So for the first time ever I'm listening to Tommy, complete

Enjoyed seeing the Broadway version best. The only one that came close to achieving narrative continuity. Still no cigar, but less of a head scratching WTF.

 

The original!

 

Too many Tommys. The studio Who version IS Tommy, the rest are baggage IMO.

 

Tomorrow the OP will be listening to Sgt Pepper for the first time, as he was never a big Beatles fan in the past, but wants to give the band a try:

 

Here's what I said about the Tommy movie in a previous thread. Reading it again, I left something out so I finished my thought.


I love The Who and I adore Ken Russell; Altered States, The Lair of the White Worm, The Boy Friend and especially Lisztomania. Put 'em together and...wow!

The quintaphonic soundtrack is slathered in synthesizers, Jack Nicholson manages to be a better singer than Oliver Reed, I've come close to puking a few times during "Champagne" (because of the chocolate, not the baked beans), the close-up on Tina Turner's twitching face during "Acid Queen" has given me nightmares and you know this is going to be a rough ride when the only comic relief comes from Keith Moon playing a pedophile.

In other words, job well done, Mr. Russell.

May the enfant terrible of British cinema rest in peace.

 

My first exposure to the Tommy music was hearing live versions of the songs from TKAA movie and some of the themes on Live at Leeds. I had also heard some of the movie soundtrack. And older sibling had the Kampuchea album. So when I finally got the original album (early 80's), I was quite surprised that it was a quiet, acoustic album (to a degree). The album versus the live performance was really night and day.

 

The LSO recording of Tommy? Well, it definitely has the best packaging of any recording. Roger is obviously excellent but Steve Winwood is right behind.

If you can find a complete used copy cheap, grab it. You could also grab the current CD even though it's missing the pinball slip cover, there's a dropout in "1921" and the first verse of "We're Not Gonna Take It" was included as a part of "Tommy's Holiday Camp".

By the way OP, if you liked this recording enough to dig into The Who, that's good enough for me. Be advised their catalog is a bit of a mess.

 

What? How is their catalog a mess? Everything is in print. There are a bunch of late era live releases and comps, but those can be ignored.

 

The Who: Tommy

My favorite Who album but it does need to be listened to in one setting.

 

GUILD, Those original (for the US market) DECCA records are heavy, well mfg, and sound terrific applying any criteria you can think of.

Other posters above have already provided guidance toward the optimal TOMMY experience. You stated the London Symphony version moved you at some level. In my experience, the original studio release has never been bettered. I know many will disagree, raising up various live versions, yet I believe this work is best represented in it's studio version. The beautiful nuances are lost when it is performed live in a stadium with only 3 instruments (Live at Leeds), or later live performances with additional sonic enhancements. If you were actually able to experience them live in the audience, your experience would doubtless be more compelling. Absent that, TOMMY loses it's sonic identity IMHO. Your mileage will vary.


If your budget allows, try to score and experience it in it's entirety utilizing your best headphones. Uninterrupted if possible.

The MFSL cd pictured above can be acquired fairly painlessly. AMAZON Mktplace sellers are offering for about $13 - $25 used. Brand new 1996 Remastered/Remixed studio release (that includes a fantastic informative booklet that's almost worth the $7 alone) at about $7 directly from Uncle Amazon. MFSL page is linked here:

www.amazon.com/Tommy-1969-Original-Concept-Album/dp/B000000IRK/ref=tmm_acd_title_13?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1507905150&sr=1-1

Nostalgia Alert: I remember buying this album on vinyl in about 1969 with paper route earnings (2 weeks worth), and when the record store's sales clerk placed it in my hand after seeing the cover art for the first time, I KNEW I was in for something extra special. I only knew of The Who by buying Pinball Wizard as a single 45, and was seeking the album on which it was included. Tommy, upon my very first spin, transformed music appreciation for me in a permanent and positive manner 47+ years ago.

All the best,
GT

 

Agreed !

 

...features an alternate Daltrey vocal track on "Eyesight To The Blind" to that present on the original LP. The MoFi version features different mirror smashing effects at the end of "Smash The Mirror" to the original LP too.

Sonically for me, the original mix on the SDE version is the final word.

Don't rule out any of the easily-sourced soundboard recordings from Autumn / Winter 1969 and most specifically, Ottawa, where the versions of "Summertime Blues" and "Shakin' All Over" are two of the finest examples of the power and majesty of live rock music ever captured.

 

haha

 

and if you have a multi channel setup the version remixed by Pete is worth a listen. Not for the purists but a disc I play occasionally.

 

We're not gonna take it.......

 

The movie soundtrack is how I first heard Tommy. I was probably 5 years old when it came out and I only got it because I was a huge Elton John fan and loved his version of 'Pinball Wizard', of course not knowing it was a Who song if I even knew who The Who were.

 

I personally listen to the 2013 Deluxe version of Tommy. That's my go-to. Sound great.

https://www.amazon.com/Tommy-2013-Deluxe-Who/dp/B00ELAMR60

I also have the '96 remix which actually isn't bad, though apparently it has some audible clicks on a couple tracks. Though honestly, I never noticed. I prefer the original mix however, and the 2013 is a good representation of that mix on CD. (Though I understand the OP is going the vinyl route, which actually simplifies things somewhat.)

 

The blue 'squares' album cover was the one kids had lying around their rooms in the late 70s when I was a teenager. The 1970s was a time when rock bands started exploring the idea of a 'concept album' a unified collection or material developing an overall theme rather than simply the best 40 minutes of songs they happened to have recorded. We had Tommy, Moody Blues Days of Future Past, and maybe one can consider Sgt Pepper to be a concept album kicking things off in the late 60s.

 

Well, perhaps not when regarding it as the monolithic, multi-format/media work that it's become over the last 48 years. But in terms of the original album, Moon is about as reigned in and consistent as he would ever be on a Who recording. And Entwistle's bass lines really just serve the songs - there aren't many bass acrobatics on the studio album itself.

It's a layered enough recording that in order to pull it off live, they had no choice but to go out and be THE WHO.

 

I've been getting into The Who as a several year project, Who's Next & Live At Leeds are fairly established by now.
I have the 1996 Tommy remix cd, what's the difference to the 2013 super deluxe CD1? Is the 2013 the original mix remastered? Any consensus on the 2013 vs the earlier Tommy CD's?
Tommy seems to be sticking more than Quadrophenia at the moment.

 

The 2013 (Single disc, Deluxe, or Super Deluxe) is the original mix and personally my preferred version. Its great. Specifically, I have the 2 disc Deluxe with the "bootleg" live Tommy performance, but the latter isn't the reason to get this edition, the album proper is.

 

I love every version of Tommy, including the film & film soundtrack.

 

When you've had a good blast with the original album and a few live performances, you might appreciate the demos.
Have they ever been released officially?

 

I don't know exactly what's on this particular boot, but a good dose of original demos are on the super deluxe CD box set. If you're a true fan of the album, I highly recommend it.