It's funny you said that because on the Rock Honors show he and Roger were on stage talking about awards and Pete says something like I have about 100 pieces of plastic just from CSI. Wonder if he meant that was pretty much it. Very wrong if that's the case. I think they're too overshadowed by their contemporaries. Besides Townshend's incredible writing ability the musicianship within the band was also so innovative. Not to mention the auto-destruction, mini-pop opera, rock opera, and tons of other things that other bands just take for granted nowadays!

Quoted from Mairi

I think they are probably one of the most underrated bands of the Sixties. You hardly ever see them being mentioned in the classic rock magazines, yet they did so much. Most people know them as the guys who did the CSI theme song.

I've noticed this, too: back in the seventies and eighties, The Who were probably the best known British band of the sixties era after The Beatles and The Stones, and even in the nineties you could hear four or five Who songs being played to death on classic rock radio stations. I'm not sure what happened; maybe radio programmers got tired of "Won't Get Fooled Again" and "Baba O'Riley" and couldn't find replacements for them; or maybe the CSI connection, whatever it did for The Who's visibility, also made them unhip in the eyes of the rock press. I haven't got a half decent Who collection myself; I'll have to go rummage through a few record shops tomorrow.

By the way, The Who Sell Out was released on December 15, 1967, so it postdates Pepper by about six months.  

To touch on a few points made previously.....

The Who's early style was definitely a fore-runner of punk (and metal, too), with the destruction, rebellion and "Hope I die before I get old" nihilistic mentality.

I liken the Who's place in rock history in comparison to their peers who were perhaps more famous to the 2 biggest American rental car companies -- Hertz and Avis.  (Bear with me for a moment.)  Hertz was always #1, but Avis used that to their advantage in their advertising campaigns, proudly trumpeting that "We try harder" because they were #2.  In rock, the Who is Avis.  Hertz is the Rolling Stones, or Led Zeppelin. (I'm leaving the Beatles out of this analogy.)  The Who was never going to be 'the biggest band in the world' as long as these groups were in existence, so therefore the Who 'tried harder.'  Townshend practically put himself in the nuthouse with his obsessiveness, particularly when he wrote Lifehouse, that confusing, aborted project that morphed into the Who's Next album.  The Stones and Zeppelin didn't seem to stress so much about their own work, whereas Townshend was ultra-serious about the meaning of the Who's music, how relevant was it, what was the state of rock music, etc.

Speaking of Who's Next, while it's generally considered to be the Who's masterpiece among LPs (and I agree), I tend to see it as being uneven -- and I think this is due to the fact that most of it came from a broken project.  Fairly or not, I always end up comparing this album to what the Stones and Zeppelin were doing circa 71/72 (LZ IV, Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main Street), and the Who falls just short.  The two anthems that bookend the album, Baba O'Riley and Won't Get Fooled Again, are (deservedly) still staples of rock radio. And while I admire the musical innovation that Townshend was introducing with the synthesizers, and acknowledge that they are truly great rock songs, they don't 'hit' me the way that Four Sticks or Misty Mountain Hop (from Led Zep IV) do, or any number of the less anthemic songs from Exile.  Behind Blue Eyes is my favorite song on the album, and I like Getting in Tune and Love Ain't For Keeping.  Bargain is pretty good, and I used to hate My Wife until I understood the lyrics and appreciated the song's humor.  I like Going Mobile, too.  But Song is Over is too long, too slow, too maudlin.  Whenever I hear it, I want the song to be over.

Anybody have any comments on The Kids are Alright (the documentary movie, not the song)?  This movie made me a Who fan instantly.

Where do you all rank Townshend among guitarists?  Top 10, top 50, overrated?  

Interesting points you have there Mr. Mustard. I certainly agree that the Who really started up that whole "wanton destruction" attitude that came with the punk movement of later. Interesting how they kind of rebelled against the hippie flower image that was so popular in those days.

Speaking of Who's Next, does anyone get really wistful/melancholy when they listen to Baba O'Riley? The lyrics aren't really sad, there's just something about the music and Daltrey's delivery.

Quoted from Mr. Mustard

Anybody have any comments on The Kids are Alright (the documentary movie, not the song)?  This movie made me a Who fan instantly.

Where do you all rank Townshend among guitarists?  Top 10, top 50, overrated?  

TKAA is the definitive rock bio. Made for fans by a mega fan. It's so raw and honest. Don't see so much of that anymore. I can't even count how many times I've watched it. Mainly for the Moon performances. The guy was beyond fascinating and insanely talented and original. But I also love witnessing the sense of humor they all seem to have throughout. Interesting dynamic between the four of them.

I also think the time it was done was the perfect time. They were all there to comment and have input. The Who basically died with Keith Moon, so anything after the fact doesn't really add to what made them so iconic.
But really, the musical performances drove the film. Watching them evolve, watching the milestones. Perfect. I loved the Russell Harty interview they cut throughout the film too. It provided a sort of continuity. Loved how nervous Harty got when he thought Moon was about to out him!

I'd like to see the new bio Amazing Journey. I don't know if it'll add much of anything new, but I definitely want to see it! Anyone see that one yet?

As for Pete's guitar playing. I really don't know where to rank him, but I do think he's somewhat underrated. I mean, those power chords alone...there was some amazing musicianship going on in that band! Maybe Pete got overshadowed a bit.

I think Pete's playing style with the Who was as a "rhythm-lead" guitarist, as opposed to a virtuoso style of playing that characterized Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen and others.  He seemed to be setting up Entwistle and Moon to take lead roles musically (like the bass solos in My Generation, for instance).

Quoted from Mr. Mustard

I think Pete's playing style with the Who was as a "rhythm-lead" guitarist, as opposed to a virtuoso style of playing that characterized Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen and others.  He seemed to be setting up Entwistle and Moon to take lead roles musically (like the bass solos in My Generation, for instance).

He was an ensemble player, I think: he certainly had style and flash, but his playing was in service of the song and didn't merely draw attention to himself or his "virtuosity."  

He is definitely a rhythm guitarist that plays a bit of lead when absolutely necessary. Though I'm not a huge Who fan I think he's the greatest rhythm player I've ever heard.