Re: Pinball Wizard An Embarrassment?

["Schrade, Scott" <sschrade@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Regarding critic Nik Cohn's influence on TOMMY, let's keep a few things
in mind.

Nik Cohn didn't write "Pinball Wizard."  Pete did.  I don't think Nik 
Cohn even suggested Pete incorporate pinball into the piece.  

Pete simply played the "pre-pinball" TOMMY for Nik, & Nik commented that
it was too serious & lacked any lightheartedness.

Pete then added the pinball aspect to lighten the tone & also, he hoped,
to bolster the prospect of a decent review from his buddy, pinball-addicted
Nik.

Now, I doubt very much that Pete believed Nik's review was going to make
or break the album.  If he was *that* worried about the reviews he would've
asked every critic he knew what they felt the album needed.  And *that* 
would've been questionable behavior.  A complete sell-out.

But to say Pete sold out just because he took one critic's advice to 
lighten the album's mood is stretching a bit.  Was Pete selling himself
out every time he asked Kit Lambert *his* opinion on something?

One might say "No" because Kit Lambert wasn't a paid music critic but I'm
not sure that's the point here.  Again, Nik Cohn's review wasn't gonna
make or break this album.  Nik Cohn was a mate.  A respected friend.  

Pete simply asked his advice & acted on it. *Pete* thought up the pinball
idea, not Nik Cohn.  

It strikes me more as an "inside joke" type of thing than some sneaky
attempt to get a good review.  I mean, if Pete thought Nik Cohn was stupid
enough to give a thumbs-up to the album just because it had a pinball
element in it, then that's not saying much for Pete's admiration & respect
for Nik Cohn, is it?.  Why ask for his advice in the first place if he's 
that shallow?

Kit Lambert must've signed off on the change, too.  We're all aware of his
great involvement in TOMMY.  So what's the big deal?

Pete accepted some advice from a critic.  And in trying to come up with
a way to lighten the album's mood, he used an interest/hobby of said crit-
ic, who, it must be remembered, was a friend of Pete's.  Sell out?  Hardly.

It's just part of the process in which TOMMY was created.  Good ideas. Dis-
carded ideas.  Good advice.  Bad advice.  All controlled & overseen by
Pete, & to a lesser extent Kit Lambert.

Was it a sell-out for Pete to write "Sally Simpson" after seeing a girl 
get bloodied-up at a Doors concert?  Was Pete stealing that image, that
occurrence, in order to benefit his project?  Of course not.

So, if you're embarrassed by Pete's pinball inclusion in TOMMY, then fine.
But remember this:  It was Pete's idea.  Not Nik Cohn's.  And it wasn't
any type of sell-out because there was no way in hell Nik Cohn was going
to make or break the TOMMY album.  Pete knew that & so did Nik, I'm sure.

So what's really behind this supposed sell-out in TOMMY?  Pete asks for
advice.  Pete agrees with the advice.  Pete comes up with an idea.  Pete
incorporates the new idea into the piece.

Wow.  How horribly unethical.


- SCHRADE in Akron