PETE TOWNSHEND – EMPTY GLASS LP – Nr MINT A1/B1 UK 1980 THE WHO

Pete Townshend – Empty Glass
(Atco Records  1980  K50699)
Matrix No’s: A1/B1 – UK Pressing

Sleeve in Nr MINT condition
– a little wear to edges/corners
Inner Sleeve in Nr MINT condition

Vinyl in Nr MINT condition
(there are some light surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality)

Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (born 19 May 1945) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the lead guitarist, backing vocalist, and main songwriter for the rock band the Who. His career with the Who spans over 50 years, during which time the band grew to be considered one of the most influential bands of the 20th century.

Townshend is the main songwriter for the Who, having written well over 100 songs for the band’s 11 studio albums, including concept albums and the rock operas Tommy and Quadrophenia, plus popular rock radio staples such as Who’s Next, and dozens more that appeared as non-album singles, bonus tracks on reissues, and tracks on rarities compilations such as Odds & Sods (1974). He has also written more than 100 songs that have appeared on his solo albums, as well as radio jingles and television theme songs. Although known primarily as a guitarist, he also plays keyboards, banjo, accordion, harmonica, ukulele, mandolin, violin, synthesiser, bass guitar, and drums, on his own solo albums, several Who albums and as a guest contributor to an array of other artists’ recordings. He is self-taught on all of the instruments he plays and has never had any formal training.

Townshend has also contributed to and authored many newspaper and magazine articles, book reviews, essays, books, and scripts, and he has collaborated as a lyricist and composer for many other musical acts. Due to his aggressive playing style and innovative songwriting techniques, Townshend’s works with the Who and in other projects have earned him critical acclaim. He was ranked No. 3 in Dave Marsh’s list of Best Guitarists in The New Book of Rock Lists, No. 10 in Gibson.com’s list of the top 50 guitarists, and No. 10 again in Rolling Stone magazine’s updated 2011 list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. In 1983, Townshend received the Brit Award for Lifetime Achievement, in 1990 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Who, in 2001 received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award as a member of the Who, and in 2008 received Kennedy Center Honors. He and Daltrey received The George and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement at UCLA on 21 May 2016.

Empty Glass was released in 1980 as the first Pete Townshend solo album (Who Came First was a collection of demo recordings and Meher Baba-inspired songs, while Rough Mix was written and recorded with Ronnie Lane) and was his most successful. The album deals with a plethora of issues that Townshend was struggling with, including alcoholism, drug abuse, marital problems and deceased friends. Empty Glass also contained the devotional love song, “Let My Love Open the Door”, which became a top ten hit single in the US, along with the other (modestly successful) singles, “Rough Boys” and “A Little Is Enough”. The album was rated #57 on Rolling Stone’s list of 100 Greatest Albums of the 1980s.

History

The origins of the album’s title are described in the following quote from Pete Townshend (taken from the exclusive interview with Murray Lerner off the film ‘The Who: Live at the Isle of Wight Festival’):

“And when I did my first solo album, I called it ‘Empty Glass’, ’cause of this idea that when you go to the tavern — which is to God, you know — and you ask for His love — He’s the bartender, you know — and He gives you a drink, and what you have to give Him is an empty glass. You know there’s no point giving Him your heart if it’s full already; there’s no point going to God if your heart’s full of Doris.”

This concept was derived from the work of the Persian poet Hafiz, which Townshend became interested in from his involvement with Meher Baba.

The album was written and recorded between 1978 and 1980, when activity with The Who had started to pick up again, and Townshend found himself having to write for both his solo projects and his band. As a result, Empty Glass, when compared with The Who’s 1981 album Face Dances, was considered the superior album, with many critics calling it a Who album that never was. Roger Daltrey later commented that he felt let down by Townshend, and that many of the songs from the album would have worked well for The Who, among them “Rough Boys” and “Empty Glass”; Townshend countered by saying that he felt “Rough Boys” was the one song Daltrey would have wanted clarified (in terms of the song’s homoerotic subtext) and toned down if he were to sing it, thus defeating its message, while “Empty Glass” had been recorded during sessions for Who Are You in 1978, with a version featuring Keith Moon on drums and John Entwistle on bass released on the 1996 reissue of that album. This version is notable for the more suicidal undertones in the lyrics that were changed in the final, solo version. The line “Killing each other, then we jump off the ledge” on the Who Are You sessions was changed to “Killing each other by driving a wedge”.

Track listing

All songs were composed by Pete Townshend.

1. “Rough Boys” – 4:02
2. “I Am an Animal” – 3:51
3. “And I Moved” – 3:21
4. “Let My Love Open the Door” – 2:44
5. “Jools and Jim” – 2:36
6. “Keep on Working” – 3:23
7. “Cat’s in the Cupboard” – 3:34
8. “A Little Is Enough” – 4:42
9. “Empty Glass” – 5:25
10. “Gonna Get Ya” – 6:25

Personnel

• Pete Townshend: vocals, guitars, keyboards, synths
• John “Rabbit” Bundrick: “straight” keyboards
• Mark Brzezicki: drums
• James Asher: drums
• Simon Phillips: drums
• Tony Butler: bass guitar
• Kenney Jones: drums on “Rough Boys”
• Raphael Rudd: brass arrangements on “Rough Boys”
• Peter Hope-Evans: harmonica on “Cat’s in the Cupboard”