Lifehouse

[Rich Bogovich <rbogovich@yahoo.com>]

>> Someone said their favorite demo was Slip Kid; my
>> vote goes forSister Disco.

> Having heard some of the songs on the Music Must 
> Change boot, I've decided that I much prefer 
> Pete's demos of the songs on Who Are You to The
> Who's versions.  Sorry Rog, but Pete seems to 
> "get" these songs in a way that Roger doesn't.

I can't agree with regard to "Who Are You" itself, but
"New Song" is one of probably only two instances (and
I can't recall the other offhand) where I prefer
Pete's demo to The Who's version.  But other than the
title track, I'm not hugely fond of Pete's WAY songs
(which is why I've maintained in the past that the
album as a whole is inferior to, say, It's Hard) so
it's quite conceivable to me that people could prefer
Pete's "Music Must Change" and "Sister Disco" demos to
The Who's versions.  Normally I'd presume that the
involvement of JAE and Moon would easily tip the
scales in favor of full band treatments--and of
course, when a song can benefit from powerful vocals,
as is so often the case, Roger is unmatched.

>> However, in Lifehouse there simply IS no
>> resolution. Things happen, but the end (at 
>> least as far as I can gather from one listening) 
>> resolves nothing at all, and there is no 
>> realization...just grief.  It's a lot like 
>> real life, I guess...and in that respect, it is
>> successful.

> Yes.  The endings of Tommy and Quadrophenia are
> bleak, too, but the magic of them is that for all 
> the bleakness it isn't hopeless.  Tommy can still
> praise the "tall stranger", Jimmy can at least 
> feel that "love" might point a way out, but for 
> Ray there is no hope at all.  "This is the
> future...this is a nightmare."

I'm not a fan of distopian sci-fi, but one of the
things that most bothered me about 1999's Lifehouse
radio play was how different it was from hints and
snippets in the BBC radio documentary.  As I
understand the original (or at least earlier) ending,
all the good people vanish, presumably reaching a
higher plane, and the character left at the end is a
villian--or at least a skeptical, overly cautious
wimp.

I'd say that the revision--which is certainly Pete's
prerogative though I don't have to endorse it--is far
more significant than the watering-down of Tommy's
message(s) for the Broadway audience.  The latter
still "worked" enough for me to enjoy it on balance,
and I certainly didn't share my kid brother's mild
objection that the 1996-97 Quad tour wasn't 100%
faithful to the original album.  But so far I consider
the 1999 version of Lifehouse to be a disappointment. 
It could grow on me, however (though I'll always want
more music, and wish The Who's versions could've been
included)...

Rich B.
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