- Hardcover
- Publisher: POCKET BOOKS (2001)
- ASIN: B001169I1O
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First Sentence
Night time in a faraway place - a kind of North - somewhere beyond the kind of place we know. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Night time in a faraway place - a kind of North - somewhere beyond the kind of place we know. Read the first page
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4 reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Excellent!
30 Jan 2003
Format:Paperback
After 30+ years Lifehouse finally sees the light of day. While very different from its first inception this radio play ranks among Pete's best work. Its very similar in tone and style to his last "concept album" Psychoderelict. And if you enjoy reading the play I also recommend Pete's Lifehouse Chronicles CD set, which includes the radio play itself plus 2 CDs of original Lifehouse Demos and 2 CDs of more recent work on the project...
I waited for decades...
8 Nov 2009
Format:Paperback
I've been a huge fan of Pete Townshend for over 35 years, and like millions of other fans I hoped that one day he might complete the Lifehouse project that he abandoned in 1971. When I heard that there was a play with music being readied for release in 2000, I was thrilled to pieces; at last we'd hear what it was all about. I listened to the radio broadcast of the play...
... and now I'm listening again, nine years later. I'm still startled by two particular aspects of this work. Firstly, only the music really sells this; the songs, as we've always known, are terrific. Thank goodness for 'Who's Next'. The other concern is that most of the play is incomprehensible. Too many disconnected pieces of monologue about 'the sound', 'the music', 'the one note', dreams, nightmares, the whereabouts of a girl called Mary. On paper, it makes even less sense.
The poetry Townshend and his co-author have so clearly worked hard to construct in the play still only exists truely in the songs. Those old songs. I'm sorry Pete, but nine years down the line I still think the play is garbage; incomprehensible psychobabble posing as serious Art. Please retire, Pete; You've given us enough great music, and one major turkey.
... and now I'm listening again, nine years later. I'm still startled by two particular aspects of this work. Firstly, only the music really sells this; the songs, as we've always known, are terrific. Thank goodness for 'Who's Next'. The other concern is that most of the play is incomprehensible. Too many disconnected pieces of monologue about 'the sound', 'the music', 'the one note', dreams, nightmares, the whereabouts of a girl called Mary. On paper, it makes even less sense.
The poetry Townshend and his co-author have so clearly worked hard to construct in the play still only exists truely in the songs. Those old songs. I'm sorry Pete, but nine years down the line I still think the play is garbage; incomprehensible psychobabble posing as serious Art. Please retire, Pete; You've given us enough great music, and one major turkey.
Touching and Synesthetic
6 April 2009
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is an eerie but tenderly rendered drama by the rock literary master himself. The central character Ray, frazzled, searches the vast wasteland countryside for his missing teenaged daugther, Mary, all the while staying in touch with his distraught wife Sally by mobile phone. Along the way he picks up a young hitchhiker, Rayboy (a literary device to communicate flashbacks to us of Ray's younger self), has run-ins with a schizophrenic Stephen Kingish "Caretaker" side of himself (presumably?) and also intercepts radio transmissions from Hacker, a visionary DJ who organizes the "Lifehouse" concert, an event designed to save humans from themselves in this desolate landscape through the sharing of personal and life-affirming music.
Who fans and loyal Pete Townshend followers will both understand the references to the Who's Next musical interludes (Baba O'Riley, Behind Blues Eyes, Going Mobile, etc) and recognize the continuing character of Ray (to be found also in Townshend's "Psychoderelict" radio play). Readers outside this tight circle may find the play (taken on its own) opaque and difficult to follow. Some may find the dialogue too sparse and enigmatic, but the play's spare text effectively reinforces this story's sense of desolation. Despite my own minor frustrations following the plot (and character devices), overall I found this play incredibly touching and sad... hopeless all but for a glimmer. I have not heard the recorded radio play yet and am sure it would lend me further nuanced cues to help me more fully appreciate and understand the story. Not only is this play incredibly moving, but it's also incredibly and sensitively tuned in to the future -- the thing Rayboy feared. From sharing music virtually to windfarms, this drama sent a chill down me.
Within the book, Pete Townshend also provides a lengthy and illuminating introduction to the play -- a must-read in itself.
I wish I could rate this book a five. But I'm confident that if I had had the benefit of audio accompaniment, I would be doing just that.
Who fans and loyal Pete Townshend followers will both understand the references to the Who's Next musical interludes (Baba O'Riley, Behind Blues Eyes, Going Mobile, etc) and recognize the continuing character of Ray (to be found also in Townshend's "Psychoderelict" radio play). Readers outside this tight circle may find the play (taken on its own) opaque and difficult to follow. Some may find the dialogue too sparse and enigmatic, but the play's spare text effectively reinforces this story's sense of desolation. Despite my own minor frustrations following the plot (and character devices), overall I found this play incredibly touching and sad... hopeless all but for a glimmer. I have not heard the recorded radio play yet and am sure it would lend me further nuanced cues to help me more fully appreciate and understand the story. Not only is this play incredibly moving, but it's also incredibly and sensitively tuned in to the future -- the thing Rayboy feared. From sharing music virtually to windfarms, this drama sent a chill down me.
Within the book, Pete Townshend also provides a lengthy and illuminating introduction to the play -- a must-read in itself.
I wish I could rate this book a five. But I'm confident that if I had had the benefit of audio accompaniment, I would be doing just that.
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