The second in a series of half speed mastered studio albums from Pete Townshend, All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes and White City (A Novel) have been released.
These limited-edition black vinyl versions have been mastered by long-time Who engineer Jon Astley and cut for vinyl by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios with a half-speed mastering technique which produces a superior vinyl cut and are packaged in original sleeves with obi strips and certificates of authenticity.
Initially released in June 1982, All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes was Pete Townshend’s third solo album and contained two singles, "Uniforms (Corp d’Esprit)" as well as "Somebody Saved Me", a song The Who had recorded for their 1981 album, Face Dances. The Who version didn’t appear until 1997. The track "The Sea Refuses No River" has since been singled out as one of Townshend’s most underrated songs.
Chris Thomas produced the album, featuring Simon Phillips on drums and Jody Linscott on percussion, who would later perform with The Who. Promo videos were made for seven tracks from the album ("Prelude", "Face Dances Pt 2", "Communication", "Uniforms", "Stardom In Acton", "Exquisitely Bored", and an alternate version of "Slit Skirts") by renowned photographers Davies & Starr (Chalkie Davies and his then-wife Carol Starr) and released on VHS. Pete didn’t get to play the album live as three months after its release, The Who’s "It’s Hard" appeared, and the band undertook their farewell tour.
White City (A Novel) was Pete Townshend’s next studio album in the autumn of 1985. As the title suggests, the album tells a story of cultural conflict, racial tension and youthful hopes and dreams in the White City London housing estate in the 1960s, not far from where Pete grew up. White City (A Novel) was again produced by Chris Thomas and features guest appearances by David Gilmour, Clem Burke, John ‘Rabbit’ Bundrick, Pete’s daughter Emma and a young Justine Frischmann, who would later form the Brit-Pop band Elastica.
As with his previous album, Pete filmed several videos but this time compiled them into a long-form video White City (The Music Movie) featuring the singles "Face The Face" and "Give Blood", directed by Richard Lowenstein, who had worked extensively with INXS.
All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes
Side 1
"Stop Hurting People"
"The Sea Refuses No River"
"Prelude"
"Face Dances Part Two"
"Exquisitely Bored"
"Communication"
Side 2
"Stardom In Acton"
"Uniforms"
"North Country Girl"
"Somebody Saved Me"
"Slit Skirts"
White City (A Novel)
Side 1
"Give Blood"
"Brilliant Blues"
"Face The Face"
"Hiding Out"
"Secondhand Love"
Side 2
"Crashing By Design"
"I Am Secure"
"White City Fighting"
"Come To Mama"
Both albums are available for pre-order here.
