Product Description

The definitive rock opera, TOMMY liberated the Who from a "singles band" stigma, marking them as a substantial artisticforce. Composer Pete Townshend had flirted with the conceptual format on two previous releases, but here his vision is spread over two ambitious records that play to the Who's main strengths. Anthems such as the raucous "Pinball Wizard" and the surprisingly serene "I'm Free" emphasise the kinetic power of the band, while Townshend's cast of characters (the perverted Uncle Ernie, the inscrutable Tommy) reveals a wildand unconventional imagination. Townshend even incorporatesSonny Boy Williamson's "Eyesight to the Blind" as part of his fable about the "deaf, dumb, and blind kid", making a successful reference to the past in what is an undeniably groundbreaking and forward-looking achievement.

Track Listing

1. Overture
2. It's A Boy
3. 1921
4. Amazing Journey
5. Sparks
6. Eyesight To The Blind (The Hawker)
7. Christmas
8. Cousin Kevin
9. The Acid Queen
10. Underture
11. Do You Think It's Alright?
12. Fiddle About
13. Pinball Wizard
14. There's A Doctor
15. Go To The Mirror!
16. Tommy Can You Hear Me?
17. Smash The Mirror
18. Sensation
19. Miracle Cure
20. Sally Simpson
21. I'm Free
22. Welcome
23. Tommy's Holiday Camp
24. We're Not Gonna Take It

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2305 in Music
• Released on: 1998-02-02
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Running time: 75 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Tommy had the dubious distinction of being the first-ever rock opera; however, it's none the worse for that, Ken Russell's adaptation notwithstanding. Due largely to Pete Townshend's skill as a songwriter and composer, Tommy tells a coherent story and includes quality rock and roll at the same time, an impressive feat by itself. While surprisingly more linear than the later Quadrophenia, Tommy boasts several songs that stand up well on their own, including the classic "Pinball Wizard", "The Acid Queen", "I'm Free", and "Sally Simpson". Much of the rest doesn't make much sense lyrically unless you listen to the entire album, but you'll probably want to do that anyway, preferably with the lights low and the stereo cranked. --Genevieve Williams

Customer Reviews

Fantastic album !!
I must point out one thing first. This is not really the sort of album that you can dip into at random points and rock along too. To truly enjoy it you must follow the rock opera theme.
Once you do this the album starts to make sense and becomes really a great one at that. There are so many good songs on here that it's up there with 'Who's Next' and 'Quadrophenia'.
Obviously there's everybody's favourite, 'Pinball Wizard', but, there are so many others that the people who gave this 1 star have overlooked. There's 'Amazing Journey' with Moon's incredible drumming, 'Eyesight to the Blind', 'I'm Free' (Brilliant bass by Entwistle), 'The Acid Queen', 'Sally Simpson' and 'We're Not Gonna Take It'.

It does take some time to appreciate this album but persevere and you will not regret it. Genius from Townshend, a definite 5 stars !!

A spiritual narative...
A great musical album? Yes, but a whole lot more.

This is Townshend in his role as spiritual prophet. The narrative which is "Tommy" contains spiritual guidance for us all.

The hero of the piece, Tommy the deaf dumb and blind boy, is you and me, and indeed all of us who have not yet become truly aware of who (what) we really are. Even the selection of the name "Tommy" by Townshend is genius. As the universal creator repeatedly calls Tommy, the name can be heard as "To me" - reflecting the constant invitation and pull of God.

Like the rest of us, Tommy experiences the universe through the vibrations of pain and suffering. He becomes a wizard pinball player - that is he puts himself into the hands of the creator and lives fully in faith that all things are just as they are meant to be. Through this, and the meditation/contemplation (gazing), or prayer(free me, heal me), Tommy becomes free (aware).

This is a calling for us all to become "pinball wizards" to live our lives in the everlasting "holiday camp", starting from right now.

Oh, and the music is totally ace too!

Excellent example of British songwriting
When I first came across this album in the mid 1970s, I shared some of the feelings of other reviewers , namely that it was less exciting or interesting than, say, "Who's Next", or "Quadrophenia". However, as I got older and my music tastes evolved, this is probably the Who album I play most often. Why? Well, it is a complete piece, musically and lyrically, and the playing is excellent, the lines memorable and, to be frank, there is much less posturing than some of the "meatier" albums. I would point out that, contradicting what another reviewer said, they play extracts in many of their shows to this day - their recent tour saw excellent performances of "Sparks", "Amazing Journey", "Pinball Wizard" and "See me Feel Me".

I would recommend unhesitatingly. I would also recommend to get an diea of the power of this album live, to get "The Who Live at the isle of Wight 1969" DVD.