Townshend book asks: ‘Who He?’

The Who mastermind Pete Townshend has signed a book deal for his “honest” memoirs and is closing in on a 2012 publishing date.

“I am lucky to be alive and to have such a crazy story to tell, full of wild adventures and creative machinations,” said Townshend, whose career with the Who and as a solo act bridges five decades. He turned 66 a few days ago.

Harper Collins has worldwide rights and expects to release the Townshend book in the fall of next year. The publisher did not specify a title, but it appears to “Who He?”

Townshend’s partner Roger Daltrey is bringing his current tour of the rock opera “Tommy” to North American in the fall, but its creator won’t be along this time out. “I will be there in spirit and Roger has my complete and most loving support,” Townshend said earlier.

Word of Townshend’s book project went wide via nasty publicity in 2003, when the songwriter was found to have accessed child pornography on a web site. Townshend explained that the kiddie porn was part of the research for the memoirs, which will cover the childhood years in which, he says, he was molested by a grandmother. Townshend was “cautioned” by police after a long investigation.

Townshend has a long history of playing benefits for children’s charities. His career quickly recovered from the scandal.

Books by Keith Richards and Steven Tyler are among the recent wave of rock autobiographies. Allman Brother Gregg Allman just announced a deal for his memoirs as well.

Townshend’s literary agent Ed Victor noted: “There are very few remaining gods of rock who have not written their memoirs. Pete Townshend is one of them. Now, at last, we will have his own story in his own words.”

Townshend added: “I am not my favorite subject, that will always be art and music, but whenever I write about my life and work I learn something. So the year ahead spent writing will also trigger the last vital bit of ‘growing up’ required by the now pensionable fellow who once wrote ‘I hope I die before I get old.’ ”

The Who is best known as a rock band with a flair for “maximum R&B,” but the band has sterling psychedelic credentials, starting with one of the first global hits in the genre, “I Can See for Miles,” which Townshend calls “the ultimate Who record.” The song “Armenia City in the Sky,” the concept album “The Who Sell Out” and parts of “Tommy” (such as “Sparks”) also have that psychedelic glimmer.

(photo by Phyllis Keating)

‘Tommy’ back on video: It’s a Blu-ray

Here we have high-definition high concept: The visual freak show “Tommy” on Blu-ray.

Sony says the version of Ken Russell’s "Tommy" on Blu-ray comes “newly restored and remastered” for its Sept. 7 release.

The original 5.0 “quintaphonic” soundtrack returns from previous DVD versions, this time rendered in lossless audio. The regular Dolby 5.1 mix also has been remastered.

Lovers of the “Tommy” album looking for an amazing journey in sonics had best return to their SACD discs, however, as this movie’s soundtrack doesn’t feature the original 1968 recording. Instead, mainstream actors and a handful of rock stars help the Who perform Pete Townshend’s rock opera. (It’s a good 20 minutes into the film before we hear the ‘orrible Who do their thing.)

“Tommy,” of course, stars the Who’s Roger Daltrey in the eponymous role. Director Russell brought in movie stars Ann-Margret, Jack Nicholson and Oliver Reed in a bid to flesh out the rock opera about a deaf, dumb and blind boy.

Townshend made numerous changes and additions to his sketchy narrative from 1969, notably moving its catalytic events from WWI to WWII. All of the Who’s original music was rerecorded for the film, a downgrade in every case.

The actors all sang their parts — terrific in the case of raspy Tina Turner; borderline tragic when Reed warbles his villainous nasty bits.

Actors from the rock world included Keith Moon (Uncle Ernie), Tina Turner (the Acid Queen), Elton John (the Pinball Wizard), and Eric Clapton and Arthur Brown (psychedelic priests).

Surreal/psychedelic highlights include the “Pinball Wizard” number with Elton John atop giant boots; the Marlyn Monroe worship scene with Clapton and Brown (“Eyesight to the Blind”), and the “I’m Free” sequence in which Tommy awakens from his addled state.

Here’s hoping for the best, but quintaphonic sonic probably won’t blow many minds these days, as its basic set-up — three speakers up front, two in the rear — has become common in homes, much less theaters. But back in 1975, “Tommy’s” quintaphonic dazzled preview audiences, who were presold thanks to the (short-lived) quadraphonic home audio format.

Four-channel audio (at the least) dated back to CinemaScope, but the stereo matrix technology used for quintaphonic — with its discrete horizontal and diagonal separation — proved groundbreaking. Quint was the forerunner of Dolby Stereo and the dueling cinema audio systems of the 1980s, such as DTS and SDDS.

The Blu-ray extras include a cloud-based trivia track and a trailer, perhaps this one: