Pete (The Scarecrow Effect - Snippet 2)

Pete - (The Scarecrow Effect - Snippet 2)

Roger Daltrey can belt it out.

One of the tragedies of my concert going career is that I never saw The Who. I guess in some form they are still touring, but really?

Everyone asks, The Beatles or The Stones? Well, The Stones first, also The Beatles and The Who.

While The Beatles split The Stones and The Who cranked out some of their best work. It was as if they were compensating for some universal loss.

Take Who's Next for example. The cover alone is Punk Rock. Baba O'Riley? The "Teenage wasteland!!" lyric? The way Pete comes in with his oddly compelling, "Don't cry ..." despite being somewhat off? It totally works. in fact, Pete Townshend really isn't much of a singer in the classic sense but has provided vocals on numerous Who songs and some really good solo work. Rough Boys? Punk. Pete Townshend was Punk. Noe one ever seems to call him that, but it is true. And, I mean that as a compliment.

I ran this argument past a friend, a guy who LIKES to argue, even if just as a devil's advocate. after a brief rundown of my points I just made he conceded my point, not necessarily as gospel truth, but as at least a valid starting point for a discussion.

The only time, ever, in any discussion with him, ever, that I get him to concede a point and it is on Pete Townshend as being a Punk Rocker and Who's Next as a "Harbinger of Punk Rock to Come".

When I first saw The Stones I thought that they were really, really #*(%ing old, but a whole new level of cool because of it. I mean, Mick (I cannot call him Sir Mick with a straight face) was ALMOST FORTY at the time. Now, I am OVER FORTY and providing vocals for a punk band that plays six originals and throws out random covers that seem to change every time they are played.

In reality, the point I was only trying to make though, and ended up on a wild tangent on rock music history of the 70s instead, was that there is a difference between being a singer and providing vocals and Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend were my points of order. A vocalist can be really effective like Pete, but he is not the singer Roger is.

I digress into tangents too often and too easily. This will make it hard on my family when I am older.

I am not a singer.

I am providing vocals for The Scarecrow Effect.

For years, I have collected lyric sheets of songs I wish I was able to sing. The stack is huge and includes a wide variety of styles.