A Benefit For Maryville Academy, Live [Audio CD] Pete Townshend

The advantage Pete Townshend has over many of his contemporaries is he's found nonmusical outlets for his creative urges. Engaged in publishing in his post-Who semi-retirement, the windmilling guitarist has returned to the stage infrequently, which may partially explain the energy he brings to this performance, a benefit for a treatment center for abused children. The two-disc collection features Townshend backed by a quintet on one disc and stretching out with Eddie Vedder and keyboardist Jon Carvin on remakes of "Magic Bus" and "Heart to Hang Onto" on the second disc. Townshend scatters a couple of unexpected covers (Canned Heat's droning "On the Road Again" and Dylan's "Girl From the North Country") and a few more obscure originals ("Now and Then," "Drowned") among the staples ("Anyway Anyhow Anywhere," "Let My Love Open the Door," "Won't Get Fooled Again"). The original art punk now approaches his material with a certain mature reserve, but he's consistently engaged and in fine voice. Here's one '60s hero who isn't treading the same worn path because he has no interest in arriving at the same old destination. --Steven Stolder