Pete the Soloist - Great?

[Sigel James Civ 10 ABW/LGCW <James.Sigel@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

>Maybe Pete, nowadays, has had improved his skill on 

>soloing, but in his entire career, he wasn't exactly a

>greater soloist.

I used to think that as well.  For years I believed the usual stereotype of
Pete that he was a great rhythm player, but mediocre at soloing.  Especially
compared to the likes of his contemporaries, Clapton, Beck, and Hendrix.
But that belief has changed with the releases of the new and improved L@L
and IOW.  For me, in all of rock, Pete's solo in IOW's "Naked Eye" is
nothing less than the greatest guitar work I've ever heard.  It's primal,
soul baring, working without a net, and gets me off like no other solo.
Just from those two live albums you've got incredibly original soloing on
YMB (both), Water, AmazJourney, Heaven/Hell, etc, etc, etc...

IMHO, wonderful and exciting stuff - on a level with his contemporaries if
not on a higher level.  Clapton was and is primarily blues based, as was
Hendrix, and so was Beck blues influenced as well (although he evolved as
his career went on more so); that obvious blues style was apparent in most
of their music.  But Pete took his influences and expanded on them, making
them his own.  Sometimes you can identify the more cliched riffs throughout
his career, but for the most part, Pete's playing is entirely unique.  To me
that is more than greatness, that borders - dare I say, genius.

A perfect example is "Substitute".  Pete said that he "stole" the famous
opening riff from Keith Richard's opening riff on "19th Nervous Breakdown".
I play guitar and I've never found the connection between those two songs.
So, Pete heard "19th", "stole" the riff (somehow) and made into something
else, completely original.  It isn't a traditional solo, it's more of a
chord solo, but it is soloing.  For me, that is greatness, if not the "G"
word.

Jim in Colo Springs

PS, can anyone give a little more info about that DvD of the Who performace
at Woodstock that was mentioned earlier this week?  Thanks.