Pete Townshend - Genuine Scoop (The Ultimate Scoop Set)
(Pete Townshend Demos) 5 Discs SHN Format
Billed
as home studio recordings from 1965-1975, this set is a pretty
monumental collection of Townsend's demos. The nature of the material
makes it impossible to tell how comprehensive it is, but a quick glance
imparts that this collection very nicely supercedes a series of
releases, both underground and sanctioned. As any Who fan knows,
Townsend's home demos make for fascinating listening -- many of the
arrangements, licks, and even vocal phrasing is already present on
these rougher takes. Add to that a sort of home-made funkiness (think a
more pissed-off, English version of the Band), and you have a set of
recordings that stack up very well against their more familiar later,
full-band versions. Townsend has leaked out this sort of stuff on the
SCOOP collections for some time, but those have always been piecemeal
affairs -- one track from here, another from ten years later, synth
instrumentals next to unreleased songs. This collection is wonderfully
focused, chronological, and in pretty strong fidelity. The three Who
benchmarks, TOMMY, WHO'S NEXT, and QUADROPHENIA, are well represented,
as are a host of popular album and singles tracks in sketchbook form.
The thrill of having these cuts in one place and in a reasonable order
is indescribable. The drawbacks to this set are few -- sound quality is
pretty consistant, the material is endlessly engaging. My one complaint
is the packaging. A cool mini-poster of rare foreign EP sleeves is
killer, but there are no notes to put the cuts into context. That being
said, it's pretty obvious where this stuff comes from, and it should be
of major interest to Who buffs the world over. Pete's demo of "Empty
Glass" might be the most intense thing he ever laid down... Review by OSWALD From Hotwacks Track Lists in Comments
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