The Who solo recommendations ?

[GuitarGeek]

I don't get the love for EF. That had to be the most boring thing that Pete ever wrote.

It's head and shoulders above throwaways like Athena (yeah, I know who "Athena" was, I still think the "she's not just a girl, she's a bomb" refrain is terrible), Do You Steal My Money, and Cache Cache.

I love that cool two note guitar riff, plus Entwistle's bass line in the choruses, and Pete tended to play some nice solos on the live versions (actually, on the studio version, the actual playing during the solo is great, it's just the guitar tone he has that's terrible). And I like the Fender Rhodes on there too. Memo to Yamaha: this is what an electric piano is supposed to be sound like!

[GuitarGeek]

What you call a "great groove", I call redundant and repetitive. I didn't find much value in the Kenney Jones era except for the fact that Pete was saving his best stuff for his solo albums.

I think there's some good songs on both those albums, particularly the Entwistle compositions. You has a great 8 string bass riff, The Quiet One is a bad ass rocker in the mold of My Wife (in fact, I think I read that John intended The Quiet One to replace My Wife, which I guess by then had proven unintentionally prophetic), Dangerous has another really sweet line bass line and It's Your Turn was a pretty decent song too. I know he had one other song on It's Hard, called One At A Time, but the only thing I actually remember from that one is the horn riff on the intro.

As for Pete's songs, on Face Dances, I like Another Tricky Day and Don't Let Go The Coat. I liked You Better You Bet a lot more before it got run into the ground by MTV, VH-1, and the band itself (YBYB is the one song from that era they've consistently played since then) and before I noticed the self referential allusion to Who's Next. On It's Hard, I like I've Known No War, A Man Is A Man, It's Hard itself, Eminence Front and Cry If You Want.

[JIF]

It's head and shoulders above throwaways like Athena (yeah, I know who "Athena" was, I still think the "she's not just a girl, she's a bomb" refrain is terrible), Do You Steal My Money, and Cache Cache.

I love that cool two note guitar riff, plus Entwistle's bass line in the choruses, and Pete tended to play some nice solos on the live versions (actually, on the studio version, the actual playing during the solo is great, it's just the guitar tone he has that's terrible). And I like the Fender Rhodes on there too. Memo to Yamaha: this is what an electric piano is supposed to be sound like!

Who was Athena? Btw, I have a special place in my heart for White City. My dad had that on tape when I was little. I love the opening SFX on Give Blood. Too bad that the radio station(95.5 KLOS) cuts that part out every time that song is played. Despite my vow not to buy cds from solo artists, I kept that one. I have the Hip-O remaster. Love the 12" version of Hiding Out.

[GuitarGeek]

Who was Athena?

The original title of Athena was Theresa, and was inspired by actress Theresa Russell, who was married to director Nicholas Roeg. At the time, Pete was trying yet again to get Lifehouse off the ground, and I guess Roeg was involved in the proposed movie project. Somewhere along the way, Pete (who was also still married at the time) and Theresa apparently had a tryst. I think Pete said he changed the title of the song because "I had no intention of releasing a song called Theresa", presumably because at the time, it would have been obvious to everyone who the song was about. If you ask me, he should have not bothered releasing the song at all!

[Adm.Kirk]

What you call a "great groove", I call redundant and repetitive. I didn't find much value in the Kenney Jones era except for the fact that Pete was saving his best stuff for his solo albums.

No problems with the Kenny Jones era. As far as EF goes, it does have a great groove and Entwistle is great on that track. I like the lyrics and the attitude of it too.

Bill

[JIF]

No problems with the Kenny Jones era. As far as EF goes, it does have a great groove and Entwistle is great on that track. I like the lyrics and the attitude of it too.

Bill

I love It's Hard; Face Dances, not so much.

[trurl]

What you call a "great groove", I call redundant and repetitive.

And vise versa... I've heard the same said about James Brown. Diff'rent strokes... I think Eminence Front is a good tune.

[trurl]

It's head and shoulders above throwaways like Athena (yeah, I know who "Athena" was, I still think the "she's not just a girl, she's a bomb" refrain is terrible),

Back in those days before the interwebs that song would come on the radio and I was convinced he was saying "She's a whore!!" I was kind of shocked

[GuitarGeek]

Back in those days before the interwebs that song would come on the radio and I was convinced he was saying "She's a whore!!" I was kind of shocked

The first time I heard it, before seeing the lyric sheet, I thought it was "She's a boy", which seems ironic given Pete's subsequent comments about his "gay lifestyle" and bisexuality.

[80s were ok]

And vise versa... I've heard the same said about James Brown. Diff'rent strokes... I think Eminence Front is a good tune.

another vote for Eminence Front. Always loved the vibe of this tune. Video was a great too. A good early MTV classic.

[Adm.Kirk]

Back in those days before the interwebs that song would come on the radio and I was convinced he was saying "She's a whore!!" I was kind of shocked

When I first heard Eminence Front I thought they were singing Women that fuck!

[JIF]

When I first heard Eminence Front I thought they were singing Women that fuck!

Well, those can be put ons, too.

[JJ88]

I think both of those 80s Who albums are well below par, myself, and the nadir of their output for me. I quite like 'Eminence Front' but don't love it. 'Another Tricky Day' isn't bad, 'You Better You Bet' is likeable enough. Can't think of much else. I don't care for 'Athena' at all.

I'm only familiar with Pete Townshend's 'Empty Glass' and his 2-cd 'Anthology'. I would certainly agree that he clearly had better material on these than was on The Who albums of that time. 'And I Moved', 'The Sea Refuses No River' etc., all strong songs.

[JIF]

The Entwistle record I liked best was Too Late The Hero. Some cool bass lines on that record, sounds like an 8 string on Try Me, and you've got Joe Walsh on guitar. How can you go wrong?

The thing about Townshend's records is mostly of the "singer/songwriter" variety. There's some good songs on those records (and David Gilmour guesting on a couple songs on White City), but don't go looking for "lost" Who songs or whatever (though I still say Face Dances Pt. 2, Rough Boys and maybe a couple others would have made good Who songs).

I thought the first Scoop album (the only one I heard) was pretty good, though I probably haven't heard it in nearly 30 years. Liked the solo performances of So Sad About Us and Behind Blue Eyes. There's also a cool synthesizer solo piece on that there. I also remember there being a kind of funky piano based instrumental that I liked.

For Daltrey, I only know the singles, but I always thought these ones were cool:

White City sounds like no "singer-songwriter" album I have heard.

[syncopatico]

When I first heard Eminence Front I thought they were singing Women that fuck!

I had a silly friend who thought they were singing "Living is fun", which at least is a very positive affirmation.

He also thought Peter Gabriel was singing "She's so funky, yeah" rather than in French.

[GuitarGeek]

He also thought Peter Gabriel was singing "She's so funky, yeah" rather than in French.

A lot of people did, apparently. I remember thinking it was "She's so..." something, but I can't remember what I might have thought the last three syllables were.

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

And a lot of people thought Gabriel was singing about Jacques, the Monkey.

Meanwhile, back at the Who...

[mozo-pg]

I thought San Jacinto was Silent Central.

[mozo-pg]

I thought San Jacinto was Silent Central.

Back to the Who...

[ajcmixer]

Wow, not a lot of love 'round here for Empty Glass. I think that it is pretty much a fantastic album, even the weaker songs fit in nicely, love the flow of the album but truly do love many of the songs but the closing three tracks, A Little Is Enough, the title track and Gonna Get You simply flat out rock. I enjoy this album more thru and thru than The Who's following two albums, though they have a couple of good songs on each and each has one of my favorite Who songs (Another Tricky Day off Face Dances and Eminence Front off It's Hard). But, for me, Empty Glass is a keeper as opposed to the aforementioned Who albums.

And whoever first quoted the Townsend/Lane collaboration Rough Mix had it on the money, a wonderful if not quirky album.

Peace,
Alex

[80s were ok]

I think "Empty Glass" is a classic and has a major prog connection with Raphael Rudd.

[JIF]

I think "Empty Glass" is a classic and has a major prog connection with Raphael Rudd.

Who's he?

[Adm.Kirk]

I love Empty Glass as well. Probably my 2nd or 3rd favorite depending on my mood.

Bill

[ItalProgRules]

I'm listening to a call-in radio show right now, the topic is "gayest song ever." He just played "Rough Boys" and it made me think of this thread.

[saatuk]

Off topic, but related, I really like the Thunderclap Newman - Hollywood Dream album. Even though Townsend formed the band, I know he just played with it in the studio , but completists might want to check it out.