The Who - Pete Townshend Albums

CDs Sampled: This CD (set) was only available through the <former> www.eelpie.com.

CD Comments: A stunning performance by Pete, spoiled by a poor mix and some mastering issues.

Other Comments: Compare this CD to the Westwood One (WW1) promo (Lifehouse Chronicles), which has a better mix and mastering. Unfortunately, the WW1 version isn't the complete performance.

Track Listing: One Note, Purcell, Teenage Wasteland, Time Is Passing, Love Ain't For Keeping, Goin' Mobile, Greyhound Girl, Tragedy, Mary, I Don't Even Know Myself, Bargain, Gettin' In Tune, Pure And Easy, Baba O'Riley (orchestral), Baba O'Riley, Hinterland Rag, Behind Blue Eyes, Let's See Action, Sister Disco, Relay, Who Are You, Join Together, Won't Get Fooled Again, Tragedy Explained, The Song Is Over, Can You Help The One You Really Love?

CDs Sampled: This CD (set) was only available through the <former> www.eelpie.com.

CD Comments: This CD is poorly mixed and doesn't sound "right" Compare with "Pete Townshend Live" (a similar performance).

Track Listing: On The Road Again, A Little Is Enough, Pinball Wizard, Drowned, Anyway Anyhow Anywhere, You Better You Bet, Behind Blue Eyes, Baby Don't You Do It, English Boy, Three Steps To Heaven, Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand, Sheraton Gibson, Substitute, I Am An Animal, North Country Girl, (She's A) Sensation, A Friend Is A Friend, Now And Then, Let My Love Open The Door, Who Are You, The Kids Are Alright, Acid Queen, Won't Get Fooled Again, Magic Bus, I'm One

CDs Sampled: This CD (set) was only available through the <former> www.eelpie.com.

CD Comments: Overall good sound quality, except too much needless compression created some "flat spots" in the vocals. The tone is a also a bit off in the guitar.

Track Listing: Let My Love Open The Door, English Boy, Drowned, The Shout, I Put A Spell On You, Cut My Hair, Sheraton Gibson, I'm One, Heart To Hang Onto, O'Parvardigar, A Legal Matter, A Friend Is A Friend, I Am An Animal, All Shall Be Well, Slit Skirts, Eyesight To The Blind, Driftin' Blues, Now And Then, Rough Boys, I'm A Boy, Magic Bus

CD Comments: Apparently the master tapes for these concerts weren't in the best of shape. However, it seems as if the mastering was changed part of the way through as if some songs were mastered one way and others, another. This CD has the sound and feel of a bootleg, but not really in a bad way.

Track Listing: Raga, Drowned, The Seeker, Magic Grace, Who Is Meher Baba?, The Ferryman, Kitty's Theme, A Little Is Enough, Contact In Solitude, Sleeping Dog, Sound Barrier, Bargain, Longing For The Beloved, Tattoo, Let My Love Open The Door, Awakening, Western (American) Arti, O'Parvardigar

Album: Live: La Jolla (22 June 2001), Live: La Jolla (23 June 2001) [Note: these are two separate releases from (2) two consecutive, separate nights of concerts.]

CDs Sampled: This CD (set) was only available through the <former> www.eelpie.com.

CD Comments: Both of these CDs would sound great if the guitar tone weren't adversely affected by the mastering.

Other Comments: These concerts are truly wonderful. They capture Pete at his best.

22 June 2001: Pinball Wizard, Let My Love Open The Door, Cut My Hair, Slit Skirts, Drowned, Greyhound Girl, Tattoo, The Sea Refuses No River, St James Infirmary, Eminence Front, Won't Get Fooled Again, Behind Blue Eyes, Won't Get Fooled Again (electric)

23 June 2001: Pinball Wizard, Let My Love Open The Door, Heart To Hang Onto, Cut My Hair, Slit Skirts, Drowned, Greyhound Girl, Tattoo, Collings, Eminence Front, Sheraton Gibson, Won't Get Fooled Again, I'm One, Behind Blue Eyes, Driftin' Blues, Eyesight To The Blind, Won't Get Fooled Again (electric)

CDs/DVD-A Sampled: CD (UK Eel Pie, UMC), DVD-A (USA - Classic), CD (USA - Hip-O), CD (Germany - SPV) CD (Japan - Imperial)

CD/DVD-A Comments: All CD versions are "over processed" - A little on the bright side, a little too much compression and the lower frequencies are muffled. The 24/96 DVD-A version sounds almost "just fine" but suffers slightly from a lack of ambience. The 2017 UMC CD feels like it was "squished" from the middle - having an unnatural compressed sound in the mid-frequencies and unnaturally extended lows and highs (see Popeye illustration below). If I had to pick, I would choose the any of the 2006 versions. They do have compression added, but sound the most natural of the bunch.

(Popeye squeezing a can of spinach - An analogy for the Abbey Road versions - representing the can with a "compressed" middle and "extended" lows and highs.)

LP Comments: (USA Classic Records - 2009 & UK UMC - 2017) This Classic (USA) LP sounds great! Everything sounds just as it should like an old-fashioned analog recording. A delight to listen to over and over again. The UMC (UK) LP was mastered at Abbey Road Studios. I was curious how it would sound because the 2017 (UK) UMC CD apparently was mastered there as well. Upon playing it for the first time, I noticed it was very different than the Classic (USA) LP. The sound was dryer (less/no reverb) and more upfront. I then took the time to record it to HD (24/96) and edit it, so I could give it a more proper listen (while not recording). What I found was way too much processing. Pete's demos generally sound excellent without doing anything to them. The problem with a "Scoop" album (for mastering engineers) is that the songs come from different recording sessions recording on different equipment over <sometimes> many years. The goal is to "slap them all together" and get a consistent sound level - this was how "Scoop" and "Another Scoop" were originally assembled. What happened here is that while trying to get a consistent bass, treble, etc., one song might sound "just right", but the next song doesn't. The listener ends up being fatigued because you have songs that sound pretty good, mixed together with songs that are "off" and that doesn't make for a cohesive album. Some mastering engineers attempt to "level" dissimilar tracks with compression - but unfortunately, most people don't like the way compression sounds (I hate it). The Classic LP doesn't suffer from these problems. What I suspect they did there was just tweak the songs very slightly and then they threw in a little reverb to soften the whole effect - it works and it works well. I can listen to the Classic LP (which I also converted to CD) all day and night and enjoy every minute of it. After listening to the 2017 LP for about 20 minutes, "I had enough"...

Other Comments: A nice collection of songs, but noticeably missing are some of the 60's demos that were featured on the previous 2 "Scoop" albums. "Can You Really Dance?" is a different mix of "Real World (Can You Really Dance?)" (1989 b side of 12" and CD Single copies of "A Friend Is A Friend").

Summary: The 2009 Classic (USA) LP is stunningly good and is the only version recommended. This is a great album (which you would never know it by listening to any of the digital versions). Unfortunately, none of the other versions are worth listening to, each with its own set of problems which take away from the beauty of the music. Note: Additional info on this recording can be found in the description of the 2001 Real To Real Master and DAT Master.

Note: DVD-A (DVD Audio Discs) may require special equipment for you to play properly.

Track Listing: Can You See The Real Me, Dirty Water, Commonwealth Boys, Theme 015, Marty Robbins, I Like It The Way It Is, Theme 016, No Way Out (However Much I Booze), Collings, Parvardigar (German version), Sea & Sand, 971104 Arpeggio Piano, Theme 019, I Am Afraid, Maxims For Lunch, Wistful, Eminence Front, Lonely Words, Prelude 970519, Iron Man Recitative, Tough Boys, Did You Steal My Money?, Can You Really Dance?, Variations on Dirty Jobs, All Lovers Are Deranged (Pete's version), Elephants, Wired To The Moon (part 2), How Can You Do It Alone?, Poem Disturbed, Squirm Squirm, Outlive The Dinosaur, Teresa, Man And Machines, It's In Ya

CD Comments: This CD is a compilation of the 3 "Scoop" albums. Sound wise, a combination of "no noise" (very apparent on Pete's intro to "So Sad About Us"), and a slightly bright overall sound, makes this CD a little disappointing when compared to the original releases. Furthermore, an apparent attempt to increase the bass of the first "Scoop" albums tracks was also added to the "Another Scoop" tracks (which didn't need them), causing a bit too much of bass and distortion on those tracks.

Other Comments: Regardless of the sound complaints (above), this is a nicely packaged CD with a great track listing all for a "budget" price. For someone who never heard the original "Scoop" albums, they probably wouldn't be any wiser to the sound quality issues...

Track Listing: Recorders, Pinball Wizard, Can You See The Real Me, Dirty Water, Zelda, Pictures Of Lily, Body Language, Seige:Theme 019, 971104 Arpeggio Piano, Brooklyn Kids, Substitute, Elephants, Eminence Front, Baroque Ippanese, Magic Bus, I Like It The Way It Is, Unused Piano, Bargain, Lonely Words, So Sad About Us/Brrr, Tough Boys, You Better You Bet, Mary, Begin The Beguine, Piano: Tipperary, How Can You Do It Alone, Football Fugue, Behind Blue Eyes, Never Ask Me, Circles, Holly Like Ivy, Variations: Dirty Jobs, Catsnatch, You're So Clever, Love Reign O'er Me, Ask Yourself (previously unreleased video)

CDs Sampled: This CD (set) was only available through the <former> www.eelpie.com.

CD Comments: Almost excellent sound quality. Same soundboard source as the video versions of this concert (Pete Townshend Live). However, the mastering is similar to the "heavier bass" Japanese CDs, which tends to compliment this performance due to Pete's vocal problems (see comments below). The guitar tone is a bit off and distracting.

Other Comments: The "Psychoderelict" tour was one of the most enjoyable of Pete's solo tours. It featured great performances of Pete's solo music as well a a nice spin on some classic Who songs, including, "A Quick One While He's Away" and "Cobwebs and Strange"! Unfortunately, for this show, (which was professional recorded for Pay-Per-View and video) Pete stayed up all night and did a full dress rehearsal before the show, causing him to lose a good portion of his voice. Hopefully, some other shows from this great tour will be released to better represent how Pete actually performed...

Note: The track listing is not in performance order and the non Pete-written songs performed that night (i.e. Good Night Irene, Save It for Later, Girl From North Country and That Kind Of Thing (Instrumental)) which were shown on the Pay-Per-View, were deleted to fit the rest of the songs on 2 CDs.

Track Listing: Intro, English Boy, Meher Baba M3, Let's Get Pretentious, Meher Baba M4 (Signal Box), Early Morning Dreams, I Want That Thing, Intro: Outlive The Dinosaur, Outlive The Dinosaur, Gridlife, Flame (Demo), Now And Then, I Am Afraid, Gridlife 2, Don't Try To Make Me Real, Intro: Predictable, Predictable, Flame, Meher Baba M5 (Vivaldi), Fake It, Intro: Now And Then (Reprise), Now And Then (Reprise), Baba O'Riley (Demo), English Boy (Reprise), Pinball Wizard, See Me, Feel Me, Let My Love Open The Door, Rough Boys, Behind Blue Eyes, The Kids Are Alright, Keep Me Turning, Eminence Front, A Little Is Enough, You Better You Bet, Face The Face, Won't Get Fooled Again/Let's See Action, Magic Bus

Other Comments: Edited reissue of "PETE TOWNSHEND LIVE: A Benefit for Maryville Academy". I'm not quite sure what the purpose of this release is, considering the downgraded artwork and reduced track listing (compare to original release).

Track Listing: On The Road Again, Drowned, You Better You Bet, Now And Then, North Country Girl, Let My Love Open The Door, Magic Bus, Heart To Hang Onto

CDs Sampled: This CD (set) was only available through the <former> www.eelpie.com.

CD Comments: Fair sound quality. Same soundboard source as the video and album versions of this concert (Pete Townshend's Deep End Live) [video versions] and (Pete Townshend's Deep End Live) [album versions]. However, this CD's mastering completely lacks bass.

Other Comments: This is a great concert, and this CD version adds several tracks that were previously unreleased:

The Shout, Boogie Stop Shuffle.

Several other tracks were previously released on the promo LPs from The King Biscuit Flower Hour (KBFH) and Westwood 1 (WW1), but not on the album or video versions: Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand, That's Alright Mama, Harlem Shuffle, Driftin', Night Train.

Track Listing: Mary Anne With the Shaky Hand, Won't Get Fooled Again, A Little Is Enough, Secondhand Love, That's Alright Mama, Behind Blue Eyes, The Shout, Harlem Shuffle, Barefootin', After The Fire, Love On The Air, Midnight Lover, Blue Light, I Put A Spell On You, I'm One, Driftin', Magic Bus, Save It For Later, Eyesight To The Blind, Walkin', Stop Hurting People, The Sea Refuses No River, Boogie Stop Shuffle, Face The Face, Pinball Wizard, Give Blood, Night Train

CDs Sampled: Anthology (Germany - SPV), Anthology (Japan - Imperial Records)/ Gold (USA HIP-O/Universal)

CD Comments: One of the difficulties in mastering material recorded from different sources for a compilation (or soundtrack) is that the tracks should have a consistent feel to them as if they all came from the same source. Unfortunately, you can identify the tracks from their original sources, as they all seem to be remastered together from the original source, then pieced together here.

All three versions sound somewhat different from each other. While I'm sure their mastering is identical, the process in which the record company manufactures the CD, sometimes makes a considerable difference in what the actual CDs sound like. In this case, the Anthology has some interesting elements to it, but unfortunately those elements seem to be completely lost on the Gold as I didn't find anything that sounded "good" on that disc, but rather bright and/or compressed throughout. Regarding the <Germany> Anthology:

The Goods:

Seemingly big improvements over the "Empty Glass" and "White City" previously released CDs.

Other than the "gold" "Empty Glass" (which is long out of print), none of the other CDs bearing that name sounded good, but rather tinny and sterile. These tracks seemed to have the full gamut of frequency response, including a nice bottom end.

"White City" never sounded "bad" per say, but it always sounded "thin". Like "Empty Glass" (above), the tracks seemed to have a much fuller range and additional "bottom end" to make the music sound *better*.

The "Psychoderelict" tracks seemed to have a little extra bottom line to them. I personal thought the album was well-recorded and sounded just fine, but the slightly extra bass works well too.

The Neutrals:

The tracks from "Iron Man" didn't seem to stand out one way or the other.

The "Who Came First" tracks may have been OK. The mastering was perfect on the Rhino CD, but it was always a very "heavy" sounding recording and perhaps because that is so, these tracks don't "blend" well on this type of compilation. So, to be "fair", I'm giving this a neutral - (until I listen to them again).

The Bads:

The "Chinese Eyes" tracks seemed slightly compressed and the vocals were a tinge muffled. There was nothing wrong with the first CD issue of the album, Sterling Labs (?) in NYC remastered it once and did a sloppy job and these tracks really didn't do justice to the music either.

The "Rough Mix" tracks seem to have some moderate compression added. The original CD release was *perfect* and the sound was breath-taking. "Rough Mix" is one of the best recorded/sounding Who-related albums. I can't imagine doing anything to it, but making it sound worse that what it is (how can you make something perfect sound better?)

Regarding the <Japan> Anthology:

The Goods:

As with the <Germany> Anthology, The "White City" and "Psychoderelict" tracks benefit from some added bass, as well as a slightly "fuller sound" improvement on "White City".

The Neutrals:

The "Chinese Eyes" tracks which sounded too compressed on the other versions are acceptable here. Not as good as the original CD or LP releases, but certainly listenable.

The Bads:

Everything else. Too much compression, shrill sounding instruments, tinny vocals, etc.

Summary: There are some tracks that are "sound quality" worthy on the two "Anthology" versions (as noted above), but none I can find on the "Gold".

Other Comments: Nicely packaged CD with Pete written "blurbs" on each of the tracks. Please note that this "best of" CD is the first release before Pete's entire catalog is remastered and reissued, with bonus tracks.

Track Listing: English Boy, Secondhand Love, A Little Is Enough, Heart To Hang Onto, Sheraton Gibson, The Sea Refuses No River, Brilliant Blues, Now and Then, I Won't Run Anymore, Keep Me Turning, Let My Love Open The Door, Slit Skirts, A Friend Is A Friend, Let's See Action, Street In The City, Empty Glass, Rough Boys, Give Blood, Exquisitely Bored, Jools and Jim, Crashing By Design, Don't Try And Make Me Real, Face The Face, Uniforms, My Baby Gives It Away, Outlive The Dinosaur, Keep On Working, White City Fighting, All Shall Be Well, Time Is Passing, I Am Afraid, Misunderstood, Pure And Easy, Parvardigar

CD Comments: n/a

Other Comments: Nice packaging with fresh liner notes and pictures. The cover has a great live shot of Pete, but there are only studio tracks on the album.

Track Listing: Pure And Easy, Sheraton Gibson, Time Is Passing, Street In The City, My Baby Gives It Away, Misunderstood, A Little Is Enough, Let My Love Open The Door, Rough Boys, The Sea Refuses No River, Slit Skirts, Mary, Give Blood, Face The Face, A Friend Is A Friend, I Am Afraid, English Boy

Track Listing: Communication, Gonna Get Ya, Brilliant Blues, Keep On Working, A Little Is Enough, Keep Me Turning, The Sea Refuses No River, A Friend Is A Friend, Face The Face, Face Dances Part Two, Rough Boys, Let My Love Open The Door, Blue, Red and Grey (The Who), You Better You Bet (The Who), Squeeze Box (The Who), Who Are You (The Who)

Track Listing: The Real Me, Cut My Hair, Punk, Dirty Jobs, Is It In My Head?, Anymore

Track Listing: I've Had Enough, Drowned, It It Me?, Doctor Jimmy, Love Reign O'er Me

LP Comments: Sounded good, but the music seems to sit further back (not as "up front") than the CD versions. This could be due to better dynamic range, or perhaps the CDs just sound a bit better.

Other Sampled: Master Tape Reels

Other Comments: The master tapes are sped up and have a different feel to them

CD Comments: The CD versions are about the same. However the Japan version is issued with (2) two CDs and includes "I Put A Spell On You", which is on the DVD, but not on the other CD versions. The "USA" CD appears to be manufactured in Germany.

Summary: The Japan CD has the most tracks as well as the nicest packaging. The LP is nice to have, but I would defer to the Japan CD.

Track Listing (CD & LP): Won't Get Fooled Again, Secondhand Love, Give Blood, Behind Blue Eyes, After The Fire, Slit Skirts, Blue Light, Hiding Out, The Sea Refuses No River, Face The Face, Pinball Wizard, A Little Is Enough, Rough Boys, Night Train

Track Listing (Japan CD & DVD): Won't Get Fooled Again, Secondhand Love, Give Blood, Behind Blue Eyes, After The Fire, Slit Skirts, Blue Light, I Put A Spell On You, Hiding Out, The Sea Refuses No River, Face The Face, Pinball Wizard, A Little Is Enough, Rough Boys, Night Train

CD Comments: Sound quality is as good as any of the other related CD releases from this concert. The track listing here includes most of the tracks that were left off of the other, non-Eel Pie releases.

Track Listing: Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand, That's Alright Mama, Harlem Shuffle, Barefootin', Midnight Lover, Blue Light, I Put A Spell On You, I'm One, Driftin' Blues, Save It For Later, Eyesight To The Blind, Band Intro, Walkin', Boogie Stop Shuffle, Night Train

Album: Pete Townshend Live In Concert 1985-2001 (Box Set) (Reissues of "Live > Brixton Academy 1985", "Live > BAM 1993", "Live > The Fillmore 1996", "Live > The Empire 1998", "Live > Sadler's Wells 2000", "Live > La Jolla Playhouse 22 June 2001", "Live > La Jolla Playhouse 23 June 2001")

CD Comments: Sound quality ranges from "OK" to "fair" (7 individual concerts, 2 CDs each). See comments below in the "About" section for specifics.

Live > Brixton Academy 1985: Mary Anne With the Shaky Hand, Won't Get Fooled Again, A Little Is Enough, Secondhand Love, That's Alright Mama, Behind Blue Eyes, The Shout, Harlem Shuffle, Barefootin', After The Fire, Love On The Air, Midnight Lover, Blue Light, I Put A Spell On You, I'm One, Driftin', Magic Bus, Save It For Later, Eyesight To The Blind, Walkin', Stop Hurting People, The Sea Refuses No River, Boogie Stop Shuffle, Face The Face, Pinball Wizard, Give Blood, Night Train

Live > BAM 1993: Intro, English Boy, Meher Baba M3, Let's Get Pretentious, Meher Baba M4 (Signal Box), Early Morning Dreams, I Want That Thing, Intro: Outlive The Dinosaur, Outlive The Dinosaur, Gridlife, Flame (Demo), Now And Then, I Am Afraid, Gridlife 2, Don't Try To Make Me Real, Intro: Predictable, Predictable, Flame, Meher Baba M5 (Vivaldi), Fake It, Intro: Now And Then (Reprise), Now And Then (Reprise), Baba O'Riley (Demo), English Boy (Reprise), Pinball Wizard, See Me, Feel Me, Let My Love Open The Door, Rough Boys, Behind Blue Eyes, The Kids Are Alright, Keep Me Turning, Eminence Front, A Little Is Enough, You Better You Bet, Face The Face, Won't Get Fooled Again/Let's See Action, Magic Bus

Live > The Fillmore 1996: Let My Love Open The Door, English Boy, Drowned, The Shout, I Put A Spell On You, Cut My Hair, Sheraton Gibson, I'm One, Heart To Hang Onto, O'Parvardigar, A Legal Matter, A Friend Is A Friend, I Am An Animal, All Shall Be Well, Slit Skirts, Eyesight To The Blind, Driftin' Blues, Now And Then, Rough Boys, I'm A Boy, Magic Bus

Live > The Empire 1998: On The Road Again, A Little Is Enough, Pinball Wizard, Drowned, Anyway Anyhow Anywhere, You Better You Bet, Behind Blue Eyes, Baby Don't You Do It, English Boy, Three Steps To Heaven, Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand, Sheraton Gibson, Substitute, I Am An Animal, North Country Girl, (She's A) Sensation, A Friend Is A Friend, Now And Then, Let My Love Open The Door, Who Are You, The Kids Are Alright, Acid Queen, Won't Get Fooled Again, Magic Bus, I'm One

Live > Sadler's Wells 2000: One Note, Purcell, Teenage Wasteland, Time Is Passing, Love Ain't For Keeping, Goin' Mobile, Greyhound Girl, Tragedy, Mary, I Don't Even Know Myself, Bargain, Gettin' In Tune, Pure And Easy, Baba O'Riley (orchestral), Baba O'Riley, Hinterland Rag, Behind Blue Eyes, Let's See Action, Sister Disco, Relay, Who Are You, Join Together, Won't Get Fooled Again, Tragedy Explained, The Song Is Over, Can You Help The One You Really Love?

Live > La Jolla Playhouse 22 June 2001: Pinball Wizard, Let My Love Open The Door, Cut My Hair, Slit Skirts, Drowned, Greyhound Girl, Tattoo, The Sea Refuses No River, St James Infirmary, Eminence Front, Won't Get Fooled Again, Behind Blue Eyes, Won't Get Fooled Again (electric)

Live > La Jolla Playhouse 23 June 2001: Pinball Wizard, Let My Love Open The Door, Heart To Hang Onto, Cut My Hair, Slit Skirts, Drowned, Greyhound Girl, Tattoo, Collings, Eminence Front, Sheraton Gibson, Won't Get Fooled Again, I'm One, Behind Blue Eyes, Driftin' Blues, Eyesight To The Blind, Won't Get Fooled Again (electric)

	WhiteFang's Who Site - The World's Largest Collection Of The Who Records & CDs

The Who - Pete Townshend Albums - Page 5: