The connection between Pete Townshend and Ronnie Lane is a lot tighter than most fans may have recognized. As representatives of the genre’s two most famous bands, they were both linchpins of the British Mod movement, and later, through Meher Baba, they also shared the same spiritual beliefs.

These commonalities brought the pair together to record a few devotional albums to Meher Baba in the early ‘70s that were not intended for commercial release and now stand as some of their most rare work. Subsequently, Townshend recorded his first solo album, entitled “Who Came First”, and it was telling that the album’s second track (a gorgeous and playful vision of reincarnation called “Evolution”) was both written and sung by Ronnie Lane! With this background, it’s only logical that Lane would approach Townshend to assist in the production of his own solo project, but as the two had already blurred the line on Townshend’s disk, it wasn’t long before the solo project transformed itself into a joint effort. 

“Rough Mix” is the net result of two close friends bouncing myriad ideas off of each other. With no set plan, the two singer/songwriters allow each other total freedom, and the result is about as stylistically diverse as a single album can be.  It also stands as some of their best work away from the bands that they helped make famous. It’s such a pleasure to hear two of England’s best songwriters writing and playing for themselves, with no worries about whether the material would be suitable for other bandmembers.

The album also served as a small reprieve from the rather harsh reality that surrounded it. Pete Townshend started the project after coming off a tour with the Who, unaware that he would never again get the chance to perform with Keith Moon. Ronnie Lane, was also coming off of a tour, a conceptually brilliant but disastrously expensive traveling big-top tent caravan that left him virtually bankrupt, only to learn that the severe changes in his physical and mental state were due to the onset of multiple sclerosis.

Regardless of the negative aspects surrounding the project, the album comes off as playful and pastoral in about equal measure. From a topical perspective, “My Baby Gives It Away” rocks madly and is surely one of the weirdest love songs ever, while “Annie” is deceptively complex as it lovingly implies the inevitability of growing old and dying. “Keep Me Turning” bears topical similarities to “Annie” but with a self-aware humor that lightens the mood, while “Misunderstood” toys with the desire to escape one’s self-identity. Self-identity could be the force driving Lane’s “April Fool,” with lyrics that could easily be interpreted to address the sheer lunacy of his tour concept.

As it progresses, the album meanders back and forth like this, with each track adding new textures over a variety of unique perspectives. Taken as a whole, “Rough Mix” is a mini-masterpiece of self-aware songwriting, with material that makes you laugh one minute, and then, an instant later causes you reflect. Unpredictable, witty and wise, this is an album that conveys true friendship, and like the relationship it celebrates, grows deeper with age.

Featured Tracks:

My Baby Gives It Away

Nowhere to Run

Rough Mix

Annie

Keep Me Turning

Catmelody

Misunderstood

April Fool

Street in the City

Heart to Hang Onto

'Til the Rivers All Run Dry

September 1977 - Billboard Charted #45