I was really almost frightened to listen to it initially, but i must say that [The Who's->http://www.petetownshend.co.uk/] Wire and Glass EP is pretty damned cool.
Anyone familiar with me will know the almost disfiguring influence The Who have had on me since I was a wee kid. You can imagine the trepidation I felt when I first put the thing on the old grammophone. It's been over 20 years since the last Townshend-related release that I rated at all (White City, and the accompanying Deep End live album). And exceptional though they may have been in the past, there is a certain geezer factor that tends to lamify the output of artists as the years pile up. Whether it's down to complacency, smugness, burnout, or general weariness, the output of your average 60+ rocker tends to be a bit lacking.
There have been notable exceptions to this in the last couple of years, though, and there is a precedent for really great artists to take up the challenge and try to match the fire and clarity of their best works. Recent works by Paul McCartney, Neil Young, and Dylan immediately spring to mind.
Townshend and Daltrey have clearly made a decision to make this new round of their band's existence count. This EP is actually a "mini-opera" medley of snippets of tunes to be included on their forthcoming [Endless Wire->http://www.endlesswire.co.uk] album. The arrangements are very stripped down and live-sounding, generally one or two guitars, bass and drums. The sonic template turns the clock back past the ultra-dense arrangements Townshend has favored over the last couple decades, returning to the band's classic mid-70's lean and mean live sound. The entire affair is surprisingly un-fussed with; there are actually some fairly obvious blown chords, rough vocals and flubbed drum moments. The tracks sound live and carefree, not perfectionist or "professional", just totally world-class rock action. The swagger and sense of humor that were almost completely missing from Townshend's post-Who solo output are here in spades. And the tunes are sharp, comprehensible, and due to the format of the EP tantalisingly brief.
I'm not going to make any silly claims that this EP or the band's forthcoming album will top or even match Who's Next or any of their classic period works. But the one thing that makes me feel so good listening to this is the feeling that Daltrey and especially Townshend cared enough to actually make a vital, exciting record at this stage of their careers. The band's earliest works helped show me how to be a [snotty ball of energy when I was a kid->http://www.susstones.com/thedig]. Albums like Who By Numbers and Townshend's Empty Glass helped me understand how to deal with that energy when [I wasn't 21 anymore->http://www.myspace.com/polara]. And now Wire and Glass is showing that people very much older can use the energy of rock to communicate clear as a bell from the far side of 60. These guys encouraged me to get going in the first place, and now I'll work a little harder to live up to the example they still are setting.
