Now pick..
Who Came First
A masterpiece. The remastered version has bonus tracks. The one I have
comes with a booklet. Pete writes about his thoughts on spirituality
and drugs (he's against them). His Hands is one of my favorite instrumentals.
Rough Mix
With former member of the Small Faces, Ronny Laine. My Baby Gives It Away, Heart
To Hang Onto and Street In The City are my favorites here.
Empty Glass
Pete Townshend's first commercial solo cd. I remember seeing the Rough Boys video
on MTV a lot in the early 80's when I was a kid. Some great songs here - Rough Boys,
Let My Love Open The Door, Jules and Jim (Townshend's best song about the media),
A Little Is Enough and Empty Glass are my favorites. On this album, Townshend learned
how to "bitch with a beat." This is probably the most widely known of his solo albums,
so give it some respect. I like the idea of "I stand here at the bar, I hold an
empty glass." When you're done with something, its time to filler-up again!
All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes
My favorite Townshend album. We finally get to hear a song called "Face Dances
Part Two" which should've been on Face Dances. The Sea Refuses No River is the
masterpiece of a man trying to refill his empty glass. Slit Skirts is a great
tune about romance and your 30's. Uniforms recaps Quadrophenia and our social
tendencies in one song. Somebody Saved Me is about those lucky things that
save us from our mistakes (I think the 3rd verse is about Keith). Like
in Quadrophenia, there is text on the album that helps you understand the
theme of the songs. That extra bit of storytelling takes Pete Townshend's
music to places none of his peers get to.
White City
Pete's first post-Who rock opera. Jimmy can be Quadrophenia's Jimmy
20 years later. First the music -- its fresh and ages well. Give Blood
is with David Gilmour on guitar. Face The Face is an admonishment to
deal (and dance) with our issues. White City Fighting's theme reminds me
of The Police's Synchronicity Two (and the other way around). All of the
other songs on White City rock! Get the movie too. Pete makes his audience
think -- you have to see the movie, listen to the album and
read the text on the album in order to be in on it. I'm in on it!
Iron Man
Next Townshend album, next rock opera. This one is adapted from a poem/narrative
by Ted Hughes. There's a message here for kids and an equally articulated
message for adults (or those trying to be). The Who do two songs - Dig and Fire.
These are the last two Who singles - this is what The Who would've sounded like
had they continued after Its Hard. A Friend Is A Friend, All Shall Be Well, Was There
Life and A Fool Says are my favorite Iron Man songs. There's a video for A Friend Is
A Friend that you might've seen. The story has it that Pete originally wanted to do
a double album and the record company wouldn't fund it. I have some of those cut
songs in my bootleg collection - they're just as good as the ones that made it on the album!
Psychoderelict
Yes! Pete tells the story of a rock star in his 40's. Someone like himself and his peers.
Psychoderelict is the most comprehensive of Pete's six rock operas. The characters are fully
developed. The story runs like tabloid journalism (oxymoron intended). To fully get it, you
have to see the Pete Townshend Live video. I was listening to Psychoderelict in 1995 when I
connected the ideas of free information (the Lifehouse grid), a young audience and how the
press work (as clearly depicted in Psychoderelict) and came up with School Sucks.
Instead of songs
painting a fantasy world, Psychoderelict (like The Who Sell Out, Who By Numbers and White
City) is about the world we live in. Ray High says it best in the last words on Psychoderelict
(and Pete's last words on an album with new material), "What happened to the dream?
What happened to all that lovely hippy shit?"
Psychoderelict - Music Only
The media didn't like Psychoderelict. They don't seem to like things critical of them!
Finally someone is telling stories in music (instead of feeding us singles) and they don't
get it. So they released a music-only version. I hope one day Pete's solo albums are
rediscovered for the masterpieces they are.
The Scoop Series
I was in junior high when the original Scoop came out. Wow! The Unused Piano From
Quadrophenia is one of the most beautiful piano pieces I've ever heard. Popular is
a different take on It's Hard. You Came Back should've been released on a studio
album of Pete or The Who. Love Reign O'er Me ends it with a touch of class.
Another Scoop is just as rich. Demos of You Better You Bet, Pinball Wizard, Substitute,
Happy Jack, Christmas, Pictures Of Lily and Don't Let Go The Coat. Few musicians release
their demos. The demos of few musicians are releaseable. My favorites are Begin The Beguine,
Praying The Game, Never Ask Me and The Shout. Scoop 3 is new (2001). Just as good as
the first two. My favorites are Sea and Sand, Commonwealth Boys, Lonely Words, All Lovers
Are Deranged (I have David Gilmour's About Face solo album with this song), Teresa and
It's In Ya. What most of us do is put all three Scoops in our stereo and ...
A Benefit For Maryville Academy
A live concert for charity? I'm in! Taken from some truly great shows
that Pete did then. Produced by Jon Carin (you've seen him play keyboards
on the Pink Floyd Pulse video).
Jai Baba and O'Parvardigar
This is a good place to mention Eel Pie. Pete
Townshend's commerce site. We're lucky -- not every musician does this (I wish
Roger Daltrey would finally get his ass online). Jai Baba was heavily bootlegged
in the 70's and 80's (I have a version called I Am Happy Birthday With Love).
Thanks, Pete, for releasing this one. Best songs? Content, Day Of Silence (a masterpiece),
The Love Man, Sleeping Dog and Lantern Cabin. This cd will blow your mind - Who Came
First is a glimpse of what is here. O'Parvardigar has three versions of that song.
The studio version, Live In India and a German verson! Buy it - the back of the
cd read, "All profits from this CD go to Avatar Meher Baba Trust in India and to
Meher Baba European Film Archive."
The Fillmore - 1996, The Empire - 1998, Sadler's Wells - 2000
I first heard The Fillmore on the radio. School Sucks had just started and I was working
on my dream. A friend (a Who and Hendrix fan) visited me at my office (where I was every waking
hour -- I went to work, Taco Bell and the record store). It was great being back in my hometown
and doing something that was starting to make sense to people. I listened to a lot
of Who then. The Fillmore is my second favorite Townshend show. My favorites are English Boy,
The Shout, Heart To Hang Onto, All Shall Be Well and Magic Bus (not my favorite Who tune,
but here it works!). If only for a version of Pete singing On The Road Again, Three
Steps To Heaven, and She's A Sensation, get The Empire! More on Sadler's Wells in the Lifehouse section.
At La Jolla Playhouse 2001
The closest most of us with get to having dinner with Pete Townshend. He chats between
songs and has some interesting stories to tell. Two summer nights - June 22-23, 2001.
And the music is good. Dim the lights and listen.
The Oceanic Concerts
I bought this cd in February 2002 when a certain media outlet flew me from Tel Aviv
to New York for 12 hours. After the interview, I had just enough time for Taco Bell
(its the one thing Israel sorely needs) and a record store before heading back to
the airport. Pete invited this gifted classical musician to play with him and what beautiful sounds
they created! I listened to it as soon as I got home - at least if I'm going to be
on a plane for 24 out of 36 hours, I'll come home to a new Townshend cd!
The Ferryman is great. I never thought Pete Townshend and candlelight music would go
so well together. :)
Grosse Pointe Blanke Soundtrack
The cool version of Let My Love Open The Door from Cool Walking is here.
Deep End Live!
One day they'll release this entire show.. With all due respect, I play the bootleg
when I want to hear this, as it has the whole enchillada. If you liked The Fillmore,
this is your style. Oh and David Gilmour plays guitar!
Coolwalkingsmoothtalkingstraightsmokingfirestoking
If Pete can get away with calling White Cite a novel, then this title is short enough!
Its not just a greatest hits album - Street In The City, Uneasy Street and a mellow
version of Let My Love Open The Door. As this is the last listing here.. Thank you Pete.
For the music, stories and inspiration.
