The “purely personal” track that transformed Pete Townshend’s songwriting
If you were to stumble into a recording studio and find The Who, you would most likely see the top of Pete Townshend‘s head. No eye contact would be offered, for his gaze would be averted elsewhere, likely the fretboard of a guitar or the twinkling keys of a synthesiser.
He was the band’s fearless, creative leader, and while frontman Roger Daltrey assumed the traditional role of charismatic frontman, all those informed knew that Townshend was the de facto star. He picked the band up on his back and carried them to the soaring heights of experimentalism, with ‘Baba O’Reilly’ becoming a sort of sonic statement of his style.
But in Daltrey, he had a compelling orator to share his genius. A frontman with a vocal range and stage presence to tell the twisting tales wrapped up in Townshend’s songwriting and enchant fans. And so the pair struck up a creative bond, building a shorthand with one another that allowed Daltrey’s voice to ring in Townshend’s ear while he was writing.
But throughout the decade, Townshend pursued his own endeavours, freeing himself to pursue his ideas individually. With that, his usual vessel of communication was lost, and he was left in the spotlight to orate his ideas. Putting his voice at the front of his new songs meant that the approach had shifted. No longer was Townshend telling stories to be told by someone else; he was now leading the line, and with that came a new sense of creativity.
All of a sudden, songs became a vessel through which he could be vulnerable and personal. And on his 1980 album, Empty Glass, one song stood out as a signifier of the shift that had taken place.
He explained, “With a song like ‘A Little Is Enough’, what was interesting to me was that I was able to very easily put into words something that had actually happened to me when I was a 34-year-old.”
The song was inspired by a very direct experience Townshend had with spiritual guru Meher Baba, who simply told Townshend that a little was, in fact, enough, when he asked what to do about what he considered a deteriorating love with his wife.
Townshend continued to explain the vulnerability in the song, saying, “It wasn’t self-conscious; it wasn’t a song written from a stance. It wasn’t objective. It was purely personal: instant, and purely transparent. It’s very emotional, but it’s also very straightforward and clear. Just the fact that you can’t fucking have the world. If you’re lucky enough to get a tiny piece of it, then fine. When that’s applied to something as immense and intangible as love, whether it’s spiritual love or human love.”
Townshend explored openness in a multitude of ways on this record. Not only was his love life put front and centre, but his issues with substance abuse as well, and he, to this day, cites the record as an important piece of personal resolve that kept him deterred from slipping into bad habits.
