which Daltrey sang Townshend's songs accompanied by an orchestra, guest stars such as Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder and a band (many of whom, including drummer Zak Starkey and Townshend's guitar-playing brother, Simon, were re-enlisted for "Quadrophenia") clearly had another agenda.

"Roger's tour was meant to honor the work, celebrate the work and use it in the absence of The Who," notes Townshend evenly. "But I felt comfortable with it. Where I started to feel uncomfortable was when Roger's manager started to suggest that I might turn it into the new Who. That was a real problem for me, because I couldn't see us going into a studio and coming up with songs that were a credit to each of us as human beings." Although it's conceivable that Daltrey and Entwistle may not have shared his lofty criteria for such a potentially lucrative eventuality, Townshend doesn't bring it up.

Surprisingly, he says, "I'm not sure I feel that degree of conviction that it must fail today. I'm not raising hopes for any kind of Who album, but what has made it feel possible to me is the fact that Roger and I are creatively collaborating on the script for 'Quadrophenia.' It's the first thing we've ever creatively collaborated on in our lives."

Previewed in New York this past July, and winding up a five-week North American tour this week, "Quadrophenia" now employs film projections and onstage narrator Daniels to clarify the album's loose plot.

Joining the reunited Who — Townshend, Daltrey and bassist Entwistle (drummer Keith Moon died in 1978) — are Billy Idol, as the proud mod leader who becomes a servile "Bellboy," and Gary Glitter, as the faded rock star of "The Punk and the Godfather." There's also a company of musicians and backup singers superbly anchored by Starkey.

"I've known him for a long time," says Townshend of Ringo Starr's son, whose dynamic drumming doesn't so much imitate Moon's as re-create its manic energy in his own style. It's no coincidence, says Townshend. "Keith was a kind of musical godfather to him." So there's more to his role in "Quadrophenia" than just keeping a beat. "With Zak Starkey and my brother," Townshend says, "we've managed to spin some karma into the piece, which makes it comfortable for me."

Townshend doesn't know (or won't say) what's next for "Quadrophenia" after this tour and some English and European shows, but he will allow that "I'm already getting interest from theatrical producers." Having followed in "Tommy's" wake as a concept album, a film and a reunion tour, will "Quadrophenia" also wind up a musical? "It would be easy enough to do. What one can't ascertain at this time is whether it would be worth doing, because it might be that the audience is a narrow one."

But even if he decides to concentrate on some other project, Townshend says his musical approach has changed for good. "What I'm writing today is very different from anything I've ever written before." He is aware that his audience, raised on a radio diet of "My Generation" and "Won't Get Fooled Again," may not immediately follow.

This past May, he played a pair of low-key solo shows at the Supper Club in New York, offering such hits as "Let My Love Open the Door" and "Rough Boys" while testing the tolerance of fans with a catalog of his not-quite-rock obsessions, from Meher Baba spirituals ("O Parvadigar") to an unfortunately jazzified piano rendition of Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell on You."

The focus of his current efforts, he says, is to "train myself for another life, to write for the stage. I've been learning to play the piano better, to score more elegantly, to deal with other players without being quite so dictatorial.

"I've started to look at the more positive experience I've had in my life. I find it difficult, because I've spent most of my time drawing on negative experiences." That turnabout extends to his sense of stardom as well. "I'm accepting the fact that my fans, and The Who's fans, are people I depend on. I should accept that with some good grace and enjoy it."

Ira Robbins, formerly Newsday's pop music editor, is author of the upcoming "The Trouser Press Guide to '90s Rock."