They Say the Neon Light is Bright...

[Jacksonjim@aol.com]

Brian Cady, re:

>>>Shortly after this he was pulled into the Broadway Tommy project.  What
came out of this?  A Tony Award, lotsa money, and probably a lot of people
who were willing to green light more Pete projects, as long as they were
based on the old stuff. <<<

I don't disagree with your overall theory that TOMMY on Broadway gave Pete a
stature he hadn't had before, but I disagree that he was "pulled" into the
Broadway TOMMY.  Pete has publically admitted that he wants to see rock and
roll on Broadway, so I have to believe that he jumped into it with both feet
despite possible later remarks that it was tough for him to do--that is the
story of Pete's career.  He's always doing something then bitching later
about having done it! Remember, TOMMY had been staged in La Jolla, CA prior
to Broadway.  I think he and McAnuff had the Great White Way in mind all
along.

Pete has this thing against Andrew Lloyd Weber (maybe it's over who really
did the first rock opera; was it TOMMY or JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR?).  I think
Pete sees the "legitimate theatre" as the next logical extension of his work
and his competition with Weber.  I actually see Pete trying to carry rock and
roll into a fairly untested area--Broadway/theatre.  I think he's combining
this new approach with his old ideas because he wants to complete those old
ideas. LIFEHOUSE was never realized in any shape that Pete wanted, and he
always felt that QUAD failed to surpass TOMMY.  It would be a natural step to
"elevate" QUAD to TOMMY's level by pushing it toward a staged production.
 Given time and success, Pete will probably try to do the same with THE IRON
MAN and PSYCHOD.

Pete seems to me to no longer be strictly a rock and roll artist.  It's hard
to say how long it will be before he produces another solo album, IMHO.

--Jim