There are a few little mysteries in rock ‘n’ roll, and one of the most curious is Pete Townshend’s “Lifehouse” – an album recorded in 1970, then abandoned, then released last month.
Townshend, 55, The Who’s big-nosed, guitar-smashing songsmith, created the record as a follow-up to his rock opera “Tommy,” but ditched it because he didn’t think fans would get it.
The reason? It dealt with Townshend’s vision of what he was calling the grid – an electronic system of home-based communication that linked users across the globe but relegated them to indoor living.
What we now know as the Web was at the time a far-out, futuristic concept, and “Lifehouse” was the first response to its consequences.
It’s an album in which a hacker hero breaks into the grid and entices people to leave their homes for a rock concert at a theater called the Lifehouse.
“I saw it all coming,” Townshend says, then denies being a visionary. “I mustn’t take credit for it. In college in the 1960s, I took a course in cybernetic theory taught by Roy Ascot. It was he who gave me my grip on what the future was.”
Townshend, who appeared with his band mates at the PNC Bank Arts Center last night and will be at the Jones Beach Theater Saturday, spoke with The Post exclusively about the history of the album, which was finally released – ironically enough – on the Web.
He said he wanted to put out the record now because “people understand virtual reality, the Internet and being linked to each other through a grid. We can now start to reflect on the spiritual consequences of living our lives as 100 percent couch potatoes.
“The conclusion hasn’t been decided. Will people stop reaching out? Will they stop congregating?”
The grid in “Lifehouse” is akin to an evil empire, yet these days Townshend doesn’t view the Internet as being dastardly.
“I love the Internet because it is a place to share,” he says. “On my Web site, I share my process with those who are interested. I am an art school boy, and sharing process is part of how I work.
“I do love talking about what I do. In concert, some find it irritating as hell. All they want is for me to stop talking and pick up the guitar and play. That’s why the Internet is so good for me. I can talk.”
“Tommy” was turned into a film and a Broadway musical. Could “Lifehouse” make a similar transition?
“I have to say ‘Lifehouse’ doesn’t lend itself to the stage,” says Townshend. “It really needs to be a movie because the final scene is a giant rock concert, and to make it feel real, you need thousands of people.”
Though “Lifehouse” wasn’t released originally, many of its songs – including “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” “Baba O’Riley,” “Who Are You” and “Behind Blue Eyes” – eventually were featured on the band’s classic album “Who’s Next.”
Still, Townshend says there is some music on “Lifehouse” that is unknown to the public.
“Hopefully, there are songs that will be completely new, but a lot of the fans will have heard most of the stuff because I’ve been so heavily bootlegged in this area.”
Townshend is one of the few rockers who avidly supports bootlegging.
“I’d like to see it proliferate unchecked,” he says. “If we don’t, we may allow something wonderful to be nipped in the bud.”
Isn’t he angered by lost sales?
“As an artist, what I think is important is that people listen to your work, and if you are properly rewarded for it, that’s the bonus.”