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Slamming Roger
It's difficult to speculate on Roger's state of mind concerning Pete (and
vice versa) because both men have gone from one extreme to the other over
the years. There have been times when they've made little or no effort to
disguise their contempt for each other, and there have been times when
they've seemed like the best of friends.
At several points during his '94 show in Toronto, Daltrey took Townshend to
task - basically for not being there. He suggested we should all "write him
letters". Bitter? I think it was an honest expression of Roger's
disappointment. He, like us, KNOWS that The Who on a good night can blow
ANY band out of the water; the big difference of opinion between Daltrey and
Townshend is that Roger loves to perform live, and Pete doesn't (his handful
of recent shows notwithstanding). The fact is, neither is getting any
younger, and they don't NEED to work. Take your pick - Roger keeping The
Who's material alive, or Pete releasing half-baked, mediocre concepts that
would have sounded a hell of a lot better had he deigned to record them with
The Who. White City and Psychoderelict would have made killer Who albums.
I've heard both Pete and Roger describe life in a band as a marriage. Well,
what happens when a marriage ends and one of the partners is still very much
in love? In this case, Roger's love for performing with The Who? As much
as we might love the solo stuff that both men have released, when it comes
down to it, give me a Who tour - with Pete, Roger, John and Kenney - any day.
Pete's concern about touring with the Who (according to a brief interview in
People magazine) is his hearing. So they compromise, letting Pete play
acoustic, and bringing in someone else to play lead. Works for me.
Daltrey has a lot more talent that we give him credit for. To dismiss him
as just a stubborn, overbearing lout with a loud voice seriously maligns the
man with the greatest voice in rock.
He doesn't NEED to work, he could (and often is) content to enjoy life on
his farm. But as he once said, "we'll all be rocking in our wheelchairs".
Pete's reply was something like "well, HE might be, but I won't".
Well, I hope Roger DOES keep rocking - to me at least, he's always been the
heart and soul of The Who, despite Pete's monomaniacal attempts to rewrite
history (i.e., "Pete Townshend's Tommy", "Pete Townshend's Quadrophenia" -
talk about a BETRAYAL of Roger, John and the memory of Keith!).
Fully in support of Mr. Daltrey (with whom my youngest daughter shares a
birthday),
Gary