After the experimental All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes, Pete Townshend returned to a more traditional form of concept album with White City: A Novel. Built around a loose narrative concerning urban despair, the album doesn't work very well conceptually, yet a handful of the individual songs are among his finest solo work, including the punchy "Face the Face" and the anthemic "Give Blood."
The title refers to a story (called a "novel" in the album title) that accompanies the album, and which takes place in a low-income housing estate in the West London area of White City, near where Townshend had grown up. The story tells of cultural conflict, racial tension and youthful hopes and dreams in the 1960s a world of "prostituted children", "roads leading to darkness, leading home" and despairing residents living in "cells" with views of "dustbins and a Ford Cortina". The song "White City Fighting", which features David Gilmour's guitar work, tells listeners that the White City was "a black, violent place" where "battles were won, and battles were blown, at the height of the White City fighting". The album opens with crashing guitar chords that capture a feeling of urban chaos, leading into "Give Blood", a song with Townshend's trademark, moral lyrics demanding listeners to "give blood, but you may find that blood is not enough".
Track listing
01. "Give Blood" - 5:44
02. "Brilliant Blues" - 3:06
03. "Face the Face" - 5:51
04. "Hiding Out" - 3:00
05. "Secondhand Love" - 4:12
06. "Crashing By Design" - 3:14
07. "I Am Secure" - 4:00
08. "White City Fighting" (David Gilmour, Townshend) - 4:40
09. "Come to Mama" - 4:40
Bonus Tracks (2006 Hip-O USA Release)
10. "Night School" - 3:23
11. "Save It for Later" (Roger Charlery, Andy Cox, Everett Morton, David Steele, Dave Wakeling) - 4:58
12. "Hiding Out (12" mix)" (Previously released on 12" single) - 5:50
All songs written by Pete Townshend except as noted.
Credits
Pete Townshend – vocals, guitar
Steve Barnacle – bass guitar
Mark Brzezicki – drums
John "Rabbit" Bundrick – keyboards
Additional personnel
Clem Burke – drums
Tony Butler – bass guitar
Phil Chen – bass guitar
David Gilmour – guitar
Peter Hope-Evans – harmonica
Kick Horns: Simon Clarke, Roddy Lorimer, Tim Sanders, Peter Thoms
Chucho Merchan – bass guitar
Pino Palladino – bass guitar
Simon Phillips – drums
Ewan Stewart – voice (spoken word)
Jackie Challenor, Mae McKenna, Lorenza Johnson, Emma Townshend, Justine Frischmann (in "Night School" – backing vocals
Richard Evans album cover desig
Producer - Chris Thomas
Notes
Release date: 11 November 1985
Recorded at: Studio Eel Pie Studio, Twickenham; Eel Pie Studio, Soho, London; A.I.R. Studios, London
Genre: Rock
Length: 38:27
© 1985
Label - Atco/Hip-O (Reissue)
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