POP MUSIC REVIEW : It’s Not Who You Know

The Beatles may have had the best songs and the most influence of all the great ‘60s rock groups, but the Who came up with the cleverest band name.

What better title for a new album than 1971’s “Who’s Next,” or for a rarities album than 1985’s “Who’s Missing”?

In that spirit, consider Pete Townshend’s current three-city solo swing as the “Who Knows” tour because of its largely informal, unstructured nature.

Imagine being in the company for almost two hours of the man who supplied one of rock’s greatest bands with its creative vision--and knowing he would sing only about 20 of his some 200 songs.

Since the Who’s demise in the ‘80s, Townshend has rarely faced live audiences. He did play the Wiltern Theatre here in 1993 as part of a tour to promote his “Psychoderelict” album, but that was a formal show in which he and a band played the entire album plus a few extras.

But Monday, at the opening date on the mini-tour at the House of Blues, Townshend, backed by Jon Carin on synthesizer, sidestepped the big Who hits.

He did perform “I Am One” and some other songs from “Quadrophenia,” the 1973 concept album that he and surviving members of the Who will perform June 29 in an all-star show in London. But there was no “Pinball Wizard” or “Won’t Get Fooled Again” or “My Generation.”

Instead, Townshend did several songs from “Coolwalkingsmoothtalking . . . ,” the just-released retrospective of his solo career, and some lesser-known Who material. The result was a sometimes rambling but mostly warm and invigorating affair.

With the early Who, Townshend wrote songs that chronicled youthful uncertainty as convincingly as anyone ever in rock--though the moments of doubt were usually cast in the soaring, affirming glory of the Who’s music.

As he aged, Townshend, who’ll be 51 this month, has continued to reflect on fears and faith. Yet he still injects the songs with optimism. He opened Monday’s concert with 1980’s upbeat “Let My Love Open the Door,” one of his most unguarded expressions of joy.

At other times, Townshend--who switched between guitar and piano--shared everything from the youthful bite of “I’m a Boy” and the rock-tour outline of “Sheraton Gibson” to the middle-age questioning of “Slit Skirts” to the social commentary of some material from “The Iron Man.”

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Let’s hope that someone from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum staff was among the crush of fans on hand Monday. Along with the recent, much-acclaimed solo appearances at the Henry Fonda Theatre by the Kinks’ Ray Davies, this show should have provided some valuable clues on how to best document the careers of rock masters.

Instead of requesting an old guitar or tour jacket to display, the Hall should ask Townshend and other prized inductees for some of their time. Ideally, the museum could set up a weeklong residence at some appropriate club--though not the noisy House of Blues, where the chatter around the bars sabotages virtually any gentle moment. The artists could then play scores of songs in an informal setting, offering anecdotes about the various numbers. The tape could then be available at the museum for fans and musicians.

On Monday, Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder was among several young performers who took advantage of the show to soak up some vintage Townshend--even if it was just two hours of his celebrated history.