Stand Tall Annie

Pete Townshend and Ronnie Lane : Annie

[Purchase]

On April 20, 1977 Woody Allen released one of my favorite movies of all time. With all the serious Allen films that followed, we forget the oscar winning Annie Hall was his first foray into something more than absurd humor. Allen said he "had the courage to abandon ... just clowning around and the safety of complete broad comedy. I said to myself, 'I think I will try and make some deeper film and not be as funny in the same way. And maybe there will be other values that will emerge, that will be interesting or nourishing for the audience.'" 

The film also marks the acting debut of Paul Simon, still smarting from the way his former partner had become a sex symbol after starring in Catch-22 and Carnal Knowledge. Simon plays record producer Tony Lacey, who wears a silver coke spoon around his neck. 

April Fool

Pete Townshend and Ronnie Lane : April Fool

[Purchase]

Happy April Fools Day! In the Spring of 1977 Pete Townshend and his Faces buddy Ronnie Lane were putting the finishing touches on Rough Mix, one of my favorite albums of the year. 

"Basically the album came about because I was in financial trouble," Lane told David Marsh in 1983,  "and I went to see Pete, not to ask for anything, just to see him socially. Obviously, we talked  about each other's state. Mine came up and he said 'Well, we've talked about working together in the past. Why don't we get an album together?' I said 'That would solve my problem'. It did."

Townshend and Lane weren't the only musicians on the album. In fact, Eric Clapton plays dobro on "April Fool", a song that seems to reflect a certain wistfulness.. During the sessions, Lane discovered he had multiple sclerosis. 

She said I'll see you in the morning, darling
I see you when the kids have gone to school
But well I know tomorrow is your birthday
I know you know that you're are an April Fool
We used to roam so freely. It's been so long
I took my dreams to bed now where they belong

She said there's dust and cobwebs on your north star
There no more fussing the campfires in your hair
I'll see the wheels there rusted in the backyard
I know we're not going anywhere
We used to roam so freely. It's been so long
I took my dreams to bed now where they belong

The album was released September 16, 1977.