Roger Daltrey with columnist Earl Wilson at press party

Let me start this whole thing off by recounting a "happening" I recently attended while in New York.

I was invited to a press conference for Roger Daltrey, who was in this country to promote his "Ride A Rock Horse" album and the opening of "Lisztomania," his second film.

Daltrey handled the whole thing with a great show of patience. After a while the same questions were asked by latecomers and he answered as courteously as he had the first time around. His patience popped when the group interview came to an end. He had been continually served drinks as he sat through the inquest. And he kept requesting that the assemblage be served as well. When the last question was asked and the interview was closed he blew his top at whoever was doing the serving and apologized to the press corps, calling the hosts cheapskates for not being gracious enough hosts.

I arrived early for the party and settled into a spot with a good vantage point to peruse the proceedings.

Pretty soon the walls were bulging with the invited and the uninvited. With the "Ride A Rock Horse" album playing, the well-stocked bar, flowing and the promise of "Old Blue Eyes" making an appearance, things got loose and the party took wings.

Wandering through the crowd at La Cabana were the likes of columnist Earl Wilson, Rock Concert's Don Kirshner, Liza Minnelli's half sister, Lorna Luft, Lance Loud of the "American Family" Louds, Helen Gurley-Brown of Cosmopolitan and others.

Later I wound up sitting at the Daltrey table (which was stuck in a back corner of the place) with Roger, his brother-in-law, Malcolm and a few other odds and ends. In conversation (by this time anything from a snicker to a pronounced single word was considered conversation) Daltrey expressed surprise that Sinatra had said he especially wanted to meet him.

With the aid of being tired and a bit bored perhaps, Daltrey's sense of humor took over and the table was off and running.

By the end of the evening I found out that I was living in the "Boonies." That's what I was told by at least two people (I later found out both were crashers.) I learned that Roger is shorter than I am and I also learned that I would have to wait for another opportunity to meet Frank Sinatra. His body guard arrived at the party without the boss and I guess the session ran later then anyone thought – he never showed.

Time has passed now and the Daltrey party and the good time had there has faded a bit from the memory and the "Ride A Rock Horse" album can now be approached with more objectivity.

The album is, for the most part, not my cup of tea. Daltrey said doing the solo gave him the opportunity to do other people's material, which he enjoys doing.

The material Daltrey chose to record is where the whole thing goes awry for me.

Daltrey in the context of The Who is fabulous. Daltrey in the context of "Walking The Dog" is beyond my limited understanding.

His performance is strong as always but… it just isn't the same as "I'm A Boy," "In The City," "My Generation," "I Can See For Miles" and on and on.

As a matter of fact the new Who album goes about the same. Daltrey mentioned that the new Who record is a return on Townshend's part to the good old rock 'n roll. He pointed out the absence of any synthesizer tracks on the album.

On "The Who By Numbers," one or possibly two cuts at the most have the distinctive sound of The Who. I can't really give any opinions of the rest of the material. It isn't bad… it's just not "Magic Bus" or "Sellout" or… don't get me wrong. The Who is The Who and they have the ability to go through changes that time and experience create.

Much remains to be seen. And it will be seen when the boys storm into the Hampton Roads Coliseum for a Thanksgiving concert. The Who in concert has always been one of those incredible happenings. The show is a sure sell-out and people will be crawling all over each other to get a ticket.

Daltrey and the band will have little trouble winning the crowd, but I hope that the incendiary spark, which started years ago when they would whip the kids into a frenzy with their dynamic stage presence … Daltrey with microphone a twirl, Townshend's windmill guitar playing style, Entwistle the anchor for what goes on on stage and Moon, crazy, as always, and doing what he does best with a set of drums.