Pete Townshend has long been one of the best songwriters in rock music. He is a pretty good guitarist, too, of course, but he and his band made their bones on the backs of Townshend's often brilliant melodies and songcraft.
Heck, his music is so good that it can be translated into a full Broadway musical and hold up exceedingly well. The lyrics are great, of course, but Townshend always could allow the listener to "see" the song as much as listen to it.
But what are the best songs he has done, in his opinion? He recently gave a breakdown of the topic on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, but did so in classic Pete Townshend style. He used the list to expand on his view of the current political climate as well, but didn't break away from his long-held opinion.
Pete Townshend breaks down the five best songs he ever wrote
The five best songs included "Love, Reign O’er Me," Behind Blue Eyes," "Baba O’Riley," "Won’t Get Fooled Again," and "Let My Love Open the Door." The first four are Who songs, and the last is from his 1980 solo album, Empty Glass.
It was when speaking about "Won't Get Fooled Again" that Townshend gave his stance on politics. Long-time fans would not be surprised by what he said.
The guitarist said, "Our leaders are never any good. And when people try to tell us who to vote for, we always don’t feel quite right about that, so I wrote this song called ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again.’ It’s a kind of a comment on the fact that the people we put in power always seem to end up breaking their promises."
In his career, Townshend has released seven solo studio albums, the first coming in 1972 and the last in 1993. He has also produced seven live solo albums and the soundtrack to one of his concept works, Tommy.
He and the rest of the Who, mainly with long-time musical partner Roger Daltrey, released 12 studio albums, with the last, Who, coming in 2019. Many fans might have overlooked the work, but it at least initially charted well in the UK and the United States.
The band also has put out 18 live albums. The of those is likely the first one, 1970's Live at Leeds.
Oddly, the Who never had a No. 1 single on the UK or US mainstream charts, and only one album went to No. 1 in the UK, 1971's Who's Next. There is little doubt of the depth of quality in Townshend and the Who's music, however. It is elite.