Pete Townshend – Sheraton Gibson

While commenting back and forth on the Danko album last weekend CB mentioned Who Came First, the first album by Pete Townshend. Everyone knows how big a Who fan I am but I had never listened to this album much at all. I knew his 2nd solo album Empty Glass but not this one. I thought it was just demos he released which he made for The Who. It’s not…it’s some great powerful songs driven by an aggressive acoustic. On the expanded version he did include some Who demos like Let’s See Action, Baba O’Riley, and a few more.

Who Came First was released in 1972. This album deals with Townshend’s involvement with Meher Baba. It includes tracks originally intended for private distribution to Baba devotees. Before you think this is Who’s Next part II, you would be mistaken. Some of these songs were made for the Lifehouse concept that he wanted to make Who’s Next about, but they changed courses by just picking songs for a regular album. I have a guitar player friend named Chris…he said he was heavily influenced by Townshend but not just electric. He said his real influence was on acoustic. Pete is one of the most aggressive acoustic guitar players I’ve heard. Chris opened my eyes to that and this album shows it. 

This song, Sheraton Gibson, is about life on the road with Pete at the time. He was staying in another hotel in another city with his Who bandmates. He deals with his feelings of loneliness and disconnection amid fame and constant travel, plus, of course, playing his Gibson guitar. The song is a great one and I consider it a lost gem…as well as the album.

Another song on the album called Evolution was written by and played with Ronnie Lane of the Faces. Lane was also a devotee of Meher Baba and it’s about personal growth and change and a really good deep song. 

I’ll sum it up by saying…I was totally surprised by the quality of this album! As big of a Who fan as I am I was totally shocked…in a great way. The songs stick with you and they are quality. The album didn’t set the charts on fire but it wasn’t pushed by the record company a bunch. It peaked at #69 on the Billboard Album Charts and #30 in Australia. 

Sheraton Gibson

I’m sittin’ in the Sheraton Gibson playin’ my GibsonAnd boy do I want to go home.I’m sittin’ in the Sheraton Gibson playin’ my GibsonAnd boy do I feel all alone.Cleveland, you blow my mind.Cleveland, I wish I were home this time.Don’t want to be unkind .

But I’m sittin’ in the Sheraton Gibson playin’ my GibsonThinkin’ ’bout a sunny barbequeI’m sitting in the Sheraton Gibson playin’ my GibsonAnd my mind is a Cleveland afternoon.Cleveland, you blow my mind.Cleveland, I wish I were home this timeDon’t want to be unkind.Cleveland, you blow my mind.Cleveland, I wish I were home this time.Don’t want to be unkind.

Oh Cleveland, you blow my mind.Oh Cleveland, I wish I were home this timeDon’t want to be unkind.

But I’m sitting in the Sheraton Gibson playin’ my GibsonAnd boy do I want to go home

…

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

40 thoughts on “Pete Townshend – Sheraton Gibson”

  2. This is new to me Max. Pretty cool to be able to go back and dig into this stuff. I don’t think I fully appreciated Pete’s acoustic playing though I think there’s a bit of it on Tommy. Forgive me I’m no expert here!

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    1. My friend, at first, shocked me with that. When he said acoustic…but I get it totally after thinking about it and listening. Yea a lot of Tommy has it including of course…Pinball Wizard.

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  4. I hadn’t heard of this album. Sounds kind of like a demo, but not bad & indeed, pretty good acoustic guitar. I think by & large I’m one of the few who like Pete without the Who better than with.

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    1. Well you might like this album then. I like this style of songs a lot…anything acoustically driven…that is why I like the Rod Stewart era of this time the best. They are more grounded. It is a very good album. Much more than I thought it would be.

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  7. I can’t believe I never heard of the album! I LOVED Pete’s ‘Empty Glass’ album and I’m a massive fan of the Who, but this one completely escaped me. Thanks for the tip Max!

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  8. While I had always listened to the Who, the first album I ever lived with so heard regularly was this one. My housemate was interested in Meher Baba so he bought this.

    (I bought a good cassette recorder in 1971 – there were really only a couple of them available at the time – with the intent of recording my housemates’ best albums so I could hear them after I no longer lived with them – too cheap to buy them myself. I seldom got around to it. This was one of the many I never recorded.)

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    1. It’s nice to hear from someone who heard the album anyway. I just didn’t know much about it and it got lost in the shuffle. It surprised me when I started to listen.
      Thanks!

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  9. Over the years this is a cut that regularly jumps into my head. The opening lines are easy to sing and I like the whole image and feel of someone being away from home and missing it. Pete is one of the best in my books.
    “And boy do I want to go home”

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    1. This one is an instant new classic for me.

      Well this is the one I was talking about. It can be taken in many ways. A Sheraton hotel and a Gibson or an Epiphone Sheraton owned by Gibson. I love the play on words… and yes the life they lived at the time.

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      1. I also love that word play. I gave the album a listen yesterday. The early Lane/Townshend creativity was set in motion, I love those creative collaborations that work. Might not hit commercially but they sure do hit something.

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      2. Grounded music and catchy if not commercial. I mean that in the best way. Commercial is way over rated. I’ve been listening to Lane a lot recently. He had some great solo albums…along with Pete.

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    1. I remember that. It’s almost like Springsteen doing Born to Run on acoustic. I love those different takes. Pete has his own style of playing the acoustic… not easy to copy. I never tried it

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  13. I love this album. I found it on a cassette in a Woolworth’s bargain bin in the early ’80’s when I was just getting heavily into The Who. Evolution is one of my favorites on it . I love the line: “And once I was a Mynah bird quoting verses from the Bible”. Great choice today.

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    1. Thank you so much! You are among the few…really more than I thought…that would actually know this album. That is awesome! That means I’m on the right track!

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  15. Just finished listening to the whole thing. GREAT FIND, Max. This one is a keeper. That song at the end, where he mentions Ronnie, WOW. The whole thing is excellent. Glad to hear Pete outside of The Who where he could show his stuff.

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