Quote:
Originally Posted by lucifer_sam
Plus, however great a songwriter Townshend was, he was no match to the Lennon/McCartney duo. (But then again, noone was).
|
This statement shows extreme bias and partiality. For a start, they weren't even writing the same type of music. Lennon/McCartney were obviously better at what THEY did, that goes without saying and nobody would be so stupid as to deny that except, well, a total idiot. Townshend though was the more ambitious artist and would continuously try to expand the art of rock music far, far beyond wherever it had gone previously, often into the realms of the outright ridiculous. Townshend had had stabs at the operetta as early as 1966 with "A Quick One While He's Away", the closing track of their 2nd album, in all its 9 minutes and 10 seconds. He came closer to a real full-blown concept album with Sell Out in 1967, the first side of which perfectly simulates a pirate radio station (the second side ends in another mini-opera). Then finally, in 1969, Townshend pulls out the first ever full-blown start-to-finish rock opera with Tommy in 1969.
The Beatles were undoubtedly better melodists and wrote a far more substantial array of memorable songs. Townshend though was the most artistically
ambitious (and probably over-ambitious) rock songwriter in the British 1960s.
Oh, and Townshend was significantly more profound and skillful as a lyricist.