Gold
	Produced by Nick Goderson & Matt Kent
	Released on November 15, 2005
	no chart information
	Find it at GEMM
B0005350-02 cover [high resolution scan]

A mazingly, Hip-O Records found two discs’ worth of Gold in Pete Townshend’s solo catalog and put together what, to my mind, is the most compelling argument yet to take his singular body of work as seriously as The Who. The standard line on Pete Townshend is one of a musical visionary whose solo albums have suffered by comparison. There are the abortive early albums (Who Came First, Rough Mix), the post-Moon records when Townshend transferred The Who’s energy onto his own shoulders (Empty Glass, Chinese Eyes, White City) and the convoluted concepts bogged down with big ideas that didn’t materialize in the music (Iron Man, Psychoderelict). I own most of them and, honestly, I didn’t think there were two hours of gold in them. But I have now seen the future of the past, and that future is Golden. These are the relics deemed precious in value, separated from the impurities around them and restored to their original lustre. From Gene Pitney to Gene Vincent, Herman’s Hermits to Buddy Holly, historians have distilled outmoded artists down to their timeless essence and wrapped their treasures in historical context for future generations. That it happens here to Pete Townshend will cause the aging among us to reflect and, ultimately, to smile that our idol should shine so brightly. Its uninspired title notwithstanding, Gold should be a source of inspiration and emulation to future musical biographers. Be unapologetic about capturing an artist from his most flattering angle, it says. Forget about live albums, trivial arcana & archiva, single edits and soundtracks. Give ‘em the hits and the choicest cuts until they choke on the stuff and cry ‘Uncle.’ Imagine an Uncle Bryan Ferry: no Roxy Music, no pointless mixes, five tracks from Let’s Stick Together. Or an Uncle George Harrison: no Beatles, seven songs from All Things Must Pass interspersed with overlooked album tracks like “Beautiful Girl” and “Save the World.” It turns out that historians have been doing things by halves when what’s really required is a two-disc overview of the essential album cuts. Nothing in Townshend’s catalog bespeaks his genius better and brighter than Gold. Let the fans scoop up the archival works and live albums; let the rest of us feast first on these, his gilded fruits. (Hip-O slippo: the closing "Parvardigar" is actually cut off as the second disc reaches its time limit.)

B0005350-02 gatefold sleeve

TRACK LISTING

disc one

1. ENGLISH BOY
2. SECONDHAND LOVE
3. A LITTLE IS ENOUGH
4. HEART TO HANG ONTO
5. SHERATON GIBSON
6. THE SEA REFUSES NO RIVER    (Pete Townshend/Alan Rogan)
7. BRILLIANT BLUES
8. NOW AND THEN
9. I WON'T RUN ANYMORE
10. KEEP ME TURNING
11. LET MY LOVE OPEN THE DOOR
12. SLIT SKIRTS
13. A FRIEND IS A FRIEND
14. LET'S SEE ACTION
15. STREET IN THE CITY
16. EMPTY GLASS
    
    disc two
    
1. ROUGH BOYS
2. GIVE BLOOD
3. EXQUISITELY BORED
4. JOOLS AND JIM
5. CRASHING BY DESIGN
6. DON'T TRY TO MAKE ME REAL
7. FACE THE FACE
8. UNIFORMS (CORPS D'ESPRIT)
9. MY BABY GIVES IT AWAY
10. OUTLIVE THE DINOSAUR
11. KEEP ON WORKING
12. WHITE CITY FIGHTING    (Pete Townshend/David Gilmour)
13. ALL SHALL BE WELL
14. TIME IS PASSING
15. I AM AFRAID
16. MISUNDERSTOOD
17. PURE AND EASY
18. PARVARDIGAR    (Pete Townshend, adapted from Meher Baba's Universal Prayer)
    
    All songs written by Pete Townshend unless noted
    

CREDITS

Jon Astley -- remastering
Matt Kent -- liner notes
Darren Westbrook -- audio archiving
Brian Beaver & Juliet Allcock -- production assistance
Malcolm Heywood -- photography
timdrury@mac.com -- package design
Vartan -- creative director

return to PETE TOWNSHEND discography

For more discographies visit...

© 2009 Connolly & Company. All rights reserved.