Reviews (page 12 of 13)
Well that was disappointing and not what I was expecting. Very flat, not so much dull more uninspiring. The concept just didn’t work.
So The Who wrote a rock opera huh? It fucking sucks
Now this was underwhelming! A drag to get through this overindulgent bore of an album! Pinball Wizard isn’t even that good!
Never realized "Pinball Wizard" was part of a rock opera but I regret learning the story. Before, I was like an impressed bystander in the arcade watching this mysterious pinball prodigy smoke the machine and wondering about his secret sauce. Can't wait to get home from the arcade and tell my wife about this guy. But later I find out it's not his supple wrist, it's actually a byproduct of his childhood abuse, and now going to the arcade isn't fun anymore. Overall, Tommy is a disappointment. It starts off promising - early in the album there's the little "You didn't hear it / You didn't see it / You won't say nothing to no one / Never in your life" part in "1921" which I really like. But the story's a big bummer and the songs mostly aren't that great. The 10-minute instrumental "Underture" is alright and "Pinball Wizard" is a classic but nothing else stands out. On the bright side, there's a "Tommy can you hear me? Can you feel me near you?" joke in the 1991 Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode "Pod People" and I didn't get that reference until today. Great episode.
It is a musical score, a rockier Jesus Christ Superstar if you will. Very self indulgent fare from Pete " just doing some research" Townsend. Obviously a few stand out tunes but it's a very long arduous listen. It's slightly better than Cats though.
The inevitable bloated concept rock opera album, their 'The Wall', if you will, is a clunky, chunky, messy drag with a curious song here and there but mostly moving sluggishly, making each new minute a chore and all the more unpleasant.
Il y a des noms qui résonnent dans le panthéon du rock avec la subtilité d'un coup de masse. "Tommy", rien que le titre, on sent le poids de l'histoire, la révérence quasi-obligatoire. Un des premiers, si ce n'est LE premier "opéra rock". Un concept, une histoire, une ambition démesurée. C'est le genre de disque que tu abordes avec un mélange de respect et de méfiance, un peu comme on rend visite à une vieille tante acariâtre dont tout le monde dit qu'elle a été une grande beauté dans sa jeunesse. On veut bien le croire, mais on a quand même un peu peur de s'ennuyer poliment pendant deux heures en sentant la naphtaline. Mettons les choses au clair tout de suite : Tommy est une oeuvre monumentale. L'ambition est colossale, presque arrogante pour l'époque. 1969, les Beatles sont en train de se dire adieu sur un toit, Hendrix met le feu à l'Amérique, et pendant ce temps, Pete Townshend, ce grand échalas aux bras de moulin à vent, décide de raconter l'histoire d'un gamin sourd, muet et aveugle qui, suite à un traumatisme d'enfance (son père bute l'amant de sa mère, ambiance), se réfugie dans un monde intérieur avant de devenir un messie du flipper. Sur le papier, c'est soit un coup de génie absolu, soit le projet le plus fumeux et prétentieux de la décennie. La vérité, comme souvent, se trouve quelque part entre les deux. Musicalement, c'est indéniable, il y a des fulgurances. Quand l'intro de "Overture" déboule, avec cette guitare acoustique qui s'entrelace avec les cuivres, on se dit qu'on embarque pour un truc épique. Et puis il y a "Pinball Wizard". Putain, "Pinball Wizard", c'est le genre de morceau qui justifie presque à lui seul l'existence de l'album. Une tornade de guitare, un refrain qui s'incruste dans le crâne pour ne plus jamais en sortir. C'est l'hymne rock parfait, la chanson qui a probablement rapporté plus de pognon aux fabricants de flippers que n'importe quelle campagne de pub. Il y a aussi la pureté quasi-divine de "See Me, Feel Me / Listening To You", ce moment où tout l'opéra converge vers une catharsis, un appel à la libération qui file des frissons, même au plus cynique d'entre nous. Mais voilà le problème car pour accoucher de ces quelques sommets, il faut se bouffer le reste. Et le reste, c'est un double album, un putain de double album. Et qui dit double album en 1969 dit... remplissage. C'est long et c'est parfois chiant. Entre les grands morceaux, on a des interludes, des petits bouts de chansons qui servent plus de liant narratif que de véritable proposition musicale. "Fiddle About", "Cousin Kevin"... on a compris, l'enfance de Tommy fut un enfer de sévices. Mais musicalement, ça patine, on sent la lourdeur du concept, cette obligation de tout raconter, de ne laisser aucun blanc, quitte à sacrifier l'efficacité rock'n'roll qui faisait la gloire des Who. Et puis, il y a cette grandiloquence, "Opéra rock", le mot est lâché et il pèse une tonne. J'ai grandi avec le post-punk, le shoegaze, le rock indé. Pour moi, la souffrance, le trauma, ça s'exprime dans l'urgence, dans la dissonance d'un accord de Sonic Youth, dans la voix sépulcrale de Ian Curtis. Ça n'a pas besoin de choeurs, de cuivres et d'une narration qui s'étale sur quatre faces de vinyle. Les Who, sur Tommy, sont parfois à la limite du pompeux. On sent cette volonté de faire une oeuvre, avec un grand O, de prouver que le rock peut être aussi "sérieux" que la musique classique. Une quête de légitimité qui, avec le recul, a un peu mal vieilli. En tant que disquaire dans les années 90, je voyais bien qui achetait "Tommy" et c'était rarement les jeunes qui venaient chercher le dernier Pavement ou le nouveau single de The Cure. C'était les pères de famille, les nostalgiques, ceux pour qui cet album représentait un souvenir, un marqueur de leur propre jeunesse. Et c'est peut-être ça, la clé. "Tommy" est un formidable document sur son époque, une époque où tout semblait possible, où le rock pouvait se permettre d'être démesuré, théâtral, parfois jusqu'à l'excès. C'est une pièce de musée, et une pièce importante. Il faut l'écouter, ne serait-ce que pour comprendre d'où viennent Queen, Meat Loaf, et toute une frange du rock progressif. Mais est-ce que j'ai envie de me le réécouter en boucle ? Est-ce que ça me procure le même plaisir brut, la même décharge électrique que, disons, "Daydream Nation" ou "Disintegration" ? Non. Absolument pas. C'est un voyage intéressant, mais un peu longuet. Je salue l'effort, je respecte le monument, mais au final, je reste un peu sur le bord de la route, à regarder passer le cortège en me disant que c'est un sacré beau bordel, mais que ce n'est pas tout à fait le mien. Un 2 sur 5, c'est la note parfaite. Ce n'est pas un échec, loin de là, c'est un album qu'il faut entendre avant de mourir, le contrat du blog est rempli. Mais ce n'est pas un album qui me fait me sentir plus vivant. C'est une étape, une leçon d'histoire. Parfois, une leçon d'histoire, c'est un peu long et surtout quand elle dure 75 minutes.
Couple of decent songs but mostly rubbish
I'm a bigger fan of The What, the Why, the Where, the When and the How!
meh idk not so good
They must’ve had a quota on the number of songs to make bc jfc this is a long boring album
This is not a musical I'd watch.
I could listen to it just half of the album, nothing interesting
I have never liked the who. This album does nothing to change that.
I remember watching the film with the family when I was a small person, laughing at the antics of Uncle Ernie, it all seemed very innocent and fun. Yesterday, I listened to this album and realised it is just disturbing. These things happen nowadays unfortunately and are dealt with a bit more sympathetically. The themes of paedophilia, underage sex, mental and physical abuse, all in one album is quite an undertaking, and then to make light of it, obviously must have been a 60's and 70's thing (probably why i laughed at it as a kid in the 70's). How times have changed. Musically it's OK in places, 'Pinball Wizzard' is still a great tune. Lyrically, I think I have covered that. I think I'll give it 2 stars for the entertainment Keith Moon's 'Fiddle About' gave me as a child. (That last sentence doesn't look so good in print, but what the hell).
I almost like 1921, Pinball Wizard
Way to experimental to be memorable other than the uncle fiddler song that should never have existed.
The Who at their most pretentious and self indulgent. There are some decent songs on here, but I never actively choose to listen to this, and relistening to it now confirms I am correct in this decision.
Christmas sounds like the Beatles! This album is just a bit too meandery for me. All songs sound like a derivative of the pinball wizard. I am kind of over this one.
all the songs sound the same
I can't honestly review it.. as 3hr30 is too much. there were parts I like, but the concept didn't sell for me as a whole.
Well that took awhile didn’t it…. Shocked at how annoyed it made me. There were at least 10 irritating sounds that I can’t ever remember hearing before. The concept of musical theatre just doesn’t work for me. I just don’t like exposition being so blatantly and cornily used. It’s embarrassing. And is “Wicked Uncle Ernie” Fiddling Tommy?! What a musical abomination that song is. I think I’m glad I’ve never listened to the whole damn thing before! Love Keith Moon on the skins and there are undeniably a couple bangers in here but so much awkward and uncomfortable fluff. Less is more for fuck’s sake. Grumpy old git gives it a 2. Unfair maybe, take it up with Meatloaf.
When I saw that the album-du-jour was Tommy, I was all excited, as I'd never really listened to that album, but am well aware of the Rock Opera... I could have skipped this album without a doubt as it didn't meet my expectations one bit. Yes, Pinball Wizard is an excellent song, but the rest of album was... annoying. There are better "concept" albums out there in my humblest of opinion... 2*
Love The Who, but what a slog this album is. Plus I always forget that one of their most famous songs (Pinball Wizard) is preceded by two songs about Uncle pedophile
Kinda blah
I’m starting to think the Who are just OK at best.
It took me a minimum of two full-listens to give this a fair review (I felt very conflicted after just one play). I get the cultural significance of being the first real rock-opera but on a purely auditory level it's really not that enjoyable (and on a lyrical level it's absolutely bonkers). I personally wouldn't play any of these songs individually so you really have to consume the album as a whole (which is daunting). The entire thing feels like a "you had to be there" moment. I respect the ambition but it could have been cut down a bit. Too much Townshend on vocals and his lyrics are borderline creepy, how is he already such a cynical grouch at age 24? I don't like musicals but I'd be down to give the movie a chance.
Not the best by The Who for sure but for its place in music history it deserves the list. Can't say I enjoyed the theatrical release of this album either but will need to watch again. Pinball Wizard will always hold as a top hit for the band and is the only real strong track here. Couple others like I'm Free and the final track help bring the rating up a bit...2.1.
Self indulgent really, do people really enjoy listening to this the whole way through? 2*
own
This is exactly what I would expect a concept rock opera album from early Who to sound like. Very elaborate, grandiose, a bit pompous. Fine.
I expected a better album. A lot of the songs were quite boring and forgettable. It's a concept album, probably the first, but Pink Floyd's The Wall did it better. There's no highlights here for me, not even "Pinball Wizard". At least it wasn't a total mess. 2 stars for "Tommy".
Talk about overstaying your welcome, sheesh. I feel like I could've liked some of these songs individually but it just goes on and on, and the "story" of the album doesn't really add anything to the experience in my opinion
It was all right, Pinball Wizard was a slapper, the rest was not for me
weirdos
Doesn't excite me.
jesus this drags
Not sure what all the fuss is about
reale momento mio padre rym 3.71 un'ora e un quarto non so se reggo papà ti voglio tanto bene ma per me 2/5....
This'd be a one if it wasn't for Pinball Wizard
Stodgy, underwhelming, with (especially in the first half) too many very similar, not very good, songs. It all feels a bit “take me seriously”. Keith Moon is on muted form throughout
i genuinely cant stand the 60s
Nice concept, just boring and repetative
You want me to listen to 24 songs of The Who? No.
Too long, and while I get that it was important at the time, the music is kind of meh. The search for a good rock opera continues
The Who? More like The Snooze amiright?
got bored not gonna lie
Długie i nudne
2 - After listening to this, I'm just left not caring. It wasn't my least favourite Who album, and it certainly wasn't my favourite. It's just nothing.
This one was kind of a slog for me … I prefer the later stuff the Who put out. And 24 songs is too many when they all sound similar.
40 minutes of rock opera crap before you get to pinball wizard? Stick it up your ass. 1921 is good though
I was *shocked* how underwhelming this is, outside of the few songs we all know
Nothing other than "classic rock" - Who's Next is better IMO.
It’s alright. The unthinking man’s sgt peppers?
Bloated and doesn't really stand up as an album in its own right. A poor man's SF Sorrow.
A bit pretentious and "highbrow" for me. I saw the movie and had the soundtrack album. It's just not an album that I'd sit down to and listen.
I understand this is considered an innovative concept album, especially for the time, but that does not make it good or an enjoyable listen. Several of the songs were actively annoying, and by the end I hated the character of Tommy. The highlight of the album by far was Pinball Wizard. Lowlights were plentiful but Tommy Can You Hear Me and Tommy's Holiday Camp were especially rough.
I've given this a lot of listens, and although I no longer dislike it, I also don't see myself volunarily playing it again. There's some great musicianship in places, but overall, it's a swing and a miss for me.
12 tracks of preamble to Pinball Wizard. Pinball Wizard. 9 more tracks of mostly filler. OH MY BLOODY CHRIST WHAT THE HELL IS TOMMYS HOLIDAY CAMP. 1.5/5
una verga
You knooooooooow……….not great. I was not excited when this came up, but figured I’d give it at least a three. But it didn’t earn it, and instead just had a bunch of weird, lamenting with bad rhymes.
I didn’t like this album when I was younger and I found out I still don’t. I don’t like the music or the strange unsettling storyline. They are very gifted musicians and I can understand why people enjoy their music, just not for me.
Gear: Hifiman Arya Mix (2013 Remaster): "authentischer" (=mitunter arg limitierter) Remaster mit krachenden Drums und mickriger Soundstage Musik: knallhart durchgezogenes Konzept-Album - leider mit einer überwätigenden Zahl von Fillern generischen, "narrativ" schwachen Opera-Rocks oder, um es mit Ian Malcolm zu sagen: "Your Scientists Were So Preoccupied With Whether Or Not They Could, They Didn’t Stop To Think If They Should" Wertung: 🧙♂️🧙♂️/5 (inkl. +1 für "Pinball Wizard")
Not so good. I hope this is not their best
Underture is nowhere near interesting enough to merit being 10 minutes long. Pinball Wizard is the only memorable song on this album and saves it from a lower score.
Just not my thing
The WHO is a band that enjoys the smell of their own farts.
Aside from the hit singles a bit of a chore to get through
overrated and try-hard - let's come up with a theme and force everything to fit it even if it ends up being mostly bad christmas underture pinball wizard
Not a fan.
Just don’t get it, no matter how many times I try.
I still have yet to understand The Who's popularity, especially with this album. I don't get it.
Musical Ideas I never heard before. Sometimes they were not interesting enough to keep me excited over the duration span of a song. The rhythmical interaction between the guitar and the drums stood out to me. They made heavily use of key switches by moving a pattern up and down on the fretboard of the guitar. Interesting/oldschool panning decisions (e.g. vocal to the left and guitar to the right or drums to the left and the bass to the right, also they moved the guitar to the center when it was the only instrument (including the vocal) playing). They already used some modern sampling methods (e.g. reversed sound on Amazing Journey). I like the small imperfections and subtle tempo changes. Didn’t fully listen through. Couldn’t find a personal connection. Takeaways: Rech Vocal Depth through harmonization. Make panning decisions in dependence to the song/genre/effect you want to achieve.
i was going to write a book here about Tommy, but i've run out of time. bottom line is i think this record is yugely overrated. I will say that it is one of the the most opera of the rock operas. eg refrains, callbacks, codas etc that many other rock operas forgo. Also it has a story that is mostly coherent. Really the entire record revolves around pinball wizard and nothing else really stands out.
I’ve seen the movie and have the album but haven’t listened to it for many years and found it just marginally okay. I can’t imagine how awful this would be as just an album without knowing it’s a soundtrack or having some background on the story.
Bzvz
feels like an album by teh who - don't necessarily feel like it did anything special. Maybe a little more creative and nuanced than other stuff i've heard?
Too weird
it was given my attention sad the plot did not enthrall but that dumb long album sure plays a mean pinball
I'm convinced The Who are the most overrated band in rock history. This album really ain't it. Like, REALLY ain't it. Lemme put it this way, if you're even semi-halfway into rock, you've heard the title of Pinball Wizard. It's one of those big, inescapable titles in rock history. I somehow managed to not listen to it til now. And the song sucks. That's basically The Who's entire discography, a big name hiding what is subpar music.
An old favorite
Concept albums, rock operas, etc can't be great. I'll die on that hill. The greatest albums are full of songs that speak to specifics of the human condition. They can't exist to tell some half ass, ill explained tale. Some good tracks here though.
Meh.... Mostly whatever and a little annoying.
I don't know if I'm looking forward to this or not. I'm getting a little tired of music from the 60's. There's a 10 minute song on here. Kill me. I will say, I like their sound though. Whoever this Tommy is, did not have a great time of it based on what I'm hearing... 2/5 I'm a hard sell on concept albums. I usually don't vibe with them. This album is no different.
What a boring spectacle of british music by beloved band "The Who". The tribe has spoken!! I don't like how he signs either.
Didn’t really pay much attention to the story
Started out with a strong "not hating this" which I started to doubt very much about 25 minutes in ... and then there were 2.5 more sides of albums left to go. I was stunned to learn that this is an album about the protagonist of the "sure plays a mean pinball" song. i wasn't paying enough attention to the lyrics to get much more out of it. This one was not for me. 1.5 rounded up to 2.
concept albums have no effect on me, a person who struggles to process lyrics in teal time started actually surprisingly into it, but absolutely overstated it's welcome. pinball wizard sure does come outta nowhere
"This developmentally disabled boy is so stupid he doesn't even know who Jesus is so I guess his soul is eternally doomed: the song" was really weird and also surprising to hear anywhere outside of, you know, maybe Mass or The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Pinball Wizard dragging this kicking and screaming to a two star review. Not their best.
I like concept albums, but there isn't much that stands out in this one save for Pinball Wizard.
Ugh
Y'a un épisode des Simpsons avec le groupe ! Homer est un fan
Cool
Ein Album dass früher jeder kennen musste, so eine Art Kult-Album wie In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida. Und zu meinem eigenen Erstaunen habe ich es bis heute noch nie gehört. Wurde also Zeit. Und was soll ich sagen? Ich habe nichts versäumt.
A lot to take in with this one. Rock Operas are hit or miss for me usually. There’s some really interesting songs on this one. Did he murder his cousin in that one song? Are we just going to ignore that? Anyways, not my favorite Who record but still some cool stuff in there. (2.5)
hmmm not very familiar with The Who. This first track is quite interesting. I may not get to hear all of this. This album is 3 and a half hours!! Yeah I'm not digging this very much. I'm going to have to give it 2 stars.
It’s ok
still an okay and bizarre album
Zu anspruchsvoll in Text bzw. Message für meinen Geschmack - vermutlich auch der Zeit geschuldet
Niet echt een the who fan, wel veel bekende tunes
While I admire Pete Townshend's ambition to extend the rock and roll form into something larger and more intellectually challenging than to 2-3 minute single, the rock opera is a detestable and loathsome thing. This is one the first examples of the form, and one of the best realised, and I recognize the importance and influence of the album, but do I really have to sit through the whole thing? For the purposes of this project, yes, I did listen to it all the way through. So tick that of the list, but please don't make me do it again. This is no slight on Messrs. Townshend, Moon, Daltrey and Entwistle. The Who were a terrific and exciting rock band, as proved by Live at Leeds. But this stretches my patience.
Very old timey music, not as crazy as Electric Light Orchestra or anything. I do like a few songs on the album but there weren’t a ton that stood out. Pinball Wizard a classic though.
J'ai beaucoup de difficulté d'embarquer dans ces albums concepts prog-rock.
I’m sure it’s good. But I don’t really like The Who. And I am not in the mood for this today. Cannot get through one song. Calling it neutral, but today I fucking hate this shit.
Known Before: Standouts: 4.0
Known Before: No Standouts: No 4.0
Didn't liked.
could not care less
Anyone else find some of these songs sketchy af?
A rock opera turns out to be a terrible idea. I'll give the Who a little bit of an excuse for having to be the ones to find that out. Like a lot of terrible ideas it doesn't seem so bad until it gets going and you're stuck doing something dumb. I bet in the end it didn't feel great to write & perform a bunch of this compared to a regular album. Fiddle Around a real lowlight, bad and repulsive. music: hated. (⌐■_■)
I feel pretty positively about the Who in general. First listen of this one, and boy. They did know how to rock, but they really didn’t know how to write a musical. And why would they? They’re the Who! This is maybe an interesting example of the impulse to believe that innovative pop music guys were some sort of creative geniuses, able to do more or less anything, when really most of em were just cool pop music guys.
I liked that The Who went full theatre kid rock opera mode on this album, but they chose to tackle a lot of pretty heavy stuff thematically that they maybe weren’t super well-equipped to handle with any level of tact. This is an ambitious experiment and I respect that about it but I didn’t particularly like it (aside from Pinball Wizard which is obviously a banger).
suprisingly boring. pinball wizard was the one song i actually remember anything about
Some fun parts but I got bored a lot
Not for me, unfortunately.
Listened to this while playing Lacrimosa. I was familiar with one of the songs...I actually played Pinball Wizard as Elton John in a concert once! After having listened to the album, I realized Pinball Wizard is probably the best song...and I hate Pinball Wizard.
Heb hier precies wa geschiedenis voor nodig om het ten volste te appreciëren Maar wel leuk samenspel van veel instrumenten, en echt orgineel soms muzikaal fav liedjes: underture, overture voor de rest lichtjes koppijn
Niet een heel aangenaam album. Alle nummers zijn nogal traag en lang zonder dat je er echt in meegesleurd wordt zoals bij sommige andere psychedelic rock. Er zitten wel een paar nummers tussen die nog oké zijn. Niet echt een album waar ik nog is naartoe ga surfen voor nog eens te luisteren.
Niet mijn ding, ziek lange intro bv, live concerten hebben meer karakter dan de studio opnames, die waren wel goed.
Some of the musical ideas are interesting or beautiful. But the lyrics are cringey. Not a fan. And the best songs have been played to death elsewhere all through my life.
Great. Solid. I understand why it's on the 1001 list, but it's not for me.
There’s a couple songs I enjoy, but mostly this is a bloated record. It’s just been written about so much people still listen to it, but I think it’s both a snoozer and a stinker. The Who has a much better body of work than this record would imply.
Not really a hot take to say Tommy sucks but I’ll take it one step further - pinball wizard also really fucking sucks.
Honestly, the songs that stick with me from this are "Cousin Kevin" and "Fiddle About" because I found them profoundly disturbing. The whole concept feels alien to the current moment. It's hard to imagine a band getting away with using a person's disability for thematic exploration like this. Two stars because "we're not going to take" it still slaps.
I have a hard time understanding how so many people are giving this 5 stars. I listened to it twice, thinking I must’ve missed something the first time. I like the concept/story tho. It’s just the songs suck to me, except Pinball Wizard. But to each their own, I just don’t get it.
It seems harsh but I did just get a bit bored so I will give this 2 stars. As much as I love pinball wizard, the rest of the album just didn’t pique my interest.
Don't like it much. Instrumentals are quite good background music but some of the story sounds horrible 😬. 'Fiddle about', you say? Dodgier than P. Townsend's browser history 🤮
oh I get it, it's British Invasion and a rock opera.. this must have been 4 sides of vinyl with a runtime just under 1 hour and 15 minutes. Townsend rocks. Is this the first Rock operas? I can appreciate this, but listening to this in 2023 has me craving for a more modern guitar production. Best Track: Pinball Wizard
Interesting story, didn’t realize the rock opera was so impactful for the who.
It is too slow paced for me.
Aivan liian pitkä ja ärsyttävä. Lajissaan ja ajassaan tokk erinomainen ja edelläkävijäkin (toki Beatlesia ja muuta aikaansa paljon keryaava, trendejä kun oli). Ei vain sytytä.
pur și simplu n-am cap de albumul ăsta acum, poate o să îl revizitez cândva (deși nu prea cred dar cine știe). n-am răbdare, melodiile nu-mi plac, povestea nu mă interesează destul încât chiar să ascult chestia asta. am înțeles, rock opera, bravo, poate o să mă uit la film dar n-am de gând să ascult albumul ăsta până la capăt. e și lung ca dracu mai lasă-mă cu tommyu tău
Singing is kinda weak on some of these tracks - kinda the same effect as Supertramp, where it seems like they're really straining. The amount of times they reference "deaf, dumb, and blind" seems gratuitous. I'm still struggling with the vocals as well - Sensation felt hard to sit through. There's something edgeless about the sound of this whole thing that makes it feel weirdly plastic. I'm also not sensing much in the way of hooks, most of the songs lack a distinct chorus. Some of the more low-key moments like Welcome can sound quite lovely when the harmonies and acoustic guitar are prominent.
not really my thing
Might be a breakthrough back in 1969, but for some reason it did not resonate with me. I understand that it is a masterpiece based on the musical complexity, but still, not for me.
Aangezet terwijl ik aan het vliegvissen was. Ik weet nog dat vrij in het begin ons Tommy geboren werd. Daarna ben ik qua verhaal volledig afgehaakt omdat ik al vrij vroeg in het album onverwacht een brasem aan de lijn kreeg. Ik herinner me vooral het gevoel dat ik heel lang naar een gedateerde musical aan het luisteren was. Niet mijn album, maar desondanks niet getwijfeld om liedjes te skippen of het album af te zetten. Tussen de 2 en 3, maar ik vind een 3 te hoog.
It has some great tracks, but I've neve been a big fan of The Who
Long album that can be slow at times. Probably deserves a more in depth look at lyrics but its hard to follow over an hour long album. Always like an album that tells a story though. Pinball wizard is great but hard to get into many of the other songs
There are a few songs I enjoyed, Pinball Wizard is a classic. Didn’t really care much for it though and struggled to make it all the way through.
Didn’t get into it at all, bland
Mediocre singing in songs that range from boring to stupid. Severely overrated in my opinion.
Not a fan of mellow The Who
went in with expectations and got really let down! Album is much more instrumental than I thought it would be and sounded almost more in the prog-rock space, felt really drawn out
Not the worst The Who album, but at this point the should rename the band to "The oh it's you on the list again"
No rock operas for me please. Get back to the three-minute pop song format. Some lyrics are darker than black metal.
Very forgettable and boring concept album.
Aldrig lyssnat mycket på The Who och är det något album som har bistått med "låtar i förbifarten" är det "Who's Next". Så detta var spännande! Första låten "Overture" känns lite som en klassisk öppningslåt på ett album, lite som ett interlude för att kicka igång skivan. Dock känns det som att den typen av låtar ofta inte är mer än max 2 minuter långa. "Overture" var en 5 minuters fulllåt, men som ändå gav den känslan. Vet inte om det är bra? Lutar åt att det kanske var lite onödigt. Sedan när andra låten visar sig vara 40 sekunder lång och exakt det jag trodde att första låten var tänkt att vara, kan jag inte känna mig något annat är lite smålurad. Det som fortsätter efter det är ett gäng låtar av ljummen rock som jag i denna värme inte känner inspiration att känna in på djupet. Dom är okej. Vi är framme vid albumets mastodontare, "Underture", där första halvan var otroligt ointressant. På ett sätt som gjorde mig lite orolig när jag såg att den var 10 minuter lång. Den gör ändå något miniförsök till förändring ett par gånger, men inte på något sätt som gör 7 minuter värda att spendera innan det händer. Inte ens nära. Som en person som är svag för mastodontare måste jag erkänna att det här är albumets sämsta låt. Det riktiga minilyftet kommer när albumets mest lyssnade låt rullar igång. "Pinball Wizard" är ändå en rätt bra låt. Det är en akustisk gitarr som lägger till mycket känsla och driv till låten. Bättre! Det är väldigt många kortlåtar genom albumets gång (1-2 min) där många innehåller ett körande som påminner om The Beach Boys. Inte orimligt då det är 1969. Detta gör nog att albumet känns längre än vad det är, 24 låtar borde vara längre än 74 minuter. Som helhet slår inte albumet några rekord i min bok. Visserligen gillar jag albumkonceptet där man får följa Tommy's resa och det är ett anständigt omslag. Musiken blir i längden lite svår att gå igång extra på, även om det är väl genomförd rock. Det är också, precis som "Underture", alldeles för långt. Bäst: "Pinball Wizard"
Tommy is such a weird album to me. I get why people enjoy it, but it's not what I go in for when I want to listen to The Who. The whole opera concept is goofy and most songs are pretty bland. There are a few instrumental standouts and pinball wizard, but otherwise there isn't enough Entwisel magic or Moon weirdness to make this enjoyable.
Pinball wizard is a great song. Cousin Kevin should have been better given the name of the song... Overall I like the 2nd half of this much better. I would give 2nd half 3 stars and first half 1 star
Pretty disappointing album for the praise that I have heard from it. A bunch of really weird mini songs that I didn't enjoy too much. They really liked singing about pinballs
Cousin Kevin is pretty cool. This had some good songs and a lot of songs that just happen and aren't exciting in any way. Pinball Wizard rules obviously and is way better than any other song on this rekkid. Can dig the bass on Go To The Mirror! too. I'm Free is a jam too. Overall a pretty boring album besides a couple songs. This album should've been 30 minutes shorter.
Genre defining, a staggering display of raw talent. REALLY boring.
I dig the who but never cared for this album. Bold in its concept I feel like it just misses the mark for trying to keep up the joke
Mjae. Har nog svårt för rockoperor
Alkaa kyl vähän kyllästyttää nää päättömän tarinan päälle rakennetut rock-oopperat. Myöskään musiikillisesti en ollu erityisen kiinnostunut. 2/5.
Its fine, took me a few songs to realise it was an opera and l enjoyed it more after that but theres a lot of WTF
Love me some pinball wizard but this was too long without enough going on to really get into.
Uneven and I don't think I'm in the mood nor am I gonna get through it.
Meh, didn’t really do anything for me. Fool me once, Shame on you. Fool me twice…won’t be fooled again
Respect to The Who but not into rock operas, unless it's Dracula's Lament
What a disappointment.
I can appreciate what they were going for with this in terms of scope and trying something new. I applaud the risk-taking that made this album possible on many levels. That said, it did very little for me.
I find The Who a great singles band whose work gets too flabby on an album This was no exception
Annoying, not even using the saying when I say it sounded like a broken record
So self-indulgent. Feels like it took the entire weekend to listen to. Rock peaked in the 70s but its decline started right when the rockers thought they were this important.
sooooo longggggg. strong first half into a bloated and vapid second half. circusy, cheesy, overwrought. fuck this album.
I listened to it twice and mostly it just merged into one long song with the obvious moment Pinball Wizard jumps out at you. Ultimately not a very interesting or listenable album.
The who is really hit or miss for me!! And besides Pinball Wizard this rock opera feels more self indulgent than interesting to me. Controversial but I'm more with James here.
Let’s get this out of the way: rock operas are dumb. The story is usually so thin and vague that it becomes meaningless, and they seem to be an excuse for artists to write ranging songs with no melody. This is my second time listening to Tommy and I still just don’t get it. If you take each song on its face, none are very good and many are asinine. Why is pinball mentioned in like 3 songs? Does Tommy play pinball? Do I care? I understand why this is on the list but it’s just not for me.
- Amazing Journey: So far this album is very much based on the vibes of the music moreso than the lyrical and vocal content. I've never listened to an album like this before and it's not what is usually in my rotation. - Eyesight of the Blind: Definitely my favorite song on the album so far. 60's music isn't my favorite ever, but I can definitely see the appeal of this album. Pure good and chilled vibes. - Christmas: Okay, scratch what I said before. This is now my favorite song on the album. TOMMY CAN YOU HEAR ME? - Underture: I won't lie I listened half way through and skipped it because of its length. I'm more of a lyric person, hence the reason I rarely like ambient music. Sorry The Who fans, I couldn't sit through this one. - Go to the Mirror!: I love this song! THE BOY IS HEALED! - Sally Simpson: I love the storytelling in this song - We're Not Going To Take It: Shocking lyrics but a satisfying ending to this album nonetheless. OVERALL: I can definitely see the appeal of this album, however, it's not for me.
To be honest I expected a lot more from this. I’ve heard it’s some grand, detailed rock opera, which I guess it was in the storytelling aspect, but the music that accompanies the story is just so bland and forgettable. It’s almost completely devoid of riffs or hooks that catch the ear and help you remember each song. 4/10
Pinball wizard och I’m free fortfarande bra, annars känns albumet lite väl flummigt.
moments of brilliance surrounded by an hour of mediocre bullshit.
I love Pinball Wizard and was super excited to listen to this because I love The Who and that song but damn. Disappointed. This felt like a wannabe, off-brand The Wall but worse. Sad face.
For an album that tells a story this one tracked better than the Wall though reading the Wikipedia page about it I missed a lot. That being said not my cup of tea mate. Pinball Wizard is kinda catchy but still not for me.
achei a sonoridade parecida com Beatles, o que me surpreendeu pois achava que era mais pesado. álbum muito longo nessa versão deluxe, mas gostei num geral. uma das músicas me lembrou Bohemiam Rhapsody, achei interessante verificar essa influência. não prestei atenção suficiente nas letras para opinar com base nisso.
Some great tracks, some meh tracks, but musicals just aren't for me.
Some bangers, some not so banger. Probably wouldn't listen to the whole album again
Not feeling it even though it’s iconic
Couldn’t get all the way through it. Weird in parts.
The only track on this album I was familiar with before today was "Pinball Wizard," and it appears I wasn't missing much. Maybe my bad mood is coloring my opinion, but while listening I mostly vacillated between boredom and actively wishing I was listening to something else. I like The Who. I like "Pinball Wizard." But I don't like "Tommy."
This is a weird album by the Who. I haven't seen the film Tommy in a long time and don't remember much about it but after listening to this album and reading the wiki, this plot is way over contrived. The songs are mostly mediocre, with the big standout being 'Pinball Wizard'. Aside from that track, I could mostly lose the whole album. Also, has a super creepy song on it that I'd rather never hear again. I like the Who but can't give this album much of a recommendation. Standout Tracks: Amazing Journey, Sparks, Pinball Wizard, Go To The Mirror!, I'm Free
16th February 2023 Listened while in the office. Dinner and stayed at Karuna and Ed’s place. Would be great to see with the show and pinball wizard is a classic but not sure it stands up as an album.
Self-indulgent and insufferable. I turned it off after Cousin Kevin. I don't give a shit about Tommy or anyone else in his family. It gets a second star simply because I recognize the cultural influence, but I still think it's shit.
Really didn’t take to this. It definitely has some good highlights, like Acid Queen, and Underture, but for some reason from start to finish I just wanted it to end. Musically wise it’s great at times, lyrically it annoyed me although I know it’s not a typical record in that respect. Kept going into See Me Feel Me, which is a song I love but without actually playing it fully. Not a bad album, just not for me.
I enjoy a good rock opera, unfortunately this isn't one of them. Found it very difficult to get through the +1h runtime. Highlight was "Pinball Wizard".
Kesken jäi, ei iskenyt tämä. Liian konseptuaalista.
Didn’t love it! Not my jam, at least not today. Will probably revisit one day as I know it’s an important record (all of these are), but the mix was too jarringly bad to me.
очень спокойный, но не цепляющий. под настроение не подошел :(
Like #13 Pinball Wizard, #21 I'm Free.
Hmm, I can see why this album is on this list and by all accounts should be the one I like. But I just couldn’t get into it. Sorry, Tommy
This seems too focused as a one man obsession and while the band motifs can be heard it just doesn't come across as coherent. There are interesting ideas but the very good bits are well scattered.
Never really liked this album.
Pete Townshend's habit of playing lead as if it were an overamplified rhythm guitar irritates me no end. Then the prospect of three and half hours of this, between studio, demo and live versions was more than a little offputting. So I limited myself to listening to the studio versions. It started off OK, with keyboards, but quickly evolved into overentusiastic rhythm guitar as expected. Musically it didn't improve from there. As a narrative exercise in musical form, Tommy is reasonably impressive, but as music it is not. It is also quite evident from the streaming numbers on Spotify that many people have started listening to this but have given up after four or five tracks. The first five tracks all have 2 million plus streams but after that only Pinball Wizard, I'm Free and Christmas of the remaining 19 tracks mange to pass 2 million. I guess that there is only so much of The Who (and Townshend) that people can take in one go.
The Good - Ambitious approach to album making for it's time. A thoroughly thought out plot that is worthwhile and original. Some very catchy and musically interesting moments. Clearly influential. The Bad - Overly long, struggled to pay attention, especially during the instrumental passages. The lack of musical interest made the plot difficult to follow. Not a fan of the singer's falsetto. The Ugly - Controversial opinion time. I HATED the drumming on here. Understand that Keith Moon is regarded as a legendary drummer and whatnot, and maybe on another album he sounds better, but here the drums just sounded flat yet excessive and at times disruptive to the work as a whole. Summary - Respectable and important work, that alas is not for me, and I have no interest in revisiting. 2 pinball machines out of 5. 🕹️🕹️
Did not resonate with me at all. Rhythm is pretty boring.
Too long, not very interesting
The "Who" in "The Who" is finally explained with the release of "Tommy". Tommy is a person in this album that does things. Idk this album was ok. I think I'm just not a fan of The Who. Don't tell Peta, but i lied about listening to Quadrophenia so i could pretend I'm a music listener person. I only listened to about half way through before I got bored and switched to another album. A lot of this just felt.. idk... not my thing. I liked Underture.
Bro think he Genesis
Ok album not their best but yielded some good singles.
If this was Queen everyone would be pissing themselves, but it's The Who.
C'était absolument ignoble comme tout bon album des Who qui se respecte.
I am OK with the deaf dumb and blind kid playing pinball, but I am not OK with all of the familial abuse suffered by poor Tommy. I’d like to go back to before I listened to this. I will stick with the radio edits that came from this album and attempt to forget the rest. I guess because it was the first rock opera it should be on this list of albums to listen to before I die but I really wish it wasn’t. I hope Jesus Christ Superstar is also on this list.
The Who were so busy racing to develop rock opera technology, they never stopped to consider if they should. The story has always seemed kinda silly to me, so it's hard to take most of the songs with any degree of seriousness, even though many of them are enjoyable enough. Quadrophenia is a million times better.
I know it's blasphemy to many people (including my wife), but I just don't get it.
It's almost a joke how dumb The Who's lyrics are. Look, i like them well enough, but let's be realistic: any reasonably intelligent 5th grader could write more artful lyrics than their crap. Often the music is brilliant, but their lyrics have always made them sound like idiots. Everybody worships this album, and i just don't get it. It's ok! Not great, and not even close to their best.
It has some good songs, but I always thought that it was a bit pretenious and self-indulgent - my opinion hasn't changed.
I've always been a fair-weather Who fan, but have never listened to this album. I wasn't really that into it.
Man, the number of times I found myself bored listening to this was just, way too many times. 2/5
This album was a legend in its time. 43 years later I could hardly stand that sound. Far too artificial for me now.
couldn't finish
This is a PERSONAL rating - I acknowledge Tommy's place in musical history, but ... there's too much non-rock in there, and I didn't like most of it.
Not for me. I think The Who are one of those bands that I would just stick to a best of collection. Maybe I’ve come to them to late for it to mean anything to me. A couple of tunes on here but too long and meandering for me to really get into it.
Could not finish it, felt like I was listening to the same song continuously with no real changes to musical style.
Had some good moments, but for the most part it felt directionless.
Meh stressful
By this point I meet another The Who entry with complete contempt not because the music is bad but because I do this list to discover new music. The Who is the opposite of this because they’re neither a fun band to revisit like a Beatles album but they’re not interestingly bad. Like pinball wizard is a good song but not exciting like a Queen of Denmark or sparks
Underwhelmed by the lesser-known songs. Can’t get into it.
Meh
People really love this, but I can't get into it at all. I'm sure I'm missing something. I find The Who very hit and miss generally. Basically I quite like the tracks that have been on CSI franchises. So it's probably not for me.
eh
I understand the significance of it, still don’t like it. Read Townshend’s interview about it and he did too many drugs.
Meh
Eh
For a band that consistently wrote some absolute bangers this is a bit of a sprawling mess. There is probably a decent 11 track album in there somewhere but its just too long and bloated. 2/5
This is not the album that will make me a Who fan, that's for sure. A few good tracks here and there, but also a lot of filler, which is to be expected for an album that long. I guess seeing the film would help, but I'm not in a hurry to hear those songs again.
I mean, it goes on forever and all sounds the same after a while…
Way too long an album and I wasn't particularly impressed. 24 songs and nothing stood out. 5/10.
Nyt oli aika tylsää kekkulointia ja ei sytyttänyt. Levy 2 jäi ihan kokonaan kuuntelematta...
Paikoin todella hyvä, mut Who’s Nextin asettamalla rimalla kauas jäätiin
Yeah not bad
I don't think The Who is my style of music I do like pinball tho
2 stars mainly because of pinball wizard
It sounds a bit better whilst watching the film; although I didn't enjoy the film much either.
LoAd of nonsense. Pinball Wizard lifts it to 2 stars
Blijft lastig, iets te veel een rockopera voor mij
Met the Who heb ik een haat-liefde verhouding. Ze hebben een aantal toffe nummers, en ook het album Who's Next kan ik wel waarderen. Maar deze "rock-opera" trek ik echt slecht. Paar aardige tracks maar over het geheel veel te dik aangezet en echt te arty-farty voor mij. Next!
I like the concept, but parts of this have dated awfully, especially the "humourous" bits.
No more late 60s. Fuck. Off. 2/5.
The Who were so much better than this
Why, Who? Why?
This is more impressive in its scope and ambition than it is actually very enjoyable to listen to…
Jour 2 - Très ancré dans son époque. Les autres de the Who sont à mon avis meilleur J'ai juste pas aimé. 2
Musical theater in a bad way :/ much much much prefer the wall
A couple of good points but mostly background music.
the words "rock" and "opera" should always be separated by a great deal of lorem fucking ipsum
This album has no business being 75 minutes long. The guy yelling "Tommy can you hear me" on Christmas sounds like Charlie from It's Always Sunny. Really takes me out of it. Pete Townsend wrote this when he was like 23? What 23 year old sits down to write a rock opera??
* too instrumental. Great beats and riffs not backed by lyrics.
Tedious.
5/10
This may be one I would need to listen to several times to get into it. After spending the last week listening to Sondheim, this doesn't really measure up. If you told me that they made most of this up as they went along, I might buy that. Pinball Wizard is still a pip, but nothing else comes close to how strong that one song is. Whereas, like, Sweeney Todd? I mean, dudes. Sweeney Todd. It's a scary musical. The music... is actually scary. And sad. And funny. I'm not getting anywhere near that much out of this. It's not a fair comparison and I should judge this album on its own merits, but I don't wanna right now.
Tired of getting the same bands and music from the same decade. This shit random or not?
Meh
Pinball Wizard is a great song. Didn't love the rest.
I want to like The Who, I hate The Who
Who liked this? There are a few songs that are bangers but most of it is awful.
Meh. Not into concept albums, even less so rock operas. Pinball Wizard is a bop though, I do enjoy that tune. Props for the ambition with this album and it's amazing how they used to do the whole thing live, but I'm just not into it.
Hoewel ik een enorme progliefhebber ben, vind ik ‘vroege’ conceptalbums vaak wat moeilijk, zoals King Crimson’s eerste. Ik weet hoe invloedrijk Tommy is geweest, maar het raakt me niet. De muziek is wat te gekunsteld en het is voor mij meer behang dan een actieve luister.
What a drag.
THE FIRST ROCK OPERA?! Other than that it’s pretty lame, the bad songs to quality songs ratio is appalling. Would not listen again
too long
Had high expectations of this as a story based album, but the songs were boring leaving me not caring about the narrative.
not memorable, too british.
Meh. Late 60s, rock opera, double LP. Too long and most songs sounds very similar.
Not what I expected tbh, not a fan
I think I'm just not into Rock Operas. It has some good songs for sure, but it's more filler than killer.
Couple of good tracks, couple of pompous shit tracks, mostly average guff
Not a fan.
If you're into that sorta thing. I bet I could beat that deaf dumb and blind kid at pinball.
It would probably be of more interest to me alongside the stage play but I couldn't be assed with this as a stand-alone album.
3-4 absolute classics don’t hide the fact this is a bloated mess.
Ik vind het niet heel mooi. een tikkeltje te bizar
It's cool but not for 2 hours
I mean all Who jokes aside this one is kinda boring
What a stark difference between this and their prior album. I could not get into this one and I think that's because all my favorites are on the other album and besides those the Who kinda just feels like folksy UK music. Didn't even feel like rock music. Mixing between one minute songs and ten minute songs on an album with 24 total songs feels a lot like the preamble to Drake's Scorpion.
Listened to half. It felt so pretentious.
lukewarm
It was ok. None of the songs connected with me on the 2 play throughs.
1.5 i don't get it
Kind of got bored with this album for some reason.
really don’t like the who as much as I used to. 2.5
Definitely sounds like a rock opera.
Production: 8/20 Songwriting: 6/20 Innovation: 9/20 Bangers: 5/20 Emotional response: 5/20 =33 Booooooring
De este álbum conocía la canción de "Pinball Wizard". Nunca imaginé que la canción formara parte de una ópera, y conforme escuchaba la letra de las canciones entendí el por qué del nombre del disco. Me parece una idea muy genial y original. A pesar de lo original, y de haber escuchado el disco unas tres veces (por curiosidad), no me veo escuchándolo muchas veces en el futuro, excepto por Pinball Wizard. Creo que es un disco que "envejeció mal", lo cuál es una lástima.
Meh
-
Too long.
heeel medium, vond het echt niet zo leuk was een chore om naar te luisteren
Only knew a few of the songs but nothing really stood out to me on my first listen
I didn't like it...
Nobody is more up their own ass than those who make opera-rock.
The rock opera version of a late-period Tim Burton movie: horrific but not necessarily in a fun way. Imagine riding the bus, casually listening to "Cousin Kevin" and "Fiddle About" on your Beats...psychopathic behavior. Townshend, why are you fighting your god-given gifts? You're one of the great pop songwriters; this high-concept shit is smoke and mirrors! "Pinball Wizard" is so freaking good.
soo boring
If I never had to listen to The Who again, it would be too soon.
Mag ich nicht.
1.5/10 = honestly slop im sorry i just could not get into this at all and it felt like such a chore and the arrangements were all over the place to me and his voice was genuinely jarring i couldn't care less that it's a concept album at least make 2 or 3 good songs for me guys
The Who sucks.
I don’t like the label “dad rock,” but this is it right here. It’s triggering my Oedipus complex.
I wanted to like the idea of a rock opera, and I was with it the first two songs. But once we got into being molested a few times I was out. The circus cult ending only made it worse. I will not be able to listen to Pinball Wizard again now.