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Universal QUAD



>I was once again blown away by the depth this work has.  Above and beyond 
>anything else Pete has written, this has a subtlety and complexity unmatched.
>The whole work is written in the format of a classical symphony, in movements
>and themes.. in fact at the time it was released it was referred to in several
>ads as a "Rock Symphony".  The open ending, along with the complexity of 
>(what there is) for a resolution rings out with many great works of fiction.
>In all, this is one of the most, if not the most, literary pieces ever done
>in Rock and Roll.

Mason:

I've been playing QUAD daily for some time now in the store...to the point
where the regulars roll their eyes when they come in (no, I'm kidding)...and
I can't (after 23 years) get enough of it. But I am planning on playing only
Taking The Capitol and The QUAD Demos until the remix is released...just so
I can appreciate the new version while still preparing myself for this
incredible show we're about to witness.
I can't say enough of the depth and complexity of this work. To say it's
Townshend's peak understates the matter. TOMMY transcended Rock music, but
QUAD defined it (one reason I'm not eager to see a production version). Even
the movie, which changed the story to a great degree, was still based in the
real dirty, gritty life of which Rock is a reflection. Street life, I called
it when I was a street person.
I find it interesting that Townshend states during the live version:
"QUADROPHENIA is about where we're all at today...maybe you too, I don't
know." This is what I've always gotten out of the album from day one (didn't
hear the live version till `78 when KBFH rebroadcast): it's not about what
happened but what happens. What IS happening to us all, all of the time.
Life and its little interactions. Little, I say, for even as they are
universal they aren't important individually. On a collective basis,
however, they ARE important...they make us what we are.
It doesn't matter that the actual events depicted in QUAD aren't the
same...the importance lies in the feelings and the way they are dealt with.
THAT is the same for us all, or for the most part, no matter the culture.
I find that statement the best of all I've seen Pete say about QUAD. The
album is about where we're all at today, because what has happened has made
us that way. Maybe us too, he hopes. Yes, I hope so too Pete. I hope that
many more are given the opportunity to "get" QUAD and its complexity and
multi-level meanings (and music).
Waiting impatiently for the remix and the concert...



                   Cheers                   ML

"Never underestimate the power of human stupidity."  L. Long