← Behind The Song: Classic Rock Chronicles
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Podcast Intro
97.1Fm the drive presents the behind the Song podcast, taking you deeper into classic rock's most timeless tunes.
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Janda
Here's your host, Janda the song is the biggest hit of Pete Townsend's solo career, an infectious tune that Townsend called just a little ditty. But like most things about this artist's work, Let My Love Open the Door has a more complex and deeper meaning that what it sounds like at first. Let's get into it in this episode of the behind the Song podcast. If you like it, give it a thumbs up and hit subscribe first, let's take a look at where Pete Townsend was career wise and personally in 1980 when the empty Glass album was released. It was all part of a new contract Townsend had with Atlantic Records, who really pushed him as a solo act for their ATKO imprint at the dawn of the decade. This was all well and good, but it didn't mean that the who weren't still very much a going concern, albeit with a new drummer, Kenny Jones of the Faces. After the untimely passing of Keith Moon, the who were actually right in the middle of a world tour when the Empty Glass album hit stores in April of 1980, back up to 1978. The who's who Are youe album, their eighth, was released in August of that year, and less than a month later Moon was found dead from an accidental overdose of a drug he was prescribed to combat his problem with alcohol. He was only 32 years old. The decision to carry on as the who was made partly as a way of coping with Moon's death. The late John Entwistle later said that that decision to keep going was bordering on insane, and something that he and Roger Daltrey had to be persuaded to do by Townsend. But go on, they did, even though the demands of doing so took their toll on everyone in the band, not least Townsend. He was unraveling, imbibing in drugs and alcohol himself. He was having marital problems with his wife at the time, Karen Astley. As a result, all of the songs on Empty Glass were written while he was touring the globe with the who, while he was also writing songs for the who's next album, Face Dances. When the label heard it, they didn't think it sounded enough like the who. That infuriated Townsend, who didn't set out to make a who album, and he told them so. When Face Dances came out in 1981, he was again criticized by many for the perception that he had put the best songs on his solo album. It was an argument he just couldn't win, and he later said that he considered it a mistake that he ever tackled a solo career during that tumultuous period. Regardless, the album was a hit, peaking at number five on the Billboard 200 chart. Let my Love Open the Door went to number nine on the Billboard Hot 100, tying the who's only top 10 hit, I Can See For Miles, which was released 13 years earlier. There is much about this song that doesn't sound like the whole the synth sounds, the overall poppy feel to it, don't really recall my generation. For example, the personnel who recorded the songs on the Empty Glass album were from all over, including Tony Butler and Mark Brzicki, who would go on to form the rhythm section of the Scottish band Big Country. Kenney Jones did play drums on one track, but the whole thing was firmly a Townsend enterprise. Churning out tunes in a creative peak were his first first solo album of all original songs, and it probably helped with those marital problems that he was having at the time because the album is dedicated to Karen Astley, Let My Love Open the Door was a song that Townshend simply wanted to write, and like Baba O'Reilly and other songs Townshend wrote for the who, it was influenced by Townshend's devotion to the religious guru Meher Bapa. Townsend told Rolling Stone magazine that it was one of those songs where you end up shooting to write something really deep and meaningful, and what you end up coming up with is something that appears to be froth in his words. While on the surface it seems like a simple love song, he went on to say that this is about divine love. When you're in difficulty, whether it's major or minor, Divine love is always there for you. In essence, it's another devotional song to his guru, who, by the way, he never even met in person. The lyrics go like when people keep repeating that you'll never fall in love when everybody keeps retreating but you can't seem to get enough Let my love open the door to your heart when everything feels all over Everybody seems unkind I'll give you a four leaf clover Take all worry out of your mind Let my love open the door to your heart. Repetitive by design, the chorus takes on a mantra like Feel all the touchstones in this song point back to some of Meher Baba's key teachings to let go of worry through surrender. And it goes on. The only key to your heart that can stop you falling apart Try today you'll find this way Come on and give me a chance to say Let my love open the door it's all I'm living for Release yourself from misery there's only one thing gonna set you free and that's my love and it ends when tragedy befalls you don't let it drag you down Love can cure your problems you're so lucky I'm around Let my love open the door to your heart. A short song clocking in at just 2 minutes and 44 seconds, it gets Townsend's message across. When you feel down or like the odds are stacked against you, you are not alone. Direct from the teachings of the Meher Baba, comfort is at hand. This uplifting little ditty, as Townsend called it, has had a remarkable second life in movies. It's been used in tons of them, including Mr. Deeds, along came Polly, and Look who's Talking, just to name a few. And who could forget the songs used in the cult classic Grosse Pointe Blank, starring John Cusack and Minnie Driver? It has an incredible soundtrack, including Townshend's re recording of Let My love Open the Door as a slower ballad, which he did with Chris Thomas, who co produced Empty Glass, producer Tim Oliver and Jack Hughes of Wang Chung. Called the E Cola Mix, it was released on the Best of Pete Townsend compilation album in 1996 and and this version is in the movie and on the soundtrack to 1997's Grosse Pointe Blank. There's something about the way Let My Love Open the Door expresses hopefulness in matters of love that Hollywood can't seem to get enough of, and the placement in this film in particular is a perfect expression of that hopeful acceptance, with Driver's character telling Cusacks as admittedly flawed character that he isn't broken, just badly sprained. And that's the through line through much of Pete Townsend's work, actually, whether on his solo work in this song or with many of the songs he wrote for the who, searching for meaning and comfort from the perspective of someone who really needs help finding it. And that's one reason his music connects so deeply with us fans, too, of the surprising connection this song has made. Townsend has long ago silenced the critics who claimed that he kept the best songs for himself here. These days, Townsend simply says, it's a Pete hit. I'm Janda and this has been behind the song. If you liked this episode, give it a like and subscribe to the channel. Special thanks as always to Christian Lane for the music you hear on these podcast episodes. Check us out on TikTok and you can find me on the air weekdays from 9 to 2 Central and 971 FM the Drive in Chicago. And@wdrv.com on the way, much more classic rock and roll.