“I don’t think I’m topped”: The guitarist that made Pete Townshend the best
The entire concept of rock and roll rhythm guitar playing may as well be an extension of what Pete Townshend did with his right hand. Although most people would claim to follow in the footsteps of people like John Lennon when they first picked up a guitar in the 1960s, Townshend practically invented the idea of using a power chord to turn a song into a hard rock classic. The Who guitarist was far from fully formed when he first started, though, and he had a plethora of guitarists before him to mould him into the artist he is today.
But when looking at the career of The Who, Townshend never expected the group to last more than a few months. Before the British invasion, most artists were lucky if they made it a few months before disbanding, and once ‘My Generation’ came out, Townshend started to see what other avenues he could take his band aside from a pure singles outfit.
While his greatest strength was in songwriting, Townshend also served as the unofficial timekeeper in the group. If you think about the band’s construction, Keith Moon and John Entwistle would be flying off the handle at any given moment, so the only that people have to latch onto is Townshend’s guitar, usually playing in lockstep with Moon’s kick drum whenever playing tunes like ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’.
Then again, the essence of all good rhythm playing comes from a groove, and part of Townshend’s appeal was making something that could sound massive and still swing. Even when listening to a band like AC/DC, the Young brothers seem to have taken the same principle but put a little bit more smack into the way they perform. But even Townshend knew not to touch what Keith Richards had done.
Despite being stuck in the position of the eternal rhythm guitarist, Keef’s work with The Rolling Stones has gone down in legend at this point. Aside from stealing his signature windmill move from him, Townshend was an unabashed superfan of The Stones, and whenever he plays guitar, he still hears the same attitude that made him love songs like ‘Satisfaction’ back in the day.
Even though he considers himself among the best rhythm players alive, Townshend still had to give his props to Richards for turning him into the player he is today, saying, “I think my biggest influence in that area was Keith Richards. And I still really like the way he plays but in that particular area, I don’t think I’m topped. There’s nobody to touch me. What’s really strange is I don’t think there’s many people who have actually heard me play rhythm in the function of a rhythm guitar. That’s where I really get off very well.”
That might be a bold claim for any artist to make, but Townshend doesn’t lack the skills to back it up. Whereas Richards still uses his guitar like an extension of his body when playing with The Stones, Townshend is constantly at war with his instrument and will do everything he can to squeeze as much emotion out of a single chord as possible when he plays tunes like ‘Magic Bus’.
And looking at what Townshend did for the rhythm side of the guitar, he has left a legion of players in his wake, only hoping to match his attitude. Sure, James Hetfield of Metallica might play faster than Townshend when putting their tracks side by side, but no one on Earth can claim to make a Les Paul sound more aggressive.
