Got a Hit," in the powerchords of "Black Widow's Eyes" and in Daltrey's and Townshend's passionate vocals.

Townshend's lyrics take comfort in well-crafted TV theme songs ("Mike Post Theme"), give thanks for faithful friends ("You Stand by Me") and contemplate spiritual issues ("In the Ether," "Two Thousand Years," "God Speaks of Marty Robbins") while occasionally working up a little of the old rage ("It's Not Enough").

Daltrey belts and croons and sometimes growls in his now deeper and weathered voice. And on the album's second half, the tale of a fictional band essayed in "Wire & Glass" allows Townshend and Daltrey and fans to vicariously relive the Who's salad days--particularly on "We Got a Hit," which sounds like it could have fit on "Tommy." (The rest of "Wire & Glass" won't make anyone forget "A Quick One While He's Away," but it's certainly not an embarrassment.)

While "Endless Wire" is no classic, it has its share of good songs. And for Who fans, it's like hearing from a cherished friend after a long absence.