Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Rough Mix: Part two. Townshend & Lane



This is the front cover of Rough Mix. Rough Mix - this is part two of Pete Townshend's 1977 collaboration with former Small Faces and Faces songwriter and renowned bass player Ronnie Lane.  It loosely mixes (hence the title) a type of folk-rock with English blues-iness.  In his book, Pete writes that during the writing of Tommy, he (Pete) and his wife met Ronnie and Ronnie’s girlfriend Susie – and Ronnie colleague in the Small Face – Steve Marriott.  Well before this record was made – Pete thought this of Ronnie:  he was funny, sincere, artistic, creative, gifted, and down-to-earth.  That’s high praise from Pete.  The relationship was Platonic - to me, sounding like a Bromance, before that term existed.    Ronnie was also Pete’s first friend who listened to Pete’s growing interest in Maher Baba without snickering.  Sadly, Pete recalls now that his memory of recording Rough Mix is a blur.  But he does recall some special moments.  It was the first time Pete played live guitar with a large string orchestra.  Pete’s father-in-law Ted Astley arranged and conducted.  He describes playing with Charlie Watts on My Baby Gives it Away as “very cool, making [Pete] aware that his [Watts] jazz-influenced (drumming) style was essential to the Stones’ success – the hi-hat always trailing the beat a little to create that vital swing."

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