When I was five my mom sat me down
and told me that life was unfair, and the sooner I understood that the better.
A harsh lesson for a five year old for sure, but it has served me well over the
years.
This week I encountered an
unfairness so profound that all my mother’s wisdom felt suddenly small and
useless. I’m not going to talk about it beyond that, because you’ve come here
to read a music review not a rant. So here you go.
Disc 785 is….Tommy
Artist: The Who
Year of Release: 1969
What’s up with the Cover? Look deep into my
seagulls…Deeper…You are feeling very three dimensional. I always liked this
cover, but I’ve never figured out what, if any, significance it has. It just
looks kind of cool.
How I Came To Know It: My brother owned this on vinyl
but rarely played it. One year for Christmas I wrapped up a satin flag of one
of his favourite bands (Venom) inside the album so he thought he was getting
“Tommy” again. He looked so sad, but after the joke was realized was happy with
the Venom flag. The next year he took vengeance on me by wrapping my present so
tightly it took me fifteen minutes to get into it.
As for
the Tommy album, I got that on vinyl as a hand-me-down and years later I ended
up buying it on CD…and here we are.
How It Stacks Up: I have three of The Who’s studio albums.
In any normal trio of albums “Tommy” would easily be first, but not when you’ve
got a classic like “Who’s Next” dominating top spot. As a result “Tommy can
only manage second place. And since I’ve reviewed all three of them, here’s a
recap:
- Who’s Next: 5 stars (reviewed back at Disc 204)
- Tommy: 5 stars (reviewed right here)
- Odds &
Sods: 3 stars (reviewed back
at Disc 170)
Ratings: 5 stars
Pete Townshend is a musical genius, and “Tommy” is an
album that shows what a musical genius is capable of when his band is wise
enough to let him do his thing.
Sure, The Who is not The Who without Roger Daltry’s
vocals, the drumming of Keith Moon and John Entwistle on bass (one of the
reasons I have no interest in seeing them in concert since Moon and Entwistle
are both now dead).
But it is Pete Townshend that drives the creative
engine of “Tommy.” “Tommy” is a concept album about a deaf, dumb and blind kid
who is abused by trusted family members, grows up to find fame for being an
amazing pinball player, eventually gets his sight back and becomes some kind of
modern messiah. Townshend delivers the whole story as a ‘rock opera.’ Outside
of Alexander Pope creating the mock epic with “Rape of the Lock” you would have
a hard time finding a more brilliant reimagining of a traditional art form.
Musically, the record is nuanced but powerful.
Townsend’s chord choices are clever and perfectly suited to each section of the
story, often making subtle changes to the voicing of his guitar for maximum
emotional impact.
Just listening to the overture is enough to know how
great the music is. Overtures introduce all of a musical’s themes and in just
over five minutes the overture of “Tommy” switches gears about 15 times. Every
shift sounds amazing.
Although “Tommy” is best heard all at once, there
are still many standout songs that are great even on their own. “1921” has a light and optimistic feel,
fueled by Daltry’s standout vocals, with an undercurrent of menace of the dark
days to come for the main character. “The
Acid Queen” and “Pinball Wizard”
are both hard rock classics, and the album’s final song “We’re Not Gonna Take It” has a bit of everything and despite being
seven minutes long, leaves you wanting more, not less.
Thematically, “Tommy” is a cycle of abuse that “A
Clockwork Orange” would be proud of. Tommy is beaten, drugged and abused by a
litany of family members, shysters and quacks but once his pinball skills make
him a celebrity, his “holiday camp” feels like a giant cult where starry-eyed
fans are taken advantage of in turn.
Pete Townshend’s music is always best when he is
exorcising some of his many demons (think “Behind
Blue Eyes” from “Who’s Next”) and his tortured artistry forges “Tommy” into
a modern day masterpiece.
The only time “Tommy” last my interest was during
the meandering 10 minute underture in the middle of the album, but even that
meandering had purpose and provided a reflection of the album’s musical themes –
kind of like the reflection Tommy himself is obsessed with staring at with his
blind eyes.
“Tommy” isn’t the kind of album you put on every
day. Like “The Wall” it takes a dedicated listen from start to finish to appreciate
it. But just because I don’t play it every day doesn’t mean it isn’t one of
rock and roll’s great accomplishments. Five stars.
Best
tracks: 1921, Christmas,
The Acid Queen, Pinball Wizard, Sally Simpson, We’re Not Gonna Take It
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