Pete Townshend Albums (17)
What The Critics Say
This is an archival release designed for the fans, and it should be treated that way. That means while there are certainly interesting variations of familiar songs, rarities, and unexpected delights for fans, it's undeniably for those fans who will realize how these versions differ from the originals, or those who will delight in the subtle stage patter from Townshend. Most of all, it's for the fans who embrace the spiritual side of Townshend, particularly his recordings for his guru, Avatar Meher Baba, since he and Raphael Rudd performed these concerts in his honor, several songs derive from Townshend's independently released albums for him, and these recordings are taken from concerts given in 1979-1980 for a select group of Meher Baba devotees. So select, in fact, that it's possible to be a Townshend fanatic and not realize the very existence of these recordings, as Rhino's A&R man, Patrick Milligan, points out in his liner notes, where he shares his thrill in hearing these tapes for the first time. And, if you're a Townshend obsessive -- not necessarily one who collects bootlegs, but certainly one who hangs on his words in his delightful interviews -- it's hard not to share his thrill, since this is fine, idiosyncratic, rare Townshend, as he performs gentle, acoustic versions of some of his greatest songs, accompanied on harp and piano by Rudd, best-known as a member of Renaissance, who also has solo instrumental pieces here. Given the presence of harp and the select-invite audience, it should be no surprise that Townshend and Rudd ignore hits, even airing "Let My Love Open the Door" and "A Little Is Enough" for one of the first times in these gentle, fairly arty performances. As such, this is pretty much something that will delight those converts waiting to hear something new from their favorite artist, but could hardly be called essential for any other artist -- even if they're lovely enough to make them essential for that selective audience. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
'Live: La Jolla, 22/06/01'
Release Date 1/1/2001
Tracks 14
Label Eel Pie
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What The Critics Say
The first of two fundraising concerts that Townshend played at San Diego's La Jolla Playhouse, and an enchantingly intimate look at the veteran Who man as he chats, jokes, and, of course, plays through a solid set of acoustified classics. The venue itself has some fond attachments to Townshend -- it was here that he premiered the Tommy musical before launching it on Broadway and, hardly surprisingly, the deaf, dumb and blind kid opens the show via a rousing "Pinball Wizard." From there, Townshend swoops into an affecting "Let My Love Open the Door," setting the pace for the remainder of the show. Dividing the two CDs more or less equally between Who and solo material, he strums through a stark "Drowned," a playful "Tattoo," and a surprisingly effective "Eminence Front," a sleek "Greyhound Girl," and an astonishing version of the old blues dirge "St James Infirmary." The climax of the performance, however, is the inevitable "Won't Get Fooled Again," a song whose message seems to reverberate ever more accusingly with every passing year -- and Townshend knows it. "Behind Blue Eyes" seemingly marks the end of the show, but then he reappears, armed with an electric guitar, and reprises "Won't Get Fooled Again" once more. Just to make sure everyone got the message. ~ Dave Thompson, All Music Guide
'Live: Sadler's Wells 2000'
Release Date 1/1/2001
Tracks 26
Label Eel Pie
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What The Critics Say
With the advent of the internet and artist-run websites in the '90s, musicians could bypass record companies and issue special releases directly to their fans. With the launch of his own site, Pete Townshend has made several releases available only through his site -- most notably the Lifehouse Chronicles box set, as well as assorted solo shows from throughout the years. The double disc Live: Sadler's Wells 2000 documents a Townshend concert recorded with a full backing band and the London Chamber Orchestra, as Townshend's oft-analyzed masterwork, Lifehouse, is performed in its entirety. While the complex storyline is not discussed or narrated at all, all the songs that would have appeared as part of the original project are featured. Townshend sticks to acoustic guitar for the most part, as his voice and backing band are in fine form. The orchestra more or less plays mood pieces (such tracks as "Tragedy" and "Baba O'Riley-Orchestra") and leaves the traditional songs to Townshend and his crew. The only criticism of the disc is that Townshend from time to time passes the lead vocal duties to his backup singers, and while they posses fine voices, it would have been even better if Townshend took on the singing 100 percent. But overall, this small fault is easily overlooked in the big picture, especially with so many great versions of rarely performed Who compositions: "Goin' Mobile," "Mary," "Getting' in Tune," "Pure and Easy," "Relay," and "The Song Is Over." Also featured are such Townshend/Who classics as "Baba O'Riley," "Behind Blue Eyes," "Who Are You," and, of course, "Won't Get Fooled Again." For fans of Who's Next/Lifehouse, Live: Sadler's Wells 2000 is highly recommended. ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide
'Pete Townshend Live: A Benefit for Maryville Academy'
Release Date 9/21/1999
Tracks 13
Label Platinum
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What The Critics Say
Pete Townshend Live: A Benefit for Maryville Academy captures a charity concert Townshend gave at the Chicago House of Blues on August 16, 1998. It was the second in a series of annual concerts to raise money for the children's organization, and Townshend clearly relishes the event, if the quality of the performance is any indication. He pretty much concentrates on classics, from "Magic Bus" to "Let My Love Open the Door," but he gives spirited performances. The arrangements are slightly different and subdued -- "Won't Get Fooled Again" doesn't explode, it has a steady, even propulsion -- but that's a benefit, since not only does Townshend sound more comfortable with these subtle reworkings, the familiar tunes sound fresh. He throws a couple of curveballs, most notably by opening with Canned Heat's "On the Road Again" and throwing Psychoderelict's "Now and Then" plus the exquisite "North Country Girl" into the mix, but by and large this is an unassuming crowd-pleaser that does it's job with style. The initial pressings of the album contained a second disc with stripped-down versions of "Magic Bus" and "Heart to Hang Onto," performed as duets with Eddie Vedder. Like the music on the first disc, these two songs are simple, direct, unassuming and quite entertaining. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
In 1993, Pete Townshend issued his fourth true studio solo album for Atco (not counting a live album, a couple of demo collections, and a collaboration with Ronnie Lane), entitled Psychoderelict. Perhaps best known for his conceptually based works (the Who's Tommy, Quadrophenia, etc.), Townshend did indeed thread a storyline throughout the album, which appeared to be the tale of an aging rock star. Psychoderelict includes Townshend's hardest-rocking songs since his 1980 solo album, Empty Glass, such as "English Boy" and "Let's Get Pretentious." Three instrumental tracks paying tribute to Townshend's spiritual mentor, Meher Baba, incorporate the synth loop from the Who's "Baba O'Riley," the best being "Meher Baba M4" (although strangely, the synths sound remarkably similar to the Who's 1978 hit "Who Are You"). ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide
'All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes'
Release Date 10/25/1990
Tracks 11
Label WEA
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What The Critics Say
If Empty Glass, an album filled with songs that could have been performed by the Who, was a solo album because it was too revealing and personal, All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes was a solo record since it's impossible to hear anyone but Townshend wanting to indulge in this deliberately arty, awkwardly poetic bullsh*t. Where his other albums showed an inclination toward classical-influenced art rock, this is defiantly modern art, filled with stagey prose, synthesizers, drum machines, angular song structures, and a heavy debt to new wave -- in short, Townshend's vision of what modern music should sound like in 1982. This kind of record taunts cynics and critics, being nearly impenetrable in its content even if the production and the music itself aren't all that inaccessible. The problem is, this is Arty with a capital A and Pretentious with a capital P, yet Townshend never seems embarrassed, never shies away from indulging himself in his own ego. While autobiographical to a certain extent (how else to read "Somebody Saved Me" or "Stardom in Acton," which drops the Who's home borough?), it's hard to tell exactly what he's on about. So it's easy to see why many listeners are exasperated instead of intrigued (or even admire its damn impenetrability), but it's also easy to get fascinated by the album's very obtuseness. This is very much of a piece and, apart from the gems "North Country Girl" and "Slit Skirts," it's hard to separate individual songs and see them as their own works. Indeed, separating All the Best Cowboys from its era is even difficult, since the album's surface glistens with new wave synths and guitars; this is clearly a record Townshend could only have made in 1982, emboldened by new wave, the reaction to Empty Glass, new sobriety, and general hubris. For these reasons, this is very much loved by a certain portion of Townsend's fan base -- and for the same reasons many, many people despise it. And any record that fractures an audience so considerably is worth a spin. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
After the experimental All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes, Pete Townshend returned to a more traditional form of concept album with White City: A Novel. Built around a loose narrative concerning urban despair, the album doesn't work very well conceptually, yet a handful of the individual songs are among his finest solo work, including the punchy "Face the Face" and the anthemic "Give Blood." ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
'Pete Townshend's Deep End Live!'
Release Date 10/25/1990
Tracks 10
Label Atco
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What The Critics Say
Pete Townshend and the Deep End Band played live for two benefit outings -- November 1 and 2, 1985 at the Brixton Academy -- to help support Townshend's own "Double O' Charities. The performances are excerpted here and were used in a made-for-home-video, also called Pete Townshend's Deep End Live!. Initially, a promotional 12" EP of the show was released to AOR radio stations in August of 1986. However, significant interest in the project would ultimately yield a 10-song LP which was issued to retail a few months later. Townshend (guitar and vocals) is backed by an ensemble that includes a core band of John "Rabbit" Bundrick (keyboards), Chucho Merchán (bass), and Simon Philips (drums) with Peter Hope-Evans (harmonica), Gina Foster (backing vocals), Billy Nicholls (backing vocals), and Jody Linscott (percussion) as well as an eight-piece brass section. When compared to the Who, the extended instrumentation provides Townshend with a larger sonic pallet to work from. The artist takes full advantage on the stylish update of the R&B classic "Barefootin'," and a suitably dramatic overhaul of "I Put a Spell on You." Plus, perhaps just to demonstrate his top-shelf taste in modern music, the English Beat's "Save It for Later" is a stone gem with the intimacy of an "unplugged" type of backing complete with sax -- by either Tim Saunders or former Stiff Little Fingers member Simon Clarke. Even though it could be considered a Who tune, Sonny Boy Williamson's "Eyesight to the Blind" is given a big city swing that presented the familiar melody in a fresh context. The Townshend originals serve up one offering from the '80s solo albums Empty Glass (1980) ("A Little Is Enough"), All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes (1982) ("Stop Hurting People") and the Who-related tunes "Behind Blue Eyes," "I'm One," and "Pinball Wizard." ~ Lindsay Planer, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Pete Townshend was heading toward collapse as the '70s turned into the '80s. He had battled a number of personal demons throughout the '70s, but he started spiraling downward after Keith Moon's death, questioning more than ever why he did what he did (and this is a songwriter who always asked questions). Signs of that crept out on Face Dances, but he saved a full-blown exploration of his psyche for Empty Glass, his first solo album since Who Came First, a vanity project released to little notice around Who's Next (so limited in its distribution that Empty Glass seemed like his solo debut). Some of the songs on Empty Glass would have worked as Who songs, yet this is clearly a singer/songwriter album, the work of a writer determined to lay his emotions bare, whether on the plaintive "I Am an Animal" or the blistering punk love letter "Rough Boys." Since this is Townshend, it can be a little artier than it needs to be, as on the pseudo-Gilbert & Sullivan chorus of "Keep on Working," but the joy of Empty Glass is that his writing is sharp, his performances lively, his gift for pop hooks as apparent as his wit. Though it runs out of steam toward the end, Empty Glass remains one of the highlights of Townshend's catalog and is one of the most revealing records he cut, next to his other breakdown album, The Who by Numbers. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
