Pete Townshend @ SXSW 2007

Solos do not alone make a great guitarist. Shredding does not alone make a great guitarist. Pete is a great guitarist. The best right hand in the buisness. His chords are more impressive than most guys shreds, and he used feedback berter than anybody. And no one in hard rocks gets such a sweet acoustic sound as PT.

Nonce

I love Johnny too....I was sad as hell when he died. But Pete is a fucking musical genius!!!!

He is a songwriting and composing genious, but he is a crap guitarist who cant do solos.

Thats the point about Pete, he's good in a different way. Peter Green, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton are all good in the same way, there good at blues scale pentatonic rooted lead guitar. I never liked the Who at all cause the solos didnt match up to these other guy's . & then I moved on & got bored of blues started listening to Jazz & then got into the Who cause there was more depth in the writing & musical ideas. I started not to notice his lead playing. He does sound crap at lead at times live.

It's not all about the technicality. It's about feeling. If you've ever seen Pete in concert, you'd know what I mean.

I love the Ox...greatest bassist of all time.
I love Moonie..Greatest drummer of all time.
Roger...greatest rock singer of all time.
Pete... The Master...No one can compose a song like him. A great guitarist, songwriter, showman..There is no one better...PERIOD!!!!!

What about Jimmy Page hes a much better guitarist and songwriter?

What about Peter green hes also a much better guitarist and a better songwriter.

Anyway i guess its all down to personal opinion in the end, neither of us are right and neither of us is wrong, you like Pete i dont.

But we still both love the Who.

It was actually Page/Plant that wrote the songs. Page is a great guitarist, but songwriting goes to Pete all the way. He's in the process of writing a new rock opera due to come out in 2010. Can't wait. The man never disappoints.
Peter Green shouldn't even be mentioned in the same breath. Was never a big Fleetwood Mac fan.
How about Jimi Hendrix?

Fuck yeah, dude!

Pete Townshend is not a good lead guitarist at all. He's a great rhythm guitarist, but I mean...so is my 15 year old cousin!

I think Page blows him out of the water as far as PLAYING goes...but I have to disagree with you with saying Page writes better songs. Townshend is clearly a better songwriter.

The Who is one of my favorite bands, Townshend is one of my favorite rock icons, one of my favorite guitarists too...but to say he's a "great guitarist" is RIDICULOUS.