Re: TheWho Digest Vol 2 Num 23

[Mike.Westbrook@hcsd.hac.com (Mike Westbrook)]

} Date: Mon, 30 Jan 1995 20:00:08 -0500
} From: TAPEBOY@aol.com
} Subject: Re: TheWho Digest Vol 2 Num 23
} 
}...
} i hear pete's been spending a lot of time up in toronto lately for the
} opening of tommy there.   any subscribers here from toronto?

I saw an all-too-short clip of an interview on CBC (or CBC Newsworld)
with Townshend, which was interesting enough, though all I really
remember him saying was a comment about performing and expressing that
rock-and-roll/mod/punk anger and nastiness, something along the lines of
explaining or mentioning, "I'm not *proud* of standing on the stage,
pretending to machine-gun the crowd <and things like that>..."  Once
again demonstrating that people who listen to parts of a quote and
conclude that Pete is a total bastard are being, to say the least,
*extremely* superficial!

Of course, one might say something similar about people who consider it
sacrilege to have Pete Townshend's *music* played and interpreted by
other *musicians* than the Who.  Geez, guys, lighten up!  If you don't
want to hear anything by the LSO or the Moody Blues, just plain don't!
If you want to argue with me, first tell me how you liked the *original*
version of Young Man Blues (by Mose Allison), and how it compares with
the Who version, and why the Who shouldn't have played it any differently
than Mose because to change a blues song into an angry rocker--including
adding "got" to "A young man ain't nothing in the world these days"--
makes it _different_ ...

There are plenty -- *PLENTY* -- of Pete Townshend songs which could be
interpreted differently than the Who's versions, and still sound good.
Or don't you think any of Pete's songs are strong enough?  Let's also
face it, the Who versions were rarely identical to the Townshend demos--
have any of you folks out there bought both the Who versions and Pete's
demos???  ;-)

> Mike <