Word: townshends
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...have." Joe, a lecturer in the philosophy and psychology of physical education at London University, was visiting the U.S., unaware that Mick was already changing his image. In London, he threw a Lucullan feast on his 30th birthday for some 200 friends, including Debbie Reynolds, Britt Eklund and Peter Townshend of The Who, and sported a new and different look: short back and sides hairdo and a zoot suit. Does this portend a new career? Journalist Tony Scaduto's recent biography, Mick Jagger: Everybody's Lucifer, implies this could be so. Mick is quoted as saying...
...that did, it's true, tend to run together a bit. I suspect the majority of the crowd was unfamiliar with the work as a whole (requests for Tommy were shut off with a brusque, "Where've ya been?"), and that hurt the performance some. Certain things were revealed: Townshend is a conservative guitarist--underneath the windmilling is a man who plays crisp licks and lines and is a master of transitions. He alternates finger-picking, chording and single notes with intelligence and grace, particularly in "I'm One," and the opening of "5:15." He plays with power, though...
...introduction. There are four songs to warm up, Quadrophenia, then three more songs. The warm-ups are a smattering of history. And they are run off like copies--"Can't Explain," "Summertime Blues," "My Wife," and "My Generation." Their essence is a fifteen second repetition of those windmill chords Townshend has made famous. They succeed like calisthenics--Daltry twirls his mike, Townshend does his splits, Moon acts like a three year old, Entwhistle does nothing, and the audience sits on its hands...
There's nothing difficult about these songs; they've got volume, crispness, precision, but no life. In fact, nothing really happens until midway through "My Wife," when Townshend finds a riff he can work on, Moon and Entwhistle lock into a solid rhythm and Daltry sees fit to chant "keep on movin'" over the top of it all. It brings a noticeable surge in intensity. "My Generation" is similarly structured and similarly extended, but awkward because it no longer incorporates pieces of Tommy. Townshend resurrects it by adding a simple solo to the break...
...substantial amounts of same written into the song...well, there was an obvious emotional peak. "Pinball Wizard" initiated hysteria--as much because it's from the by now deified Tommy as for any musical worth. It was well done, and faithful, with Daltry finally in good voice and Townshend alternating subtleties and musical invective. "See Me, Feel Me" is the closing number. It is Tommy's strongest song and, as a finale, is head and shoulders above "Love, Reign O'er Me." Done live, as an obvious climax, it's a second emotional peak...