Utilizing Talents

Message Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic Printable Version Translate Topic

   I believe Townshend is/was more interested in musical theatre - which doesn't make the resulting music prog or being characterised to one other genre of rock -  occasionally his compositions subjected to the Who's multi-tracked playing give you prog recordings, e.g. the intrumental sections of Quadraphenia. 

Remember Who's Next and a couple subsequent albums picked up the debris of Townshend's demos for The Lifehouse (the follow up to Tommy), which has been performed professional twice: first around 1971 at the Old Vic Theatre (a rough form), and revived in 1999 as a radioplay on BBC Radio 3 (a polished form), both versions were spoken plays with accompanying music (Townshend himself provided the Radio 3 soundtrack).

A 6 CD album The Lifehouse Project was issued in 2000 through Townshend own label, (but I've spotted it is available for a fraction of the original price through Amazon nowadays). The Lifehouse Project box set consists of the BBC Radio recording of the play (2 discs), the 1970/71 demos for The Lifehouse (2 discs) which found their way on to especially Who's Next and Who Are You , an odd recording with chamber orchestra playing Vivaldi and a few Townshend compositions arranged to sound like rococco serious music (apparently an inspiration in 1970), and a 6th disc taken from recordings of a couple gigs made in 1999, covering Lifehouse materials, with the people's favourites from Who's Next (e.g. Won't Get Fooled Again) arranged almost out of recognition but remarkable good all the same.