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Re: No Subject



Ian, re:

>I can't remember where I read this but I know Pete seemed to be grasping for
straws when talking about writing for the Who after Face Dances.  He said
something to the effect of "what am I going to write about, soybeans, nuclear
armament, famine?"  It's good that some people really enjoy It's Hard (I like
a few "how can you listen?" albums myself), I just sense the confusion of
Townshend trying to write for the band on this album.  OTOH, he seemed free
to write as a solo artist and didn't place extra burden on himself.

Your sorta close on the quote, but a bit out of context. Pete came out of
rehab in CA and joined the band, who were already rehearsing with Andy Fair
Weather-Low. At that point, Pete asked the other band members, basically what
was important to them, what would they like this album to "say". And it seems
they all cared deeply about the planet, etc, etc... So, Pete went back and
wrote those songs as a result of their "meetings". He further went on to say
something to the effect that writing songs for the Who is a cinch, after all
the years he's been doing it...

One of the interesting things about Pete's interview in "The Naked Eye" is
that Pete seems to lack the confidence in himself when he writes songs... for
example, he described the way that he ran home to write "Pinball Wizard",
just to impress a reviewer who was a big pinball fan, etc, etc and was very
nervous and embarrassed over the song, only to find out how everyone loved it
and it went on to become one of their greatest hits. It seems Pete is still
writing songs daily! (As in "Daily Records"?) Probably, what Pete misses most
in his life, is Kit Lambert. I'm sure after a while, all these songs become
one big blur (Pete also has said that he feels he's always writing "I Can't
Explain" over and over again...) and probably very difficult for him to tell
the difference between what maybe great, good or even fair. It's probably
difficult being objective over your own work. 

I'm sure at the time, Pete may have thought, "these are great songs", but may
feel different about them today. As (sorta) proof of that, I seem to think
they are, you don't... In a similar vain, Pete now says that "Empty Glass"
wouldn't have worked as a Who album, but yet previously at the time, he said,
"...had The Who been recording at the time, 'Empty Glass' would have been the
album released..."

So...

-wf