Pete Townshend wrote a memoir in 2012, revealing who Townshend was. But the story that made Townshend who he is was, of course, a story that was woven with music. Thus, while reading about the life of the rock star born in 1945, we also place rock music under scrutiny.
Townshend had the opportunity to observe all the steps: birth, invasion, regression, and revival of rock music. Because throughout all of these steps, he was right in the middle of the factory floor. So he could engage with the scene very closely and see the changes in the very nature of the music.
Like Townshend, his band The Who significantly influenced many rock music bands that came after it. It was one of the bands that redefined the rock sound. So if a name who is one of the significant figures of the revival of the genre itself says that some band has changed the flow of music, it is probably true. Townshend attributed this title to two albums in his book.
‘Who Am I’ contained very intimate details about The Who star, his childhood traumas, drug addiction, and even sexual attraction to Mick Jagger. However, the book is not just a story of a man’s life. Inevitably, it also includes musical analysis.
In his book, Townshend shared the two albums that changed the course of rock music: ‘Sgt. Pepper’ and ‘Pet Sounds.’ Both albums were released in the mid-’60s and mark different breaking points in rock history.
“For me, ‘Sgt. Pepper’ and The Beach Boys’ ‘Pet Sounds’ redefined music in the 20th century: atmosphere, essence, shadow, and romance were combined in ways that could be discovered again and again.” Townshend continued, “Neither album made any deep political or social comment, but ideas were not what mattered. Listening to music had become a drug in itself.”
He added, “I loved smoking a little grass and listening to my two favorite albums, ‘Sgt. Pepper’ and ‘Pet Sounds,’ and every time I listened, I heard something new, but I wish I could say I heard something important. These two great albums indicated the future but passed on no tools, codes, or obvious processes that would lead to a door. I ached for more than just a signpost pointing to the future, which is what these albums were to me.”
The first is the eighth album of The Beatles: ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,’ released in 1967. This album has a broader sociopolitical impact, as music historians also see it as lifestyle revolutionary. It marks one of the origins of the emergence of a counterculture, or rather its celebration with music. Thus, it becomes a transformation point in the functional nature of the music and its reception.
The second is the Beach Boys’ 11th studio album, ‘Pet Sounds.’ The album is known for marking the origins of progressive pop in the history of music, which paved the way for progressive rock. Therefore, both records mark different breaking points in the history of rock music, as Townshend also evaluated.
