Bad Pub

[Christopher Cappiello]

Scott Schrade <schrade at akrobiz.com> wrote:  
< There is no band cohesion on this album. There is no *band* on
this album. I like bands. The interplay between musicians.
I find none of that here.>


  I agree with this. When I first heard the album I couldn't believe that Zak only played on one track. At first I was terribly disappointed by that. But what I have come to accept, appreciate, and even love is that that's where "The Who" is at these days. It isn't a band. It is Pete and Roger and whomever else they ask to play along. Look no further than the new tour program -- you see photos of Pete and photos of Roger. There are the obligatory single shots of Pino, Simon, Rabbit and Zak, but it is clearly not a program for "a band."  
   
  For me, the album is most successful when it tries to sound the least like what we think of as The Who. I actually look forward to a future tour that has Pete and Roger playing very stripped down versions of classics like "Naked Eye" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" (like the Quad tour encore), as well as material like "Marty Robbins" and "Tea and Theatre." I think they are once again blazing a trail for rock music, this time showing us how rock stars can continue to express themselves into their 60s without being a cartoon of their former selves.
   
  For me, personally, I love that Pete continues to wrestle with the biggest questions of life and creation in his music. As he said in Indian Wells on Saturday, "However old we are, we're still chasing dreams."
   
  "Wake up and hear the music. Wake up and hear the music play." To me, that is Lifehouse and Tommy rolled into one.