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Re: Pete Townshend guitar hero?
> His playing the past 4 or 5 years has become standard and boring full
> of triplet-hammer on runs and banging the guitar....
I know what you're saying but I wouldn't describe it as "boring." His soloing
*is* more "noodly" where as in the past it was more "blocky," but the emotion
is definitely still there.
And I wouldn't use "standard" as an adjective to describe his playing either.
His solos are much too chaotic & manic to be called "standard." It's almost as
if they're "anti-solos." They're not always pretty or decorous but that's good.
Life isn't always pretty & decorous. I *want* craziness & discord in my Pete
Townshend solos. And I'm still getting that.
I like when he gets what I call "sticks." Where he sharply plucks a solo note
& throws his right hand in the air & holds that note for a second or two. Ouch!
Sharp & cutting like a stab with a knife. Piercing. Beautifully simplistic & ex-
pressive.
And those newish noodling triplets you spoke of......I love 'em! They burst forth
like untamed electricity. Sporadic in their placement & gorgeous in their messi-
ness, they seem to drop in out of nowhere & end just as abruptly. Beautiful.
Yes, Pete's playing *has* changed over the years & his solos aren't the pro-
gressing stacked eighth notes of the LIVE AT LEEDS era but you know what?
He still keeps me guessing.
I've seen seven Who shows in the past two years & no Pete solo has been the
same. Each time he starts one I get goosebumps because I don't know where
it's gonna take me. I can only surrender myself like some kind of religious fan-
atic & let his guitar wash over me & channel through me. Sweet holy Moses!
Amen, brother! Pete still does it for me!
- SCHRADE in Akron