Another "The Official The Who" Thread

brianlux
brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,662
in Other Music
Another because surely there must already be one but I can't find it.

I'm well into Pete Townshend's autobiography Who I Am and in reading this book, I am in love with The Who all over again and I'm in love with Pete Townshend all over again.   What a great book.  Yes, Pete is no angel (except when he is) but he's as real as it gets and the breadth of his talent is staggering (Damn!  I had no idea he had spend time as an editor for Faber and Faber after The Who broke up in the early 80's!  Hangin out with the likes of William Golding.  Whoa!)

About half way through the book, I ordered a copy of the restored 2 disc DVD of "The Kids Are Alright".  I'd never seen the restored film until I watched it last night.  I was blown away and- I kid you not- I cried through practically half the movie.  Those restored colors and sounds!  Memories of seeing The Who in 1968.  Watching Keith Moon laugh his way through a most extraordinary and fast life and realizing yet again he is no more.  And the same with the amazing John Entwhistle.   Watching Roger swing that mic out into space and catch it right on the beat every goddamn time like he did when I saw them play.  Listening to Pete tell his stories and watching him bloody his hands with a windmill guitar style never to be fully copied by any one ever again! And seeing the entirety of "A Quick One While He's Away" from the film "The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus" which had been edited to a shorter version in the original movie.  Watching that practically had me on the floor.  Fantastic! 

God, I love this band!


"It's a sad and beautiful world"
-Roberto Benigni

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Comments

  • Who Princess
    Who Princess out here in the fields Posts: 7,305
    Hey Brian, when you're finished with that book read Pretend You're in a War about the first 10 years of The Who.  It's one of the best Who books I've read, well written, and has tons of information I'd never come across before.  One of my favorites:  Remember the movie Blow-Up, which features a scene with the Yardbirds and Jeff Beck smashing his guitar?  That was originally going to be The Who.  Manager Kit Lambert was dying to have The Who in a movie and took director Michelangelo Antonioni to a club to see them.  Antonioni was scared by the band's aggressive playing and the rough crowd in attendance and told Lambert, no way!  He went with the Yardbirds but since Jeff Beck wasn't known for guitar-smashing, I guess Antonioni decided to include it after seeing The Who.

    I'm getting ready to read Roger Daltrey's memoir.  I'm curious how it will jibe with Pete's.
    "The stars are all connected to the brain."
  • JOEJOEJOE
    JOEJOEJOE Posts: 10,822
    The Who were one of my first concerts in 1980!
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,662
    edited December 2018
    JOEJOEJOE said:
    The Who were one of my first concerts in 1980!
    Cool!

    How was it?  Would love to hear about it.
    Post edited by brianlux on
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,662
    Who Princess said:
    Hey Brian, when you're finished with that book read Pretend You're in a War about the first 10 years of The Who.  It's one of the best Who books I've read, well written, and has tons of information I'd never come across before.  One of my favorites:  Remember the movie Blow-Up, which features a scene with the Yardbirds and Jeff Beck smashing his guitar?  That was originally going to be The Who.  Manager Kit Lambert was dying to have The Who in a movie and took director Michelangelo Antonioni to a club to see them.  Antonioni was scared by the band's aggressive playing and the rough crowd in attendance and told Lambert, no way!  He went with the Yardbirds but since Jeff Beck wasn't known for guitar-smashing, I guess Antonioni decided to include it after seeing The Who.

    I'm getting ready to read Roger Daltrey's memoir.  I'm curious how it will jibe with Pete's.
    Thank you for the book recommendation, WP!   I'll keep an eye out for one or order one.  Definitely sounds like a good read! 

    Yes, I remember the film Blow-Up.  It played a repertoire theater in San Francisco in the early 70's and some friends and I went to see it.  Oh how cool that would have been if Kit could have gotten The Who that gig!

    And yes, I've heard good things about Roger's memoir.  Will definitely read that one two!

    What about the book Behind Blue Eyes by Geoffrey Giuliano?  I have it but haven'r read it yet.  Any good?
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • Who Princess
    Who Princess out here in the fields Posts: 7,305
    JOEJOEJOE said:
    The Who were one of my first concerts in 1980!
    My first Who show was in 1976 but I saw them in 1980 and they were ON FIRE during that tour.  They were out to prove they could carry on after Keith's death.  Still one of my all time favorite Who shows.
    "The stars are all connected to the brain."
  • Who Princess
    Who Princess out here in the fields Posts: 7,305
    brianlux said:
    What about the book Behind Blue Eyes by Geoffrey Giuliano?  I have it but haven'r read it yet.  Any good?
    I haven't read that one.  I'm also curious to read Kenney Jones memoir.  He was the drummer who replaced Moon.  He and Roger disliked each other so I'm wondering what they each have to say about Kenney's time in The Who.
    "The stars are all connected to the brain."
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,662
    Who Princess said:
    brianlux said:
    What about the book Behind Blue Eyes by Geoffrey Giuliano?  I have it but haven'r read it yet.  Any good?
    I haven't read that one.  I'm also curious to read Kenney Jones memoir.  He was the drummer who replaced Moon.  He and Roger disliked each other so I'm wondering what they each have to say about Kenney's time in The Who.
    Yeah, Pete talks about the disconnect between Roger and Jones.  But gosh, how do you replace Keith!
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • josevolution
    josevolution Posts: 31,610
    Townsend is my favorite song writer period , Pure&Easy my favorite song he has penned..
    jesus greets me looks just like me ....
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,662
    josevolution said:
    Townsend is my favorite song writer period , Pure&Easy my favorite song he has penned..
    Yes, great song!

    My current favorite:

    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • buck502000
    buck502000 Birthplace of GIBSON guitar Posts: 8,951
    i love this one


  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,662
    buck502000 said:
    i love this one


    What band is that?  :lol:

    Just kidding.   I just never got into the post Moon stuff.


    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • willbarclay
    willbarclay Ottawa, Canada Posts: 3,298
    edited December 2018
    Picked up one of his solo records on the weekend. Love Rough Boys. That's a party tune right there. Air guitar the shit outta that one.
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,662
    willbarclay said:
    Picked up one of his solo records on the weekend. Love Rough Boys. That's a party tune right there. Air guitar the shit outta that one.
    Yeah, Empty Glass is great, especially the first side.
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • Thoughts_Arrive
    Thoughts_Arrive Melbourne, Australia Posts: 15,165
    Live at Leeds BOOM!
    Adelaide 17/11/2009, Melbourne 20/11/2009, Sydney 22/11/2009, Melbourne (Big Day Out Festival) 24/01/2014
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,662
    Thoughts_Arrive said:
    Live at Leeds BOOM!
    KA BOOM!  :smiley:
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • Who Princess
    Who Princess out here in the fields Posts: 7,305
    willbarclay said:
    Picked up one of his solo records on the weekend. Love Rough Boys. That's a party tune right there. Air guitar the shit outta that one.
    One of my faves.  It would have been a hell of a Who song.
    "The stars are all connected to the brain."
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,662
    This evening, I did a little various LP sampling of songs from the Magic Bus  through Who's Next.  Without a forethought of this, the songs I happened to pick out really clicked with something Townshend wrote about, that being the influence Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys had on Pete's songwriting during those years.  I was listening to the harmonies in songs like I Can't Reach You, Our Love Was, Is,  Getting in Tune and a few others and, there it was, those Wilson Beach Boys harmonies blended with this amazing mid-sixties mod sound and well crafted writing.  Suddenly, after all these years, I had gained an added layer of appreciation for Pete's writing.  Marvelous!
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • dankind
    dankind Posts: 20,841
    brianlux said:
    buck502000 said:
    i love this one


    What band is that?  :lol:

    Just kidding.   I just never got into the post Moon stuff.



    I SAW PEARL JAM
  • Meltdown99
    Meltdown99 None Of Your Business... Posts: 10,739
    The Who was my 2nd ever concert
    Give Peas A Chance…
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,662
    Meltdown99 said:
    The Who was my 2nd ever concert
    Nice!  When was this?  What was it like? 
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

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