Q: How many Who members does it take to screw in a light bulb? A: Just Pete Townshend -- but only after he has spent years conceiving the idea, designing the bulb and the ladder, building them by hand, taking them on tour and pontificating about their relevance to his previous light-bulb installations. On the plus side, sometimes he lets Roger Daltrey touch the bulb.

Indeed, when Townshend wrote "Meet the new boss -- same as the old boss," he couldn't have known how true it would turn out to be. Endless Wire -- his first full-length studio disc with Daltrey in 24 years -- finds Pete dominating the proceedings even more than in the past. Sure, Who albums have always been glorified Towser solo discs to a degree -- he has always written songs and demoed them before presenting them to the band. Thing is, now bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon are gone. And like it or not, Pete and Roger alone are not The Who any more than Paul and Ringo are The Beatles or Page and Plant are Led Zep. So expecting Endless Wire to compare with the likes of, say, Who's Next is unrealistic.

But not surprisingly, it does compare with Pete's solo discs -- especially his home-made Scoop sets. On Endless Wire's 21 tracks, Townshend plays nearly all instruments, including drums and strings. He sings several songs. Half the set is a mini-opera. And like much of Pete's solo work, it veers between brilliance and self-indulgence.

The first nine songs are stand-alones that are moodier and mellower than old Who fare. Fragments and It's Not Enough are broody midtempo rockers. The scathing Man in a Purple Dress and the questioning Two Thousand Years are acoustic examinations of religion. Mike Post Theme balances anthemic power chords with gentle verses. In the Ether finds Pete rumbling like Tom Waits. But the most Who-like cut is the terrorism tale Black Widow's Eyes, due to drummer Zak Starkey's thundering tom-toms.

Thankfully, the energy level is slightly higher on the 10-song Wire and Glass. That's partly because most of its sections are two minutes or less and are played by a band. But mostly it's because Sound Round, Pick up the Peace, We Got a Hit and Mirror Door have the arena-size beats and hooks of classic Who.

Even so, Wire and Glass feels half-formed -- you wish more cuts were fleshed out like the extended versions of We Got a Hit and the title tune included here. And of course, you wish Moon and the Ox were here.

But there's no denying that both Townshend and Daltrey are still formidable. Roger's chesty bellow remains unparalleled, and Pete is still one of rock's most dynamic guitarists and most fearless songwriters.

And considering it's been a g-g-g-generation since their last album, Endless Wire isn't too shabby. Even if it ain't the same as the old Who.

Track Listing:

1. Fragments
2. Man in a Purple Dress
3. Mike Post Theme
4. In the Ether
5. Black Widow's Eyes
6. Two Thousand Years
7. God Speaks of Marty Robbins
8. It's Not Enough
9. You Stand by Me
10. Sound Round
11. Pick Up the Peace
12. Unholy Trinity
13. Trilby's Piano
14. Endless Wire
15. Fragments of Fragments
16. We Got a Hit
17. They Made My Dream Come True
18. Mirror Door
19. Tea & Theatre