Sky Fall

Thankful time... isn't it amazing how different Internet providers work? My new one was set-up, ready and waiting to go for me – in just 4-1/2 hours on the same day I'd ordered it! I'm just awaiting delivery of their wifi router-modem (in a day-or-two), then I'll be back online at home again – along with a new home phone service. Sure is a nice change - having speedy customer service, after waiting over three months to disconnect from the other useless b@stards! Plus these guys provided all the details and small print in writing – something the previous twits couldn't be bothered supplying... Pah!

NOTE: I AM BACK ONLINE AT HOME AGAIN! Woot!!!

Thursday saw a rare event in town – rainfall! While it only lasted a few wonderful hours, it's more than we've had in months. I stopped-short of running about in it and jumping in puddles, dammit... maybe because I wanted to do it naked, and... I'M KIDDING! Thankfully, I managed to get into town yesterday before the sky started falling, so I could order my fresh groceries for home-delivery, which arrived this morning – yay for me. My [cough] back end behaved itself OK at the Library yesterday [and yes, I managed to sit next to yet another sniffer! Gagh! Lol], but today? Nah-da. Go figure!

I am very thankful for that small handful of people who stay in touch, or occasionally take me out for a cuppa or simple meal, or call first to drop-in home for a cuppa, just to hang out – never any hidden agendas here. I feel very forgotten otherwise, to be honest. Please stay in touch with me... I'd love to hear how life has been treating you – ta.

I hadn't slipped this album on for ages, but I'd forgotten how much of a classic it is… "Face Dances" by The Who (1981). Best bass guitar sound they ever got on tape of John Entwistle's awesome playing. After Keith Moons' death in 1978, the drummer's stool was taken up by Kenny Jones (The Small Faces, The Faces) – his is a totally different style to Moon's (naturally – Moon was wholly unique as a drummer – and as a human!!) With the addition of a keyboard player as well, it's a wholly different, almost tamed sound for this band… possibly their most disciplined studio effort, vocal-harmony-wise and with their instrumental performance. But IMHO, each song is a winner. Yup, it's the quality writing that makes this one of my favourite albums by one of my favourite bands… Townshend is obviously trying to redirect the sound of the band in a divergent direction on this album, and for me it works well… sadly, it was not to last, but we have this as testimony of how good they were! "A good time was had by all…"

The next day saw me enjoying an eclectic mix from many different sources [studio, radio, live], accumulated during my radio days, of The Who's "Tommy" (1969) - tracked the same as the original album. I've always loved playing guitar along with this one… 'tis what helped me get started as a rhythm player as an older teen for sure, when I first discovered it in c.1980. Sure I miss playing, but hearing so many different versions of long-treasured songs was so refreshingly different… I'd wholly forgotten I'd put this collection together, about six-ish years ago. The live versions of "Tommy" range from inspired hard rock, to pretty messy… apparently, that's what The Who were like at live gigs c.1969-70 – jaw-droppingly awesome one night, flat the next – for no particular reason. The 1969 Woodstock live versions are simply stunning tho (playing as the sun rose! Daltry later said, "God was our Lighting Tech that day…"). This is a totally-different band (sound, energy etc) to the one that recorded "Face Dances" in 1981 – and that's quite OK with me. The fun things you find sitting deep in your Hard Drive, huh? [laffs]

Peas bee with ewe

Mal