Lightweight Who, Obsession, John's shaft, a retraction

["Mark R. Leaman" <mleaman@sccoast.net>]

> I did a paper on The Who (and got a mediocre grade - teacher said the
> subject matter was too lightweight) in high school

Dave:

Lightweight, huh? No wonder there's such a controversy over the school
system...
On the other hand, I did a paper on Armenia City In The Sky and got an
A. Guess you were dealing with too much reality for him/her.

> and I used the Newsweek review as a source.

There you are. It all falls into place. I'd like to see that review.

> Considering all that he had put into
> making Quad, this must have felt like a crushing defeat for Townshend.

That much is definitely true. And the same for the "failure" of
Lifehouse. Pete was always his own worst enemy.

> I've noticed that the members of this digest seem to be obsessed with
> Quad.

Jeff:

Obsessed...my mother used to say I was obsessed with Rock music, and now
I own two CD stores. It's all in what you do with it, I guess.
I wouldn't say *I* was obsessed with QUAD...although I do think it's the
best Rock album to date. My favorite Who song is Pure And Easy. I would
also claim that I'm not even obsessed with The Who, since they make up a
small percentage of my music collection.
However...QUAD is IMHO the star in The Who's crown, and only recently
being given its due. I don't know why; I've been saying it all along...

> Poor John always gets the shaft.

As good a bass player as he is (the best), he's not Pete's equal as a
songwriter. His output is uneven, in and out of The Who. Like Roger, who
is a poor songwriter at best, he's just not the talent Townshend is.
With one star shining so brightly in the band, the others are sure to
appear dim.

Recently I wrote that the BBC Summertime Blues had an announcement which
ended with "The Who..." I listened to it last night, and what's actually
said is: "Summertime Blues..." Sorry `bout that; I hadn't played it for
a while. I still believe this is the only studio SB (that's gotten out),
because the removal of the announcer would still leave the "Oooh" right
where it happens to be, whether he said "blues" or "Who."

- -- 

            Cheers                ML

 "It's more than a looking back...it's a bringing up to date.
  Quadrophenia is about where we're all at today...maybe you too,
  I don't know..."
            Pete Townshend