Pete Townshend

Rough Mix, Pete Townshend's 1977 collaboration with former Small Faces and Faces songwriter and bass player Ronnie Lane, combines the loose, rollicking folk-rock of Lane's former band, Slim Chance, with touches of country, folk, and New Orleans rock & roll, along with Townshend's own trademark style. Lane's tunes, especially the beautiful "Annie," possess an understated charm, while Townshend, with songs such as "Misunderstood," the Meher Baba-inspired "Keep Me Turning," and the strange love song "My Baby Gives It Away," delivers some of the best material of his solo career. Rough Mix stands as a minor masterpiece and an overlooked gem in both artists' vast bodies of work. Eric Clapton, John Entwistle, and Charlie Watts guest. [The album was reissued in 2006 in a remastered DualDisc from Hip-O containing the album and bonus cuts in DVD audio. Hip-O re-released it again in January of 2007 as a single CD in remastered form, bonus cuts included]. ~ Brett Hartenbach and Thom Jurek, All Music Guide