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Pete albums



    Date: Thu, 1 Dec 1994 07:22 CST
    From: Svante Boerjesson <svante@df.lth.se>

    Hi,

    Just continuing the discussion on "Iron Man" and "Psychoderelict" etc. ...

    I really liked IM when it first was released in '89. I think I just hungered for
    a new Pete/Who album at the time. Nowadays, I tend to think it's a great 
    musical. I think it would do great in the theatre or on Broadway.

It might, but I've heard the London stage production and it was
wretched.  It's done as a children's-theatre piece, with about one piano
for instrumentation, and is completely devoid of the excitement I listen
to any rock for, much less The Who.  For an idea of what it sounds like,
think of the clip on the _Tommy:  The Amazing Journey_ video, from the
early 70s stage production of _Tommy_, where someone's singing "Acid
Queen" with a piano accompaniment.  Eeewww.

As we know, Pete et al came up with a good (IMO) stage adaptation of
_Tommy_; there may be such an adaptation hidden inside IMan, but it
hasn't come out yet.

    Wendy:
    >What about "Was There Life" ?   This is one of the most beautiful songs
    >Townshend has written.

I agree.

"Fast Food" is another of my favorites on the album, for the rockin'
rhythm and quirky lyrics (I like the in-reference to "preferably
tattooed"); "Dig" does have the sound of latter-day Who, but doesn't
particularly grab me; I like "I'm Not Gonna Run" a lot -- the guitar and
synthesizer work is gorgeous, and once again Pete wrings the most out of
the chord progressions and key changes.  "A Friend is a Friend" is
interesting but I heard it a little too much in '89, and although the
lyrics are thought-provoking, the line "be friendly, be friendly now"
strikes me as surprisingly awkward.  Imagine how much fun the band could
have had in '89 with "Fast Food"...mmm...

Alan