Rough Mix

Rough Mix
Studio album by Pete Townshend and Ronnie Lane
Released 16 September 1977
Recorded Winter 1976 and Spring 1977
Studio Olympic Studios, London
Genre Rock
Length 41:34
Label MCA (US)
Polydor (UK)
Producer Glyn Johns
Pete Townshend chronology
With Love
(1976)		 Rough Mix
(1977)		 Empty Glass
(1980)
Ronnie Lane chronology
Mahoney's Last Stand
(with Ron Wood)
(1976)		 Rough Mix
(1977)		 See Me
(1979)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Robert ChristgauA–[2]
MusicHound[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[4]
Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music[4]

Rough Mix is an album by The Who's guitarist Pete Townshend and former Small Faces and Faces bassist Ronnie Lane.

The album was released in September 1977 as Polydor 2442 in the UK and MCA 2295 in the US.[5]

The album peaked at number 44 on the UK album chart,[6] and at number 45 on the Billboard 200.

Content

On 21 October 1976, The Who closed a brief North American tour in Toronto at Maple Leaf Gardens, a show that would be the last with Keith Moon before a paying audience.[7]

The Who's band members then took a hiatus to pursue various individual interests.

Pete Townshend had been initially contacted by Ronnie Lane to produce his next album, the project instead turning into a full-blown collaboration between the pair.[8] Lane expressed an interest in a songwriting collaboration but Townshend, who has very rarely co-written songs, was unwilling.[9] The instrumental title track is credited to both musicians, however.

During the recording of Rough Mix, Lane's multiple sclerosis was diagnosed (in one instance, Lane had an emotional issue related to his MS that caused an argument between him and an unknowing Townshend). Nonetheless Lane toured, wrote and recorded (with Eric Clapton among others) and in 1979 released another album, See Me, which features several songs written by Lane and Clapton. Around this time Lane travelled the highways and byways of England and lived a 'passing show' modern nomadic life in full Gypsy traveller costume and accommodation.

The album featured songs written by both principals in a vein less like that of The Who or The Faces but instead close to the folk-rock vogue of the early 1970s among various English bands.

A number of famous colleagues appeared on the recording, among them Eric Clapton, fellow member of The Who, John Entwistle, Ian Stewart, and Charlie Watts. Orchestral arrangements for the track "Street in the City" were provided by Townshend's father-in-law, noted British film and television theme composer Edwin Astley.

Rough Mix was remastered in 2006 and released by Hip-O Records, the reissue label for the Universal Music Group, in both 5.1 surround sound format on Dualdisc and standard stereo compact disc. The reissue featured three outtakes as bonus tracks.

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."My Baby Gives It Away"  Pete Townshend4:02
2."Nowhere to Run"  Ronnie Lane3:17
3."Rough Mix"  Townshend, Lane3:12
4."Annie"  Lane, Kate Lambert, Eric Clapton2:56
5."Keep Me Turning"  Townshend3:46
6."Catmelody"  Lane, Lambert3:12
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Misunderstood"  Townshend3:01
2."April Fool"  Lane3:34
3."Street in the City"  Townshend6:07
4."Heart to Hang Onto"  Townshend4:29
5."Till the Rivers All Run Dry"  Don Williams, Wayland Holyfield3:54
2006 reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Only You"  Lane4:29
13."Good Question"  Townshend3:34
14."Silly Little Man"  Lane3:44

Personnel

References

  1. ↑ AllMusic review
  2. ↑ Christgau, Robert (31 October 1977). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved 29 April 2013.
  3. ↑ Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds) (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 404. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
  4. 1 2 "Pete Townshend & Ronnie Lane Rough Mix". Acclaimed Music. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  5. ↑ Neill, Andy, and Kent, Matt. Anyway Anyhow Anywhere: The Complete Chronicle of The Who 1958–1978. 2009, ISBN 978-1-4027-6691-6, p. 299.
  6. ↑ UK Chart Stats
  7. ↑ The Who. Thirty Years of Maximum R&B. 1994, MCA Records CD-207146, liner notes booklet.
  8. ↑ Heinz Rudolf Kunze. Rough Mix. 2006, SPV 304852, liner notes.
  9. ↑ http://www.the-faces.com/lane/plonkdisk1.htm
  10. ↑ Markee's surname is incorrectly listed as "Marquee" on most editions of the album.
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