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Re: WAY vs FD; Warped; New Who album



> > It depends.  If Pete does idiosyncratic, off-the-wall stuff, then he can 
>expect that there's a small market for it.  The more mainstream the work,
>
>Keets:
>
>I don't think either White City or Psycho were too idiosyncratic to sell.

Me either.  I was thinking of the ICE AND ESSENCE mp3.  That IS a strange 
one.


>Some bands, Death Metal bands for instance and Punk bands too, make their 
>career doing esoteric music. I can't see a mainstream Who album, since 
>there's never been one I liked much (that would be FD). Their best stuff 
>was far from mainstream...an album about a deaf dumb & blind boy? An album 
>about a guy with four personalities? An album about a future where music is 
>illegal and ends with people ascending to a higher spiritual level? 
>Mainstream you say?

I agree.  It's always a marketing problem.  Again, I think it's The Who 
philosophy that sells, as expressed by Pete's writing and the band's sound.  
Certainly when you look at the subject matter, it doesn't seem to have much 
potential.


>I think this is the main problem. Pete was doing synth music at a time when 
>Grunge was happening, and that was music based on live Who! If they'd 
>toured that year like they did last year, it would have been huge. It's 
>great when Eddie Vedder cites and performs with PT but it's about 10 years 
>too late now.

Pete/The Who are always out of step.  They're leaders, not followers.  The 
fact that they were back touring with Quad signaled a change in the music 
industry.  I'd say it's time for a rock revival--just don't expect seventies 
rock.


>I think if The Who do a powerful, stripped-down (and most importantly) 
>non-slick album (the rougher the better), they have a shot. It could be a 
>concept album IF the songs also stand on their own (like WN). They're 
>definitely going to have to use either their "classic" sound (reference 
>Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting) or a completely new one (my choice 
>and yours, I know) at least as good as the one used for the WAY gateway 
>mix.

Having a different drummer and a different environment will make a 
difference.  I loved that MG mp3.  Is that a slick sound?  After working 
live the whole summer, I figure that's what they arrived at, and I'd be 
happy to hear it on a new ablum.


>They will get bad reviews...I don't remember seeing a good Who album review 
>after WN, do you? But we will get it, some others will catch on, assorted 
>movie directors will use some of the songs in their movies, and one day 
>people will admit what a good album it was (much like how Quad has been 
>treated).

Great reviews would indicate something serious has gone wrong.  If it 
doesn't upset and mystify people, it's too tame.  ;)


keets


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