I don't have anything to add about Overture but I appreciate what RRB put into this and will follow the thread and comment. It's time to clean my Tommy LP and rip it to PC, so it'll get a good listen.
Like the album, Like all the songs, but the drums sound like biscuit tins ( John Entwistle's words ! )
It truly is an overture, it presents the listener with many of the themes that would appear on the album. But it actually stands on its own as a piece of music. He was able to duplicate this achievement on Quadrophenia (twice in fact) but only needed to work with four different themes. I've toyed around for years what a possible "Lifehouse" overture would have sounded like, never been able to lock down exactly what parts would make a good song (obvious ones would be P&E, Baba, Join Together and WGFA).
I like Tommy a lot, as evidenced by my profile picture. At one point, I would have considered Tommy my favorite album by The Who and one of my favorites overall, but it's been a while since I've listened to The Who (or really an classic rock of this era) and last time I was mostly into Quadrophenia, so I'm not sure I could call Tommy a favorite anymore. Either way, it's still a great album that I hold in very high regard as one of the quintessential albums of the 60's. Overture One of the best things Tommy has going for it is its use of memorable musical motifs. "Overture" uses this to its advantage by introducing the listener to all these motifs and using this to hook them in immediately. It's a great way to start the album and an enjoyable listen in its own right.
Overture was also remarkably effective in live performance in 1969-1970. The visual element of Moon illustrating the entire composition from behind his kit did a lot to compensate for the lack of overdubs and acoustic guitar.
My dad now only listens to country (and maybe some CCR), but he listened to a lot of rock and roll in his youth. He had this on 8-track, which I had forgotten until just a couple years ago he said something about how much he loved "Tommy." It shocked me because I kind figured he was never into The Who, I know he didn't care much for Led Zeppelin or hard rock. But slowly I remembered the old 8-track. (I was born in 1966 if that helps) I've loved the album on my own for years, had the LP, then just a few years ago picked up the CD. Looking forward to this thread.
My first copy of this was on cassette and it also had Overture at the end of the album. The album started with the strums before "Captain walker didn't come home". Always bugged me when CD versions were indexed for the track break between Overture and It's a Boy right where the french horn comes in. Overture is fantastic. Everything great about the album musically in one compact flowing kickass piece of music.
Side one is a PERFECT album side, IMHO! I can't add anything that hasn't been discussed already, but I can't wait to analyze, "Tommy, Can You Hear Me?" This was mentioned earlier, but I always marveled at how well this acoustic album, with horns and a HUGE sound translated into a the ferocious four piece rabid animal that was The Who on stage.
What's everyone's goto version? I like The 5.1 mix by Pete and the Blu ray 5.1 as I think multichannel works for this album. I'll leave the 2 channel versions for others as it has been years since I listened to them. What about live versions? Isle of Wight 70 is good but there are others of course.
I didn't really contribute to the Who's next thread for reasons besides one obvious joke but in the case of one Thomas Walker, I'll gladly jump in the pool. No matter how many times or which version* I listen to, that first chord of "Overture" still gives me goosebumps. *I currently have a US Decca pressing, the MoFi CD and the 96 CD
Overture/Captain Walker 3:50 on the clip below...dropped D on the bottom string. The story unfolds....Pete and just his acoustic guitar tell a tale of woe but sung like a rock and roll newscaster. Trademark Pete chords...in a somber D Mixolydian mode. Pete sings the sad tale at 4:08 and his melody somewhat mirrors his great rhythmic riffing. At 4:30 Pete starts his solo with almost bluegrass like riffs. At 4:38 some amazing sus chords keep the tension up with open strings. At 4:50 some great rhythmic drive. Some more brilliant use of open strings follows. At 5:07 Pete does some tugging at the low strings for an almost boogie like riff. Then at 5:15 an almost flamenco like attack on E and D chords. The section ends on a D chord before going into the next song. Fantastic guitar work and showcases Pete's amazing grasp on how to use suspensions and open strings. A combination of different styles that Pete somehow makes work like a charm. His brilliant rhythmic drive is also on display on this one. Great stuff.
And with that, Tommy's unnamed sister from "Glow Girl" disappears like Richie Cunningham's brother Chuck.
Oh, nice to see this thread going. I'll get my LP and CD versions out and give this a listen. I probably haven't listened to the entire thing in about ten years. I also remember buying the reissued MCA version back in the late 70's and feeling all grown up 'cause I bought grown up rock n' roll music - I mean, this was the music of the generation that was right ahead of me and I remember in 1979 I kind of graduated from Boston and Foghat concerts to Yes and Eric Clapton concerts. Didn't see The Who until 1980.
I think I last listened to the entire album almost a year ago. Too much music to listen to including a lot of The Who.
The Overture from Tommy is one of my favorite Who songs, it show the mastermind that Pete Townshed is at composing music. He’s not only a songwriter, he is a complete musician and this song proove it. The mixture of the musical themes of Tommy so well blended, is perfection! Great thread by the way!
I think I got them all. :18 -Partial See Me, Feel Me :39- We're Not Gonna Take It 1:00-Go To The Mirror 1:12- Go To The Mirror melody 2:20-Listening to You 3:06-We're Not Gonna Take It 3:22-Pinball Wizard
