I found this album at a local vinyl store for $4.00 yesterday, which is part of why I love buying records. I suppose I could have gotten it for free with a few clicks of my mouse, but $4.00 is a small price to pay for actually owning a physical album. At any rate, Empty Glass is the first solo album by Pete Townshend, best known of course as the guitarist/songwriter behind the Who, who I consider to be either the second or third greatest rock band of all time. And although the Who were nearing the end in 1980, Townshend still had quite a bit of creative energy left, as he showcases on this record.
It's not quite as good as the classic Who of course, since the other three members of the band were vital, even if Townshend wrote all the songs. But if you had to pick one member of a great band to go solo, you always want it to be the songwriter, and this album is full of creative melodies and arrangements. At times, it hearkens back to the Who, especially with the occasional tonal shift mid-sing into a plaintive, spiritual bridge like on "Rough Boys." There are also humble, yet bombastic epics like "Empty Glass" but also pure pop that you wouldn't see on most Who records like single "Let My Love Open the Door" and "Keep On Working."
At any rate, Empty Glass is one of those great pop records that I find myself having a hard time describing in words. How many ways can one say that these songs develop in interesting and unexpected ways, while maintaining instant memorability and emotional appeal? It may sound easy, but it takes genius to write most of the material here, and in 1980, Townshend still had it. Keeper, of course.
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