Gateway WAY; Best Who album?; Daltrey/Townshend vocals

[Marc/Carolyn Hurwitz <hurwitz@ieee.org>]

Keets:

I haven't heard the Gateway WAY yet, although I'm sure I will
someday--I'll either give up my dream and buy LIFEHOUSE ELEMENTS or be
patient and hold out for CHRONICLES.  It certainly *sounds*
interesting--not necessarily good, but interesting.

Re the debate on IT'S HARD, WHO BY NUMBERS, WHO ARE YOU et. al.:  My own
opinion is simply that to me, *every* Who album sounds different.  MY
GENERATION is nothing like SELL OUT is nothing like TOMMY which is
nothing like WHO'S NEXT...You get the idea.  Now, when I first became a
Who fan, FACE DANCES was one of the first Who albums I bought (it had
just come out and "You Better, You Bet" was all over the radio).  I
loved it.  I think part of the reason people hate the later albums is
that they don't conform to their idea of what the Who should sound
like.  Also, Keith's death made a huge difference in people's
perceptions of the band itself.  So which album I prefer today depends
on my mood...although honesty would compell me to state that I think a
few albums stand above the rest in general.  BTW, the early singles have
the most consistent sound of all the Who's output (i.e., they sound the
most like each other).

I'm also interested in the discussion about Townshend's voice vs. Roger
Daltrey's.  I just listened again to WHO CAME FIRST--great record--and
realized that although I love Townshend's versions, the Who's takes on
"Pure and Easy", "Let's See Action/Nothing Is Everything" and "Time Is
Passing" realize the songs more fully, due in good part to Daltrey's
powerful singing.  (IMHO, of course!)  Whenever I hear a Who song,
though, I don't think of Roger singing while I listen; I think of Pete.
An interesting corrundrum.  Some critic once said:  "The wonderful lie
on which the Who is based is that Roger Daltrey is really Pete
Townshend." (paraphrasing)  It's really true.  Somehow Daltrey gets
across the power of Townshend's lyrics, most effectively on the rockers,
but usually on the softer material too.  There, however, Pete usually
does a great job; his voice is more suited to gentle emotions.

Anyway, just my ideas.

--Carolyn
"It's the singer not the song/That makes the music roll along"