Pete Townshend will release an anthology of his solo material next month – and it will feature two new tracks.
Truancy: The Very Best Of Pete Townshend will be released on June 29 via UMC/Universal Music and is part of a reissue programme which will see his solo work remastered and re-released through 2016.
Along with songs spanning nine of his albums, the compilation features two new recordings: How Can I Help You and Guantanamo – and he’s released a stream of the latter.
Townshend says of Guantanamo: “I thought this song might never see the light of day, but now President Obama has relaxed sanctions in Cuba, it is a happy sign he might go further.”
He reports he performed an acoustic version of How Can I Help You on his partner Rachel Fuller’s webcast In The Attic and adds: “It was inspired partly by the frustrating emotional difficulties experienced by a valued colleague. He was in great physical pain and it drove him into depression.”
The guitarist says he hopes Truancy will introduce new fans to his solo output, adding: “I am a bit of a dabbler I’m afraid. I am as interested in building, developing and playing with recording studios as I am with making music.”
The Who will perform at the British Summer Time festival at London’s Hyde Park on June 26 and will bring the curtain down on Glastonbury on Sunday June 28. The gigs are part of the band’s 50th anniversary celebrations.
Truancy: The Very Best Of Pete Townshend tracklist
- Pure And Easy 2. Sheraton Gibson 3. Let’s See Action (Nothing Is Everything) 4. My Baby Gives It Away 5. A Heart To Hang On To 6. Keep Me Turning 7. Let My Love Open The Door 8. Rough Boys 9. The Sea Refuses No River 10. Face Dances (Pt. 2) 11. White City Fighting 12. Face The Face 13. I Won’t Run Anymore 14. English Boy 15. You Came Back 16. Guantanamo 17. How Can I Help You
