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Re: new studio Who?
I keep forgetting to contribute my two cents regarding the question of
whether The Who should do anymore studio work. I definitely think they
should--I guess I'm an optimist like Roger, who has repeatedly said (though
perhaps not lately) that The Who's best work was still within them.
I agree that if they do go into the studio it shouldn't be intended as a
concept album. Pete can still write dynamite rock songs (Don't Try To Make
Me Real, I Want That Thing, and several others from Psychoderelict prove
this) and Roger still has a great voice (I was worried that his may have been
weakening with age, but he's proved me wrong this decade on several
occasions). Nevertheless, I think John should get to contribute about a
third of the material (his contributions were usually quite good from 1978-82
and that's not just my opinion--in fact, critics noted the contrast between
his purer rock songs and whatever the heck Pete was generating). Maybe they
can do a cover or two--perhaps Eddie Vedder would be willing to write them a
song! The boys usually use sythesizers well (and once upon a time used them
perfectly), but I'd be inclined to urge them to just stick with a guitar, a
base, and a perhaps a lineup of guest drummers.
Gee, I hope Pete or Roger or John is reading this!!
------------------end original message-------------------------
I have no reason to believe that a new Who album would really satisfy anybody's
expecatations, and that includes Townshend's, Daltrey's, and Entwistle's. I
cannot believe that the material would be any stronger than FD and IH, and
Daltrey (and Townshend, I think) hated those. And Entwistle would probably only
contribute if it meant going back out on the road as the Who.
I have noticed in several others' posts that they believe that lots of
Townshend's solo stuff would have made great Who works, and I have a hard time
seeing the basis for this opinion. I mean, the material that the Who got was of
lesser quality than the stuff Pete put out for himself. I cannot believe that
Pete has changed since bailing out that he would give his best stuff to the Who.
I think if he came up with something that was really great, he would
back-burning it for himself. I'm sorry, but Townshend believes he no longer
needs the Who (we might, but he doesn't). I hate to pee on people's parades,
and I agree that a lot of Townshend solo stuff would have made great Who albums
if they had been largely produced as Pete and Chris Thomas had originally
produced them, if you simply substituted Roger for Pete and let John do some
fancy bass work in place of the bass that was used--but I could never see this
happening. And I still can't see a new Who album that features Townshend songs.
If they could do it the way WE want it, it would be great. But I just don't see
it happening.
Geez, I hate ending a post sounding so negative...
--Jim