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More Fastball on Who tribute CD



Fastball just can't stop talkin' 'bout The Who, bless 'em.
This is from Spin online at:
http://www.spin.com/new/daily/news/20010525-4.html

Fastball Talk Who Tribute? Who?
The Who are definitely a band worthy of a tribute, but where to start? Seems
Bob Pridden, the Who's live sound engineer for many years, has figured that
out. Pridden first got the idea to assemble a Who covers album while
producing "The Seeker" for a (U.K. band) Cast b-side. He and his family were
so impressed with the results that he began ringing up other groups and
asking if they would like to have a go at Pete Townshend's catalog. The
result is Substitute, a Who tribute album to be released by Edel on June 12.

It's certainly not surprising to find that many artists are Who fans, which
is probably why Pridden was able to assemble an impressive roster including
David Bowie, Paul Weller, Pearl Jam and Phish for Substitute. And another
contributor is Fastball. Bassist Tony Scalzo spoke with Spin.com recently
about the band's rendition of "The Real Me." "We were approached about the
project this time last year in London," Scalzo said. "We had to narrow down
a long list and it ended up taking about eight months to record it." And
Pridden couldn't have picked a better time to ask Fastball, as Scalzo had
just read Keith Moon's biography and was "going through my latest period of
Who obsession." After considering songs like "Go To The Mirror," "Guitar In
Your Pen," and "Naked Eye" (which ended up being recorded by Unamerican),
Fastball settled on "The Real Me." And yes, he thinks they have bettered the
earlier take on the song-by W.A.S.P. "I think our version's better. That
version just took all the life out of it you know?"

Although the Who did not lend their approval to each step of the album,
Townshend, having been approached before about tributes, felt the project
was in good hands this time under Pridden, and gave him carte blanche to
contact the artists of his choosing. More surprising than the roster,
though, is what they chose. Many participating band glossed over obvious
choices for slightly more obscure picks, like Paul Weller's "Circles" and
David Bowie's "Pictures Of Lily." Scalzo counts Phish's "5:15," from their
Halloween Quadrophenia show, and Sheryl Crow's "Behind Blue Eyes" as his
personal favorites. All those involved tried their best to do justice to one
of rock's most beloved catalogs, and it's easy to imagine there was some
microphone cord twirling and guitar windmilling going on in the studio
judging by the energy apparent in all the tracks. "I wanted to feel like the
Who playing live," Scalzo said of their recording session in Atlanta. So
given that no one went the route of extreme experimentation over faithful
rocking out on Substitutes, Pridden has come up with a solid set that should
make fans, and the Who themselves, very happy.

By Jay Nagy (declan63@home.com)

        -Brian in Atlanta
         The Who This Month!
        http://members.home.net/cadyb/who.htm