Friday, October 21, 2016

Throwback Thursday: Tommy, by The Who



By late 1968 The Who had become a huge part of the British Invasion movement of music. They had quite a few hits to their name and were still on the rise. However, guitarist and primary song writer Pete Townshend was getting bored of writing the same three minute pop songs over and over again and wanted to find a way to progress into something more creative. Townshend managed to do just that when he and the rest of The Who after several months of writing and recording put out the very first rock opera in 1969: Tommy.

Tommy is the story of a boy who goes blind, deaf, and dumb after his father who was a lost fighter pilot in WWII comes back and murders his step-father. From there people realize that by some miracle Tommy is insanely good at pinball despite his handicaps. When he regains his senses as an adult, he becomes a messiah and starts a religious movement until people won't take it any more (especially with all the capitalizing upon it that his family does). The songs' lyrics are profound while the music itself is quite catchy despite abandoning the traditional pop song structure for the majority of the tracks.

Pinball Wizard is the one track that everyone who has ever listened to/watched Tommy knows and loves. Then again, it was meant to be a catchy single. It was actually the track that gave the whole story and album focus once it was written. I love it because that fast chord playing with those powerful accent notes on the electric just hit me the right way. Of course it's also hard note to sing every word along with Roger Daltrey. Who knew a song about a deaf, dumb, and blind kid playing pinball could be so fun?

I'm Free is one of my personal favorites from the album. It's the song that tells of Tommy's spiritual enlightenment after he is freed from his mental shackles once and for all after his surgery to restore his senses. It is filled with such joy, positivity, and fun musically. It's hard not to get swept up in it. Personally I've always been able to dig this song in certain situations in my life even outside the context of the song's original intent because all of us have those moments where we are finally free of something that was chaining us down and keeping us from being where we wanted to be and doing what we wanted to do.

Tommy is definitely a landmark album not just for The Who, but for rock in general because it managed to bring the concepts of rock and opera together - a feat which no one beforehand would ever have dreamed possible. Naturally many other bands have done their own thing with the concept since then, but really this is where it all began. It is lyrically profound, musically creative, and will captivate and move you from start to finish. I would HIGHLY recommend getting both the album version and the film version.

Tommy, by The Who receives 4 out of 5 stars.

Track List:

Disc 1:

1. Overture
2. It's a Boy
3. 1921
4. Amazing Journey
5. Sparks
6. The Hawker
7. Christmas
8. Cousin Kevin
9. The Acid Queen
10. The Underture

Disc 2:

1. Do You Think It's Alright?
2. Fiddle About
3. Pinball Wizard
4. There's a Doctor
5. Go to the Mirror!
6. Tommy Can You Hear Me?
7. Smash the Mirror
8. Sensation
9. Miracle Cure
10. Sally Simpson
11. I'm Free
12. Welcome
13. Tommy's Holiday Camp
14. We're Not Gonna Take It

Buy the album on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Tommy-Remastered-Who/dp/B00GGW0E0C/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1477037585&sr=8-2&keywords=Tommy+The+Who

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