Track listing
Show track credits
- A1 My Baby Gives It Away 3:57
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songwriter
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drums
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- A2 Nowhere to Run 3:12
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songwriter
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organ
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drums
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harmonica
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- A3 Rough Mix 3:09
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songwriter
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songwriter
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organ
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drums
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lead guitar
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- A4 Annie 2:54
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songwriter
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acoustic guitar, songwriter
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12 string acoustic guitar
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accordion
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violin
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string bass
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songwriter
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- A5 Keep Me Turning 3:44
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songwriter
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organ, piano
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drums
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- A6 Catmelody 3:11
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songwriter
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drums
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saxophone
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piano
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songwriter
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- B1 Misunderstood 2:59
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sound effects
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songwriter
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percussion
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- B2 April Fool 3:31
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songwriter
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harmonica
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Dobro, foot tapping
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double bass
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- B3 Street in the City 6:05
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songwriter
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orchestration
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leader
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Charles Vorsangerviolin
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viola
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cello
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bass
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- B4 Heart to Hang On To 4:26
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songwriter
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fender rhodes
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drums
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bass
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brass
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- B5 Till the Rivers All Run Dry 3:51
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drums
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bass
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vocals
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vocals
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songwriter
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songwriter
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- Total length: 40:59
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Review
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13 Issues
- Release view [combined information for all issues]
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Rough Mix [p] 33 rpm
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Rough Mix 33 rpm, Gatefold
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Rough Mix 33 rpm, Gatefold
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Rough Mix 33 rpm, Gatefold
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Rough Mix 33 rpm
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Rough Mix 33 rpm
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Rough Mix Bonus Tracks, Remastered
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Rough Mix Bonus Tracks, Remastered
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Rough Mix Bonus Tracks, Digipak, Remastered
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Rough Mix Bonus Tracks, CD Sized Album Replica, Gatefold, Limited Edition, Remastered
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Rough Mix Digipak, Remastered
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19 Reviews
Rough Mix is actually the *fourth* album Townshend and (Small) Faces bassist Ronnie Lane worked on together - having become close due to their shared following of spiritual guru Meher Baba, they produced a trio of albums playing tribute to Baba early in the 70s. Rough Mix originally began life as Lane’s fourth solo album with Townshend acting as producer but as sessions went on Townshend’s contribution grew to the point they decided to bill it as a collaboration.
Initially Rough Mix disappointed me - a Who/Small Faces team-up evoked visions of hard rocking power pop glory and that is not what I found here. Townshend is in a laid-back de-stressing mode, at ease away from the strife of The Who while Ronnie continues in the folky, rustic vein of his post-Faces solo work. Yet in time a song like April Fool grew on me as I rediscovered Lane’s ability as an acoustic guitarist and the simple, unadorned charms of his voice. The unhurried, banjo-sprinkled Nowhere To Run sees Lane’s songwriting triumphing through the limitations of his voice, while the warm, old-timey Annie (a Clapton co-write) is a nostalgic, misty-eyed treat.
Townshend’s contributions have a much less consistent tone - opening track My Baby Gives It Away is a goofy rocker about how easily his girlfriend drops her pants that leaves an uncomfortable taste in the mouth despite drumming from Charlie Watts. Fortunately it’s the worst track on the album with things improving from there. The fun, slightly funky instrumental title track isn’t far away from Booker T thanks to John Bundrick’s keyboards and Lane’s big sexy bass. The pleasant soft rock of Keep Me Turning sees Townshend sounding refreshed and angst free and it’s delightful as a result. The six minute string assisted Street In A City may sound incongruously grand although it maintains the same gentle tone and has a great instrumental section where the strings play off against Townshend’s strumming.
Not everything works - I’m not a big fan of the weird percussion on Misunderstood - yet Rough Mix is still a decent album. It’s alright more than it is great, but Townshend/Lane fans could do worse than this.
Initially Rough Mix disappointed me - a Who/Small Faces team-up evoked visions of hard rocking power pop glory and that is not what I found here. Townshend is in a laid-back de-stressing mode, at ease away from the strife of The Who while Ronnie continues in the folky, rustic vein of his post-Faces solo work. Yet in time a song like April Fool grew on me as I rediscovered Lane’s ability as an acoustic guitarist and the simple, unadorned charms of his voice. The unhurried, banjo-sprinkled Nowhere To Run sees Lane’s songwriting triumphing through the limitations of his voice, while the warm, old-timey Annie (a Clapton co-write) is a nostalgic, misty-eyed treat.
Townshend’s contributions have a much less consistent tone - opening track My Baby Gives It Away is a goofy rocker about how easily his girlfriend drops her pants that leaves an uncomfortable taste in the mouth despite drumming from Charlie Watts. Fortunately it’s the worst track on the album with things improving from there. The fun, slightly funky instrumental title track isn’t far away from Booker T thanks to John Bundrick’s keyboards and Lane’s big sexy bass. The pleasant soft rock of Keep Me Turning sees Townshend sounding refreshed and angst free and it’s delightful as a result. The six minute string assisted Street In A City may sound incongruously grand although it maintains the same gentle tone and has a great instrumental section where the strings play off against Townshend’s strumming.
Not everything works - I’m not a big fan of the weird percussion on Misunderstood - yet Rough Mix is still a decent album. It’s alright more than it is great, but Townshend/Lane fans could do worse than this.
Published
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A1 My Baby Gives It Away
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A2
Nowhere to Run
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A3 Rough Mix
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A4 Annie
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A5 Keep Me Turning
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A6 Catmelody
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B1 Misunderstood
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B2 April Fool
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B3 Street in the City
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B4 Heart to Hang On To
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B5 Till the Rivers All Run Dry
Published
‘Avin a Larf! That’s how it sounds and feels. Fun! Remember fun? It doesn’t appear to be hugely collaborative song wise, there are the Pete songs and the Ronnie songs. It all flows splendidly and there is a real warmth to the playing (lots of pals like Eric and Rabbit in tow), I’m guessing aided by a few brandies. Nothing fancy , very organic and roots sounding, Ronnie showing his love of folk tunes. Lovely artwork too. Highly recommended! (I betcha Rog was peed off Pete kept the great opening track).
Published
Since leaving the faces ronnie lanes solo career had been promising but had yielded little commercial reward . After approaching townshend for a loan the who guitarist instead suggested a joint record to try and aid lanes career.
The result 'rough mix' is a real hidden gem , it doesn't sound particularly like a hugely collaborative work although they play on each others songs ,instead it sounds like a mix of lane and townsend songs thrown together.
So even though the mix of acoustic down-home country/folk ,tough rockers and string laden balladry might seem awkward it actually works well due to the warmth of the playing (guests include clapton,watts,entwistle and gallagher/ lyle) and the richness of glyn johns production .
The songs are great actually i love the celtic folk of "annie" , the bizarre/interesting lyrical observation of townsends "street in the city" and "misunderstood" as well as the duet on the warm soul of "heart to hang on to" . "nowhere to run" is another gem from lane where his ragged vocal just fits the sheer natural vibe of the track perfectly . The title track is a booker-t type instrumental where everyone sounds like they are having a blast - like on the album as a whole .
Sadly i dont think it did so well .
The result 'rough mix' is a real hidden gem , it doesn't sound particularly like a hugely collaborative work although they play on each others songs ,instead it sounds like a mix of lane and townsend songs thrown together.
So even though the mix of acoustic down-home country/folk ,tough rockers and string laden balladry might seem awkward it actually works well due to the warmth of the playing (guests include clapton,watts,entwistle and gallagher/ lyle) and the richness of glyn johns production .
The songs are great actually i love the celtic folk of "annie" , the bizarre/interesting lyrical observation of townsends "street in the city" and "misunderstood" as well as the duet on the warm soul of "heart to hang on to" . "nowhere to run" is another gem from lane where his ragged vocal just fits the sheer natural vibe of the track perfectly . The title track is a booker-t type instrumental where everyone sounds like they are having a blast - like on the album as a whole .
Sadly i dont think it did so well .
Published
Rootsy, catchy, honest, emotional, well-played, well-recorded - one of those albums where not breaking any new ground really DOESN'T matter.
Published
Amid some generic mid-70s potboilers, this contains two excellent Pete Townsend tracks, Street In The City (one of the best and more unusual tracks of the entire year) and Misunderstood, an excellent Elvis Costelloesque, track about a man who wants to be an enigma, but fails. Keep Me Turning And April Fool are excellent Faces style tracks. Annie had potential but required more development and just falls short.
Ronnie Lane had his name on most of the best and more sensitive tracks the Faces ever did. Unfortunately, he relies too much on homely simplicity, human warmth and retro folkiness, to carry some run-of-the-mill material - Till the Rivers All Run Dry - being a title that hints at a songwriter not setting the bar high enough for himself. After 1974, after 10 years of hits for the Small Faces and the Faces, and fighting a serious illness, he found it hard to produce material that could raise its game sufficiently to make any impact. And probably part of the reason for this hybrid album was Townsend's open-handed desire to help him out.
Sound quality is excellent, with a high modulation and a muscular (Glyn Johns?) mix
The three reissue bonus tracks add very little to the album, though Only You is passable.
Ronnie Lane had his name on most of the best and more sensitive tracks the Faces ever did. Unfortunately, he relies too much on homely simplicity, human warmth and retro folkiness, to carry some run-of-the-mill material - Till the Rivers All Run Dry - being a title that hints at a songwriter not setting the bar high enough for himself. After 1974, after 10 years of hits for the Small Faces and the Faces, and fighting a serious illness, he found it hard to produce material that could raise its game sufficiently to make any impact. And probably part of the reason for this hybrid album was Townsend's open-handed desire to help him out.
Sound quality is excellent, with a high modulation and a muscular (Glyn Johns?) mix
The three reissue bonus tracks add very little to the album, though Only You is passable.
Published
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One of the best of 1977, you miss might got David Bowie's Low and you sir may have Animals by Pink Floyd, but I got this, it's very sollid for a collaboration of artists, this is a jem and I like the title track, Annie and Keep Me Turning is great itself, Clapton & Bundrick are great, and if you find the Atco Pressing please buy it !, the re-issue with bonus tracks sounds uneven from what I heard, please download the bonus tracks off of iTunes, if you need good sounding issue.
Published
Part of the charm and satisfaction of Rough Mix is in the fact that you don't expect much out of it, at least I didn't. So even if it was average you'd be content with it. Fortunately, it's better than average, in fact Townshend probably hasn't made two albums post 1975 that are as entertaining as this.
The album's success may be due to its lack of subject matter. No big themes coming from Townshend here, no operas or film soundtracks or rediscovering repressed memories of creepy old men "fiddling about" where they shouldn't be. Just a couple of chums playing for each other with little else to say, and little regard for their audience's expectations.
I don't know a heck of a lot about Ronnie Lane, except that his work here definitly holds up to Pete's. "Annie" sounds like a tender Irish ballad while "Catmelody" is a good old fashioned rocker, Townshend's are typically strong, "Street In The City" having that trademark Townshend paradox of finding the world sadly beautiful and wanting to smash it up anyways. His work on Rough Mix would probably be lost on, if not completely demolished if given to The Who.
It's albums like this that help give artists like Townshend and presumably Lane, a more interesting and fully rounded catalogue. Fans of either men should track this down.
The album's success may be due to its lack of subject matter. No big themes coming from Townshend here, no operas or film soundtracks or rediscovering repressed memories of creepy old men "fiddling about" where they shouldn't be. Just a couple of chums playing for each other with little else to say, and little regard for their audience's expectations.
I don't know a heck of a lot about Ronnie Lane, except that his work here definitly holds up to Pete's. "Annie" sounds like a tender Irish ballad while "Catmelody" is a good old fashioned rocker, Townshend's are typically strong, "Street In The City" having that trademark Townshend paradox of finding the world sadly beautiful and wanting to smash it up anyways. His work on Rough Mix would probably be lost on, if not completely demolished if given to The Who.
It's albums like this that help give artists like Townshend and presumably Lane, a more interesting and fully rounded catalogue. Fans of either men should track this down.
Published
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Catalog
9 May 2024
5 May 2024
21 Apr 2024
17 Mar 2024
6 Mar 2024
26 Feb 2024
21 Feb 2024
14 Feb 2024
9 Feb 2024
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A1 My Baby Gives It Away
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A2 Nowhere to Run
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A3 Rough Mix
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A4 Annie
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A5 Keep Me Turning
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A6 Catmelody
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B1 Misunderstood
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B2 April Fool
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B3
Street in the City
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B4 Heart to Hang On To
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B5 Till the Rivers All Run Dry
29 Jan 2024
14 Jan 2024
3 Jan 2024
31 Dec 2023
27 Dec 2023
21 Dec 2023
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A1
My Baby Gives It Away
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A2
Nowhere to Run
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A3
Rough Mix
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A4
Annie
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A5
Keep Me Turning
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A6
Catmelody
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B1
Misunderstood
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B2
April Fool
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B3
Street in the City
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B4
Heart to Hang On To
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B5
Till the Rivers All Run Dry
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