*** Pete Townshend

LIVE: A BENEFIT FOR MARYVILLE ACADEMY

(Platinum Entertainment)

To open this two-disc set, Pete Townshend finally gets around to covering Canned Heat's minimalist masterpiece "On the Road Again," a song ideally suited to his reedy voice and restless disposition. Along with a rambunctious reading of the old Who chestnut "Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere," it's a highlight on an album that otherwise offers few revelations and little in the way of a substantive reworking of familiar material.

Then again, that's really not the point of this concert, which was recorded live at the Chicago House of Blues during a charity benefit for Maryville Academy, an Illinois-based care facility for abused children. So it's entirely appropriate for Townshend to deliver a comforting set of faithfully rendered classics like "Let My Love Open the Door" and "Won't Get Fooled Again." The concert finds Pete in good (if mellower) voice and on good (if mellower) electric and acoustic guitar. For the kids, there's a superfluous but demographically enhancing appearance by Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, who joins Townshend for "Magic Bus" and "Heart To Hang Onto." And for a good cause, even I can take Eddie living out his Roger Daltrey fantasies for a few minutes.

-- Jonathan Perry