Guitarist Pete Townshend wrote some of rock's most iconic songs for The Who, and his musical legacy will always be ensured through his rowdy primary act. That band's successes, whether singles like "My Generation" or concept double albums like Tommy, have long overshadowed Townshend's solo material, which is deserving of detailed consideration - a fact now highlighted by the release of his new The Studio Albums box set. These albums sometimes reached the artistic heights of The Who's output, even while showing a different side of the songwriter.
On his own albums, Townshend was often more gentle; he's described The Who as functioning like "a war machine" in giving his compositions more aggression. He brought his spiritual explorations forward more explicitly, and, as he aged, his lyrics began to investigate more mature topics. The seven studio albums vary in style and quality, but each one warrants a listen, not just from The Who fans, but from rock fans in general.
7 The Iron Man: The Musical by Pete Townshend
1989
If Townshend had one misstep in his solo career, it was 1989's The Iron Man, but even this record holds up better than its reputation suggests. Adapted from Ted Hughes' children's novella of the same title, the record tells the story of a boy who befriends a strange metal being who, after initial difficulties, fits into life with humans, eventually facing off against a space dragon on their behalf to advance world peace (really). Townshend brings in stellar guests, including John Lee Hooker, Nina Simone, and bandmates Roger Daltrey and John Entwistle, to make up the cast.
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The album's uneven, but it has its moments. "A Friend Is a Friend" has become a valuable part of Townshend's catalog, with his tender and hopeful vocals leading the way. Nina Simone's performance of "Fast Food" feels as fun as it is out of character. Given the erratic performances and dated production here, casual listeners might prefer to go with the 1999 film The Iron Giant, a movie born directly out of Townshend's work.
6 Psychoderelict
1993
Townshend's never been prolific, but even so, it's a little odd that he hasn't released a proper studio album in over 30 years. He has done other work, including Who albums, and seems to have written plenty of songs during that time. 1993's Psychoderelict may have maxxed out a particular line of thinking. The album tells the story of an aging rock star drawn back into the public eye through a manufactured scandal, and its story gets at some of the traumatic themes that have informed Townshend's art.
The initial release included all the dialogue for the entire story, functioning like a radio play, but it didn't exactly work as an album, so a music-only version was issued, which makes for a much better listening experience. The record only produced one single, the leadoff track "English Boy," a steady rock number about the story's main character and his particularly British struggles and combative attitude.
Other cuts, particularly "Don't Try To Make Me Real," "Outlive The Dinosaur," and the soft "Now and Then" could have gotten more attention, but likely were swallowed up in the bigger concept. It's ambitious and occasionally a bit overdone, but Psychoderelict's an impressive work, which Townshend demonstrated especially well on the Psychoderelict Live In New York concert DVD.
5 White City: A Novel
1985
The singer and guitarist might be more known for his intensity than for his self-deprecation, but calling White City a "novel" suggests at least a bit of a smirk, nodding to both Townshend's prose writing and his pretension. It might have gotten the better of him here, because listeners expecting yet another story might have been either put off by the idea or disappointed in its execution. In reality, White City isn't a rock opera but more of a concept album, with a series of songs centered around a struggling neighborhood in London.
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Stripped of their high-art trappings, the songs succeed wonderfully. "Give Blood" and "Face the Face" provide some of Townshend's best pop-rock moments, and "White City Fighting," while just a step below, benefits from the collaboration with Pink Floyd's David Gilmour. The album does sound a bit dated and does drop off a little during the second half. These factors might have prevented it from achieving more than cult fame, but it's a shame, because Townshend was writing and performing well at that time.
4 Rough Mix
1977
Rough Mix is more of a collaboration than a true solo record, and it's unique in Townshend's discography. He recorded the album in 1977 with Ronnie Lane (of Small Faces and Faces fame) while The Who were on a brief break. Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones' Charlie Watts, and The Who's John Entwistle all appear on the album, filling out the sound even as they keep their signature styles low-key.
During the recording of Rough Mix, Ronnie Lane was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. He kept the news from Townshend and finished the record. He'd tour and release another album before his illness caught up with him.
The whole set comes off as a casual affair. Rather than the bombast of The Who or the pub rock of Faces, Townshend and Lane go for a more rambling style of folk rock, appropriate for the era but timeless in its execution. The Townshend-based tracks are all instant classics, from opener "My Baby Gives It Away" through the cool of "Misunderstood" to the emotion of "Heart to Hang Onto."
A demo version of the Who doing "Street in the City" shows why some of Townshend's writing simply suited him better. Rough Mix may feel slight due to its easygoing presentation, but there's nothing lightweight about the recordings on it.
3 All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes
1982
The title All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes is an absolute disaster now (and then), but the album contains some of Townshend's finest work. He leans into his pretentious artiness, but he pulls it off. If Rough Mix was an easy country ramble, All The Best Cowboys is a considered and urbane meditation. Townshend wrote the album as he was nearing 40, and it's full of adult reflections on life, spirituality, and sexuality.
He leans into his pretentious artiness, but he pulls it off.
"Slit Skirts" mixes a catchy chorus with a nearly spoken-word verse to examine the shift to middle age and the changing nature of desire, all with a sense of melancholy. "The Sea Refuses No River" works as an extended metaphor for our relationship to a forgiving god, applying it to the real world of polluted hearts and generous beggars.
Songs like "Exquisitely Bored" and "Stardom and Acton" critique the shallowness of contemporary life, while cuts like "Somebody Saved Me" bring transcendent grace to a superficial world. Critics saw Townshend as indulging some of his snooty tendencies, but, in reality, he was bringing some of his bigger ideas to contemporary rock.
2 Who Came First
1972
Townshend released Who Came First at an unlikely time, with The Who at their peak with Tommy and Who's Next still pushing pop forward. For him, it served as a step out of that "war machine," an opportunity to engage a quieter side of his work. He mixed together songs he made as a tribute to spiritual guru Meher Baba with outtakes from Who's Next that were originally intended for the abandoned Life House concept album. Despite the mishmash, the record plays like a coherent set of folkier numbers.
"Pure and Easy" stands out, and could have been a hit for The Who had they released their version, but it's far from the only noteworthy number here, and all the other Life House cuts make for a great release. "Sheraton Gibson" allows Townshend to sound relaxed while carefully revealing a deeper intensity. Townshend provides a country cover with "There's A Heartache Following Me" and it somehow fits perfectly along the Eastern prayer "Parvardigar." In the early '70s, Townshend's creativity overflowed so much that even outtakes and loosely worked numbers turned into something special.
1 Empty Glass
1980
In 1980, Pete Townshend released the crowning achievement of his solo career, Empty Glass, while his life was at a critical low. Bandmate and friend Keith Moon had died, and Townshend was struggling with substance abuse and domestic troubles. The despair informs the album, but only as a depth from which Townshend can ascend. "Empty Glass" speaks of a spiritual moment in which, at a time of total brokenness, we can find spiritual renewal.
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"Let My Love Open The Door" and "A Little Is Enough" use bright pop to disguise the transcendent form of love they sing about, the latter deeply enmeshed in the potential loss of love. Other cuts avoid deeper metaphysics, as when the rollicking "Rough Boys" somehow works as both a homoerotic romp and an ode to British punk culture (the juxtaposition is wryly intentional). "Keep On Working" finds peace despite and even in the grind of the quotidian.
By turns spiritual and physical without separating the two realms, the album earns its resonance through its persistent search for higher meanings within an embodied reality. With Empty Glass, Townshend stretched his writing from the darkest places to the most illuminated, creating his best solo album and a perpetually rewarding classic.
