Re: where's Pete?

[Joe Lewinski <lewinski@xxxxxxxxxx>]

>From: Sroundtable@aol.com
>Subject: Re: where's pete?
>
>
>Bad finger velocity on solos?  Have you seen a show this summer?  His
fingers 
>seem to be moving just fine to me.  Hell, just watch his solos from ICE at 
>Albert Hall 2000, and that was the opener.  To answer your question, I think 
>he is so underrated because his songwriting overshadows it.  People give 
>Townshend all sorts of credit for Tommy and Who's Next and how revolutionary 
>it was, but they forget what an amazing guitarist he is.  In fact, I'd have 
>to say that ALL things considered, Pete is the most talented rock musician
of 
>all time.  Combine his technical skill on a number of instruments (piano, 
>guitar, bass, banjo, etc) with his on stage action with his songwriting and 
>his beautiful voice, who could possibly be more talented.  He has it all.
>
>mc

mc,     {  FYI This is a re-post from a private E-mail I sent because
		I could not post to the list - Only receive it   }

I agree with you about Pete having it all, and being THE
most overall talented rock musician of ALL time.
The entire genre of rock star and what a rock band is, is
based on Pete Townshend and The Who (a band that he propels
with his talent, and will).   I'd say he is the Yoga of
music because of the collective impact that he has had
on the scene with his talent, but because he has his dark
side, I'd compare him more with Anikan (not Vader).

The peons that create these lists are looking at two types
of guitarists - LEAD (note bending, fret board tapping, single
note progression riffing) guitarists, and BLUES (slow, methodical,
blue chord interludes) guitarists.   Townshend can and does
both of these well, but most of his songs (studio recorded)
do not contain any of these "benchmark" arrangements or techniques.

He is by far the leader in a an entire other category:

I call it the Combo style.  The
five-fingered - pick, and strum;  base and rhythm; finger and pick;
single note and chord; key signature changing; fast-strum with
sustained-drama-building sonic explosions - style.

In this category there are only 5 guitarists that "I KNOW OF", and
their rankings are not only ordered but scaled by their greatness.
The gaps represent and exponential, not linear scale.

1.     Pete Townshend
8.     Simon Townshend
15.    Keith Richards
24.    Dave Matthews
1025.  Joe Lewinski - Yeah Joe in Philly

I am a decent guitarist and can play most who material on an acoustic.
However, I cannot even come close to comparing talent to his even though
I am attempting to study and gain proficiency in the category.

Joe in Philly

Joe Lewinski
ICANON Associates, Inc.
Phone: 610-313-1850 x 115
Fax: 610-313-1848

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