Pete Townshend and . . . Ian Hunter?

So I'm watching Amazing Journey: The Story Of The Who this evening and at the end of the second disc is a featurette on the recording of "Real Good Looking Boy". It's pretty fun to watch Pete and Roger in the studio with Rabbit Bundrick, Zak Starkey, and Greg Lake of all people. I'd never heard the song before since they chose to release it on some otherwise useless compilation album.

Anyway, no offense to Roger, but the whole time I'm hearing this song I'm thinking it would sound way better with Ian Hunter singing it. It sounds tailor-made for him, and would have fit in nicely on any of his recent albums. So I'm suddenly thinking a Townshend/Hunter collaboration could be really interesting. I wonder if it could ever happen. Probably not

 

Pete is not good in collaborations, he doesn't like it, he like to work alone. There's an interview in the web where he say this.

 

It took Pete 25 years to release a "Who" album........

 

Ian Hunter's only 75. He can wait.

 

Rough Mix was great though!

 

They can celebrate his 100th birthday

 

Jeez...is Ian really 75???!!! I'm gonna be devastated when his time comes up.

 

Amazing Record. Is just a miracle of collaboration in Pete case. But in Rough Mix there's no really colaboration, except for Heart to Hang Onto. Just Pete's songs and Ronnie's songs.

 

Even Rough Mix had a punch-up or two before they were through.

 

Roll another one, just like the other one ....and pass it over to me.

 

I think Pete and Roger need Ian more than the other way around.....Endless Wire gathers dust while I regularly play Rant, Shrunken Heads, Man Overboard and When I'm President.

 

Honestly, much as I like some that Ian Hunter has done, PT is used to working with one of the greatest voices to come from rock music. I seriously doubt Mr Hunter has the vocal range or the voice control to do even the least complex of what PT writes.
As well as, anything IH could sing that PT writes, PT could likely sing better.

 

Yeah, I thought about that. Ian is used to running his own show too. Probably a bad mix of two alpha personalities.

 

Well, this is the age old question of technical ability versus that certain something that singers like Dylan, Neil Young, Ian Hunter and Lucinda Williams bring to the table. In the particular case of "Real Good Looking Boy", I think there is a lot of room for emotional nuance in the delivery that Hunter could put across better than Daltrey. For my money, few singers do wistful nostalgia better than Ian Hunter. But you don't have to agree

 

"How the **** do you get your hair to do that?"

"Wouldn't you like to know!"

 

I don't think there'd be much air left in the room if Pete and Ian were locked inside and forced to collaborate.

They may both be older and presumably wider, but this doesn't sound like something that would work well.

 

Didn't Pete say that Rough Mix was originally going to be made with Ray Davies? Imagine those two working together!

 

That song was produced by his younger brother Simon. I bet that there were some interesting clashes over that, can't imagine Pete not interfering!

 

Like I say, I like Ian Hunter and consider him to be an excellent showman and good entertainer. But Pete Townsend is one picky dude in the studio. I think "almost" notes would make him grit his teeth.

 

They're both as deaf as a post so it could be really interesting.

 

Mott The Whopple?

 

Yup, most of us gain weight as we get older!

That is a hilarious slip (I'm assuming it was a typo). In any case I gotta remember that one - older and wider