Another Scoop Liner Notes

This is the second in a series of albums bringing together
demo-tapes, home recordings and unreleased oddities
produced during my career in and out of The Who.

I want to thank my friend Spike for her tireless energy raking
through hundreds of hours of music to put together another
interesting selection (she isn't even a Who fan!), and all
the Who fans who've waited patently while I garnered the
courage to put it out. I also want to thank my friends at
Atlantic records for making the space for me to release this
record for collectors while I spend my time writing song for 
my next "serious" solo album.

PETE TOWNSHEND
July,1986

DISC ONE

YOU BETTER YOU BET
This is the reference mix I made straight after cutting the demo at my studio in Soho.

Format: 24 track. 30 ips.
Instruments: The usual rock ensemble stuff. I used a Yamaha E70 home organ for the arpeggio synth track.
Venue: Eel Pie Studio, Soho, London.
(Engineer: Chris Ludwinski) March/April 1980.

GIRL IN A SUITCASE
One of the songs submitted for and rejected from WHO BY NUMBERS. I suppose this is not really a typical "Who" song at all, but it is about the road, groupies, inflatable women etc.
most of all the rather crinkled family photographs we travellers all hand around.

Format: 16 track 30 ips.
Instruments:  All acoustic except Fender Bass.
Venue: Eel Pie Studios, Thames Valley, Berkshire.
(Engineer: Dick Hayes) 7^th April 1975.

BROOKLYN KIDS
I had a nasty vision one sunny afternoon-a beautiful girl walked past my studio window in a white dress. Behind her walked a young black kid; hip and hungry. Their relative states of
self-absorption produced the idea of the rape of a lonely girl by a lonely man.
The piano demo was enhanced by a beautiful orchestral arrangement by Ted Astley  ( my father-in-law)

Format: 24 track. 30 ips.
Instruments: Bosendorfer piano. Large string section. Woodwinds.
Venue: piano and voice at Home in Berkshire. Orchestra at Abbey Road, London.
(Engineer: John Kurlander, Executive Producer Kit Lambert) September 1978

PINBALL WIZARD
A simple 2 track demo of the song I wrote towards the end of the recording of TOMMY.
I wrote it to make sure Nick Cohn (who then reviewed for THE GUARDIAN) was kind to the album.
Most of the demos for TOMMY were recorded very simple. I only had the early Revox G36 stereo recorders at the time- but when I had a good song it didn't matter. In reality it never does. I haven't played around recording for all these years just to sell songs; I've done it for fun and for myself.

Format: 2 track. 15 ips.
Instruments: Gibson J200 guitar and Gibson SG special.
Venue: Home, Twickenham, London.

FOOTBALL FUGUE
Ted Astley composed this track over which I wrote the lyric. It reminded me of an orchestral battlefield. With the musicians wearing big heavy boots. Hence the analogy with football and hooliganism.

Format: 16 track 15 ips Dolby.
Instruments: Large string section. Percussion.
Venue: Olympic studios, Barnes
(Engineer: Glyn Johns) September 1978

HAPPY JACK
A nonsense song. One of the first I recorded in my studio in Soho built for me by an Australian called Jamie Hawter. Where are you Jamie? You didn't charge me enough!

Format: Vortexion CBL tape machines. 7 1/2 ips
Instruments: Cello, guitar, various percussion effects.
Venue: Home, Wardour Street , Soho. Sometime in1966

SUBSTITUTE
I made this demo after hearing a rough mix of NINETEENTH NERVOUS BREAKDOWN by The Stones. When I read David Marsh's book BEFORE I GET OLD I was amazed to read that I ripped off the riff- amazed because it was true, I had forgotten. Read the book to find out how, folks.

The lyric, so applauded by rock critics, was thrown together very quickly. Smokey Robinson sang the word 'substitute' so perfectly in TRACKS OF MY TEARS- my favorite song at the time- that I decided to celebrate the word itself with a song all its own.

Interesting that in eulogizing two of my most important influences (and ripping off a few ideas) I should end up with one of the most succinct songs of my career.

Format: Vortexion CBL (2 machines: bouncing in stereo) 7 1/2 ips
Instruments: Harmony 12 string guitar
Venue: Home, Old Church Street, Chelsa, London. Winter 1966.

LONG LIVE ROCK
At one point I had a whole concept album planned called LONG LIVE ROCK, UGH.
This is an innocent, bouncy little demo that contains enough cynicism to make it bareable.

Format: 1" 8 track with DOLBY 15 ips.
Instruments: Gretsch Chet Atkins etc.
Venue: Home, Twickenham, London. (Mixed at Olympic Studio 3 in Barnes) May 2^nd 1972

CALL ME LIGHTNING
One of the oldest demos I have. Recorded with another song called YOU DON'T HAVE TO JERK at the flat my Art school pal Barney shared with me. The flat was on the floor above my parents home. It provided a very safe independence; a phony rebellion until I move to Belgravia in1965.

The song is a very clear example of how difficult it was for me to reconcile what I took to be Roger's need for macho, chauvinist lyrics and Keith Moon's appetite for surf music and fantasy sports car love affairs

Format: 2 X Vortexion Mono recorders. 7 1/2 ips.
Instruments: Rickenbacker 3 pick up guitar.
Venue: Home, Ealing Common, London. Winter 1964

HOLLY LIKE IVY
Written and recorded in Dallas after a post-show party at some restaurant at which a girl called Holly shock hands with me. I received a very large shock of static electricity at the same time. I think I stood on her hair.

Format: TEAC Portastudio 224 with DBX 3 3/4 ips. 2X Uric LA3A Limiter/Compressors. 1 Roland SDE 2000 Digital Delay. 1 Soundworkshop 262 stereo reverb.
Instruments: Roland 808 Drum machine. Prophet 10 (Bass part). Yamaha CP70 Piano. Fender Jazzmaster via effects.
Venue: Hotel room, Dallas, Texas. Winter 1982

BEGIN THE BEGUINE
This recording was featured on HAPPY BIRTHDAY, the London Meher Baba Group's first Disc/magazine dedicated to the spiritual master. It was one of his favorite songs. The original records are hard to find, available now only from MEHER BABA INFORMATION BOX1011,Berkely, Calf.

Format: Revox stereo G36 15 ips
Instruments: Gibson J200
Venue: Home, Twickenham. Sometime in 1969.

VICIOUS INTERLUDE
Sometime in the past when men were men.

LA-LA-LA-LIES
This song was recorded in the batch of about eight demos for The Who's first album. Sandie Shaw had several hits, written by Chris Andrews, with songs that employed this rhythm.

Format: Vortexion CBL recorder. 7 1/2 ips.
Instruments: Harmony Acoustic guitar. Rickenbacker (de-tuned for the bass part)
Venue: Home, Chesham Place, Belgravia, London. Winter 1965.

CAT SNATCH
This is one of the many experimental sequences from SIEGE.
(See ASK YOURSELF)
The random bass part was carefully and tortuously transcribed and played by my Columbian friend Chucho Merchan. The other elements were produced almost by chance and embellished and mixed at my studio in Twickenham.

Format: Portastudio 4 track transferred to 16 track 30 ips 2" studio master.
Instruments: Prophet 10. Fender Telecaster (1952) via Roland Digital Delay. Roland Compurhythm via various cheap digital delays.
(including one miraculous device by Electro Harmonix called a 'Memory Man Chorus Delay').
Venue: 4 track in Cornwall-completion at Eel Pie Studios.
Twickenham, London.
(Assistant Engineer: Chris Ludwinski) August'82 through January'83.

DISC TWO

PRELUDE #556
This short prelude was written, recorded and mixed in Florida while the other guys in the band were playing hockey with a load of schoolgirls. I felt superior at the time. After all, I was writing a prelude. This should really be described as a fanfare:
"... for the entry of Roger Daltrey in a gym-slip!"

Format: TEAC portastudio 224 with DBX. 3 3/4 ips.
Instruments: Prophet 10 and Jupiter 8 synths. Roland Delay DLE 2000.
Venue: Hotel room, Tampa, Florida. 27^th November 1982.

BAROQUE IPPANESE
I've always loved Cornwall. In August 1982 I took some demo recording gear down to the holiday cottage we rented. After a day's sailing on a laser dinghy in the heavy, blustery sea off Falmouth I came home and recorded this peace.
It tries to suggest the splendour of an archaic ' tall ship' ; great square-rigged sail-training ships often dominate Falmouth harbour. This piece is dedicated to 'The Marques' and her crew lost in the Bahamas last year in a storm.

Format: TEAC portastudio 224 with DBX. 3 3/4 ips.
Instruments: Prophet 10. Roland Compurhythm. Roland Delay.
Venue: Cornwall. August 1982.

PRAYING THE GAME
This song was written in Cornwall in 1976. a long hot summer.
I wrote STREET IN THE CITY (which appeared on ROUGH MIX the album I recorded with Ronnie Lane) at the same time. I wanted to record a complete album of similar pieces. The orchestration is by Ted Astley

Format: 24 track 30 ips.
Instruments: Gibson J200 with open tuning and high strung on both low E and A strings to produce the lopsided arpeggios.
Large string section, Woodwinds, Percussion.
Venue: Studio 1 Abbey Road Studios, London.
(Engineer, John Kurlander. Executive Producer: Kit Lambert.) September 1978.

DRIFTIN' BLUES
Recorded at the kitchen table of the house I was living in at the time.
I've always loved this song. I heard it originally by John Lee Hooker and later by Snooks Eaglin.

Format: Sony TCS 300 stereo cassette machine with built in microphones. 1⅞ ips.
Instruments: Fylde Guitar.
Venue: Home, Thames Valley, Berkshire , England. May 1981

CHRISTMAS
Certain clumsy lines in this song still annoy me to this day. But I like it a lot, especially for hearing my old upright Marshall & Rose piano that was never quite in tune but still sounded so ceremonial and grand.

Format: Revox G36 stereo 2-track with sync-head. 15 ips.
Instruments: Piano. Gibson J200.
Venue: Home, Twickenham, London. Sometime in 1968

PICTURES OF LILY
This was written in my wife's bedroom at the flat she was then shared with a friend. I had to perform and sing it quietly because she was trying to sleep while I worked. Keith Jarrett visited about halfway through, "an improvisation addict in search of a piano."

Format: Vortexion CBL stereo recorder. 7 1/2 ips.
Instruments: Gibson ES 335 Guitar plugged straight in and sounding like shit, then detuned for bass part.
Venue: Eccleston Square, Victoria, London. Sometime in 1967

DON'T LET GO THE COAT
Recorded demos for FACE DANCES. I got to A.I.R. Studios early one Tuesday morning and wrote the song. Kenny Jones added the drums in the afternoon.

Format: 24 track 30 ips.
Instruments: Yamaha E70 organ. Rickenbacker 12 string. Fender Telecaster. Fender Bass.
Venue: A.I.R. Studio One. Oxford Street, London.
(Engineers: John Walls, Renate Blauel.) January 1980

THE KID'S ARE ALRIGHT
Written for The Who's first album. I was twenty years old when I wrote it and had faith in "kids".
I still have.

Format: Vortexion CBL 7 1/2 ips, Reslo microphone.
Instrument: Rickenbacker guitar (detuned for bass)
Venue: Home, Chesham Place, Belgravia, London. Winter 1965.

PRELUDE, THE RIGHT TO WRITE
In early 1983 I was desperately attempting to come up with a concept for the projected Who album that year. While I settled my mind, I did some inventing. I organized a synthesizer whose sixteen unison 'string' voices were reproduced through what I called a 'MYRIAD SPEAKER SYSTEM'. This was simply sixteen separate small speakers on mike stands at about head height, distributed around the recording studio in formal string section grouping.

 As soon as I played a note I knew I'd hit on something. The synthetic string sound was rich and spacious. I recorded it in real stereo with the natural ambience of the room.
 It's a wonderful system, but is complex and takes many hours to set up. The prelude itself was intended to precede a demo of a song that I sadly never finished.

Format: 16 track. 15 ips with Dolby.
Instruments: Bosendorfer piano. ARP 2500 16 voice studio synthesizer and 2 X ARP 2600 compact synthesizers (for strings).
Yamaha SY1 touch-sensitive mono synth (for flute and oboe parts).
Soundcraft 1624 mixing desk. 16 Visonik David speakers each separately amplified.
Venue: Eel Pie Studios, Twickenham, England.
(Engineer: Chris Ludwinski. Technician: Roger Knapp). January 1983.

NEVER ASK ME
 This song was carefully constructed as an alternative ballad for the WHO ARE YOU album. It wasn't used by the band. I sent a copy to Quincy Jones for Sinatra, but never heard anything.
The weird violin sound was produced by processing a string synthesizer through a Vocoder in which the 'speech' was actually a scraped violin. Nasty!

Format: 24 track 30 ips. EMS Vocoder 2000. Engineering assistance by Dick Hayes.
Instruments: Bosendorfer piano. Amati violin (copy) and usual rock stuff.
Venue: Eel Pie Studios, Thames Valley, Berkshire, England. March 30^th 1977

ASK YOURSELF
One idea I hit on while culling ideas for the aborted last Who album was called SIEGE. It was rooted in the idea that each of us is a soul in siege. I abandoned the idea in March '83. ASK YOURSELF (with CAT SNATCH) was one of the few pieces I worked on. SIEGE was based musically on a series of five black note repetitions. ASK YOURSELF contains an hypnotic exploration of one of these repetitions. This track was recorded in Cornwall in August 1982 and in early '83, I continued to work on it in Soho, London.

Format: 3M 24 track. 30 ips. (Basic track recorded on Portastudio 224 DBX)
Instruments: Guitars, vocals and echo effects added in Soho.
Prophet 10, Roland compurythm and 808 drum machine.
Jupiter 8 via 'Myriad Speaker System'.
Venue: Cornwall and Eel Pie Studio, Soho, London.
(Engineer: Russell Webb ( Armoury Show). August '82 through Febuary'83.

THE FERRYMAN
This song was written for an amateur production of SIDDHARTHA at Meher Baba Oceanic Center during the opening celebrations in June 1976.

Ted Astley later composed this absolutely stunning impressionistic orchestral setting for my simple, droning, open-tuned guitar. The lyric tells of Siddhartha's first meeting with the ferryman who is to become his spiritual master. The song closes as the ferryman explains that Siddhartha must replace him and learn his art of selfless service. (SIDDHARTHA is a short novel by Herman Hesse.)

Format: 24 track. 30 ips.
Instruments: Gibson J200 ( strung and tuned as in PRAYING THE GAME). Large string section. Woodwinds. Percussion.
Venue: Abbey Road Studio 1,London.
(Engineer: John Kurlander. Executive Producer: Kit Lambert.) September 1978.

THE SHOUT
The most recent demo, recorded slowly through the night on one sleepless occasion.

"I miss you, I miss you.
I remember lying by your side
Up in eery waters of Paradise.
N' then one day you walked out.
Now I have nothing to do but shout.
And I want my voice
To cut over mountains
And I want my soul
To gush up like fountains
To where you reside."

Format: Portastudio 224 DBX. Old Gretsch White Falcon
Instruments: Roland drumatix. Small Martin guitar. Gibson Bass. Yamaha piano
Venue: Home, Twickenham. March 1984

WDK 2008