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''Psychoderelict'' is a concept album written, produced and engineered by Pete Townshend. Some characters and issues presented in this work were continued in Townshend's later opus ''The Boy Who Heard Music'', first presented on The Who's album ''Endless Wire'' and then adapted as a rock musical. This is Townshend's last solo album to date. ==History== Released in 1993, ''Psychoderelict'' is a rock opera conceived by Townshend in 1991 as the follow-up to ''The Iron Man'', but despite having recorded several demos, a bicycle accident in September 1991 forced him to delay work on the album until his wrist was able to heal properly. It is structured more like a radio play than the more "traditional" rock operas Townshend had recorded both with The Who (''Tommy'', ''Quadrophenia'' and the unreleased ''Lifehouse'' album) and as a solo artist (''White City'' and ''The Iron Man''). The album's central character is Ray High (real name Raymond Highsmith), a 60s rock star who has dwindled and turned into an alcoholic recluse. Ray's manager, Rastus Knight, worried at the rocker's dwindling bank account, attempts unsuccessfully to talk him into recording new material. Rastus complains about it to radio pop-music reporter Ruth Streeting, an outspoken critic of Ray's. Ruth says she has an idea to "fire him up" and Rastus offers her a cut off the profits if she can do it. Ruth sends Ray a letter posing as a 15-year-old girl named Rosalyn Nathan, who dreams of being a star. She includes in her letter an erotic Polaroid of herself lying naked on her mother's grave when she was 12. Ray responds to her immediately, calling the photograph "stunning" and telling her that they both "share complicated problems." He offers to help her if she will keep it a secret. He and "Rosalyn" exchange several letters, where Ray opens his heart about his insecurity, his life's past tragedies, and his insights into the relationships between the performers, the public, and the press. He sends her a tape of "Flame," a song he wrote for his secret "Gridlife" project. In his last letter he talks about Ruth Streeting, calling her "symbolic of the entire establishment" and saying "her disgust is the greatest motivator of the artist in me." He confesses that he has fallen in love with her. Ruth, now sleeping with Rastus, laughs about it while being spanked. Ruth publishes the photograph in a her "porno pen-pal story," calling Ray a slime ball who took advantage of a young fan's innocence to solicit the photograph and "test out his weird theories." The resulting controversy drives the re-release of Ray's records to huge sales. Rastus is delighted. "Rosalyn's" version of "Flame," off of her new Ruth Streeting-produced album, becomes a huge hit. Ruth promotes Rosalyn as a "brilliant songwriter" while keeping the real writer of the song a secret, even from Rastus. Ruth receives her cut of the profits, and Rastus is on seventh heaven, once again rolling in money. Ray, upset about Ruth's expose, confronts them both. Ruth accuses Ray of "manipulating" Rosalyn. Rastus says it all worked out for the best, they're back in calculator country. Ray insists that he was helping Rosalyn deal with a problem. Ruth insists Rosalyn never had a problem and all Ray did was "help her become a fucking star." In a meeting with Ruth at a bar, Raymond springs the surprise that he has known all along that Ruth and Rosalyn are one in the same. It is heavily implied that Ruth fakes being attracted to Ray so that she can manoeuvre him into writing new material. Ruth, littering her language with endearments, is now producing "Gridlife" album, which contains a sample of the Who's famous "Baba O'Riley." At the end of the play, Ray says that "Gridlife" was a vision, not a fiction, and that the apocalypse it foresaw is near. He wonders what happened to peace, love, and "all that hippie shit." 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Psychoderelict」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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