Pete Townshend

UMR is proud to announce PETE TOWNSHEND LIVE > IN CONCERT 1985-2001 an expanded 14-CD box set and digital set featuring seven long-out-of-print live albums by Pete Townshend.

This rock opera written by Pete Townshend is a big Broadway production number: a huge cast of vocalists, orchestra and sleek arrangements. Sort of the Who does Cats. `I Won't Run Any More' an excellent anti-establishment anthem for middle-agers with the line "I'm not gonna run anymore/I'm not gonna run like a rat to a piper's tune." The guitars rip on par with `Won't Get Fooled Again.' `Dig' is far removed from the egotistical `My Generation' with Roger Daltrey respectfully praising parents and grandparents. John Lee Hooker's guitar work on `Over The Top' and `I Eat Heavy Metal' is majestic and masterful. `I Eat Heavy Metal' is a torrid electric blues number played to put the Top-10 Hair Sissies to shame. Hooker sounds as though he's snacking on automobile engine blocks. Roger Daltrey and the percussion on `Fire' light-up Iron Man like a 1,000 watt bulb. Iron Man closes with Chyna and Nicola Emmanuel leading the entire cast in the inspired Grand Finale (New Life/Reprise). Iron Man is a captivating work about children for adults who aren't too "cool" to share children's fantasies. I'm not cool, just a middle-aged guy with the faith, energy and compassion of a child. Iron Man works for me.

Avatar is a 3CD/1 CD-ROM box set by Pete Townshend that combines three of the albums he did away from The Who in the 1970's, all of which honor Meher Baba, the man who was the main influence of The Who's "Baba O'Riley". The box set also features an enhanced CD. This was released on Townshend's own Eel Pie label.

The Iron Man: The Musical by Pete Townshend, released in 1989, is an adaptation of Ted Hughes' story The Iron Man, produced and largely composed and performed by Pete Townshend of The Who. It also stars Roger Daltrey, Deborah Conway, John Lee Hooker, and Nina Simone. The three then-surviving members of The Who (Daltrey, John Entwistle, and Townshend) performed as a group in two songs, "Dig" and "Fire", although the latter was not penned by Townshend. A stage version was mounted at the Young Vic theatre in London in 1993. On the strength of this, Warner Bros. optioned the story for a movie which, with a very different adaptation of the story, became The Iron Giant; Townshend received an Executive Producer credit.

"Who Came First" is the debut solo record by Pete Townshend, first released in 1972. The album collected together tracks from Pete's private pressings of his tributes to Meher Baba, Happy Birthday and I Am, as well as demos from the unrealized concept album Lifehouse, part of which became The Who's classic Who's Next album.

The first major Pete Townshend compilation since 1996's awkwardly titled The Best of Pete Townshend: Coolwalkingsmoothtalkingstraightsmokingfirestoking, Truancy covers the basics. It has the hits "Let My Love Open the Door," "Rough Boys," and "Face the Face" – but it attempts to be a concise portrait of every aspect of Townshend's solo work, containing three cuts apiece from Who Came First and Rough Mix, which is more than the two each from Empty Glass, All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes, and White City. This creates some notable absences – no "A Little Is Enough," no "Slit Skirts," no "Give Blood" or "A Friend Is a Friend" – but the overall effect showcases Townshend's ever-churning imagination, particularly because the collection ends with two new songs, the blues "Guantanamo" and the near-Chinese Eyes throwback "How Can I Help You," both good enough to spark hope that he'll finally get around to writing another full album, either for himself or for the Who, one of these days.

The first major Pete Townshend compilation since 1996's awkwardly titled The Best of Pete Townshend: Coolwalkingsmoothtalkingstraightsmokingfirestoking, Truancy covers the basics. It has the hits "Let My Love Open the Door," "Rough Boys," and "Face the Face" – but it attempts to be a concise portrait of every aspect of Townshend's solo work, containing three cuts apiece from Who Came First and Rough Mix, which is more than the two each from Empty Glass, All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes, and White City. This creates some notable absences – no "A Little Is Enough," no "Slit Skirts," no "Give Blood" or "A Friend Is a Friend" – but the overall effect showcases Townshend's ever-churning imagination, particularly because the collection ends with two new songs, the blues "Guantanamo" and the near-Chinese Eyes throwback "How Can I Help You," both good enough to spark hope that he'll finally get around to writing another full album, either for himself or for the Who, one of these days.