Published on Aug 9, 1999
Over the course of the last two weeks, I’ve been seeing
advertisements for the movie
The Iron Giant, and each time I saw the ads, I thought to
myself, “This sounds incredibly familiar. Someone else has told
this story.”
Sure enough, the first ad I saw that had the Iron Giant say the
name “Hogarth,” I knew. The motion picture makers might think
they’ve fooled the general public, but anyone who is a music fan –
especially of Pete Townshend and The Who – knows that Townshend
took on this story 10 years ago with his musical
The Iron Man (which was also based on the 1968 short story
by the late Ted Hughes).
I don’t believe that Townshend’s musical was ever produced in
any fashion. Too bad, ’cause trying to follow the story by the
music alone is pretty difficult – and that’s the sticking point I
have with this album.
To be fair, it is not completely right to call this a Townshend
album; Townshend, besides writing the music, becomes an actor in
this musical play, along with John Lee Hooker, Nina Simone, Chyna
(whom I’m embarassed to admit I know nothing about) and – egads! –
The Who, performing their first new music together since their 1983
breakup.
But Townshend does take on the role of the main character, a
10-year-old boy named Hogarth, who befriends the Iron Man (played
by Hooker) after he crash-lands in Australia. The Iron Man is not
understood by the adults, who work to put down the beast, while
Hogarth becomes his friend and rescuer. The story takes on a
different twist when a dragon (Nina Simone) threatens to destroy
the earth, leaving only the Iron Man to save the planet.
The one single from this album, “A Friend Is A Friend,” is a
pleasant little number that simply brings to mind the importance of
the subject. It’s not his greatest solo work, but it’s definitely
not his worst. (C’mon, you don’t expect to hear “Let My Love Open
The Door” during a children’s short story, do you?) The difficulty
is that the story line – even with the descriptive narrative in the
liner notes – is very difficult to follow; it almost feels like
cramming the story into 50 minutes doesn’t do it justice.
Hooker is an odd choice to play The Iron Man, but in retrospect,
his delivery of the material proves that he was the best choice for
the role. It’s a shame we only get to hear him twice, on “Over The
Top” and “I Eat Heavy Metal” – the latter an interesting song,
seeing that the movie is being promoted to the tune of “Rock You
Like A Hurricane” by the Scorpions.
Of all the characters, only Nina Simone’s seems like incorrect
casting. The song she sings, “Fast Food,” also doesn’t seem to fit
the mood, so errors are made all the way around.
The Iron Man almost feels like a musical without a story at
times, and just becomes a reason for Townshend to not only reunite
with The Who (who do sound brilliant, though their glory days are
long gone) but to also jam with some of his musical friends. Here’s
hoping that the movie does a better job with Hughes’s tale.