Tommy

ganz cool, aber vieeeel zu lang

I love me some unhinged Keith Moon, but this album is a bit of a chore overall. Some of the songs simply overstay their welcome, feeling like it's nothing more than Pete Townshend indulging himself. I understand this album's inclusion on this list, but I feel like there's been better albums of it's sort since.

Esperaba mucho más de The Who. No se por qué, pero antes de haber escuchado la banda, yo pensaba en The Who como algo equivalente a Pink Floyd o hasta The Beatles, pero me doy cuenta de que mis expectativas estaban más que exageradas. Es el segundo álbum que escucho de ellos y es el segundo que es alguna clase de concept álbum, esta vez siendo una opera sobre la historia de un chico o algo así. Para mi mala suerte, no me gusta fijarme más en la letra de lo que me fijo en la música, así que no puedo calificar la primera. Dejando fuera la historia, las canciones difícilmente tienen la suficiente personalidad como para diferenciarlas entre sí, cosa que es horrible tomando en cuenta lo tremendamente largo que es. No es que sea malo, pero tampoco tiene mucho que ofrecer.

Some weird tracks that are 1-2mins long on this track. Pinball wizard is the standout, 5/10

Good film, soundtrack doesn't quite hold up.both now dated. Influential rather than a must listen

kolmatta albumia viedään tältä bändiltä jo, ja tiedän että ainakin kaksi vielä tulossa vielä (en, en katsonut spoilereita, yleinen musiikkitieto heh, sen verran tiedän sentään heh). olikos tämä sittemmin tarpeellinen lisäys, noh ihan hyvä tämä on, maailman ensimmäinen tommyesque tyyppinen albumi, saa seleväksi tommy nimisen henkilön kokemuksia heh...... VITTUAKO KIINNOSTAA...liian pitkä eyesight to the blind (the hawker)

Om alla skrev rockoperor hade det inte varit så många krig. De hade inte haft tid.

Amazing

A three act play about the rise and fall of a blind, then not blind, cult leader who at first wasn’t a cult leader but then is a cult leader but then isn’t again.

I love the Who- magnificently gifted and oddball with disastrous concept albums and insane members. This whole album sums them up and the world would be a lesser place without them.

Mjae. Har nog svårt för rockoperor

"Tommy" is the fourth studio by English band The Who. It is a rock opera and a double album at that. Pete Townsend composed most of the songs and wanted something more than just three-minute pop/rock songs. It tells the story of Tommy who witnesses and is traumatized by a murder his father committed, is abused, is given LSD by a quack, plays pinball to feel, snaps out of his state and gathers a religious cult who eventually rejected him. Alright, simple enough. Townsend was inspired by Indian spiritual master Meher Baba in the writing. It was originally hailed by critics. It has been very successful selling 20 million copies and spawning a 1975 movie and a 1991 Broadway musical. The album opens dramatically with the mostly instrumental "Overture." Townsend on piano and accompanied by the instrumental Ensemble group The Assembled Multitude. Keith Moon's drumming a highlight (and throughout this album). The classic guitar riff you'd hear later on. Tommy's father is believed dead. Tommy's born in "It's a Boy." I always liked the vocals and backing vocals. "Amazing Journey" describes Tommy developing his mental state after witnessing the murder in the previous song, "1921." This is when you really start to hear The Who take off. Slow-fast-slow-fast. Pyschdelic sounds. Speaking of journeys, The Who take us on one in "Christmas" Great backing vocals. They go all over the place and introduce the thematic lyrics of "Tommy can you hear me" and "See me, feel me, touch me, heal me." Tommy does not recognize it's Christmas. Townsend takes the lead vocals on "The Acid Queen" as the quack and his parents give Tommy acid for the cure. The band then does a good job taking us through his mind with some extended dramatic jams continuing on in "Underture." Not quite prog but not entirely not prog. Shit, maybe I'm on acid. Side three gives us "Pinball Wizard." That acoustic guitar and electric guitar riff. Tommy plays a mean pinball with only his sense of smell. One of my favorite Who songs. Tommy finally gains some senses in "Go To the Mirror!" Another song of journey. Daultrey pleads him to "See me, feel me, touch me, heal me." Great melodies and the band breaks out in the glorious ending. The entire band sings in "Tommy Can You Hear Me?" Great harmonies. Tommy breaks his mirror and gains sensation in "Sensation. One of the more pop tunes on the album. Tommy becomes a rock star of sorts in "Sally Simpson." Sally becomes a follower even if they're worlds apart. "I'm Free" was one of the singles from this album. Some more great guitar combos and riffs by Townsend. Tommy's on the rise with his movement. Tommy's journey comes to a crashing end with his followers in "We're Not Going to Take it." The band combines everything here with the melodies, Moon's drumming, the harmonies and the recurring thematic lyrics and choruses. There is no doubt this quite an achievement. With no break between songs it comes off like one long song. There is some filler but the album moves at a decent pace for a double album. But, there're classic guitar riffs, lyrics, choruses and songs. Moon's drumming. The music builds drama. And, the band plays like tight band. For a historical perspective, check their performance out in "The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus" where they performed on a break from the recording of the album. Mind blowing.

Great Album. A Classic!

Hieno bändi ja upeita biisejä, mutta tää on ehkä vähän liian rokkiooppera. Reilusti kuitenkin plussan puolelle! 4/5

Kolmonen tällekin wholle. Hyvää, mutta mitään kummempaa en koe.

Alkaa kyl vähän kyllästyttää nää päättömän tarinan päälle rakennetut rock-oopperat. Myöskään musiikillisesti en ollu erityisen kiinnostunut. 2/5.

6/10

Good listen, not great not bad. Some decent songs in there

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

Jo men det var ändå ett bra album. Men frågan är vem fan är tommy?

Vem fan är Tommy, jag får nog fråga runt lite. Jag tyckte inte det var det bästa av the Who men det va la bra

now an amazing 54 years old but still great to listen to

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.

Huffing the incense fumes a little too hard, Townshend writes a spiritual journey that goes…somewhere? Hard to say. Some of the instrumental journeys get a touch lost. But the playing is great, the riffs rock, and unlike many of his contemporaries Daltrey obviously doesn’t believe he’s actually the character he’s portraying. That’s worth something.

Some good lil ditties. Some unnecessary ditties. Glad we’ve gotten over singing about girl’s Daddy’s. Anyways smash the patriarchy.

Such a good album! One of the earlier ones I have on vinyl. So good!

Meh

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

This album is extremely famous for how much of a true concept album it was so long ago. Judging it now, a lot of these songs have some filler aspects to them. I think when you compare the music on this album to the Who's other music it's actually fairly simplistic and not overly impressive. It would probably be my choice for only third best Who album. That being said, there are some absolute gems on this album. The See Mee Feel Me recurring theme is hauntingly beautiful. Pinball Wizard is of course an all time classic, and a standard for aspiring acoustic guitar players to do some proper damage to their guitar bodies trying to play. It's kind of a shame you have to listen to Fiddle About right before it, which isn't a bad song musically but is just hard to not cringe when hearing. This album is certainly greater than the sum of its parts. The story is kind of cool and the use of recurring musical motifs to enhance the storytelling of the lyrics is great. In the end though, this album feels to me like just baby steps towards the masterpiece that is Quadrophenia.

The first ever rock opera is a great album. It was made during the best period in The Who's history, in the late 1969 and overall the end result was very good. The album is long since it is a double album, and this might explain why it has some songs that aren't that consistent. So I don't give it a 5, but it is a stronger 4 record.

I listened to this and enjoyed it in my youth but wow what an album.

What a disappointment.

Very good concept album I enjoyed this album but at some parts ot was a bit boring but overall it was a good album

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.

Just ok

At first, I was disappointed. Truly disappointed. Maybe my expectations were too high. They were based on a couple of songs I knew, and this album seemed um... nothing special. The only song I truly liked was (obviously) Pinball Wizard. Everything changed when the fire nation attacked. No, wait. That's not what happened. This album was a massive surprise after reading its description. Wow, one of the first rock operas? An album that tells one whole story? I'm impressed! I admit, it's not one of the best albums ever, but pioneers usually aren't perfect.

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

Another epic and long concept album made by a rock band, after "The Wall" by Pink Floyd (although timewise it was the other way around). We have an interesting story on this album, but music was all over the place. I liked few of the opening tracks, very lively and essentially "The Who". But this recipe got very tiring and I had to sit through another hour of those songs. It's a cool concept, but I have to use an emergency exit.

Never really understood the acclaim. Didn’t “get” the film either. A few excellent songs should not necessarily make a phenomenon. Low three for good intentions. Underwhelmed. Bring on Who’s Next, please.

Some great moments but it goes on a bit.

its a pretty good album and the standout hits are recognizable, but I get why we don't see more of the tracks from this on greatest hits albums.....

Absolutely mental, too long though.

I should like this more than I do - I'm a sucker for concept albums with a bit of narrative behind them - but this didn't quite work for me. It all merges together a bit, and not in the good way that you'd expect a concept album to. The intro to Pinball Wizard is incredible, shame really they put a song about pinball after it. Needs to be a bit tighter (really should have ended it after Smash The Mirror rather than the nonsense about a cult), and the lyrics aren't quite there in most of the songs to rival something like The Wall (which has a similar journey but builds a world much better). 3/5.

Classic album.

Paar Nice nummers! Maar blijf niet per se een fan. Wat een belachelijk lange versie ook dit trouwens hahaha. Favoriete nr.: 1921 baddest nummer: tommy’s holiday camp!

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 fucking hate The Who.

Decent

Great album. Fully enjoyed it

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.

This is a conundrum. It comes in the middle of some classic Who releases, all of which I consider much better than this. However, Tommy is a classic because it popularized (but did not create) the rock opera - for better or for worse. Its extended life as a stage show and movie in an of itself probably secures it a slot on the list. There is some great music here, along with some that is merely good. It probably says more about the band's quality of work during the period that among The Who Sell Out, Who's Next and Quadrophenia, I place Tommy fourth.

A brilliant concept album in which you can actually follow the story. It features some of Pete Townsend’s best writing and a few staples of classic rock. I don’t think it’s the Who’s best album but it definitely deserves a 5.

I’ll give this a 5 for what it represents more than what it is. The story is insane and I would not listen to many tracks on their own but as a whole this is an impressive work. How Pete Townsend thought of this I will never understand, but it is a true rock opera with a full story that you can more or less follow if you follow close attention. The drums sounded fantastic on here and I loved “underture”. The Pinball Wizard intro will also always be fantastic.

Good.

Great, but somehow I feel it's lacking just a little something

I liked this! It did run a little long, though.

Tommy, can you hear 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.

Really enjoyed this concept album. Want to check out more from The Who.

The people who reassessed this albums high regard and realized it was actually not very good are right. Pinball wizard is still a banger though

I recognize what they did here, though The Who don't really connect with me in general. I do give them credit for having both an Overture and an Underture. That's quality punning.

They should make a movie out of this album.

Good stuff back half of album Carrie’s

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

The first rock opera, Tommy set the stage for mainstream rock (as opposed to more niche prog rock ) to get serious and expansive. The original is vastly superior to the movie soundtrack despite the latter's star cast.

I was excited when this generated in for me, but boy oh boy was I let down. I was maybe too hyped for a rock and roll tour de force which, I felt, I just didn’t get. There’s nothing too much wrong with the album, except none of it is memorable at all. Pinball Wizard is only a fragment as it’s one that EVERYONE knows but the rest of the album is almightilly forgettable. Maybe one I’ll have to go back to in the future.

Album narratif homogène

PREFS : Overture, 1921, Amazing Journey, Christmas, Cousin Kevin, The Acid Queen, Pinball Wizard, Go To the Mirror!, Sally Simpson, I'm Free, We're Not Gonna Take It MOINS PREF : Underture

Pinball Wizard is the only song that stands alone. I'll never pull up 'Fiddle about' and listen to it again.

Me gustó bastante,un poco largo lo único, me gusta el instrumental y la historia

Long and kind of interesting, especially the really long bit with the molestation. Sloppier in timing and pitch than I expected. An achievement though.

Está bien pero me emboló

Ok so this was a really interesting and weird album, and I celebrate creativity as punchy as this. But 75 mins for an album is a pisstake

Banging, but I think i still prefer Oliver Reed and the tunes from the movie, which introduced me to the material. Thoroughly bizarre as a concept, but with some insanely evocative musical moments

buenisimo pero tambien un poco zzzzz

Pinball wizard och I’m free fortfarande bra, annars känns albumet lite väl flummigt.

I liked it way more than I thought I would; once I learned that the album is a detailed story I could start to pick up on certain motifs in either lyrics or musical repetitions. Its fascinating how they made the lyrics work with the music and just how clean it all came out.

For a long time pretty much my only exposure to the Who was a cassette of that greatest hits album with the Union Jack shirt on the cover. And I don't know why I didn't branch out more because I loved that tape and listened to it a lot. Later my brother gave me a couple LPs and I bought Sell Out on CD. But I'm still a fairly shallow fan - I don't believe I ever listened to Tommy start to finish before, for example. Pretty interesting. It mostly skates the Rock Opera dilemma with its opposing pitfalls - overly wordy, unpoetic songs to drive exposition on one side, versus managing the vaguest narrative that can only generously be labeled a "concept" album on the other. To the degree this errs it's more to the latter side, which is good - the music being the main point however lofty the concept aspirations. Without outside interpretations supported by years of amateur analysis plus a couple of filmed/staged interpretations, I don't know I'd have extracted a very coherent story out of it. But there is a lot of good music and the themes running throughout are strong, and it was certainly an audacious move for its time, particularly from a band whose star (by all reports) seemed like it might be waning. Well worth the time.

Rockopera van The Who, dat het verhaal verteld van de blinde, dove en stomme Tommy. Album is veel meer dan alleen "Pinball Wizard" en zit muzikaal en vertellend goed in elkaar. leukste nummer: Amazing Journey Het album is gebaseerd op de wijsheden van Meher Baba, naar wie later het nummer Baba O'Riley is genoemd.

An absolute epic. Going to watch the movie. Amazing music and lyrics.

moments of brilliance surrounded by an hour of mediocre bullshit.

It's alright.

Stone cold classic. Top marks.

So good. It's a long record that sounds much shorter due to the short songs, varied characters and themes. I was surprised to find out that Tommy came so early in The Who's career.

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.

Doesn't get much better then this. First rock opera. Beautiful music composition, powerful and thoughtful lyrics. Incredible album! 10/10

Pretty fantastic.

Boring but liked the drumming

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.

Overall, gostei - combinação do vocalista com os instrumentos é bem boa, faz com que seja uma banda/álbum fácil e gostoso de ouvir. Dito isso, achei que o álbum em questão tem muitos solos instrumentais, que contribuem para deixar o álbum um pouco maçante. Outro ponto é a duração, com mais de uma hora e 24 músicas, achei que ficou repetitivo e cansativo, acredito que seria possível passar o pente e selecionar apenas 10~13 músicas e não acho que o álbum perderia qualidade ou deixaria de mostrar suas características.

Overall not GREAT imho, but glad to have listened to it. Handful of really good songs, and I can appreciate how important this type of sprawling concept album was at the time. Don't think I'll be listening to it front to back any time soon, but I'll probably be back to some of the singles. 3.5 rounded down

Everybody knows Pinball Wizard. What a track. What a video. The rest of the album is a typical Townshend rock-opera affair, some great, some passable. You'll probably enjoy the music from this album much more if you watch the Ken Russell film of the same name (featuring the band and the album's music).

Some great tracks, some meh tracks, but musicals just aren't for me.

I enjoyed it but I doubt it will ever be an album I ever reach for

Grungier Beatles. Quite an enjoyable listen with a few hits.

Some bangers, some not so banger. Probably wouldn't listen to the whole album again

I mean, it's Tommy. 🎶🔥

This is a very interesting full length rock opera. I feel as if it is too long, but it does share a cohesive story throughout and the transition between songs is very cool.

Pinball wizard was by far the best

Not feeling it even though it’s iconic

Couldn’t get all the way through it. Weird in parts.

Tommy figured his shit out. Go Tommy!!! 3.54

I had never listened to this. I thought this would be great, but it was really only good for Pinball Wizard.

A little worse than the wall But the wall is pretty good I just wish this album was a bit shorter

An imperfect, too long, but like… amazing album. The story is what gets me. It’s so funny, moving, strange, dark comedy. I loved it. And this is a really groundbreaking album. It feels like the confines of rock and roll and being pushed against, cracking at the seams. Can we do full stories now, with instrumental interludes? A whole character arc, a whole life? I’m sold. It’s protean, in some ways, and at some moments still massively moving. 5/5

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."

I know this album is supposed to be an epic, but I found it hokey & a little dull. I know this band is crazy talent, but I never really enjoyed them - they're my least favorite of the big rock English bands of that time.

Such a great album. Been a very long time since I've sat down and listened to it.

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

Super fun album, it definitely feels an hour and fourteen minutes long, but it’s not long for no reason. I need more listens to dive into the story of Tommy and dissect the lyrics, which I’m sure will just deepen my enjoyment of the project. Really energizing instrumentation, these songs have a timeless quality to them by not feeling forced into a specific box. Just a bunch of songs collected together to fulfill a bigger theme. Faves: 1921, Eyesight To The Blind, Christmas

couldn't finish it off sadly, didn't like the film that much icl

weird - I actually love a lot of songs by The Who but I guess not this "Rock Opera" thing. The drumming was EXCELLENT as could have been expected, and the recording seemed quite good. It's just not very interesting music I guess.

This album was dogshit. Some high points here and there, but couldn’t drown out the ridiculous storyline that needed to include a snippet about Uncle Eddie finger banging the protagonist. Who’s Next should have completely eclipsed the need to listen to this “rock opera”. Two genres that I have yet to see belong together.

One of my favorite albums. I'm a sucker for a good rock opera, and 1969 just contained some of the most killer music ever.

virkelig god intro. Trompeterne går HÅRDT. Det her album er optur. Som koncept og sådan er det rimelig nice.

Listened Before? N An amazing album..... that's not really for me. I can appreciate it from beginning to end, and while I was surprised at the serious tone it took (was expecting more of a tongue-in-cheek story, this just seems like a tragedy), I still didn't really jive with it. Again, much appreciated, just not for me. Added to Library? N Songs added to playlist: Pinball Wizard

Set standard for rock operas.

прекрасный альбом, музыкально дико кайфанул, лирика тоже отличная; Sally Simpson и I'm Free очень сбили вайб альбома (в один момент я будто оказался на диком западе) барабаны слева даже на мониторах в какой-то момент утомили в идеале поставил бы 4.5 чувствуется, что прожил некоторую историю

Discazo (LNM)

3/5

It's been at least 20 years since I checked this album out. It didn't leave a lasting impression on me on the past. I listen to Quadrophenia once in a while. Tommy just doesn't reach me overall. It's good, but just that. Each of the four sides have their worthy moment, and the low points aren't that low. There's a fair share of great songs, nothing spectacular. The rest is ok, nothing really bad. I guess it's just bloated. I understand that they are trying to tell a story, but balance is necessary. I could cut this down to 45 and make a really good album (except you might be totally confused about who Tommy is). That's it... it is just overstayed. Indulgence has hobbled this beauty. PS- I was surprised to learn this album was from 1969. From my experience with it, I imagined 1973 or 74. After hearing it again now, I can hear the timeframe. Liked songs: Overture, Christmas, Pinball Wizard, Go To The Mirror!, I'm Free, We're Not Gonna Take It

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.

The Who is cool and this is a solid example of those work. But - it’s a score/soundtrack and you know how I feel about that.

Never realized this was the first rock opera. Love the format and the album.

I feel like there could be a 4 star album hidden in here if it were edited to be 30 minutes shorter.

Couldn’t finish it

An epic album that opened up new possibilities for what a record could be. While some of the "filler" tracks do little more than propel the story forward, the "meat" of the album is powerful and soaring and includes some of the greatest rock songs ever written.

hm

I'm a little surprised that I've never listened to this whole album in my life. I struggle to rate it because I compare it to the Wall and it doesn't even come close. So if the Wall is a 5 this is a three. But if I'm rating it in a vacuum then I suppose it's a near a 4. There are some good songs on it, no question. But in general doesn't hold up in my opinion.

Heel vet! Mooi conceptalbum, gave nummers, maar misschien toch een beetje preachy.

Good

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.

Perhaps the greatest rock opera ever created? The Who were maybe the most complete group of talented musicians ever. Every one of the four lads shine incredibly bright on this theatrical and gripping record. Moon is an absolute beast behind the drums, and Daltrey's range of emotion is unparalleled. His naïve hope on '1921' is heartbreaking, and his desperation on the "See me, feel me" refrain first included on 'Christmas' is out of this world. The entire run from 'Go To The Mirror!' is a tour de force culminating in 'I'm Free' and 'We're Not Gonna Take It'. A dramatic end to a deeply personal and moving journey with sharp criticisms of postwar Britain. "If I told you what it takes to reach the highest high, You'd laugh and say 'nothing's that simple'. But you've been told many times before, Messiahs pointed to the door, And no one had the guts to leave the temple!"

Tommy is arguably one of the greatest rock operas to ever be recorded. And it was released only a year and a half after the ridiculous The Who Sell Out. What an evolution! The Who is easily one of the greatest individuals on each of their instruments with especially Moon shining ever so bright; there’s barely a minute where he doesn’t show off some energetic fill. The story itself can feel slightly rushed at times (“Pinball Wizard” and the sudden emergence as a cult leader), but aside from that I simply have nothing bad to say about this masterpiece.

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.

Heard Tommy lauded as the first rock opera and assumed this was based on a solid album underneath. What was that? Equal parts boring and disturbing, seems like they'd decided on the mad story first and then arranged some music around it as an afterthought. Pinball Wizard is alright but I don't need to hear anything else from this again.

Very strong outing by The Who. Not sure about some of the longer songs, but the majority of it was good enough.

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".

I say this every time one comes up, but not a fan of a concept album generally..... However, this was the most interesting one I've heard. The story is quite dark in parts really, but I kinda found some of the lyrics a bit funny/daft too which made it hard to take seriously... "You won't shout when I fiddle about" and "do you know how to play hide and seek, to find me would take you a week" spring to mind. So Tommy is born blind, deaf and mute.... Gets bullied by a cousin, molested by an uncle, but is really good at pinball.... He is then miraculously cured and becomes a famous preacher who starts some sort of cult where you learn to play pinball without looking, hearing or speaking? Does that sum it up? Pinball Wizard is the best track by far...I never realised the lyrics were "that deaf, dumb and blind kid sure pays a mean pinball"! Makes sense now! Still not convinced by the concept or concept albums but it was interesting at least

Really interesting rock album by the legendary band "The Who". While I don't really like this album too much, I did enjoy how it tells the tale of Tommy and his life. 3/5. Favorite Track: Underture

Kesken jäi, ei iskenyt tämä. Liian konseptuaalista.

Excellent

Honestly, who cares.

Interesting album to listen to from beginning to end. So good that I listened to it twice (2nd time the live version)

I love The Who, but I have to say I think this album is vastly overrated. I know, I know, it's the first rock opera and they broke new ground for concept albums and it's ambitious and all, but musically it's just not that interesting. It seems like Townshend was more interested in telling the story and the music is just there to support that goal. Some of it sounds more like a broadway musical than a rock n' roll album. 3 stars.

So, OK, there's the grand pretensions of Pete Townshend writing a rock opera, that sprawling tracklisting, and the fact that the obviously surreal narrative drive of said opera is so heavy that it can distract you from time to time... But the thing is, the music on this album is *so* good, whether it is the one of the timeless songs this amazing record harbours ("Pinball Wizard", "We're Not gonna Take It/Se Me, Feel Me" ,"The Acid Queen", "I Feel Free"), or the one of the less famous cuts ("Cousin Kevin", or that long incredible instrumental that "Underture" is), that it's bound to be included in such a list. Ironically, I find this record more easily *digestible* than *Who's Next*, even if it has all the characteristics of a concept album. Evidence for me that it's an all-time great, in spite of its all-too-grand and frankly delirious ambitions on paper... Number of albums left to review or just listen to: less than 700, I've temporarily lost count here Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: approximately a half so far (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: a quarter Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more important): the last quarter

Listens: 2 Enjoyed: yeah This would be around a 4.5. probably my first rock opera and I fel it works pretty solid as both an album and it holds some legendary singular tracks. My only issues were some of the song transitions were a bit rough/ blunt. And the final quarter of the track dived a little

It was ok, not my favorite album but I didn’t dislike it

Nice and effortless sounding album overall. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

A solid take on a rock opera, wins big nostalgia points for 'Pinball Wizard' alone which I listened to a good deal when I was younger. Do wish the band had been a bit more experimental and out-there with the instrumentation on this one, but without the context of the full show I'm missing a huge deal of dialogue/staging that would make more sense alongside the somewhat passive arrangements here.

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.

I know this quite well. Like it. Don’t love it.

Rock opera, very musical-influenced. Interesting listen. Need to be heard as a whole, but had some catchy tunes in there.

Собственно несколько вещей, которые нужно знать об этом альбоме: 1) ровесник моей мамы 2) в рок-альбоме есть ВАЛТОРНА 3) 75, мать его, минут, я надеюсь гуру, в честь которого альбом написан, хотя бы разок его послушал... 4) Грэмми за лучшую упаковку (что блин, за это дают Грэмми?...) Стоит послушать: Christmas (текст выше всяких похвал) , The acid queen, Cousin Kevin, Underture, Smash the mirror.

Полный The Who, очень люблю слушать полноценные альбомы с плавными переходами. Из-за этого не могу потом выделить конкретные композиции т.к. альбом кажется монолитным произведением, однако ничего поделать не могу и просто получаю удовольствие. Под Томми читал статьи о влиянии античной философии на учение Отцов Церкви, полностью удовлетворен результатом, настоятельно советую.

Enjoyed listening, nice album

Довольно жизнерадостное начало и даже воодушевляющее. Как будто тебя готовят к большому путешествию, но потом начинается облом по тексту и повергают в пучины экзестенциальности человека и как на него влияет общество. Главный вопрос, который я хочу задать альбому и людям, добавившим его в список 1001 альбома: как вообще думаете, альбом стал великим из-за посыла или из-за музыки? Лично я склоняюсь к первому, так как история сильная и важная, безусловно, но музыкально он не настолько крут, как те же Пинк Флойд того времени

очень спокойный, но не цепляющий. под настроение не подошел :(

Увертюра прикольно, этот ход мне особо нравится в пластинках, когда есть что-то "для настройки" и задания вайба. К тому же, это рок-опера вроде как, судя по описанию. Даже с сюжетом типа...) Забавно в общем, на Sparks я понял, что получаю примерно те же самые эмоции, что и от Pet Sounds за авторством The Beach Boys: я хочу погрузиться в сюжет, но вот музыка не везде мне кажется гипер-интересной и разнообразной. Плюс в описании так пафосно сказано, что это "рок-опера", мне как-то пока разнообразия не хватает, прежде всего в инструментальном плане: отличия между звучанием песен есть, но они минимальны. Underture: вот это конечно дикая вещь. Натурально симфония, с несколькими действиями, тональностями. Абсолютно без текста, что позволяет сфокусироваться на музыке, всех-всех деталях и интструментах. Мне в какой-то момент чем-то напомнило "Время вперёд" Свиридова. Возможно, из-за темпа произведения. Но мне прям нравится, тяжело такую музыку конечно слушать на постоянной основе, но раз в месяц кайфануть — ха-ра-шо. Pinball Wizard: да, я потом прогуглил, что это было коммерчески успешный сингл, но подумал об этом ровно во время прослушивания. Хороший поп-хит, для ознакомления с творчеством The Who вполне сойдёт. Sally Simpson: тут я услышал кантри, возможно, я не один такой. Но прикольно, пожалуй себе добавлю. Клавишные очень хороши. Tommy's Holiday Camp: ахахах, чёрт, какой шикарный орган-синт, ну или что это вообще. Похоже на хоккейный орган чем-то. В общем звук прикольный, ещё и стерео наложилось хорошо. We're not gonna take it: снова как будто симфония, ну и такой светлый финальный трек. Завершающий, финальный, итоговый. Как гимн всего хорошего (в музкальном плане) в этом альбоме. В целом, надо переслушивать ещё раз и внимательно читать текст. В нём наверняка скрываются объяснения тех или иных ходов в аранжировках песен. И судя по синопсису, история глубокая и неоднозначная. По музыке — однообразно, но качественно. Чувствуется, что запись была сделана давно: местами присутствуют довольно всратые стереоэффекты, которые в блюпуп (уж простите) наушниках звучат непривычно странно. И баса что-то маловато. Кстати, до этого, я кажется не слушал The Who, пару песен добавил себе и может быть даже послушаю ещё какой-то альбом. Мне звходит их темп что ли... как будто боевик какой-то немного, всё время погоня за чем-то. Но нужен ремастер. 4 звезды за плотность звука, но однообразность и недостаточную вариативность аранжировок. Сюжет — ну такое, на грани реальности и фантастики, с мешаниной всего (это я перечитал краткое содержание и чёт обалдел слегка от количества мыслей, которые до нас хотят донести). P.s. first review done, получается. Посмотрим, как надо будет оценки ставить...

Музыка: 4/5, кайф, но надоедает Текст/концептуальность/что-либо ещё: 5/5, чистый кайф Удержание: 3/5, слишком много ненужных выебонов Неочев факт: левое ухо прям болит

Ballsy and brilliant.

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

I just don't find The Who very interesting outside of the big hits.

What could serve as a better harbinger of the coming of the 1970s than an overwrought concept album? Like nearly all double albums that I've encountered on this list, I think this would be better as a single album. However, I do have to admit that this does seem to be a genuine attempt at a rock opera, with overtures in the beginning that presage what will come later in the album. Overall the album is pretty good, though I found the first half of it a bit of a slog. Also the story for this concept album is pretty dumb. But hey, it's not the worst Who album that I've reviewed here (not the best either, though) 3/5

Love this story!

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.

classic!

Never really liked this album.

Are you kidding me?!?

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.

Just so not my style, I’m sorry

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. 🕹️🕹️

I've always wanted to like this more, but could stand for more rock and less opera.

This album was much stranger than I remember. I think if it were released today, many would consider it 'experimental'. I did enjoy it. But some of the songs were a little disjointed from the general vibe of the album.

Did not resonate with me at all. Rhythm is pretty boring.

не успела ничего понять (ну и оперу не каждую с десятого раза понимаю)

I really liked the beginning to Tommy, maybe first 3 or 4 songs, plus Pinball Wizard is great. However it definitely fell off for me.

Did not hit in the slightest

It wasn’t the first concept album, but Tommy is arguably the one that made it a viable art form-and changed the Who forever. Towering, anthemic, and surprisingly vulnerable at times, nearly every song is a gem.

Too long, not very interesting

it's good. story is whatever, but I like when songs have a very apparent meaning, so at least it helps with that. Christmas, The Acid Queen, Pinball Wizard, We're Not Gonna Take It, and particularly Go to the Mirror (it took me way too long to recognize how good this song was, ngl) are highlights. I like the vocal harmonies and the use of drums to emphasize certain sections.

it's funny how this is like a groundbreaking work in terms of being conceptual and more orchestrated than a typical rock album and very pretentious and then the premise is a blind kid who is good at pinball, just the stupidest shit anyone has ever thought of the instrumentation on the opener is good "it's a boy" is irritatingly precious even if it's short 1921 also irritates me, it feels a bit like trying to cram a narrative into a musical framework rather than just writing a good song really that's the whole thing, the who could write a good wrong song occasionally but too often they got lost up their own ass being silly and/or pretentious the whole sound of this album is a little too cutesy for me it's not the worst thing I ever heard but I don't really enjoy it. I write this as I am only on track 4 of 24. keith moon's drumming is still excellent when they really let him go off. but i am already incredibly sick of daltrey's falsetto. sparks is another kind of neat instrumental but it feels more like an intro to a song than a proper song eyesight to the blind is fine but basically forgettable and the intro to 'christmas' with the 'ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah' background vocals is teeth gratingly bad again just WRITE A REGULAR SONG OH MY GOD the "see me touch me feel me refrain is meant to be like, Conceptual or Something as a motif they use several times but it and the TOMMYCANYOUHEARME just get under my skin a ton honestly i was going to say this album has at least some decent bits but so much of it is so incredibly long and so much of it is so bad, i just cannot stand it as a whole do you think it's alright/fiddle about is just atrocious. godawful. who the fuck thought it was necessary to have 2 minutes on the album dedicated to songs about child molestation. i doubt i will hear a worse 2 minutes of music anywhere pinball wizard is okay i guess. i almost certainly prefer it as a single outside the album though. the back half of the album is sort of blandly unmemorable. still kind of irritatingly precocious but doesn't grind my gears as much. "we're not gonna take it" starts off not great but honestly i like the back half. still not an album i would be compelled to revisit much at all.

ok so my issue here is that the story is too like, hamfisted. it's over an hour of just like mostly exposition. the parts that are supposed to be emotional feel fake. i would not want to read a novel written by this dude, he's never heard of "show don't tell" and honestly the fact that the story is about like a character disassociating due to trauma and finding ways to cope with it makes it a little offensive imo that it's treated in such a clumsy way. its giving the same vibes as like when white people write a story about racism the music is fine. there were parts i liked and parts that were kinda boring. pinball wizard was fun. a bit too long

the who more like who cares about rock operas am i right? this was like the most Fine album i’ve ever heard i really just can’t care though

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.

i was not going to listen to all of this but i will say. this was written under the influence of many MANY drugs.

I love concept albums. This one in particular sounds like it could be a play or even a musical. However, I feel like I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. I do like that the songs blend in together, though. Also, I don't know why but this album gave me Wizard of Oz vibes, no particular reason. No track really stood out. Fave track(s): Go To the Mirror!

Everything here is pretty great, which is why it's insane that the whole thing ends on a fucking FADE OUT????

Bro think he Genesis

Ok album not their best but yielded some good singles.

It was alright. Favorite song: “1921”.

Was going to mark it down as it's better with the film, but listening to this by itself tells such a clear story as well as being such great music.

If this was Queen everyone would be pissing themselves, but it's The Who.

I listened to this album start to finish while driving. I had higher expectations than I should have due to knowing some songs by The Who previously. I will say that the album flow was well arranged and the songs often seamlessly transitioned from song. I always like that. The lyrics were all straightforward to my ears and seemed as though they just looked around the room for objects of inspiration. The standout song on this album is Pinball Wizard.

I liked it after I figured out the real meaning of the lyrics. Interesting concept for the time

what's happening in his head? ohh i wish i knew i wish i knew

A landmark of musical history. This is a great example of where the music and lyrics are so well done but unless you are aware of the story it probably seems very disjointed and meaningless. Maybe just downright creepy. I do love the music and some of the tracks absolutely stand up today but it’s not something I want to listen to on its own. I’d rather watch the film, so it’s all in context.

I want to live The Who but I just can’t get into it

This is epic and so broad in musical scope…I think I prefer the soundtrack version more, but certainly admire this undertaking!

genial, baita sons e história muito interessante

No me dejo ratear el anterior todo mal :(

No lo terminé esta largo, después lo voy a terminar, por ahora esa nota creería que va a ser

All in all it's pretty ridiculous, but the original ambition and really solidly launching the idea of a Rock Opera had so much impact on rock music. I love when bands take big swings like this, and overall it really works.

Rock operas and other mega-ambitious pop music projects often fail for reasons having to do with basic incoherence but Townsend knew what he was doing and built this to work narratively and musically. The silliness and creativity of The Who Sell Out is put to better and more focused effect. It's sort of mid-tempo throughout (as if to keep things under control) and some songs are too quickly done, but generally everything works on its own terms, which aren't necessarily transcendent, though there are moments – "Christmas" is the highlight, but "Overture" and "It's a Boy" and "Acid Queen" and "Tommy Can You Hear Me?" are all strong and almost moving. One admires the concept and, for the most part, the execution. It is quite strong which is impressive enough, considering just how much worse it could’ve – and probably should’ve – been.

There are some really good songs on this album. I've seen it performed, too, as the rock opera for which it was written. Kind of works in a weird way, but the songs are engaging and entertaining. Pete Townsend is musically very interesting and an incredible guitarist and vocalist.

J'ai passé un moment sympathique avec ces Who malgré un genre musical attitré totalement fantaisiste (hard rock) sans aucun lien avec le genre réel de l'album. Cette écoute a toutefois failli être gâchée par ma N+1. Je vous joins l'échange confidentiel en question que nous avons eu sur Teams : « - Robprocédurière ? - Quoi ? - Pourquoi ce processus est en cours de traitement depuis deux jours ? - Parce que c'est mon premier processus du genre alors j'y vais lentement, je prends le time... - Tu veux qu'on le fasse ensemble ? - Ouais carrément. - 12h15 ? - Non 12h22 parce qu'il restera Tommy's Holiday Camp et We're Not Gonna Take It à 12h15. - Pardon ? - J'y peux rien si la trackliste est longue comme le cul. » Je leur accorde donc un trois sur cinq.

C'était absolument ignoble comme tout bon album des Who qui se respecte.

This is the soundtrack to the Who's less good film. There's good songs to be found in here though. They are a rare band where the drummer's songs are the best and most disturbing! Fiddle about, eww. There's still some excess fat on here - two ten minute overtures and a closing track which runs a long time on very little. But by and large it's good.

Too folky for my current mood

I love this album for various reasons and find it musically interesting but it's not my favorite combination of rock and "opera". Theoretically meets the criteria for a good show but overall feels flat to me. I love "Pinball Wizard" and "Go To The Mirror" as stand alone rock tunes. This is a great album but can't rank it above a 3 since I wouldn't typically listen to it front to back... and I not sure I'd want to see it performed live.

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.

Having listened to a couple of early albums by The Who, the significance of "Tommy" really comes through. The scope of the album, the vision of Pete Townshend, and the ambitions of the band are big and eccentric and you can understand why this is a landmark album for the band and for rock and roll music. When the band is brilliant on this, they shine. The interplay of the vocals is masterful, the harmonies on songs like "Tommy Can You Hear Me?" are fantastic, and Keith Moon proves he's got chops for days. Not to mention, what an out there premise this entire album rests on. 10 stars for creativity and commitment to an artistic ideal. But there's a lot of dead weight, and for all his stellar abilities and singular voice on his instrument, I was so tired of Moon's drumming by the 3/4 mark that it detracted from the album. It encapsulates my admiration/repulsion to this band. There's no question that there's genius at work in so many elements of this band, but somehow, some of that genius is what undermines my enjoyment. I know this is better than a 3-star album, but I can't imagine a time when I'll be looking for something to listen to and decide to listen to this from start to finish. That's why it's a 3-star in my book. A brilliant 3.

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.

A high school favorite album here. I appreciate the effort of this rock opera more than the actualization. Always though Quadrophenia was a better album and story. But when those trumpets hit on the first song and lead into It’s a boy, I’m reminded how important this album was to me and how much I still love this album , story, and these songs

This is a tough one. As a little girl I was taught this album is the best. It is, at the least, a cultural touchstone. Listening through it now I am finding I still love it, possibly somewhat nostalgically. There is no getting past my programming. That said, I can still confidently assert Pinball Wizard is an objectively great song.

Generally hate The Who, so approached with extreme prejudice. As expected, Tommy is over-blown, over-long and not particularly interesting. Hopefully this is the last Who album on this list.

A classic album but one that probably has not lasted the test of time and does sound a bit dated now. Not quiet a masterpiece but worth a listen none the less.

A timeless album and I have enjoyed it to the max.

Not my favorite thing, but I appreciate the ambition.

"So it's like an opera, but it rocks!" Ugh. I like the Who, and they undeniably have some classic bangers under their belts. This album has some classics: Pinball Wizard, Go to the Mirror!, I'm Free but it's also saddled with some tracks that might be better if they weren't shoehorned into a narrative. Smash the Mirror has good riffs, but could it have been better if didn't have to be about a deaf, dumb, and blind kid's therapy session? I get why this was mind-blowing in 1969, but let's be honest: the story the album is built around is kind of dumb. I think Townshend's operatic narrative tendencies are better served with longer individual songs broken into different parts - think A Quick One While He's Away or Rael from The Who Sell Out. There's no idea being beaten to death over 90 minutes, you can tell a more detailed story with only three singers (which is harder with something like this where rivals Tommy and the Pinball Wizard are both sung by the same guy), and you aren't forcing ideas to fit into a framework they might not be best served by. A bad album? Not by any stretch. An overrated album? Probably more accurate.

It's funny how many reviews are either 4-5 stars calling it a masterpiece or 1-2 stars saying it's garbage. Usually this tells me this is mostly due to differences in genre preference, but with Tommy I think it's mostly due to how one perceives the execution of the concept. I seem to be the rare reviewer who falls somewhere in between. I see Tommy as both a work of creative genius and a confusing mess. The Good: Well, it's completely unique being the first true rock opera and essentially creating a new genre of music. There are songs that work as standalone tracks independent of the story (i.e. the singles, most notably "Pinball Wizard" which is undoubtedly the best song on the album). And then there are songs that you wouldn't necessarily put on just for fun (or catch on the radio) that are beautifully composed and interesting. The bad: Despite the aforementioned comment about the good, some of the songs just aren't good (e.g. "Holiday Camp"). Others come across as mere filler. Now, I remember seeing my local high school perform this decades ago and I really enjoyed it. Middle school me liked it so much I watched the VHS of the official concert for it (Phil Collins was in this, right?) many, many times. But, something about the album by itself just doesn't connect, and it's easy to get bored. The ugly: the story itself doesn't make any sense. I read the synopsis before listening so I get what is SUPPOSED to be happening (not that it seems like it's a great story by itself anyway) but at very few points during the album is the plot actually comprehensible. Overall, I agree this is a must listen album, but perhaps we would be better served watching the concert for it and seeing some of the action take place on stage so it makes more sense and not just hoping it ends soon.

After the success of The Who Sell Out, our favorite mod rock band go on to do a double-album rock opera. This is the album that set the bar for all future concept albums. Including both an overture and an underture! Not many rock albums will have an underture, I can tell you that right now. It unfortunately takes a while for the album to really kick in. Side B is when the songs start getting good enough to make note of, as the album flows from one song to the next without much distinction. In my youth I was more easily impressed by concept albums that pulled this stunt, but now I expect a bit more for the songs to be distinct and memorable. I can't help but feel this highlights a distinct blindspot in The Who's output: spotty songwriting. For every great song they'll have, there will be several songs that are not noteworthy at all. Not bad, but also not noteworthy. For reference, side C boasts the excellent song Pinball Wizard, but requires slogging through "Do You Think It's Alright?" and "Fiddle About" to get there first. It is a uniquely mediocre experience that best showcases my problem with The Who and double albums at the same time. Tommy isn't a bad album. It is competently written and performed. It is not something I would recommend on the basis that it is overlong and not all that great to warrant the runtime. I understand Quadrophenia is better?

Tommy Walker - Malicious compliance champion, 1921

I know it's blasphemy to many people (including my wife), but I just don't get it.

Ok

Legendary. One of my top albums of all time by my favorite band.

I like the concept of these opera rock albums, but I must say that I rarely listen to them, paying much attention or following the correct order. So it was a lovely surprise to get this album today. It allowed me to pursue an opera rock album as it should be: Listen to the songs and follow the history behind them, paying attention to the details. It is astonishing how much "The Who" changed their style and lyrics from their previous albums to this one. It looks like a whole new band. It was a good experience; I enjoyed listening to opera rock in the way I should have heard, and "The Who" is not such an influential band without reason.

It's one of the first (or maybe THE first) concept albums so that in itself is notable. I enjoyed the storytelling here, I did have to look up a synopsis of the record but I thought it was told as well as it could've been given the medium. The tragic beginning of the story drew me in, but it admittedly lost me a bit when Tommy gained pinball powers and became a cult leader. That said, it was also at that point that the music became a lot more interesting so I'm not too mad. Overall, it's just a sight (or a sound?) to behold that The Who created awesome music that followed a concept this well. You have to give props to that. I certainly do, more so when you have amazing songs like Pinball Wizard, Go To the Mirror, Tommy Can You Hear Me, and Smash the Mirror.

I was aware of this album's significance and it does deserve a lot of credit (blame?) for being the first "rock opera", however, I didn't actually like very many of the songs. The story itself was kind of hard to follow as well, so I don't think I got much out of the "opera" part either. I'd probably give this 3 stars for enjoyment, but I'll add a star due to its place in history.

Rock opera go brrr. Music itself is interesting and surprisingly layered and diverse. Some bluesy stuff, some orchestral stuff, lots of weird interludes. Very clean production. Lyrics are.. interesting. Will needa give this another listen

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.

Classic. End of.

Rock opera, doesn’t hit me like other great who albums, could not get into the filler tracks

Good album, definitely a masterpiece worth more listens

Definitely interesting as a concept album and very cool that it was the first "rock opera" but I didn't feel like the music grabbed me as much as I would want it to.

Pinball Wizard is obviously the high point of this album but I liked the whole flow of the album. I'd enjoy listening to this all the way through again. It was good but not quite 4 stars good.

I think this is meant to be viewed/listened to live, straight through. Just sitting on my couch it’s not exciting me, nor is it unpleasant. It’s just there. Pinball Wizard 10/5 stars though.

This is a pretty decent album. I found a lot of it to just be very basic and plain. Cool idea for a lot of it, but just bland.

Not as good as the reputation it has - only a couple of good songs and a lot of filler, especially on the special edition with live versions.

Its a solid album. The music is amazing and really well composed even tho the lyrics and singing is inconistant

It has some good songs, but I always thought that it was a bit pretenious and self-indulgent - my opinion hasn't changed.

Riktigt jävla tråkigt de första 4 låtarna innan jag gav upp.

Very nice, softer rock

Somehow it's background music, even if you try to focus on it. Not special, but keeps the silence away effectively.

Es bueno, muy instrumental

I didn't really get too much into the story, but I still enjoyed the album. Favorite: Pinball Wizard

I'm nostalgic for this album bc my dad used to always play it and the who were his favorite. The good parts are really really good but there doesn't need to be so many instrumental sections. Also the ending is weird.

Best Song: Pinball Wizard. That guitar melody which pops up throughout the album makes its presence most known here. It also feels the most "rock" of all that's on offer. Worst Song: Cousin Kevin. Is it just me, or does it sound like some of the vocals are really off-key? Overall: I always applaud weird and avant garde choices in art, and a rock opera about a deaf, dumb, and blind kid who becomes a pinball savant is certainly weird. Sadly, in the effort to present a continuous narrative, the actual music becomes less interesting. Would probably be interesting to watch a stage production, but it struggles to hold my interest over such a lengthy album.

Still one of my favorite albums of all time. The variety of styles and symbolism used on the record is amazing. There is a little bit of fluff and filler but not much.

Classic album. Always a fun listen

Suffers from the same "rock opera" problem as The Wall, and with way more of an added cringe factor since I was a kid. Still an overall fine album, but let's be honest - what are you reaching for on this record besides "Pinball Wizard"?

I've always been a fair-weather Who fan, but have never listened to this album. I wasn't really that into it.

There will be 5 star who albums for me, but this wasn’t one of them. Too much what feels like filler to listen as an album.

The quintessential rock opera. Outside of the hits, you really have to be in the mood for Tommy. But Moon's drumming is amazing on this album (not to mention Townshend's compositions) and I was happy it came up because otherwise it's not an album I'm going to think to play from start to finish.

Never was a huge fan of The Who... but can't deny how great many of the songs on this album are.

Not my favorite Who album by far.

How can you not love an opening track with flugelhorn? Overall just OK.

Man, the number of times I found myself bored listening to this was just, way too many times. 2/5

It’s kind of funny, I think it’s this album where The Who start to match, if not better their live performances, but I just don’t like the concept behind the album. And unfortunately, most of the songs don’t work without recognizing the story at large. There’s some gold here, and some all-time best performances from the band, but I much prefer Who’s Next and Quadrophenia. B

Overlong and a bit preachy in hindsight, this album nonetheless contains some absolute bangers like Pinball Wizard and Acid Queen.

some first-rate tracks but much is forgettable and the central idea is silly

This album was a legend in its time. 43 years later I could hardly stand that sound. Far too artificial for me now.

While I didn't really dislike it, I think The Who took themselves too serious and created an album that works fine as a rock album but that doesn't have the musical quality necessary for it to work as a rock opera. The story comes with an intended pathos and gravitas that simply aren't backed up by enough technical skill to have much impact at all.

Interesting concept album with a controversial topic, so this must have stirred up some emotions back then. It was a very bold move to make a rock opera, but it somehow is a bit tedious to listen to. At many times more of the same, building up tension but it hardly ever comes to a real explosion.

Standard '70s concept album affair. Do I recognize this is perhaps one of the most quintessential. Still though, for my first time listening to it, I prefer their older simpler work. This had a lot of ideas, and the narrative thread was incredibly strong.

Too long and boring each song should have been half the length. It's just okay

This will be a very strange review because I don’t think that there is anything wrong with the album. It’s remarkably solid for a concept album. Unlike most, it flows well and the repeated musical motifs make it feel like a cohesive unit. As someone that loves progressive music and high-concept albums, I thought I’d love it. However, it is not what I want from the Who. I associate them with hard-nosed British rock, jump up and jam songs, anthemic pieces like Baba O’Riley. This, for all of its polish, isn’t that. Still, despite not being what I want, it’s quite good. Standout songs are Pinball Wizard and Christmas.

couldn't finish

Transcendent. I dont always agree with this list of albums, but this is an insanely great record that everyone needs to hear. 5/5

Decent classic rock, but nothing standout

Quite enjoyable.

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.

What?

Some good songs, I love the Who but some these songs were weird.

Beaucoup trop de The Who dans cette liste. L’Angleterre n’est pas le centre de l’univers. Il y a de bonnes choses sur cet album.

Un autre album de The Who... Par contre ici on a un concept plus fort et une oeuvre majeure dans la carrière du groupe. Il faut effectivement avoir écouté cet album. Écouter un opéra rock n'est pas une tâche facile. Faut être dans le mood. L'écoute en vinyle est probablement plus agréable et appropriée puisque les pauses pour les changements de côtés allègent un peu le tout. Pinball Wizard est dans mes pièces préférées du groupe et une pièce qui représente bien le groupe, son unicité. La groove dans I'm Free est intéressante. On n'est pas au niveau de The Wall, mais on a un album qui coule bien.

This album review is more about a cat, instead of music. My girlfriend, now my wife, got a cat while we were in college. The cat had live with me and my roommate, a big Who fan. The cat was given a name I can't remember. Anyway, every time we took him out, he played in this tall grass area where we couldn't see him. My roommate would look for him by singing, Tommy can you hear me. Much to Mindy's objection, we called him Tommy so much, he didn't respond to whatever name he was originally given and became Tommy! Album was a blast from the past. Good tunes all the way through. Tommy can you hear me will always be a favorite. Just seeing this album made me smile. Not their best, but good. 3.5 for me. Will make it 4 for the cat, Tommy

5 LET’S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Favorites Include: Overture, 1921, Amazing Journey, Cousin Kevin, The Acid Queen, Fiddle About, Pinball Wizard, Tommy Can You Hear Me?, Miracle Cure, I’m Free, We’re Not Gonna Take It

4.5 Alright, confession time... I'm a fan of The Who, but I've never listened to this album all the way through. Holy shit I was missing out - pretty sure this album was the first true rock opera to ever exist, and it clearly set the standard for every attempt that followed. Tommy kicks ass out right out the gate with Overture, which I thought was an amazing introduction and taste of what's to come, and then proceeds to never stop kicking ass until it concludes. The end result really feels like the product of a band firing on all cylinders. The only real criticism I had is that I felt it could have benefitted from a little more diversity in sound - it does some really cool things, but I feel like I would describe the overall sound as pretty consistent. Not necessarily a bad thing, but some bigger shifts in tone would have been an interesting dynamic. Then again, I didn't care for the album's hardest shift in Tommy's Holiday Camp, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. Favorite songs: Overture, 1921, Christmas, The Acid Queen, Pinball Wizard, Sally Simpson

Not a big fan of the album or the band. This is bloated, over reaching and as of these days a bit tasteless. Gotta admire the ambition but it misses.

Some bonkers tracks but overall very enjoyable

I might be spoiled, as my first exposure to Tommy was the full-cast anniversary edition. The songs are here, but the songs feel lightweight in comparison, with the album as a whole feeling bloated.

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.

Good. Need more listens

"Very sad that the yearly Dutch tradition of 'top 2000 songs of all time' radio event uses the repeating motif of this album as their jingle, because I now associate it with old white men wanking over their music knowledge 🤮 All in all still good album though, but at times quite boring, still an absolute banger when Pinball Wizard hits, and with the absurd historical significance it has, I rate it 4.0/5" - Bliss

Creepy and bored me although musically competent. Tough to rate as I feel it deserves to be higher but enjoyed very little of this.

As far as Who rock operas go I prefer Quadrophenia, but the scope of this album is impressive, especially for when it was released.

Without the context of the story, this album doesn't make much sense. And some of the songs haven't aged that well. But this is a very important album for me. I heard it and the music, certainly not the story, really resonated with me. "Amazing Journey" and "Acid Queen" are two of my favorite deep cuts.

Despite being iconic I thought it was fairly middling...

Well I’ve herd the most popular stuff from this band but never a full on album… Overture opens the album with a banging instrumental it drags a little bit for me but it’s still fairly pleasing. It’s a boy is only very short and is really just setting it he atmosphere for the album. 1921 is the first “proper” song on the album it’s a great track very theatre. There’s a sound that goes all throughout amazing journey that really bugs me but it’s a nice enough tune. Sparks works perfectly next to amazing journey ( it’s a good instrumental). Eyesight to the blind (The hawker) is an amazing tune to end side one so dramatic! I really like the way that the verses are sung in Christmas and the ending of the song is nice and theatrical. Cousin Kevin seems mean but it’s a good song. I really like the instrumentation in the acid queen such a solid tune. Underture (like overture) is a very long instrumental this one is twice as long but twice as good. Do you think it’s alright and fiddle about are both about Tommy’s pedophile uncle Ernie and yeah they’re both creepy. But then there’s pinball wizard a bridge hit single to have even if the band hate it! There’s a doctor is a short little piano ditty I guess it’s okay. Go to the mirror is a very solid rocker with great crunchy guitars. Tommy can you hear me is short and folky it’s eh. Smash the mirror is another shortie, good but not amazing. Sensation ends side 3 on a fairly upbeat note and it’s good but there’s something about the vocals on here that I don’t love. Miracle cure is well… short. Sally Simpson is a nice acoustic tune. I’m free feels really “lush” I don’t know how to explain it but I like it. Welcome is just happy I know it’s the whole creepy cult thing but still a decent fluffy tune. Tommy’s holiday camp is alright but why did uncle Ernie have to be hosting it…yuck. The album ends with we’re not gonna take it and it works really,really well as a closer to a solid album. The album is great as a whole bunch was hard going track by track as the album is more of an “experience” than a standard issue album.

Great album: Overture- literally one of the greatest songs to summarize the experience to come; trombone solo ringing, great harmonies, guitar ringing, need to learn on guitar Its a boy- straight lead in, great way to point out that the birth is a start to the story 1921- gritty harmonies

Can't fully get behind the rock opera concept