For years Pete Townshend's operatic pretensions were so transparently obvious that I'd wagered his musical ideas would never catch up to his lyrical ones. And I was right--both became more prolix at the same rate. This isn't quite as dreadful as All The Blind Chinamen Have Western Eyes but between the synth noodling, winding song structures, and book-club poetry it's the nearest thing to classic awful English art rock since Genesis discovered funk. Best song--"Eminence Front" in which Pete Townshend discovers funk. Just in time. Bye. C-