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Re: QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK




>1) Is it essential for your experience as a WHO fan to be a completist in
>terms of band member's solo efforts? In other words, do you, as a WHO fan,
>need all the solo albums in order to fully understand/appreciate the scope of
>the WHO's importance/artistic development?

I will collect any material by P.T. , just because he was the band's main
songwriter and creative leader.  Especially interesting are Townshend's
demos, which are often good enough quality for commercial release.  Pete's
demos are enjoyable by themselves, but it's really interesting to see what
the band does with them, what each member contributes.  Also, in the later
years of the band, there was a conflict between what songs Pete saved for
his solo albums and what he gave to the band.  On "Empty Glass" he put the
solo album first, with predictable results. :)
In my opinion Entwistle's albums are split between pretty good and average.
Same goes for Daltrey, and I have no interest in Roger's recent albums
("Daltrey" is my favorite).  And no, I don't have Moon's album--yet.

>2) What is your stance on WHO bootlegs? For or against? Does listening to
>and/or owning/collecting have an effect on your appreciation of the WHO's
>overall body of work?

I collect nearly all the Who bootlegs I can get my hands on, and
unfortunately this means putting up with terrible sound quality.  For a
major band, the Who does not have many good sounding tapes.  But even the
lousiest sound quality can't mask a really good show.  Once you get past
the sound quality, you begin to appreciate the band on good (and bad)
nights, or average nights, when they are just playing for an audience and
not for a recording.  No chance to go back and splice in a new part, add
echo (ahem), edit songs because someone forgot lyrics, etc.  And as someone
else said, people who collect bootlegs are usually huge fans who support
the band by buying everything commercially available.  When you are a fan,
you can never have enough.  Sure, the band is not profitting from the
recordings, but this material would probably never be released anyway.
This argument could go on forever.

>Marty Secero
Great questions, Marty!