Pete and the Who

[DDAJon@aol.com]

>I am, by no means, a purist (okay maybe a little...) but it seems like
>Townshend (and I say "Townshend" because I think it's his call)
>wishes to turn what's left of THE WHO into the band CHICAGO. In fact,
>I've heard Pete, rather sarcastically, refer to the '89 tour as "The Who on
>ice."  Now here's my theories why:
>
>(1) He "hates" the Who, but in a passive-aggressive way.  He cannot
>bury the band for good, but is slowly humiliating it, perhaps secretly
>or unconsciously rubbing his hand gleefully as the band turns into
>a Vegas revue
>
>(2) He wishes to turn the Who into something "new".  Perhaps he actually
>likes the New Who Revue big band, jazzy approach.

In my view, I think that Pete is wrestling with the fact that (although maybe
he would never admit it and some of you may disagree), few if any of the
things he ever has done or will do as a solo artist has or will  ever
approach the quality of his work with the Who.  As great as Pete was, so much
of his greatness was as a result of his collaboration with Roger, John and
Keith.  

And let's assume that at some point in the future he were to make the
greatest song/album/rock opera or whatever that he ever did--i.e., he finally
releases a completed Lifehouse. The real fact is that few people would pay
any attention to it if it was not a Who album.  Even his new Best Of album
(which is quite good) has not even made the Billboard top 200 albums chart.

This is I think the reason why he has ambivalent (and sometimes angry)
feelings about the Who.  It is kind of like a love-hate relationship.  He
respects the group and knows its significance, but he resents it because it
is something he can never top.

The best analogy to Pete's situation I think is that of Paul McCartney's.
 For almost 20 years after the Beatles broke up, McCartney was often bitter
towards the group, and wanted to distance himself from it as much as he
could.  (On his 1976 tour, for example, he only played 5 Beatles songs.)  And
McCartney had significantly more success as a solo artist than Pete ever had.
 But finally he made peace with the group and, during the 1990s, has embraced
it.  Over half the songs Paul played during his two world tours in the 1990s
were Beatles songs.

It wouldn't surprise me if, several years down the road, Pete comes to terms
with The Who and tours and records with it again.  It has happened so often
lately with groups that seemingly would never get back together that it could
happen with the Who.  Never say never.

Jon Karesh