The Who frontman Roger Daltrey says that Pete Townshend is still capable of writing the best material of his life, if he can find the inspiration he needs. Townshend is currently taking a year away from the band, while Daltrey focuses on a tour of the rock opera Tommy, and his new solo album As Long As I Have You.

“We haven't gone away," Daltrey told Billboard in a new interview. “We will be doing something in the very near future, that's for sure. Y'know, I've always been of the opinion that if Pete really puts his mind to it he could potentially write his greatest work at this age. He's got that kind of brain that would use his life experience and his musical ability to perhaps come up with his greatest compositions, and the group has been playing so well recently I think [Townshend] thinks we have a valid voice in the music business. So who knows? He has all the ability to do it; Let's just hope he can be inspired to do it.”

The singer – who recently made controversial comments about the #MeToo movement – offered a glimpse into his own inspiration for re-recording the Stevie Wonder protest track “You Haven’t Done Nothing,” saying: “there's so much frustration with the state of our nations and the politics. There's an incredible anger out there, and all it is [is] anger. It seems to be very unfocused. It just feels like we don't seem to be moving on from where we are in the '70s, when that song was written, so I sang it with a little more anger than I think Stevie ever sang it. But the lyrics apply just as much today as they did then."

He also recalled how Townshend had rescued the solo project. “When I went back and listened to what I'd done, I was very disillusioned with it… Pete called me up and said, 'This is great, Roger, you've got to finish it. And then he offered to play guitar on it, and that was the clincher for me because he's my favorite guitarist, and whenever he plays on a record it's always original. So I decided to finish it, and I'm very pleased with the outcome."

As Long As I Have You – his ninth solo album and his first in 26 years – was released on June 1. His Tommy U.S. tour, featuring a local orchestra at each venue, commences on June 8.

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