Behind Blue Eyes: The Life of Pete Townshend

Rating:
Summary: Save your time and money
Review: The back jacketcover is the first clue as to what a waste this book is. All it hypes are previous works by the author. The book is boring, gives no insight into the person or times. It is filled with stupid errors ie. it's common knowledge that Mick Taylor was hired before Brian Jones death. The author states that Jagger went to Townshend for a recommendation after the death. How can anything be believed after that.

Rating:
Summary: A flawed book, but a good subject.
Review: There were some things the author wrote about that I didn't know like what his childhood was like, his relationship with his parents, etc. Also, there are some insights into the way he was during the '70s. The author does fawn over him a bit too much and a lot of the stories are rehashes, but since Townshend is such a difficult subject, I doubt any other writer would have better luck.

Rating:
Summary: THE MAN REVEALED!
Review: This is a difficult book to get through. If you've already picked up any bio or two on THE WHO in general, you've covered much the same territory. The only things gone into greater detail here are Townshend's unabashed megalomania and his downward spirals into drinking, drugs and marital infidelities. Also is made much of his spiritual father "Baba" - whom Roger Daltrey snidely referred to as "Ali Baba." That, at least, earns a smile. But there's not much to smile about in this overwrought book. There is sketchy admission of Townshend's occasional bisexuality, and there is tossed-off hints as to the decade's old - and immediate - tension between Townshend and Daltrey, wherein Townshend confesses to long envy of Daltrey's beauty and charisma. Before joining Daltrey's group along with Entwistle, John Entwistle had been Townshend's best friend. But once Daltrey was in the mix, literally in the middle, Townshend admits his focus became Daltrey and Entwistle just a guy he had a professional relationship with. Actually, reading the book, one becomes fed-up with Townshend and his erratic, self-serving behavior which damaged all the people around him. If you want to remain a fan, you're better off not reading anything in-depth about Pete Townshend - it's a complete turn-off.

Rating:
Summary: These blue eyes are a pain
Review: This is a difficult book to get through. If you've already picked up any bio or two on THE WHO in general, you've covered much the same territory. The only things gone into greater detail here are Townshend's unabashed megalomania and his downward spirals into drinking, drugs and marital infidelities. Also is made much of his spiritual father "Baba" - whom Roger Daltrey snidely referred to as "Ali Baba." That, at least, earns a smile. But there's not much to smile about in this overwrought book. There is sketchy admission of Townshend's occasional bisexuality, and there is tossed-off hints as to the decade's old - and immediate - tension between Townshend and Daltrey, wherein Townshend confesses to long envy of Daltrey's beauty and charisma. Before joining Daltrey's group along with Entwistle, John Entwistle had been Townshend's best friend. But once Daltrey was in the mix, literally in the middle, Townshend admits his focus became Daltrey and Entwistle just a guy he had a professional relationship with. Actually, reading the book, one becomes fed-up with Townshend and his erratic, self-serving behavior which damaged all the people around him. If you want to remain a fan, you're better off not reading anything in-depth about Pete Townshend - it's a complete turn-off.

Rating:
Summary: Could have been better....
Review: With no insult ment tward Giuliano (you did better than i could have ever done) this book isn't as great as I hoped for. It basically goes over the life of Townshend, and the Who, nothing that I didn't know in the first place. Anyone who is a newcomer to the Who's or Pete Townshend's music, I would recommend this, for it gives a great background to the Townshend's music and spirituality. . .but to those advanced Who fans, if you know who Colin Dawson is, you don't need to read this book. I strongly recommend Horse's Neck, by Townshend himself for the obsessed Who fan.