Sunday, May 8, 2016

Musical Interlude: Face The Face (1985)

We've heard of rock operas. The Who, for example, recorded "Quadrophenia" & "Tommy" in this fashion. Guitarist Pete Townshend took the idea one step further in 1985.

"White City-A Novel", released in November '85, was a semi-autobiographical tale of the neighborhood where Townshend grew up. Here in the states, two singles were released off the album, gaining some airplay on MTV. "Face The Face" came first, and it's like a time warp, as Townshend is conducting the band like an orchestra leader. Daughter Emma joins him on vocals. Not seen in your picture is another guitar icon, Pink Floyd's David Gilmour.



"Face" reached the top 30 here, and no further, which is a shame, as Townshend was putting some of the previous decade's lesser disco hits to shame with the bouncy retro-beats. Totally awesome.

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