Pete Townshend latest comments on the Beatles

[samjjones]

As tasteless as it may seem, if Keith Moon had died immediately after recording "Who's Next" and The Who stayed permanently disbanded, this conversation might be different.

[Submarine777]

The Who is not in the same league as The Beatles and that's Real

I wouldn't go that far at all. Quadrophenia beats anything the Beatles ever did in musicianship and songwriting. Let's face it Entwistle and Moon were almost like gods on their respective instruments while Roger was an amazing singer from Tommy and on. I can't really judge Townshend's guitar playing, because he mostly played rhythm while Entwistle played the melody on his bass, but I can say his songwriting is better than the Beatles songwriting individually at least.

[Julio_Strikes_Back]

The Who is not in the same league as The Beatles and that's Real

Hahaha. Ha.

[vcalzone]

I have to disagree strongly, sub. I love The Who, but their recorded material lacked the spark and impromptu nature of most of the good Beatles stuff, and their songwriting was never as strong as Lennon/McCartney. Though to be fair, whose is?

Individually, they were fantastic, and Moon is, hands down, my favorite drummer of all time. But when Townshend called "I Can See For Miles" really wild, McCartney knew it was fairly tame, then made Helter Skelter to show them how it's done. There is no moment as savage as "I got blisters on me fingers-CLANG!" in the Who's entire discography.

[Awdrgy]

I wouldn't go that far at all. Quadrophenia beats anything the Beatles ever did in musicianship and songwriting. Let's face it Entwistle and Moon were almost like gods on their respective instruments while Roger was an amazing singer from Tommy and on. I can't really judge Townshend's guitar playing, because he mostly played rhythm while Entwistle played the melody on his bass, but I can say his songwriting is better than the Beatles songwriting individually at least.

Agreed.

But you've watched The Who do a live concert, correct? Pete, whether or not he enjoyed it, was quite amazing on the guitar. Isle of Wight, Kilburn, London Coliseum..all four of them were quite the musicians.

But either way, he's Pete. He's the same as he's always been.

[Submarine777]

I have to disagree strongly, sub. I love The Who, but their recorded material lacked the spark and impromptu nature of most of the good Beatles stuff, and their songwriting was never as strong as Lennon/McCartney. Though to be fair, whose is?

Individually, they were fantastic, and Moon is, hands down, my favorite drummer of all time. But McCartney was right when he heard "I Can See For Miles" and said it was fairly tame, then made Helter Skelter to show them how it's done. There is no moment as savage as "I got blisters on me fingers!" in the Who's entire discography.

I still think Townshend's work has more substance to it, but everybody's taste is different.

I don't get how I Can See for Miles inspired Helter Skelter. The former was their deepest step into psychedelia not metal because if you look in Live at Leeds you can clearly see who's the heavier band. It's called "I saw you!" at the end of Happy Jack.

Agreed.

But you've watched The Who do a live concert, correct? Pete, whether or not he enjoyed it, was quite amazing on the guitar. Isle of Wight, Kilburn, London Coliseum..all four of them were quite the musicians.

But either way, he's Pete. He's the same as he's always been.

I've seen their concerts and I'll agree that Pete played his guitar in a flashier and more intense manner than George did, but I talking about studio albums and as you know Pete doesn't really do solos on them very often as he tends to stick to playing the rhythm.

[WingsOfSteel]

There is no moment as savage as "I got blisters on me fingers-CLANG!" in the Who's entire discography.

There are at least ten in Live at Leeds alone.

[RainbowMist]

That is way more a complement than it is a diss, especially coming from Pete Townshend, and way less than stuff he's said in the past, he definitely respects the Beatles though.

Interestingly, I was looking for the clip from The Kids are Alright, when he (kind of) calls the Beatles "flipping lousy", but instead I found something that actually backs up my second point.

[vcalzone]

Nonetheless, that is the song that inspired McCartney to do so. I dunno, any comparison of really amazing players to The Beatles always seems off to me. I always saw The Beatles as an amazing band and amazing songwriters slightly crippled by their own limitations on their respective instruments. Much like Bob Dylan or Elvis Costello, they relied on substance and style, not technique. And the fact that they were able to just toss something like Helter Skelter off simply for the hell of it speaks to their true talents. That's all I'm saying.

[iAmtheWalrus]

I don't quite understand why everyone is so offended by this. It sounds like a genuine compliment to me.

More of a 'backhanded' compliment, if you will.