Customer Reviews

Rough Mix

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Old friends Ronnie Lane & Pete Townshend join forces in late Winter 76 / Spring 77 and the result was: " Rough Mix".
The Who had been idle in the studio for almost two years at this point. Their last project "The Who By Numbers" was a great record but a few folks took it as if it was a Pete Towshend solo record because of the theme of Pete's songs were very personal and the overall sound was not as dynamic as previous releases.
That said, lot's of us took: "Rough Mix" as if was the new "Who" record. Well, it's not that BUT it stands on it's own merit as one of the best things that Pete was ever involved in.
Ronnie Lane, had been on his own for a few years at this time and he is an important partner for Pete on this piece of work. He is a great contrast in style to Mr. Townshend and helps "Rough Mix" work as a balanced record. His tunes: "Nowhere To Run", "Annie" & "April Fool" seem to have had an amazing effect on Pete's writting and playing to free him up from the turmoils of The Who and the results here are some of the best Pete Songs, some of you have never heard.
It all begins with "My Baby Gives It Away" a very loose and happy but raunchy love song that sounds nothing like The Who has done since "Magic Bus", Pete sounds like a new man on a mission and it's a good opener. Ronnie, get's to shine on "Nowhere to Run" & "Annie" and he seems a little more relaxed than Pete, but he sure can write good tunes.
The title tune is from a studio jam the boys undertook with Eric Clapton, and it's just OK but it does not hold interest for repeated listenings. Same goes for "Catmelody" as you can tell this also devolped from a jam featuring a few guys from The Rolling Stones.
But "Keep Me Turning" is the great lost Who song that we had been waiting to hear for years...fantastic !!! The same could be said for: "Heart To Hang Onto", as this could have been an epic number if Roger had the chance to sing on this, both of these great songs, still pop up in Pete's solo concerts to this day .
For my money the best thing recorded for this project was the great: "Misunderstood" it is as loose as you could ever get from Pete, but at the same time it has a very tight focus due to his writing...fantastic plus two.
And let's not forget: "Street In The City" which is just Pete, and an orchestra doing a: "Mini-Opera", this experiment works for some but is a shock to lovers of: "Live at Leeds" as our hero has done a 180 from the power chords of old, and on this has steered close to a classical work. I think it is an experiment, that he indeed pulls off well, and it's rumored that Pete has demos of more along this line, I hope they get to see the light of day
Things come to a close with one of Baba's favorite songs: "Till The Rivers All Run Dry" and it's like a prayer, as was the intention.
This being the: "Deluxe Edition", there is an essay on the making of this classic and complete lyrics and recording information. Three bonus tracks are added here; "Only You" & "Silly Little Man" by Ronnie Lane and another studio jam called: "Good Question", they are OK, but they are not the great lost recordings we are searching for.
"Rough Mix" still holds up well almost thirty years later and this is the edition to purchase, Ronnie went on to rock in Heaven, and Pete didn't die OR get old, thank goodness.
This is one of Pete's finest efforts, and with Ronnie's help, the mix is good.
Four Stars!!!

This would be ex-Faces Ronnie Lane's next-to-last record. [He would release only one more solo album, 1979's See Me, before multiple sclerosis no longer permitted him to record.] Together with Pete Townshend they create a memorable album.

Rough Mix kicks off with the most Who-like of the albums tracks--"My Baby Gives It Away," which is propelled by the drumming of Stones' drummer Charlie Watts. Townshend's vocal performance is fine, but he doesn't have the instensity that Roger Daltry could have added to the song.

Only two other tracks rock as hard as the opening track. The instrumental "Rough Mix," which features Eric Clapton's lead guitar and the organ work of John "Rabbit" Bundrick, who would go on to tour with the Who in 1979. The other is Ronnie Lane's "Catmelody," a jumping number featuring Stones sideman Ian Stewart on piano.

The rest of the album is a mostly accoustic affair. One of the album's standout tracks is Lane's absolutely gorgeous "Annie," which features his former Slim Chance members Graham Lyle on guitar and Benny Gallagher on accordian. Equally lovely is Lane's "April Fool" with Clapton on Dobro. Townshend also turns in one of his prettiest melodies and excellent acoustic guitar playing with "Keep Me Turning."

Only the string-laden "Street in the City" seems out of place on this disc, and at over six minutes is too long.

The album closes, however, with the melancholy "Heart to Hang on To" with Lane and Townshend sharing vocal chores, and the Don Williams country classic "Till the Rivers All Run Dry."

This is one of Townsend's strongest non-Who projects and Lane's contributions are stunning. If you enjoy either of these artists you will enjoy this collaboration. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Having bought this on vinyl when it first came out, I awaited the CD release which has rarely left my playlist in the last decade-and-a-half. This is an album that defies pigeon-holing and it's highpoints overshadow its flaws (and there are several) by a high exponential factor. This is one of the saddest and most joyous recordings I've ever heard. Sad because it marked Ronnie Lane's diagnosis with MS and joyous because it souded like a bunch of guys just happy to play music together. The hits outrank the stiffs by a large margin as well. "Street in the City" threatens to be an other self-indulgent Townshend epic, but the sweetness of his singing and the wistful feel redeem its flaws. Nearly every Lane track is flawless and the arrangements are great, bringing in banjos, mandolins and harmonicas, where needed,to give it a timeless sound. Just writing about the record makes me smile.

There is likely a touch of bias here, as I've long loved Rough Mix since I first heard it in my college dorm room back in '83. Nonetheless, the contrast in styles between Pete Townshend and the late Ronnie Lane work beautifully, particularly when the duo cross-pollenate like the addictive "Heart To Hang Onto."

One reason you should own Rough Mix alone is summed up in four words: "Street In The City." Without question, song for song, this is truly one of Pete's finest moments. Combined an impassioned vocal, relentless fingerpicking and the orchestra strings, and you are taken on a journey to downtown London and witness a window-worker who loses balance and falls. This description does no justice to the song, but for anyone who appreciates the pure joy of music, you haven't lived life until you have experienced "Street In The City".

Street aside, every song has plenty to offer. You want rockers? There is Pete's driving "My Baby Gives It Away", augmented by the unmistakenable drumming of Charlie Watts. There's Ronnie's playful, horn-laden "Catmelody". Not to mention the instrumental title track, led by Clapton's electric leads and John "Rabbit" Bundrick's organ.

Rough Mix is marked, though, by its softer, simpler sides. Ronnie contributes two gorgeous ballads: the inflective "April Fool" and the timeless "Annie" with its final verse "Hear the children, they call, Annie/Every leaf must fall, Annie/God bless us all, Annie/ Wherever we'll be." Pete also contributes the coying "Misunderstood".

The album is capped by its only cover, a graceful reading of Hank Williams' "'Til The Rivers All Run Dry", touched by sincere harmony vocals, Eric Clapton's dobro and Pete's acoustic.

The only shame about this album is the fact that there wasn't a follow-up. Nevertheless, Rough Mix is such that it deserves a home in every music lover's collection.

I remember the first time I heard this on record,and I was blown away.
Years later to be able to get this on cd is thrilling.
The album has held up well,their voices together are magic.

Ronnie was so gifted..a shame to lose him so young.

Pete Townshend solo albums can be pretentious affairs. Not that that is such a bad thing, as Townshend had the talents to back up his pretentions in most cases, but it did not always ensure enjoyable listening. Here he teams with fellow ex-mod Ronnie Lane, late of the Faces for a rather down to earth affair, that I think is one of the best albums he had ever been involved with.

At the time Townshend had been painted into a corner with the Who by both his "Hope I die beforeI get Old" line as well finding a new direction for his aging full time band, The Who. ROUGH MIX low key approach allows him to blow off some steam without being held to making the big statements expected from the Who a the time. Ronnie Lane contributes a folksy side that is the perfect balance to Townshend's arty approach. Lane's NOWHERE TO RUN, ANNIE and APRIL FOOL are beautiful highlights featuring relaxed aucoustic settings. He duets with Townshend effectively on the closing country standard TILL THE RIVERS ALL RUN DRY.

All this is not to take away from Townshend's efforts. MISSUNDERSTOOD and STREET IN THE CITY are successful visits to his more esoteric range, while KEEP ME TURNING and HEART TO HANG ON TO ARE full blooded rockers closer to his Who nmaterial. MY BABY GIVES IT AWAY and ROUGH MIX are down and dirty rockers that are looser than his usual fare.

ROUGH MIX is a great 70's relic that stands the tests of time and provides a solid look at the fun side of Pete Townshend that he tends to keep hidden.

Hey, all all star collaborative efforts should be like this. This album shows what Townshend would have been capable of in The Who with someone like Ronnie to compete with. While Entwistle was a good song writer, he was no genius, and not even interested in trying to be, concentrating mostly on his bass playing. While Ronnie may not be Townshend quality, he's great, and it forced Pete to heights he hadn't achieved in a long time. If The Who had Ronnie in it from the beginning, they'd have been better than The Beatles.

The album runs the gauntlet from hard charging roots rock to beautiful ballads, to massive Townshend experimentation. It's kind of a schizophrenic album, but everything is done with such gall, such joy, and such pure craft, that the album is a delight the whole time its on. The most fun album of Townshend's career (both Who and solo) and while it may not make it his best, it makes is a huge highlight. Find it, buy it, love it.

You can't any better than this. Pete is at his songwriting and arranging peak. Ronnie is soulful as ever. Clapton plays a beautiful dobro. "Keep me Turning" is a fantastic Townshend showpiece, but it's Ronnie who takes the cake with "April Fool." Clapton's dobro is particularly poignant on this one as well. But the album as a whole is great.

This is one great album.Not a bum track to be found.Some of Petes finest songwriting in a long time,and the marvelous singing and soul of the sorely missed Ronnie Lane moves me every time."Annie","April Fool" some of his best.Wouldn't it have been great if "My Baby Gives it Away" had gotten the full Who treatment? I could hear Roger Daltry rip thru this one."Heart to Hang Onto"is one of Townshends greatest songs,with heartbreaking vocals.Get this one! Ronnie Lane is reason enough.

Pete Townshend Ronnie Lane had a history that was rooted in British mid '60s Mod culture - Lane had been writer/bassist for Small Faces (1965-69) and Faces (1969-75), Townshend of course led The Who - and had a common spiritual path that led to a pair of privately produced albums as well as Pete's 1972 debut "Who Came First." "Rough Mix," issued in 1977, seemed rather slight in its time (with punk stealing attention as both musical and cultural phenomenon), but has aged very well. Though the two greats write seperately, except for the title track, a rocking instrumental, Lane sings lead on the most appropriate Townshend song ('Heart To Hang Onto'), and each adds a great deal to the whole. The music is nuanced, meticulously textured, and utterly undated. Highlights include Lane's hauntingly poetic 'April Fool,' 'Annie' and Townshend's aforementioned 'Heart' and 'Street In The City,' but really this is a powerful yet unassuming gem in its entirety. As stated the auteurs play most of the guitars, basses, and vocals, but guests include the Stones' Charlie Watts and Ian Stewart, plus Eric Clapton, John Entwistle, and others. I suggest the interested reader click over to the newly issued SACD/CD remaster on the Hip-O label, which features exquisite sound and three fine bonus tracks (two by Lane, one by Pete). The upgrade is substantial even if like me you only have a stereo CD player, and sonically blows previous CD editions out of the water.