[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Rough Mix Deux



From: "L. Bird" <pkeets@hotmail.com>
"Buck (on another list) has said it's likely Pete meant the mixture of songs by different writers without a theme, rather than the general sound of ROUGH MIX..."

I mostly agree with your characterisation of Buck's view. I think that he's not talking about the final product, but the process of creating it. At this point, they would get themselves in trouble if they were envisioning the final product.

"Because The Who performs all the songs, it can be hard to tell on a brief listen whether the song was written by Pete or John. I see no reason that Roger's songs shouldn't sound similar to the others, because they will have been processed by the band."

...and presumably recorded in the same studio by the same producer and engineer. Didn't Pete and Ronnie lane mix up these variables? Why couldn't The Who do that?

"So maybe Pete means they've got some good songs that he'd like to use on an album, but no theme. This seems to indicate that he doesn't mean to take the lead in writing a new album, as he's said he always writes concept albums, regardless of whether it's visible to the fans. If we get a random collection, then it's likely to have only minimal contributions by Pete--a few of those old songs he's dug out of his archives. He throws in a couple of good ones and he's off the hook--just let Roger and John finish it up. Right?"

Right. I think this is the perfect model for The Who at this time. They need to re-develop their creative chemistry. They need to enjoy working together. The partnership is more important than the product at this point in their lives.

"Would TKAA idea still fly? Has two years made enough difference that it's no longer applicable? Or have larger concerns intruded into the public consciousness?"

I think the thing was kind of half-baked all along. They never really cooked it all the way through.

It seems to me (and probably Buck) that we are focusing on the envisioned final product too much. We (as consumers) will naturally focus on this because the final product is what we will consume. From the band's perspective, they need to try and not focus on their vision(s) of the final product. This is what killed them on FD and IH. The creative chemistry was gone (post-Moon), and they didn't stop to consider how to rebuild it. Now is the time to do that.

Let's give them a little room. As long as the senior partners are involved and happy, the final product should be satisfying.

Jeff


_________________________________________________________________
Join the worlds largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com