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Re: Not fading away



Yeah, poor Pete Townshend. A Stones wannabee failure. He wanted so
badly to be able to write simple-minded, sex-starved, low-brow, un-
challenging songs

Scott:

You mean like Paint It Black, Mother's Little Helper, Dancing With Mr. D, Citadel, Dandelion (one of the most wonderful songs ever written), Get Off Of My Cloud, etc. etc.? SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL, for Frith's sake! Not to mention Street Fighting Man, one of the most intelligent sexuality-neutral, highbrow, challenging character studies ever written? Or Gimme Shelter, a damned fine essay on abandonment (pre-Quad, for the record) and then there's the perfectly evil Midnight Rambler and the equally wonderful You Can't Always Get What You Want! And need I mention that NO BAND can write a "put down" song better than the Stones? I'd say this is as good a line as Pete ever wrote: "You're OBSOLETE my baby..." Damn, that's well put! "Now she's the sweetest little PET in the world..." Nah. I'm not buying your assessment. "Mah favorite flavor, cherry ray-ed...."

 that uneducated, trashy, unintelligent people could 

You mean like Pete Townshend????????

with was weak efforts along the lines of TOMMY & QUADROPHENIA.

Well, while obviously different I'd say Satanic Majesties is at least as strong a concept (the dark side of the drug culture) as Tommy, and YEARS ahead of its time. Followed by Beggar's Banquet, a perfect example of how to spit in the eye of the popular musical trends with fantastic and heartfelt tunes about the working class? Let's hear it for the Salt Of The Earth! Pete and Keith (Moon) could definitely dig it! Oh, and before I go on I have to mention that Ya-Ya's stands with LAL and the Allmans' Fillmore East as one of the three best live Rock albums EVER recorded. You don't want my trousers to fall down, now DO YA?

level of art than, say, THE WHO SELL OUT or WHO'S NEXT. They should be
real proud.

Oh, while once again different I'd say Exile On Main Street is the ultimate concept album on the history or Rock N Roll music, just as Quad is the definitive concept album on adolescence. As essential as WN, easily. And while I'd give the nod to SO, Satanic is as good a concept even if the songs are (for the most part) not as strong. Then again, there's She's A Rainbow...I'm in heaven, and Jackie Wilson hasn't even smiled. Ah, what about Ruby Tuesday? Who could hang a (bad) name on that one?

So they went on too long. I mean, why do you think I worry so much about The Who? So instead of a raspberry for your anti-Stones crusade, my friend Scott, I'll merely leave you with this taunt: Your father's still perfecting ways of making sealing wax! I know, I know...it's just that mean old life that's got you in its sway...


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