OK... here we go! For those of you who know me the following my surprise you!!!
Last week I got my hands on the new 5 disc Quadrophenia box set! A wonderfully packed set of new mixes of the album, unreleased demos, a 5.1 mix of select songs and "essay" written by Pete on the works. The Super-Fan in me squealed with each turn of a page. Every time I ran my fingers across the text I began to feel the great joy of greater music. I couldn't wait to dive head first into one of my all time favorite albums again. I carefully read all the inserts of copies of hand written lyrics and type-writer pages of story outline, oh so gently looked over the French Pressing 45 of 5:15/Water, my head was swimming. I spent the next few hours reading bits from the essay and pieces of the studio log but I kept waiting to listen to any of it and I don't know why???
My wife and I had the next day off together and we usually spend our mornings catching up with DVR's or current events. Sooner or later I'll go outside with the dog and end up spending most of the day out there. The whole time I couldn't wait to listen... but I still didn't. After a few hours of this and that I sat, plucked the first disc of demos, iTunes uploaded, one click on the Play button and BANG!!! Eighteen all over again!!! I felt like I was being let in on all the secrets.
SIDE NOTE: Pete not only writes great songs but his demos are almost greater. When Glyn Johns isn't sure how to make a song better off a demo you must be doing something right!
Needless to say I was rockin'. I've never lost touch with my inner dork for The Who but he goes on break now and again. This, though, was like learning to fly. Untouchable and awesome. Then something happened. The more I listened I only liked to demos from the tunes that made the album. The other songs seemed, well, bad! Maybe not so much bad as wrong for the work. Thankfully they didn't make the cut. To me, what makes Quadrophenia a great concept album is how easily you relate to the lead character, Jimmy. You don't need "filler" songs to move the story, if you know only a fraction of this story you can put it together yourself when you hear it. Mostly cause you've lived it, you've felt the same way many, many times! Anyway some of the songs written for the project just didn't work and that's OK. So I moved on to the remixed album, which I might add was remastered and re-released in '94 (the first recording I had heard of it.) So from my seat, like radio shows of old, I sat and listened and heard nothing new. Actully heard everything worse, even now at this exact moment I am listing to the new mixes on my headphones and only hear the slightest bit of clearness, but only on the vocals. One of Roger's biggest problems with the '73 original album mix was the lead vocal was mixed to low and lost, which the '94 mix took care of. Saddly I realize that until quadrophonic sound is as hip as 5.1 will this album never be properly heard, which will be about the same time that I get to heaven! Either way, the new mix doesn't do a damn thing for me. I'll gladly keep these disc in the set till I can't play my old ones anymore. So I moved on to the essay again. Pete was nice enough to do small write-ups on the demos, the why's and how comes of them all. And that's when I saw it. Son of a Bitch he added drums in the last year or so! That's not a real demo!!! Pete you went all Jar-Jar Binks on me dude!!! How could you? Your loyal fans, myself and millions like me listen to every junk track you spilled out on all your "Scoop" albums. We the defenders of "Face Dances" and "It's Hard" beyond the singles. The ones who read the same chapters of two different biographies released within 3 years of eachother. Us the ones who sing the B sides back at you in concert. Ugh!!! I never want to lump you into "cash-grabber" catagory but you've gotta help me to help you. After more listens it seems as though that's all this is. The essay, inserts and just under half of the demos are the only things worth having. I'll admit I'm proud to own this box set and add it to my collection. But I doubt I really ever take it out to play. I'll read through the eassy a few more times before it goes on the self but I'll say this in closing:
Again, as this is one of my favorite and one of the most important albums I've ever heard, I'm not at all upset with my purchase.
BUT...
Almost $150 for a poor remix and a uncomplete 5.1 mix album? The information in the essay and on the demos are priceless and I'm glad your put your heart into those, but it should have just been a book with a double album of demos for about $30/$40. It took you 30 years to get Lifehouse out and Lord it was worth the wait, there's just not enough here for me to understand more or conect more. Perhaps I never needed it beyond collection! I saw some online review gave you 3.5 stars for demos and the essay. I can only give you 2.5 though. This was the chance to make arguably your best work as a writter and The Who as a band as talked about as Tommy and Who's Next yet still with all this it's just 3rd. Maybe this is why I've been losing sleep. All I know is that all the souls in Hells must be enjoying this blast of cold weather! Who'd have ever thought I'd have something not so great to say about The Who, let alone Pete Townshend. Still I can't wait to own the next bit of something good, bad or ugly. Rock is just about dead.... Long Live Rock!
Last week I got my hands on the new 5 disc Quadrophenia box set! A wonderfully packed set of new mixes of the album, unreleased demos, a 5.1 mix of select songs and "essay" written by Pete on the works. The Super-Fan in me squealed with each turn of a page. Every time I ran my fingers across the text I began to feel the great joy of greater music. I couldn't wait to dive head first into one of my all time favorite albums again. I carefully read all the inserts of copies of hand written lyrics and type-writer pages of story outline, oh so gently looked over the French Pressing 45 of 5:15/Water, my head was swimming. I spent the next few hours reading bits from the essay and pieces of the studio log but I kept waiting to listen to any of it and I don't know why???
My wife and I had the next day off together and we usually spend our mornings catching up with DVR's or current events. Sooner or later I'll go outside with the dog and end up spending most of the day out there. The whole time I couldn't wait to listen... but I still didn't. After a few hours of this and that I sat, plucked the first disc of demos, iTunes uploaded, one click on the Play button and BANG!!! Eighteen all over again!!! I felt like I was being let in on all the secrets.
SIDE NOTE: Pete not only writes great songs but his demos are almost greater. When Glyn Johns isn't sure how to make a song better off a demo you must be doing something right!
Needless to say I was rockin'. I've never lost touch with my inner dork for The Who but he goes on break now and again. This, though, was like learning to fly. Untouchable and awesome. Then something happened. The more I listened I only liked to demos from the tunes that made the album. The other songs seemed, well, bad! Maybe not so much bad as wrong for the work. Thankfully they didn't make the cut. To me, what makes Quadrophenia a great concept album is how easily you relate to the lead character, Jimmy. You don't need "filler" songs to move the story, if you know only a fraction of this story you can put it together yourself when you hear it. Mostly cause you've lived it, you've felt the same way many, many times! Anyway some of the songs written for the project just didn't work and that's OK. So I moved on to the remixed album, which I might add was remastered and re-released in '94 (the first recording I had heard of it.) So from my seat, like radio shows of old, I sat and listened and heard nothing new. Actully heard everything worse, even now at this exact moment I am listing to the new mixes on my headphones and only hear the slightest bit of clearness, but only on the vocals. One of Roger's biggest problems with the '73 original album mix was the lead vocal was mixed to low and lost, which the '94 mix took care of. Saddly I realize that until quadrophonic sound is as hip as 5.1 will this album never be properly heard, which will be about the same time that I get to heaven! Either way, the new mix doesn't do a damn thing for me. I'll gladly keep these disc in the set till I can't play my old ones anymore. So I moved on to the essay again. Pete was nice enough to do small write-ups on the demos, the why's and how comes of them all. And that's when I saw it. Son of a Bitch he added drums in the last year or so! That's not a real demo!!! Pete you went all Jar-Jar Binks on me dude!!! How could you? Your loyal fans, myself and millions like me listen to every junk track you spilled out on all your "Scoop" albums. We the defenders of "Face Dances" and "It's Hard" beyond the singles. The ones who read the same chapters of two different biographies released within 3 years of eachother. Us the ones who sing the B sides back at you in concert. Ugh!!! I never want to lump you into "cash-grabber" catagory but you've gotta help me to help you. After more listens it seems as though that's all this is. The essay, inserts and just under half of the demos are the only things worth having. I'll admit I'm proud to own this box set and add it to my collection. But I doubt I really ever take it out to play. I'll read through the eassy a few more times before it goes on the self but I'll say this in closing:
Again, as this is one of my favorite and one of the most important albums I've ever heard, I'm not at all upset with my purchase.
BUT...
Almost $150 for a poor remix and a uncomplete 5.1 mix album? The information in the essay and on the demos are priceless and I'm glad your put your heart into those, but it should have just been a book with a double album of demos for about $30/$40. It took you 30 years to get Lifehouse out and Lord it was worth the wait, there's just not enough here for me to understand more or conect more. Perhaps I never needed it beyond collection! I saw some online review gave you 3.5 stars for demos and the essay. I can only give you 2.5 though. This was the chance to make arguably your best work as a writter and The Who as a band as talked about as Tommy and Who's Next yet still with all this it's just 3rd. Maybe this is why I've been losing sleep. All I know is that all the souls in Hells must be enjoying this blast of cold weather! Who'd have ever thought I'd have something not so great to say about The Who, let alone Pete Townshend. Still I can't wait to own the next bit of something good, bad or ugly. Rock is just about dead.... Long Live Rock!
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