Re: Andnow for something "completely different.."

[JB2TheWho@aol.com]

Beau,

I thought you made two superb points in your last note (excerpt cited below).

For what it's worth, and I'm not suggesting this may apply to "ATHENA", but
in general (as regards listening to the songs, lyrics in hand and putting
both together to get a handle on precisely what's the intended meaning...),
that's an excellent method...However, if you really want to mess with you own
head vis a vis THE WHO and PETE's genius, do exactly the process described
above, decide firmly upon a meaning, and then go back and listen to PETE's
original "Demo" and get totally messed up and confused all over again - But
it also gives you yet another insight into the unique genius of PETE
TOWNSHEND.

(I am assuming that you are famaliar with the "demos"?? (If not, since Pete
writes everything for the band, he NEVER submits a song on paper -- instead,
and since the earilest days, he records the entire song, playing all the
different instruments, and even over-dubbing when more than one vocal is
called for, and then presents the song to THE WHO by playing them these
remarkable creations which PETE for someodd reason insists on calling
"DEMOS". 

(You can also get an even rarer sense of the genius of Roger Daltrey, or at
least, what THE WHO would be missing without him (A LOT!!). PETE's my hero
but he's not the most macho guy in the world and some of his love songs,
especially the early ones like "I can't explain" sound like George Bush OFF
of steroids --Pure Cane Syrup!! Then Roger gets ahold of it and the end
result is a ultra-cool sort of "snarl" instead of a wimpy "Oh..I'm so
lovestuck...gee..I can't even explain.." sort of deal. (Now what me get the
S$#T flamed out of myself
as people jump to the notion that I'd be dumb enough to compare PETE and
ROG..can't be done..and PETE's without a doubt one of the great artistic
geniuses of our century, perhaps our age.....but listening to the demos is a
real RUSH).

You can find them released on two different CD's (one of them a DOUBLE), and
PETE has included material from the latest and the earliest albums, along
with superb "liner notes" which are remarkably well written, candid and quite
enlightening!! (There was also a demo of a famous WHO cut in the original
(and now very RARE version of the famous Richard Barnes book, and another in
the book on the broadway show). The two commercially released DEMO cd's are
called "SCOOP" and "ANOTHER SCOOP" respectively.

Finally, I couldn't agree with you more in your second coment about the
beauty of PETE lyrics --- there are some astonishing lyrics on that last
(well, close to) WHO LP which get overlooked far too frequently -- check out
"I'll Never Know War" which has one delicious line...(OK I'll paraphrase and
get the date wrong, but check out the wonderful line about the end of the
Nazis, playing off of the word "defeated....(then..next line).........and
ALBERT SPEER was deleted." Somehow, I can't imagine Mick Jagger or Bowie or
anyone (cept Dylan, of course), coming up with a line that tight!

Regards,



JB2The---WHO!

In a message dated 97-07-03 01:19:25 EDT, Beau.McCrury@ucop.edu (Beau
McCrury) writes:

<<    like, especially since he wrote the song in the first
    place.
 3- It's subjective!  Whatever I walk away thinking from
    this little listening session I plan is purely that.
    I might still come away with the use of the word whore
    meaning more to my interpretation than bomb.  At 
    least I go into my listening room with a new premise
    that you all have provided with me here.
 4- From a few weeks ago someone put the lyrics up to
    Athena, I don't remember who.  What I do remember is
    thinking, god what a great bunch of lyrics.  Is Pete
    cool or what.  And they say it's only rock and roll.
  >>