ROGER DALTREY WANTS TO WORK WITH JIMMY PAGE

Well, it could be cool... or it could be two millionaire legends making edgeless music. Roger Daltrey told BBC6 that he'd like to form a new project with Jimmy Page.  He says that he's a great blues singer, and he'd like to record some blues with Page. I would check that album out.  Maybe Page will do it: after all, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones have both done really well with their new collaborations. And with Pete Townshend's tinnitus getting worse, if Roger wants to rock, he may have to do it outside of The Who.

A REISSUE WORTH HAVING: WHO'S NEXT

I've been listening to The Who a lot lately, I'm excited for their Super Bowl performance tomorrow. A have a lot of "bonus reissues" and while I am a big fan of the "dexlue edition" format, oftentimes the added tracks are more of a curiousity than essential stuff. In the LP era, decisions had to be made as to what did and didn't make a record, and I would say that The Who generally choose well.

I love the original version of the 1971 album Who's Next. Some don't like it: at this point, they were no longer a "mod" or even a "garage rock" band. It kind of transformed music: they added lots of synths and loops and keyboard stuff, but without losing their muscle or thier hearts. It was very widescreen.  It kind of changed the course of FM radio, and also helped to create stadium rock. It wasn't the short, sharp "Can't Explain" type songs.  Which was appropriate: Pete Townshend was developing very quickly as a songwriter and producer and this album reflects that. 

Anyway, the reissue: The Who has released and re-released lots of their albums, and sometimes I really do end up skipping through some of the extras. Not here. Disc one includes the entire original album, along with sessions from New York's Record Plant recorded in March of 1971. There's a great cover of Marvin Gaye's "Baby Don't You Do It" which featured Leslie West of Mountain on lead guitar, a weird alternate not-totally-finished sounding version of "Won't Get Fooled Again" and my favorite, a totally different version of "Love Ain't For Keeping." This is an electric version (the album version is played mainly on acoustic guitars) and features Pete singing (Roger Daltrey sings on the album version). You can also get this version on the 1998 re-release of Odds and Sods.

Disc two is a live concert recorded at the Young Vic in London on April 26, 1971, and it's the band in top form. It opens with an electric "Love Ain't For Keeping," this version with Roger singing. It also has their incredible version of Mose Allison's "Young Man Blues," Bo Diddley's "Roadrunner" and some rare Who tracks, "Time Is Passing" (sung by Roger, but Pete later recorded his own version for his solo debut, 1972's Who Came First), "I Don't Even Know Myself," "Too Much Of Anything," "Water" and "Naked Eye."

I'm often a bit suspicious of re-issues, but this one really hits the spot. It has enough alternate versions of songs to give some context to the "official" versions, cool rare songs and some really powerful live performances.  It's a great portrait of a band at a huge point in their collective evolution, but more than that, it's a great collection to listen to on a long drive (or run).

2010: A BIG YEAR FOR THE WHO

By now, everyone knows that The Who are playing the Super Bowl in January. (When I first wrote about it, it was a rumor, now it has been confirmed.) And they are supposed to be putting out a new album and touring as well. But I just found out that on March 2, there's going to be a big tribute concert to The 'Oo at Carnegie Hall in New York City, featuring Gov't Mule, Living Colour, Frank Black of The Pixies, Bob Mould, The Smithereens, The Gaslight Anthem and... Bobby McFerrin. I wonder if the organizers will go after any of the artists who paid tribute to The Who at The Kennedy Center Honors last year (including Chris Cornell, Joss Stone, Jack Black and Dave Grohl) or the VH1 Rock Honors show which featured Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, Tenacious D and Flaming Lips.

Anyway, proceeds from the show go to six different charities, which you can learn about at the concert's webpage.

Meanwhile, Roger Daltrey who has been doing a solo tour this year, will be doing at least some dates next year: Eric Clapton said Roger would be opening some shows for him. I heard Roger's shows have been pretty cool. I wonder if he will put out a live album. What I really would love to hear is his version of The Who's "Blue, Red and Grey," which he wasn't originally on (Pete Townshend sang that one, and it is one of The Who's most underrated songs).

THE WHO TO PLAY THE SUPER BOWL

I don't normally cite Sports Illustrated here, but their website is claiming that The Who will be playing the next Super Bowl. For some reason, I had a feeling they would get the gig. The Super Bowl likes big name heroic-ish artists whose sound can fill a stadium. The Who is a great choice. Roger Daltrey should be ready to rock from his current "Use It Or Lose It" solo tour, and The Who is supposedly touring for a new album next year, so this will be a great way to get people excited about it (I've also heard rumors that The Who may be getting their own Rock Band or Guitar Hero game). Of course haters will complain that the guys in The Who are too old, whatever. I haven't seen them since 2002, and they were great then. They're also great in short bursts, as evidenced by their historic performance at The Concert For New York City after 9/11. Still, I'm sure there's people who'd like to see, like, Pavement or someone like that playing the Super Bowl, but I just don't think that would really work.

THE WHO TO TOUR IN '10 (BUT GET A GOOD "ROGERING" IN '09)

The Who is supposedly going to tour again next year. I doubt they'll do another album ever again, although I can see them doing a few new songs here and there. Meanwhile, this year, Roger Daltrey is going on a solo tour (with Pete's brother and touring Who member Simon Townshend on guitar). Roger says the run is to keep his voice in shape for next year's tour, but this time around he's just going to be doing about 25% Who songs - the rest will be his solo material and covers.

ANOTHER WHO UPDATE

Roger Daltrey did an interview with Billboard.com 's Gary Graff. There were rumors for a while that the album The Who were talking about doing with T-Bone Burnett wasn't going to happen. In this interview, Roger says that it's on hold, because T-Bone is on tour with Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. Roger also says that Pete Townshend is writing new songs for a new Who album. And finally, Roger says that he has one more solo album left in him. It's been 16 years since Roger's last solo record, so that was an interesting c0mment. I think that if gets the right material (since Roger isn't really a songwriter) and a good producer who isn't intimidated by him, he can maybe come up with something pretty cool.

THE WHO TO WORK WITH T-BONE?

According to The Who's website, Pete and Rog are already thinking about the next album. Considering that there was about a quarter of a century between It's Hard and Endless Wire, that's pretty good. Here's what Pete Townshend says:

"... We also talked about revisiting Quadrophenia the way we did it in the '90s. This is all work for the Autumn. Roger is working on his own idea for an album for us, with the producer T-Bone Burnett, who is an old friend of mine. I am hoping to come up with some songs for a more conventional Who record."

Well, I never saw that Quadrophenia tour, and I didn't really miss it, as I'd rather see them do songs from their entire history than focus on that album. Or, I'd rather see them do Tommy. But the idea of them doing an album with T-Bone Burnett is pretty cool. Pete Townshend is a great producer, but I think it would benefit him to have someone else in the studio who has the authority to say "no" or "that's not a great idea" to someone who probably never hears that.

T-Bone Burnett produced the Robert Plant/Alison Krauss album, and if he could handle Plant, he could probably handle Townshend. And the idea of Pete writing songs for a different Who album, that's pretty cool too. I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed with Endless Wire, but I'd still be excited by the prospect of a new Who album.

...AND THE GODFATHERS

I've heard about an upcoming documentary on The Who that's coming out soon called Amazing Journey. The Who aren't short on DVDs, and of course The Kids Are Alright is a pretty cool film, but I'm looking forward to this one. Basically, it tells the story of the relationship between Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey, and it has footage of The Who back when they were called The High Numbers, and it finishes with a performance of "Tea And Theatre" from their latest album, Endless Wire.

Lots of people have been cynical about every Who reunion since they originally split in 1982 or 1983, whenever it was. I saw them for the first time on their first reunion tour in 1989. In retrospect, I realize that the real reason for the tour wasn't just the anniversary of their classic album Tommy, but that John Entwistle needed the money. And, in retropspect, the whole idea of them touring with a horn section and backing singers seems a bit over the top - Pete even called it "The Who On Ice" at the time, if I remember correctly. All I knew at the time was that I was getting to see The Who, a band I never thought I'd have the opportunity to see. I loved it. All the same, I didn't go to the next tour, which celebrated the anniversary of Quadrophenia, an album I wasn't a huge fan of. (That was also probably for John, too.)

But a few years later, a friend who worked at their label offered me a pair of tickets to see the band at The House Of Blues in Chicago. The Who in a club! And, if that wasn't enough, Eddie Vedder was opening! Financially, I had no business going, but I went anyway. It was unbelievable. Actually the most moving part of the night was when they performed Roger's solo hit, written for him by Pete, "After The Fire." But the whole thing was great. They still had it. But one of the reasons why they are still so great, it must be said, is drummer Zak Starkey.

I've seen them once since then - the summer that John Entwistle passed away. They were way better than I hoped they'd be. It was really exciting that they finally released a new album last year, even though I didn't love it, and I haven't seen them on tour for it. But, they're still The Who, and to paraphrase Neil Young, long may they run.