Alanis et.al.

["Gary M. Gillman" <garyg@inforamp.net>]

Interesting how some people feel the need to slag, often quite sharply,
artists such as Alanis Morisette, Debbie Gibson, Steve Perry, Styx,
Foreigner, Mellencamp, etc. etc.. I think that`s unfair. None of these
people are remotely near to the special talent and genius of the Who, but
many of them are very talented and they`re rock or pop musicians who
certainly deserve to be heard - after all, it`s only rock and roll... and we
like it... or should like it. The early Who covered a lot of acts, which
today would be considered lightweights, simply because they dug the sound or
groove of these bands. And I`m not ashamed to say I like Morisette`s current
album - it`s ten times better than the Cranberries or Smashing Pumpkins or a
lot of that other stuff that goes by the name of rock these days. Her album
is more original and rocks out better than that awful Oases, who play songs
that sound like bad outtakes from 60`s albums by the Kinks, Who, and
Beatles. And I liked Debbie Gibson`s version of I Saw Her Standing There -
it took guts to cover that song and she did fine job.  She`s better than
most of the acts around today, who are too "authentic" to cover a song by a
classic earlier act. The members of the Who always supported the most
enthusiastic and seemingly talented young bands of the day - hence PT`s
support of the early punk bands, Rog`s choice of Linda Perry to sing some
songs on the DST tour and JAE`s choice of Joni`s Butterfly to open his
recent shows. Does it matter if any of these choices won`t become deathless
contributions to the galaxy of rock greats? The Who don`t seem to care, and
neither do I......Gary M.