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BEHIND BLUE EYES -- book comments



Greetings fellow Whooters:

Just got back from some post-Christmas shopping, during which I ran across
_Behind Blue Eyes_, the recent Pete biography by Geoffrey Giuliano, and
thought I'd throw in my two cents.

First, for you completists out there, the cover was different from the one
I've seen before, which is a headshot of a surprised-looking late-model
Pete on a white background.  This one (still hardcover) had a black
background with a picture of a teenager-ish Pete, holding a guitar I think,
cut with a circular border.  Inside, though, it said First printing, Nov.
1996.  OK, moving on:

Discalimer:  All I knew about the book is what I read on the list, which
seems to claim that it's just cobbled together from old interviews and
doesn't have much "new meat" in it, yet contains some interesting
information nonetheless.    I also have some prejudice against shelling out
$25 plus tax for the few good bits of a book if it's generally useless.

I'm certainly not the most knowledgable Who fan you'll ever meet,
especially caught without reference materials in a bookstore, but I found
three simple factual errors in a quick here-and-there sampling, including
one on the very first page of the introduction):

p. ix (Intro):  quotes lyrics from "The Song is Over" as "I sing my song to
the infinite sea."  (correct lyrics:  I sing my song to the wide open
spaces/I sing my heart out to the infinite sea")

p. x:  says he spoke with Pete in "spring of 1990, during the Who's _The
Kids Are Alright_ reunion tour"  (TKAA tour was actually June-Nov. 1989).

p. 288:  cites Pete appearance on _Late Night with David Letterman_ as June
29, 1989; actually was June 28.  June 29 Pete was performing with a few
other folks at the Meadowlands.

p. 291:  on his timeline of events in Pete's life, cites the book _Behind
Blue Eyes_ itself:  "November 1996, "the first biography of the Who's
philosophical powerhouse is published worldwide".  I doubt this is _the_
first Pete bio, but not being the most knowledgable Who fan you'll ever
meet, I'm not dead sure this is incorrect.  However, it strikes me as a bit
unseemly to blow his own horn like this, plus it seems at least debatable
that the publishing of this book is a major event in _Pete's_ life.

Also, FWIW, out of probably 30 people in the list of acknowledgements,
Pete's name is the _only_ one I recognized, aside from His Divine Highness
A C Something-I-can't-remember, a prominent figure in the Hindu religion.
Perhaps the people acknowledged had a lot to do with the book publishing
itself, but apparently he either had no significant contact with people
actually in the Who camp, or they were not willing to be acknowledged.

On the positive side, the parts I skimmed were well-written, held my
interest and gave me some information I didn't know before concerning Pete.
Exactly how true this info is, I don't know, since again he doesn't cite
anyone who would know other than Pete himself, and I don't know how much
time Pete spent with GG working on this.

Recommendation:  wait for it to show up in half-price stores.


Alan

"When I'm on stage, it's not like bein' possessed...it's just...*I* *do*
*my* *job*."                 - Pete Townshend