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

I believe at least some of the demos were on the 2013 Super deluxe, but don't quote me on that.

 

..pretty much the same stuff in the box set.

 

I just cannot get into this album but I love a quick one, quad, who’s next, sell out but I hate Tommy

 

It's an old thread conversation, I know, but I was pretty surprised when I first heard the album, how much acoustic guitar there was on there. I had heard individual songs from the original Tommy all my life, the hits mostly, but my first time hearing the complete all-the-way-through rock opera was in a live version from Amsterdam 1969 on some bootleg or other. So when I finally heard the album version straight through I was like, "whoa! Pete is really tearing it up on acoustic!" Quite a bit different from the live presentation, which is pretty much the HiWatt/Gibson SG twang and bash, all the way through.

 

I'm not a fan of the album itself, but loooooove it when it was played live in 69-70.

 

Interesting......... Is there anything specific you hate about it?

For me, the studio version was enhanced even more after hearing how it was played live:



The version of Summertime Blues at this show is possibly the longest they ever played and, quite possibly, is the greatest live performance ever captured.

 

I too heard it for the first time in it's entirety about 6 months ago. I found an old CD of it. Now to be fair I was familiar with the music having seen the film with my grandmother back in the 70's. I acquired the movie soundtrack shortly thereafter.

As for the Who's album Tommy well, all these years later I don't care for it. I've listened to it twice. It's just ok.

 

It's brilliant to me. The imperfections ( up to the individual) make it perfect - I'm probably sounding way too deep than I mean to but for me it will always be the ultimate four sides of vinyl ever produced. Don't play it often which makes it brilliant when I do.

 

It's hard to believe but Tommy is really underrated.

 

It seems obvious given what we know now but when it came out we didn't realise that Tommy is Pete's childhood story. On the recent DVD release he talks about how hard he finds it to play.

 

The original Tommy by the Who was simply marvellous, but the Who's live shows at both Leeds and Hull on Feb 14th and 15th in 1970 show what a masterpiece it was, and what master musicians the band consisted of. The 2013 2CD version is also wonderful. Far better than the Ode version or the film version.

 

Arguably, though, there are examples of late 1969 shows that are even more powerful than Leeds was and are all better than The Isle Of Wight. It's understandable that Pete couldn't face reviewing what had been recorded from '69, but BOY have we missed out there.

Quite how it's possible to have two shows, played within a few hours of each, other sound like completely different bands is beyond me. Hull needs a complete re-mix / master to bring it in to line with the HDTracks version of Leeds.

As for the film version, I've chosen to erase any memory of it.........

Personally, I think "Tommy" is placed in exactly the right place in terms of how it's appreciated. The haters will always hate, but by far the majority of people I've come across over the years really do appreciate the album for being a real attempt at a leap forward for Rock music. Sure, it has its flaws but no other band was doing anything on this scale or trying to push the envelope as far as Rock writing was concerned. The band's peers rate it incredibly highly and that, for me, is good enough.

 

Pretentious and bombastic. The end of The Who.

 

But they were critically and commercially more successful after the release of "Tommy" than they were before it.

 

LOL - like most excellent music is. The beginning of their magnificence.

 

Get Quadrophenia, that's the REAL deal.

 

Avoid the Tommy movie soundtrack - it is horrible.

 

Good on Pete for overcoming
Deafness
Blindness
And dumbness

 

Right. "Pretentious" as a term applied to music always seems kind of, well, pretentious and ambiguous, but aside from that, "pretentious and bombastic" kind of describes what makes the Who so great overall, doesn't it?

 

OK, it's metaphorical rather than actually. But that's obvious I think.

 

Certainly the bombastic part. Pretentious only in the sense that all artists who follow their muse face that criticism.

 

The Who’s 1969 Tommy is a masterpiece. One of the best albums of rock history.

 

1993 Eric Labson mastering for an original mix, a decent sound and having it all on one disc. Good to go!

 

I never get tired of Pinball Wizard. Never. The beginning of it just gives me chills.