Pete Townshend - Empty Glass

"And when I did my first solo album, I called it 'Empty Glass', 'cause of this idea that when you go to the tavern -- which is to God, you know -- and you ask for His love -- He's the bartender, you know -- and He gives you a drink, and what you have to give Him is an empty glass. You know there's no point giving Him your heart if it's full already; there's no point going to God if your heart's full of Doris." – Pete Townshend

Empty Glass (1980) is Pete Townshend’s first proper solo album.  Who Came First (1972) is a collection of demos from the Lifehouse project [remnants of which became Who’s Next] and some tributes to his spiritual guru, Meher Baba.  Billy Nichols and Ronnie Lane also contribute.  Rough Mix (1977) was done with Ronnie Lane.  As a human being Pete Townshend was in constant crisis.  The guy who wrote “I hope I die before I get old” turned 30 in 1975.   He suffered a nervous breakdown after his Lifehouse project aborted.  Keith Moon died in 1978.  Eleven people were trampled to death before a Who concert in Cincinnati in 1979, for which he felt responsible.  He had marital problems, became an alcoholic, seemed destined to follow Keith Moon into an early grave, and was always full of self-doubt.  The Who by Numbers [1975] has been described by some as an open suicide letter where he chronicled his problems with booze, women, and life in general.  Empty Glass follows in this vein.

He was always questioning why he did the things he did,  He still does that to this day, as is evident in his memoir, Who I Am.  Pete Townshend was a storyteller.  Tommy was the story of a deaf, dumb and blind boy.  Lifehouse was a story set in dystopian society.  Quadrophenia is the story of Jimmy, a mixed-up fucked up Mod with four personalities.  But instead of writing songs for the Who and have them pick the cream of the crop, he did a 180 and saved the best songs for himself.  This is just as well because by this time he was writing about himself.  Oftentimes when presented with material he thought was too personal, Roger Daltrey would give the song back to PT and say “you sing this, it’s too personal for me,” or words to that effect.   However Much I Booze or Blue, Red and Grey from The Who by Numbers is a great example of this.  The songs on Empty Glass would have given Roger plenty of opportunity to give songs back to PT.  Though the songs are quite personal, Empty Glass has the power and energy that would have made a great Who album.  It is definitely a stronger work than The Who’s Face Dances and It’s Hard.  But there is a sonic difference between this album and albums PT made with The Who.  The musical foci of Who albums are the guitar, bass, and drums – loud guitars, acoustic guitars, thunderous bass guitars, and hyperkinetic drums played by a maniac.  Empty Glass has its share of power chords, but keyboards [synthesizers, pianos] are given equal time here.  Whereas The Who used keyboards to color songs that are essentially guitar-based, some songs on Empty Glass have keyboards as the primary instrument [And I Moved, Let My Love Open the Door, A Little Is Enough] where there is no guitar to be heard.  PT gets to do stuff on his own that he could never do with The Who.  So in that sense, Empty Glass has more musical dynamics than the Who album that preceded it, Who Are You.

The songs:

Rough Boys – PT dedicated this one to his daughters Emma and Arminta and the Sex Pistols.  PT figured out the best way to scare macho punks would be to pretend to be gay, hence some words like “I want to bite and kiss you.”  I saw The Who play this one live in Oakland in 1989.

I Am an Animal – PT declares himself “queen of the fucking universe.”  Keith Moon trashed a lot of hotel rooms, but PT was no slouch when it came to rock and roll excess.      

And I Moved – 30 years ago people thought this song meant that PT was coming out of the closet as a gay man.  With the words “And I moved as I saw him looking in through my window…And I moved and his hands felt like ice exciting as he laid me back just like an empty dress…And I moved but I moved toward him…”  PT claimed to have written the song for Bette Midler.  
 

Let My Love Open the Door – Inspired by Meher Baba.  It’s short, it’s synth-driven.  I have no idea why this was a hit.  Ii guess it’s all about ‘taste.’  That’s the thing about some guys who write “love” songs who don’t usually write them.  If you substitute a woman for God in a song [like George Harrison did…a lot!], then it all starts to make sense.  So PT walks the fine line between romanticism and spiritualism.  I saw The Who play this one live, too.

Jools and Jim – This is the Pete Townshend I like – angry, pissed off and full of rage.  The objects of this poison pen are two music critics of the New Music Express [Julie Birchill and Tony Parsons], who said the world was better off without Keith Moon. They went as far as to compare The Who’s unique drummer with Sid Vicious. 

"But did you read the stuff that Julie said / Or little Jimmy with his hair dyed red / They don't give a shit Keith Moon is dead / Is that exactly what I thought I read / Typewriter tappers / You're all just crappers / You listen to love with your intellect / A4 pushers / You're all just cushions / Morality ain't measured in a room / He wrecked"

"But did you read the stuff that Julie said? / Or little Jimmy with his hair dyed red / They have a standard of perfection there / That you and me can never share / Typewriter bangers on / You're all just hangers on / Everyone's human 'cept Jools and Jim / Late copy churners / Rock and Roll learners / Your heart's are melting in pools of gin"

Keep On Working – PT’s first “drug” of choice has always been overwork.  This one has a bit of a “Gilbert & Sullivan” feel to it.  I always hit the “skip” button when this song comes on.

Cat’s in the Cupboard – I haven’t a clue what PT is talking about.  For me this song has always been about aggression and attitude.  PT sounds like he’s pissed off about something, and he’s got some angry, aggressive music to convey the mood.  If you want to smash your guitar, wreck a hotel room, or just go around your house and break stuff for no other reason than to release your inner “fuck you” child, play this song.

A Little Is Enough – I had no idea what this one was about until I read PT’s book.  This little bit came out of a conversation between PT and his wife Karen.  She apparently told him she didn’t love him anymore.  He asked “just a little?”  She said “maybe,” and a song is born.

Empty Glass – There is a demo of this song on the remastered version of Who Are You.  John Entwistle and Keith Moon both play on it.  Whether it was seriously being considered for inclusion on that album, I haven’t a clue.  But the fact that two other Who members were part of the demo tells me this is a long, lost Who song that PT decided to keep for himself.  I think Who Are You would have been a better with it.  Play this one back-to-back with John Entwistle’s Trick of the Light and you’ll hear for yourself.  This one is extremely personal.  He’s having an existential crisis as the song opens – “Why was I born today?  ‘Life is useless’ like Ecclesiastes say… “ But these were the lines that I took all too literally in the early 1980s – “My life’s a mess I wait for you to pass/I sit here at the bar I hold an empty glass…Don’t worry, smile and dance, you just can’t work life out/Don’t let down moods entrance you, take the wine and shout…” 

Gonna Get Ya – Whoever he’s pursuing, he’s going to get [somehow…].  Lots of power chords and Rabbit Bundrick plays a very good piano solo in the middle.  This one could have easily been a Who song.

Empty Glass proved that Pete Townshend did not need The Who to make a great record.  IMHO, this album spelled doom for The Who.  The two Who albums that followed this release, Face Dances and It’s Hard, pale in comparison to Empty Glass.  The Who sounded like they were going through the motions on those two releases.  The Who had always been about “big statements,” but after Keith Moon died there were no “big statements” to be found on Who records.  It wasn’t Kenny Jones fault that those two albums paled in comparison to other Who works.  Empty Glass had better songs – period. 

Empty Glass in essential for any Who fan.  It’s one of my “Desert Island Discs.”