Re: Roger's voice 2002 tour vs CFNYC

["Jim Anon" <petenotped@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

From: Sroundtable@aol.com

Remember, he is singing songs which were written for a 20s Roger, who had 
probably the most remarkable voice range in the business.  He is now singing 
the same songs at 58, so he has to work much harder to nail the notes, and 
doesn't always succeed.  I don't mind, because it simply means he's human, 
and I appreciate him even more for laying it on the line for us even when 
he's not at his best.  That's a professional.

---------------

I'll go along with all of that.  I didn't mean to sound so harsh.  The stuff 
I've heard from him on the tour sounds much better than he did at the NYC 
concert, and I really regret not having gone to one of the Tweeter Center 
(Mansfield) shows.  You're absolutely right that I should give them all more 
credit for putting it out there at fifty- whatever.  I mean, they still kick 
the shit out of the Rolling Stones, right?

What I was feeling at the time of the shows was a sort of frustration that 
things had only just come back together for the band almost 20 years after 
Keith's death.  I mean, I didn't mind Kenny, but he was so controlled 
compared to Keith that it didn't feel like The Who in concert to me.  I 
never saw the band with Keith, so I thought I'd never really see them 
authentically.  By the time they replaced Kenny, Pete had to play acoustic, 
and that was just wrong.  Now they had a great lineup, with a drummer who 
could actually give a hint of what Keith was about, Pete's kicking ass and 
then all of a sudden it seems like Roger's voice is failing and John up and 
dies.  I was like, "fuck, it took them 20 years to figure out how to sound 
like The Who again, and now it's gone."

Since you guys clued me in on the Encore series I've started going back and 
seeing what else is out there.  I don't think I ever truly appreciated just 
what an incredible live band this was, and still is.  I've been downloading 
some bootlegged stuff that I never got around to listening to.  Even through 
some of the dreadful recordings, you get chills from the sheer raw energy.  
I've come away with a couple of opinions: One, Blues to the Bush must be the 
best live stuff they did after Keith's death and will never be surpassed, 
now that John's gone.  If there's anything from that era that's better, let 
me know, 'cause I want to hear it.  The other is that Live at Leeds is 
simply impossible to live up to.  What power.  What simplicity.  Not a 
single thing that is not absolutely necessary.  If I could go back in time, 
I'd be hard pressed to think of one thing I'd rather do than go see The Who 
live in 1970.

Jim M

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