RE: The Who Mailing List Digest V8 #317

["Nigel Morton" <nigel@adastey.demon.co.uk>]

Hi everyone, I've just read the digest V8 #317 and there's a number of
points that are made that have made me want to remark.  Firstly, and I may
have already done this, let's have the right birthdate for Keith please,
August 23rd and not September.  By the way there's no particular order to my
thoughts so please, if you're interested, read on.

I see that the Keith / Ringo and Who / Beatles debate is raging on and on.
This, for me, is becoming boring!  We're all entitled to our opinions and
some of us think that Keith's the greatest drummer that's ever lived (I know
that I do), while others prefer Ringo, or Bonham, or Paice or whatever.
DOES it really, really matter?  At the end of the day they both have their
particular strong points and also their weakness'.  An interesting point of
view on Keith was made to me once when I was standing in a recording studio
talking with Glyn Johns (who at that time was producing an act I was
managing) and we were shooting the breeze about all things Who.  Like the
vast majority of people he rated Keith but wished "that he'd stop hitting
the cymbals etc all the fucking time, leave some space".  Since Glyn said
that I've always viewed Keith's talents in a different light which isn't to
say that I don't rate him as the greatest drummer ever, I do.  BUT, I also
believe that the (IMHO) finest music they've ever recorded has been either
engineered or produced by Glyn.  (OK, before you all start queing up, I do
think "It's Hard" is a poor overall album effort and Glyn did work on that
one as well as "Who's Next").

Soemwhere else this week I've read the dislike of many list members as to
what Jon Astley has been doing with out precious "Who" recordings and
remixing them etc, etc.  Again I feel like saying, "hey folks, why all the
griping?"  Could, any of us honestly say that we could actually do better?
If we could we'd already be producing the WHO and others and we'd be very
rich! The fact of the matter is that, as with this drummer verses that
drummer, what sounds good to one set of ears can sound shit to another set.
Personally, I'd love to have Glyn remix / remaster EVERYTHING that the Who
have ever, ever recorded but the chances of that happening are nil!

This brings me to the debate about a new album. I'd love to hear a new album
by The Who BUT I also dread the concept as I felt that "It's Hard" and "Face
Dances" were, with a couple of track exceptions, pretty weak examples of the
combinded musical, lyrical and performing talents of the group members both
individually and collectively.  Perhaps I am stuck in a warp where for me
the ultimate Who moments are best captured on "Live @ Leeds" (ALL fucking
versions); "Meaty, Beaty, Big and Bouncy"; "Who's Next" and "Quadrophenia"
with "Odd's and Sod's" being an interesting "extra" item.   Looking at
Townshends solo output there's some great material and some average
material, what would or could he entrust to Daltrey & Entwhistle that
wouldn't have him (and us) all moaning about it?  I think the answer to that
question is nothing!  How the critics would or could respond to a new Who
album really doesn't bear consideration.  Living here and in the UK I
believe that there's as much a chance that it'd be praised as it would be
slagged off!!

I finally aquired a video of the Royal Albert Hall charity bash from last
year and just want to say here that I think it is fucking brilliant!!  OK, I
can do without Bryan Adams, Paul Weller and Eddie Vedder and I thought I
could do without Noel (I'm a right tosser) Gallagher contributing second
guitar to WGFA but he managed to win me over eventually!!  All in all I
think we're ALL pretty lucky to have a group like The Who as our heroes /
favourites and I'm gratefull to them, individually and collectively for the
absolute pleasure they've brought into my life since '65.  While remarking
about RAH I feel I should also comment about The Concert For New York which
I finally got to see this week after a friend had copied to video his
recording for me and sent it over from New York along with a concert poster.
(I don't have cable here in the tiny village I live in and I couldn't get
MSG tickets even though I tried).

Like most listees (and media) I agree that The Who were THE ACT of the day!
A truly superb performance that was perfect for the occassion.  No matter
the grumbles from a lot of you about Daltrey's voice - for Christsake could
you do as well as he does..........think about it!!  But for me the miost
valid thing was that they truly appeared to be "giving" soemthing.  Unlike
McCartney and Elton John who chose the occassion to air new material that I
think the vast majority of people really didn't want to hear.  They wanted
familiarity, something safe that they knew and with THE WHO they certainly
got it!

Finally, I LOVE THE WHO and also LOVE Springsteen so the recent remarks
against him have been a bit irksome.  Seeing Springsteen at the NEC,
Birmingham in '81 was a brillaint occassion and when he introduced on
guitar, for the encore "Born To Run" a certain Pete Townshend, who then
played the main lead line like a fucking demon, was a moment in my life
where I really think I visited heaven for a brief interlude with the angels,
it ROCKED!!

All the best,

NIGEL MORTON
.