Tommy

Could not finish it, felt like I was listening to the same song continuously with no real changes to musical style.

Rock Opera par excellence. (6/10) FT: Pinball Wizard, Sally Simpson

Heard it a handful of times before. Good album. Overrated.

Love this album

Amazing sound throughout. Very repeatable.

Had some good moments, but for the most part it felt directionless.

Fantastic album. Fave tracks would probably be "Overture," "The Acid Queen," "Amazing Journey," and "Go To The Mirror!"

I have this in five different formats. The original LP, open reel tape, cassette, CD and digital. I used to also have it in 8 Track but the foam pressure pads disintegrated so I threw them away.

Love the The Who. Very interesting and ambitious album for the time. I just rarely listen to the whole album often anymore.

Ambitious, and one can assume groundbreaking at its release. But in the end, only worth listening front to back in order to string the story together as almost no song stands on its own except of course Pinball Wizard… And maybe take the pedo stuff down a notch, too, eh?

The Who will always be the bargain basement version of better bands. The only song that stuck out for me was Pinball Wizard. I guess if you get tired of the Beatles, the Stones, and Zeppelin there's always the Who.

I would like concept albums more if the songs could all stand on their own. And these just don't. But a couple of really good one on here, and the overall album is pretty great.

Beatles rip off for the most part. But there’s bangers

It’s a Rock Opera!

Innovation at its best. Fun album all around

Some classic songs, and love the overall vibe, but many of the songs aren't ones I would re-listen to standalone.

not their best album. 2.5/5

rock opera, album concept, what more do you want?

Pretty wild. Didn't know Tommy had a whole backstory going on. Not something i would put on just to listen to since some of them are odd but overall a good piece of work and quite experimental.

Meh stressful

It was a good concept album, that I feel upon additional listens it will grow even more on me. The melodic hard rock provides a journey of Tommy's story, but also provides a way to allow listeners to listen to their favourites without needing to be consumed or drawn in by the full operatic piece. Best: Pinball Wizard Worst: Welcome 3.5 stars

Nothing wrong with it. But I don’t feel like I will be going back to it. Cover art 3/5

Musically, this is a truly enjoyable album. Contextually, the theme of the album is weird, even as a rock opera. Artistic merits alone, this album is great. Through the lens of current social lenses (2022), it is a wonder whether or not history will view The Who without the controversy of Pete Townshend. This album does not help the case, as the subject matter does offer conjecture of how much those allegations/affiliations could lead back to this album. Quick digression, the album is well-produced, and the songs flow well, very well. The runtime was an initial concern but the album maintained good momentum throughout to the very end.

Enjoyed this much more than I thought I would a storytelling concept album.

Into it, can’t say I follow the plot or metaphor, but enjoy a good overture.

The story didn’t make a lot of sense to me but I really enjoyed quite a few songs and loved the progression throughout the album. Would listen again but probably not going to put it on myself.

What an interesting album. The first true rock opera, in the sense that the songs are unconventional and follow a storyline. While it is hard by the lyrics to alone know what is being told, and the length a tad long, musically, from beginning to end, the album is so engaging and entertaining, with top production for the 60s, great performances by all members of the band. Not quite what they achieve on Who’s Next, but a great album!

Nice rock opera but a bit long, no songs really standing out and a story that's interesting but hard to follow

Fun and cinematic, most definitely the soundtrack to a musical

I had forgotten just how good this album really is. Simply impressive and fun. The whole thing could easily have flopped but The Who knocked it out of the park.

Started out enjoying this, but it lost me in the middle somewhere.

Saw it in London in ‘96. Loved it then; love it now!

75 minutes of very good music! Incredible. Overture and Underture are my favorites (besides Pinball of course)

It's taken me years to work out what's wrong with The Who. They've performed some of the greatest songs of all time, but I find the quality drops if you listen to a whole album. Who's Next is an exception, but usually a Who album has too much filler. So part of their problem is lack of good songs, but Tommy has good songs. I have two problems with this album. Firstly, any song that doesn't have Townsend power chords tends to be weedy. Secondly, their vocals aren't up to snuff. Roger needs to be singing balls-out rock or he should shut up. Pete should never sing. They needed to hand these songs over to other musicians. Except Pinball Wizard. That is magnificent.

A definite classic. 4/5

Not as good as The Who Sell Out but still a classic album of course.

yes. absolute yes. love everything about it

When I was ~9 yrs old I used to check out this record from our local library - they'd package it up in this ginormous special packaging and I'd trundle it home under my tiny arm, what a sight that must have been hahaha. (I wasn't allowed to watch the (weirdasshit) movie that had just started airing on HBO though...) This album (obviously) has a long history for me and was/is one of the pillars for my love of imaginative music - music that is at once bombastic, melodic, sometimes ridiculous, aggressive, a little scary, mysterious, powerful. I became a big Who fan for some years starting at that point, which at times frustrated me - I often felt that they should have been ... better? they had a relatively short peak (which this album marked the start of) that matched any band in history, but couldn't sustain. And during my later teenage years when I was more a fan of hard rock I learned that this album was released when it wasn't completely finished (according to Pete Townshend) - at the time I wanted some of the tracks to have been bigger/louder. But that would have been disastrous - a lot of the space in some of these songs gives room for that mystery. Plus the extended "Live At Leeds" with the full Tommy performance gives that hard rock edge if you need it... Tommy the story [for the few that wouldn't know, this is a concept album, if not the original concept album...] is both essential (i.e. about half of these songs would seem half as good out of context of the album) and ridiculous at the same time. Doesn't really matter that it doesn't always make sense; there's a flow to it that when I listen to it for the first time in a while (today, in fact) makes it impossible to not go through the entire 75 minutes. Obvious highlights here are the alltime single "Pinball Wizard" - which has been overplayed on classic radio for at least 30 years, but when it kicks in midway through the album you remember why - and the epic closer "We're Not Gonna Take It" but put on some headphones and listen to the entirety as picking out two famous singles almost deflates the entire project. "Amazing Journey" indeed - 10/10 5 stars.

Very cool concept/ rock opera

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.

Wow. Musically amazing. Will have to give it a few more listens to get the story/message processed. Reminds me a lot of The Wall, but with a more positive vibe. After two listens, I discovered how little I know about The Who beyond the radio hits of the 70's. Amazing.

iconic

The Rock Opera! Never got around to listening to this one in full, so I’m excited. The Overture, which foreshadows the music to come, boasts a mix of blues, country, rock, and classical music. We’re introduced to Tommy Walker, whose father went missing before he was born. 1921 is a pretty song, introducing the fact that Tommy is unable to hear, see, or speak. Amazing Journey has an interesting rhythm, reflecting Tommy’s vibration land. Tommy’s 10 years of age at this point. I’m confused as to whether the point of view is constantly shifting — does Tommy see the bearded man in a silver gown or does the narrator? I suppose the point is that Tommy has the capacity to create his own experience of the world around him. Story aside, The Who’s sound is so rich and full. They have such a profound control of dynamics. The songs blend pretty seamlessly together, though there are a couple that are able to stand out enough on their own. In this way, this concept album is the epitome of concept albums. It simulates the experience of a band playing continuously without any stopping for one hour (as an album tries to simulate anyway but not all of them do effectively). “Eyesight to the Blind” comes in with a vengeance — reminiscent of Pink Floyd. This song is about a woman with the power to revitalize senses. At this point, while listening to “Christmas,” which singles Tommy out as a child unable to experience Christmas in the way intended (Tommy doesn’t know what day it is), im wondering why The Who resonated with a story about a disabled child. Having taken classes on disability theory and rights, I’m a bit put off by the portrayal of a disabled child as simultaneously needing to be saved and being extraordinary. By “Cousin Kevin,” I’m feeling a little bored. Granted, I was forced to stop and restart again a few days later. Because of their classic sound and the ambitiousness of this project, I’m going to rate this album a 4. Some of the songs are a bit samey, which I guess is expected of concept albums or musical theatre-esque stuff. This makes it a bit boring after a while, though I plan on doing another listen.

Great story telling album throughout. Weird at times which I believe is good because it makes it authentic and true to what they wanted to accomplish. I appreciated the flow of the album and thought the instrumentals pieced in were great and fit perfectly. Not too many stand alone stand out songs too me, besides the obvious "Pinball Wizard", which I think is fine in a story telling album like this. It seems like the goal from start to finish was story first, and that was accomplished. Very good album. Favorite Songs: "Pinball Wizard", "Go To The Mirror!"

Meh

Solid revisit. Only listened to the original album but enjoyed the continuity and nostalgia.

To be honest, I've only ever been familiar with Pinball Wizard & I'm Free. I actually don't even know what Tommy is. Was it a musical? A movie? Both? I still don't know. I'm still only familiar with those 2 songs. This is just super meh to me. It was fine. Rating this a 3.

Opera album with minimal hits

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.

I have heard of this album, and I do not think I ever saw the movie. But it is a rocking album!

Love it, literally everything is great, love the detuned and dissonant guitars, Keith's frenetic Energy, it all works so well. A dark story but true to life in many aspects.

I've never actually listened to Tommy. Maybe I needed to listen to it while staring into a candle (a la Almost Famous). Great album, though...

I didn’t really care for much of this album other than Pinball Wizard and Tommy Can You Hear 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.

Finde ich bei weitem nicht so scheisse wie das Erstlingswerk, das mir The Who zunächst komplett vergällt hat. Diesem Album hingegen muss ich (schlechte) drei Sterne geben.

4.5

Meh

Eh

Some awful bits redeemed by some alright bits. On the whole pretty self indulgent and ridiculous.

It's cool that it's one of the first concept albums, and I can see it's major influence but it wasn't really my cup of tea. It was alright.

I need to give this about 10 more listens to really understand what's going on, but it's far more interesting than I've previously given The Who credit for

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

I did not care for this

The WHO at their very apex.

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.

The movie is one if my favorites, but it doesn't change the fact that this is one of The Who's weakest albums. Some pretty nice songs and the concept is quite excellent, but there are sadly too many fillers.

Some great moment, but then the second after you feel tired.. Just too long.

Despite the fact that there are 5-6 really excellent songs, Tommy is perhaps the most boring Who album, because it is too long and has a lot of fillers. I'm a Who fan, so it kind of breaks my heart to say it like that... However, I have to admit, it made me want to listen to the film again. I hope the next Who's album will be the killer "My Generation"!

Really cool! I feel like I didn't fully get the story, though, need to listen again.

Here's the thing-- the narrative behind Tommy is weird and perverted. But, damn, do they commit to telling a story, and it's pretty entertaining to listen to. Definitely a unique piece in the canon of classic rock but I can't help but think it's the concept album that launched a thousand other concept albums.

Sasvim dobar album, ali ga nisam previše pratio koliko sam trebao, svakako mislim da bih se trebao vratiti na ovaj album da ga još bolje jednog dana poslušam.

Brilliant. Quite inspired. 7/10 Fave: Pinball Wizard

Epic rock opera with an epic song. Fave: Pinball Wizard

Ok but a bit more 'operaish' than i had expected. i am sure it would be better having seen the film but none of the songs seems to be given the space to get going.

I can't help the feeling that this album served as heavy inspiration for Pink Floyd's The Wall - you might even call it a blueprint. However, the Pink Floyd opus is miles better. Tommy is often called a "Rock-Opera", in lieu of the then unknown concept of "(rock) musical". But no matter what we chose to call it, it remains very mediocre. I have massive respect for The Who, but this whole album screams "concept over substance". The whole undertaking is bit tedious and self-indulgent. There is a story here, and if that manages to catch your interest, good for you. Pinball Wizard is a good enough song (which was done better by Elton John), but the rest is nothing to write home about. It's just run-off-the-mill 60s rock without hardly a good idea (or melody). Thus, I find Tommy to be severely overrated and found my listening experience to be quite disappointing. 2/5

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.

Much of the music is pretty decent and I had partly hoped this might be instrumental so I didn’t have to listen to this nonsense story full of Townsend’s weird obsessions. I get that he’s probably working things through but this Tommy metaphor is in such poor taste.

🎵 He's a pinball wizard 🎵

Should probably like Tommy more than I do. Like Pinball Wizard, Go to the Mirror and Tommy can you hear me. Feel like I should watch the movie to get it.

I know for many Tommy is the Who's magnum opus. But for me I want the power. Pete attacking the guitar, Keith treating everything as if he's the frontman, Roger preening and John holding it all together

I have probably listened to this album at least 10 times before reviewing this album. The first few times was out of curiosity about the rest of the album that includes "Pinball Wizard". The next few times was to try and understand the whole rock opera. The last couple of times was to decide how much some of the characters and songs creep me out. This album still makes me feel icky. I haven't watched the movie yet (maybe never will?). I did not know that a couple of the creepiest songs were credited to Entwistle. I thought the creepiness was all on Townshend's shoulders. There are tracks that I still enjoy ("Pinball Wizard", "I'm Free") and some of the instrumentals are worth listening to, to see what the band was trying to explore musically (my fav was "Sparks"). Overall, the album comes out as an "okay", with a wish to skip some of the story portrayed across the album.

This did have it's ups and downs but I really enjoyed this! I am confused tho- is Tommy ok?

I do not get the story but I do get the music.

It's certainly ambitious and there is some great stuff here. The drumming in particular is obviously fantastic but all the performances are great, there are some lovely harmonies, and it introduces and develops certain motifs in a really satisfying way It's a bit all over the place though - the concept is so scattered, and musically it doesn't exactly gel together (Good Morning Campers or whatever it's called is fun but incredibly out of place) and it really feels like the entire thing hangs around Pinball Wizard. Which is an incredible song but... the 70+ minutes bookending seems excessive

Really like this.

This was cutting edge for its time. Rekindled an interest in seeing the movie. 40 years later has lost an edge....

Classic. Interesting hearing the studio versions since I’m mostly familiar with Live at Leeds.

I think this album is fantastic. It's not one I often listen to all the way through, but I should. Tommy is such a great mix of the straightforward rocking with the theatrical and occasionally trippy. And it's at heart just a great Who album, creative and engaging and powerful from beginning to end. There's really nothing else like this in music. Most of the songs are great to listen to on their own, without even engaging with the somewhat hazy plot. A couple of the best songs the Who ever recorded are on this album ("I'm Free," "Pinball Wizard"), as well as some stellar deep tracks ("Christmas," "The Hawker"). The flow from song to song is seamless and the album never drags. It's over an hour long and you don't really feel it. Fave Songs: I'm Free, Pinball Wizard, Christmas, The Hawker, Tommy Can You Hear Me, Welcome, Go to the Mirror, The Acid Queen

Never have I looked up the supposed story of Tommy. It is bonkers. I've listened before without really paying attention and the album is much better knowing the rough storyline.

Classic rock opera.

A cool concept with some great songs mixed in... but man did it really start to get tedious. I was ready for this one to be over by the time Tommy got his senses back.

Muito bom.

the who changed music forever with tommy. a concept album, yes, but a rock opera most importantly. it has all of the characteristics of a stage musical: overture/underture, recycling melodies, reprises. perfect for adapting into a movie! the who were influential for a few reasons but i stand by my belief that creating the first rock opera was their most important contribution to the world. this album takes you on such a journey alongside tommy. yes, perhaps some suspension of disbelief is involved and it is such a product of the sixties. you meet such a range of characters (including a sexual abuser! cool, she said sarcastically) while tommy journeys through a traumatic incident as a child to becoming a cult leader. obviously, i enjoy the story a lot but the music! the who is so solid; tommy's instrumentation is without flaw. i know this album quite well, but it's still surprising to me that "we're not going to take it," one of the who's most notable songs, a protest song, comes from this album. it has transcended tommy to stand on its own! "you've got to play pinball/and put in your ear plugs/put on your eye shades/you know where to put the cork"

Ah, the original rock opera. I think it's pretty cool how the concept was birthed out of a desire to find a way to escape the "short song format" of music that had existed up until this point. I had not heard this in full before, and was not familiar with the plot. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to completely discern the plot from the music alone; I had to rely on a little help from Wikipedia. Needless to say, the plot is very much a product of the 1960s. The album did feel a little long and bloated, but it was bizarre, which I appreciate, so it evens out. There were some great songs on this album. That said, musically, this particular album is classic Who. They aren't reinventing any wheel there; this particular album is all about the introduction of the rock opera format, which it turned out their musical style was perfect for. This album dared to try something new, and while not perfect, brought about a significant form of musical storytelling. That in and of itself makes this album a worthy addition to the project. Thanks, Who, for gifting us the rock opera!

My first true introduction to the Who was through Tommy. When they were doing their first comeback tour back in 1989, I remember watching the concert downstairs in the basement of my college freshman dorm. There were a number of us watching it, too young to have seen them when they were first touring but now experiencing them live on TV. I remember watching them play Tommy with special guest stars Phil Collins and Billy Idol... Then I heard the studio album, and it did not sound like that concert. It sounded... tinnier. My biggest problem with Tommy is how the development of the lead is through all these different characters that float in and out of the opera. In the story, it's not through his own internal development that Tommy as a character grows. Townshend's writing for character development really hit its peak in the next rock opera, Quadrophenia. The songs themselves do a lot of variation, and Moon pounds the HELL out of the drums. So yeah, as much as I appreciate this album for what it is, it only has a few great songs on it. I mean, you cannot deny the greatness of "Pinball Wizard" or "See Me, Feel Me." But besides that, a lot of the other songs are to beholden to the opera itself. So if Quadrophenia is a 5-star (which in my mind it is) this is definitely a 4-star album.

Another solid rock opera. But I don't know, I think I might like Bat out of Hell more. There's some good stuff and then there's some throwaways. Sometimes the songs don't seem to flow into each other as well as they should or could (e.g., Christmas to Cousin Kevin). Maybe that's also because some songs weren't initially conceived of for the album (e.g., Sally Simpson) and were trying to be fit in somewhere. And I'm not sure if there are any absolute show stoppers besides Pinball Wizard (what a great tune). Still, I really enjoyed both the Overture and Underture (orchestral feel without the orchestra), and the also-instrumental Sparks. Christmas was solid but felt like a Beatles knock-off. Fiddle About is just disturbing but I appreciate it.

I've loved this album for years, so this an easy 5 for me. I love the whole rock-opera concept - I know a lot of people criticize this album as overblown. Yeah, the story is dense and weird (and the movie is even weirder!), but it holds together both musically and thematically. There's so much I love about this album. Favorite moments include all the instrumentals (Overture - love the acoustic guitar part; Sparks; Underture); the thundering bass at 3:25 of Amazing Journey particularly when performed live - John Entwistle was a BEAST; Pinball Wizard (great track); We're Not Gonna Take It including the anthemic ending (this is a week of anthemic endings - at least this one doesn't involve necrophilia like "I Love the Dead"); all the repeating motifs - "see me, feel me" "Tommy can you hear me" plus the repeating musical motifs; Keith Moon's drumming. I also love the line "You've been told many times before, Messiahs pointed to the door, but no one had the guts to leave the temple." I could go on and on. Oh, and TIL that Eyesight to the Blind was a cover. I had no idea. Go check out Sonny Boy Williamson's original. I've listened to this album more times than I can count, but it was fun to dig in again. I ended up watching clips from the movie and from the 1989 all-star performance including Billy Idol, Patti LaBelle, Phil Collins, and Elton John. I remember watching that when it came out. Definitely an album worth hearing many times before I die!

10/10. Completely incomprehensible, worse by miles and miles than Quadrophenia, and "Fiddle About" ruins the entire listening experience every time, but still a very good album.

This album (and movie) may be the most impactful piece of media/art in my life. I’m pretty sure the cascade of events after seeing Tommy led to some of my longest-lasting friendships, multiple relationship status changes, and even starting this list altogether. It’s not musically perfect or even very good as a story, but it means the world to me. 10/10

C'est OK. Pas mauvais, très bon concept, mais j'ai l'impression d'écouter une comédie musicale sans l'image

24 трека с очень интересной игрой на гитаре и вокалом, из которых примерно 8 песен длятся больше или около 5 минут (это так, к сведению). Если честно, сначала навевали сомнения о идеальности и гениальности альбома, что его аж прям нужно до смерти обязательно прослушать. Но по итогу прослушал и мне понравилось. На самом деле очень хороший альбом, могу сказать, что это какой-то ранний The Beatles, имхо. Несколько треков сохранил себе, а это уже показатель, хх. Но есть также и несколько слабых песен, без которых альбом бы ничего не потерял, кроме общей продолжительности и количеству песен.

Love coming back to any record from the 60s, this one does an excellent job of storytelling, super captivating while still managing to experiment with instrument and vocal performances. I appreciate the harmonies used throughout the album, and the mastering of the left/right channel recordings of guitar/drums simulates the experience of standing right in the middle of this band. Underture was my favourite track this session.

This album is a pretty impressive accomplishment, a complete story told over an hour solid classic/prog rocks tracks skillfully composed using a number of interesting techniques such as reccuring motifs, lyrical themes and segues. I did find it to be a little slow in parts, imo not all the tracks necessitate their inclusion on the album, but overall as one of the first rock opera / concept albums it stands up well and kicked off a style of musical composition that I love.

Projet ambitieux, construction solide... "Underture" demeure ma pièce préférée.

It's shit isn't it? People need to stop pretending it's good. The most rock overrated album ever

My first time giving this a spin, and I mostly enjoyed it. The first few tracks are nice and theatrical and set the scene well - much like the start of a musical, which I guess this pretty much is (didn't realise See Me, Feel Me was originally more of a recurring theme than it's own track - another musical theatre trope?) I like the really short tracks (they help a lot with plot exposition) and always have respect for ambitious concept albums, especially groundbreaking ones like this. I'm not sure the individual parts are strong enough to keep me coming back to listen to the whole, though, especially when it's so long. 3.5

A real mixture in terms of quality, but I suppose that's easily done with a concept album. Each song fulfils a purpose after all. I like the Tommy movie with the other performers. Less fussed by the Who's actual album. But Sally Simpson, Pinball Wizard, 1921, and It's A Boy are still great in this. I'm Free is quality too

Holy cannoli, now that is a rock opera. The Super Deluxe release is almost 3.5hrs long. It’s like the LOTR Extended Editions of rock opera. I enjoyed what I got to, but this album requires some dedicated time to actually get through and chew on. Cousin Kevin and Pinball Wizard stood out to me. 4/5 for now, could very well be 5/5 given more time. Was this conceptual album about a dumb, deaf and blind kid somehow inspirational for the premise of the movie Tommy Boy?

Sometimes an album just click after a second or third listen. This was one of them. I have owned the album for quite a while and might've listened to it once or twice. Never got into it, I thought The Who had made much better. Now years later re-listening it on a 3rd and 4th listen and it fully clicked. It's an amazing album.

Es como una ópera rock. Se me ha hecho bastante bola. Ni fu ni fa.

Me resultó un poco largo. 4.

3.5

not for me

I know I am alone in this, but Quadrophenia is a much better album.

A lot of bands have tried to rock opera thing, but I think tThe Who probably did it best (twice). A couple of great songs and the rest is really good. My favorite memory about this album was when my brother in law, Peter, gave me a copy to hold for our first-born child - Thomas. He said “make sure he knows this was a gift from his uncle Pete!” That’s when I asked him if he was sending a hidden warning for our little Tommy in the lyrics to “Fiddle About”? He took the album back.

Great Rock Opera! I'm sure 4 is probably low given the influence of this classic, but listening through it is awesome, just not a feeling a full 5.

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

It was ok.

Yeah not bad

This is one of my favorite albums of all time. I get a lot of the same feelings from this that I had as a child at our evangelical Christian church (I'm an atheist now). I thought those feelings of joy, excitement, and wonder came from God and Jesus but it was really the music and stories. What a wild story Tommy is and the music is fucking great---love those instrumental tracks.

Super

If there's a better rock opera about child abuse I don't wanna hear about it! 🙃 Fave track - "Pinball Wizard" - kinda has to be, right!?

This took some audacity to make, and I love that about it. A double album telling the epic story of... well, maybe it's not an epic story but it involves playing pinball. It's always been weird and mysterious enough to be quite compelling. I love that it feels like what it created, a rock opera. It feels orchestral but it's all rock instrumentation...plus French horn, of course. While many of the songs, although being part of a sequence, are great standalone songs, it's not true for them all. "Fiddle About" may be the most horrifying thing I've heard all year. *shudder* But as a whole, listening to this felt like an event today and it was great.

Another very grand rock album! Although I sometime find myself comparing tracks to the movie soundtrack versions (probably because I knew the movie before I knew this album), Tommy by The Who is another amazing work of art on this list!!

The movie Tommy was on HBO a lot when I was about 11 years old. I remember circling all of the times it aired in the HBO guide that came in the mail so that I could tune in for the last ten minutes of every airing and watch Tommy scrabble over all those rocks singing, "I get excitement at your feet!" I hoped none of my siblings would come in the room and interrupt, tears streaming down my face as I watched Tommy raise his arms, palms open toward the enormous rising sun. This was more spiritual to me than anything that happened at church. I found the rest of the movie pretty incomprehensible. But the music, especially "Listening to You" and its reprise that played over the end credits, was as moving a thing as I'd ever heard. I didn't get the original studio album until college. But once I did, it became one of my favorites. I still get a little choked up when I listen to it. Thanks Pete, Roger, John, and Keith for taking me to church. I love you for it.

I LOVE the movie Tommy. In college we had a weeklong fundraiser where we showed Tommy for 6 nights in a row. I was the projectionist and watched the movie 13 times that week - never tiring of it. I absolutely love the music but had only heard the soundtrack with The Who, Ann-Margret, Tina Turner, Eric Clapton, Jack Nicholson, Elton John et. al. I don’t know that I’ve ever listened to the original album in its entirety. Excited to do so now! I must admit to being a little bit underwhelmed by some of the performances on this album. Ann-Margret, Tina Turner and Elton John outdo these performances by leaps and bounds. So there were times I wished I was listening to the movie version. But there were several points where I liked what was going on on the album better. And it would be unfair to knock this for not living up to a star-studded, full-blown theatrical version. I love ths album. A great concept supported by great music.

I don't think The Who is my style of music I do like pinball tho

Yeah yeah yeah

You know... fine, okay. I guess.

2 stars mainly because of pinball wizard

Laughably bad

It sounds a bit better whilst watching the film; although I didn't enjoy the film much either.

How the fuck are these lot considered to be such an important band? Wank.

LoAd of nonsense. Pinball Wizard lifts it to 2 stars

Rock Opera. I think that says everything you need to know about the album style. It smoothly moves from one song to another with seamless transition. While I feel Quadrophenia may be their opus, the album has left a long impression on many music fans through the generations.

Really nice listen

There were some good songs on it but it was way too long. 2.5

Blijft lastig, iets te veel een rockopera voor mij

Ja, gewoon helemaal kut dit dus! Wat een gejank.

Hele zit, maar wel ontzettend goed gedaan. En gewoon een goede band.

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!

Tsja. Hier en daar een beetje theatraal, maar zeker acceptabel.

I like the concept, but parts of this have dated awfully, especially the "humourous" bits.

Fun, original, 4.5

No more late 60s. Fuck. Off. 2/5.

test

Pinball Wizard was a staple of my childhood. I knew there was a full story across this double LP rock opera, but I never really paid attention to the story until today, and now I’m eager to spend several more hours with this album and to watch the movie. The overture has that great French horn, sets up the premise with a few lines, and ends on a wonderful guitar rift. 1921 is delightful and soothing, which hides the horrific gaslighting lyrics as the parents tell Tommy he didn’t see a murder. Although, I do wish I had listened more to “Got a feeling ‘21 is going to be a good year” more last year. I loved Underture! A wonderful rock symphony. The guitar, the rumbling kettle drums. Oh, momma! I’m a huge fan of funk, so sign me up for more Smash the Mirror! I jammed to the piano in Sally Simpson. The whimsical Tommy’s Holiday Camp makes me smile and laugh at the absurdity of this crazy amazing journey. This weekend I plan to listen to it again on vinyl and read the lyrics in real time to go another layer deeper. PS - the intro to Pinball Wizard will be my new walkout music

It is musical feat that I appreciated more when I was in college.

The best moments for me come with the Who's special brand of pop/rock in tracks like 'The Acid Queen', 'I'm Free' and the absolute classic 'Pinball Wizard'. There's also a few daft moments from Keith Moon, like 'Tommy's Holiday Camp' and 'Uncle Ernie' (albeit with a sinister story). The rest is powerful rock music that's well played and sung. Like most double albums, it does sag in places, still this is a knockout classic album.

I remember watching this film and finding it slightly troubling. without the film this is just a massive pile of shite. there's nothing endearing the storytelling is non existent and the music sucks ass. seems a shame cos the who have created some great songs. just seems they disappeared up their own ass with this. also the lighthearted abuse by fiddling seems a funny thing to joke about.

The Who were so much better than this

Why, Who? Why?

No doubt that at the time it was produced, this was an ambitious and epic undertaking, considered a milestone album in the history of rock music. Feels that it hasn't dated particularly well, certain points felt like an endurance test. Was it worth listening? Yes. Did I enjoy it? No, not really.

Decent, but not their best

This is more impressive in its scope and ambition than it is actually very enjoyable to listen to…

Not their best album, not even their best double album (Quadrophenia is more consistent), but completely with the zeitgeist in the late sixties, hence it's the one Who album everyone has head of.

The Who's: Tommy stands apart from other Who material for me. This sorta album was not being done at the time and though they can make better music, looking at what was created with this rock opera, the legendary status of it can not be denied. I just have to compartmentalize this from the rest of The Who discography. For me personally, I'd give it a 3. For the impact it made on culture and what have you, at least 4 stars.

This album coined the term Rock Opera. Regardless of what I think about the music, I have to at least appreciate it for the courageous step out of the norm that it is.

Hearing it right now. I like The Who, this album seems to be a masterpiece, but I just didn't have the time to dive deep into it today. Maybe I'll listen to it again in the future, in a less busy moment.

Great album

Well worth every bit of praise it gets.

Surprisingly good!

Jour 2 - Très ancré dans son époque. Les autres de the Who sont à mon avis meilleur J'ai juste pas aimé. 2

I wonder if it is possible to submit reviews for others

A rock opera about a boy who is blind, deaf, and mute but sells his soul to an old gypsy woman in order to become a world class pinball player by playing with his sense of smell. I didn’t have enough LSD on hand to enjoy it the way it’s meant to be enjoyed, but it’s a true original and a great classic rock album.

Wow, what a trip. I went through a big Who phase in my teens. I've listened to this album probably 30 times and every time it makes me stop what I'm doing to listen to every lyric. It's so so so good. Not many of these songs would be considered some of their greatest hits, but every song is fantastic in its story telling. How can he be saved??? See me. Feel me. Touch me. Heal me. Favorite Tracks: Overture, Christmas, Cousin Kevin, Pinball Wizard, and I'm Free.

Musical theater in a bad way :/ much much much prefer the wall

Not my thing.

Pinball wizard rb2 memories

I've had to sit through several tragic high school productions of the stage musical inspired by this album. I'm not sure I'll ever really be able to appreciate it properly. I went into this with an open mind but it gave me unpleasant flashbacks.

It is a fairly bloated album. Fair play for trying to pull this off but they have better albums - the subject matter of pinball, pop-culture messiah and paedos is probably not for everyone. Where's the book Pete? Best Tracks: 1921; Pinball Wizard; We're Not Gonna Take It

Pinball Wizard was great. The rest was just okay. Interesting concept, but not for me!

Incredible. Loved the Album front to back. Had heard the big hits before on thr Album but they work much better in chronological order.

A couple of good points but mostly background music.

Pretentious, overblown, and up its own bottom. I still rather enjoyed it.

the words "rock" and "opera" should always be separated by a great deal of lorem fucking ipsum

3.5

Pretty great album. Never really listened to the whole thing before. 3/5

I preferred the film version.

Catchy rock, elguitar riffs, fængende

lots of tracks that have no words so I zone out. i liked pinball wizard and tommy's holiday camp. they were funky.

I wasn't sure I'd heard it in one sitting before, but I'd heard all the tracks before. It was good but I think I'll try the live version that came as bonus with my cd of 'Live In Leeds'. I love the sound on it, and if Tommy live has that same, beefed up, sound. I imagine it'll be the version I spin.

some classics on here but pretty long...

Kooky.

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??

This is definitely one of the first cohesive concept albums/rock operas ever released by a band which means it definitely earns a spot on this list; however, I feel that it was a bit pretentious and overly long for what it was. Don't get me wrong: I had a fun time listening to the whole album and thought there was plenty of variety and great instrumentation here, but I can't help but feel that it came across as a bit generic and repetitive at times. While the concept was carried throughout the whole album, the overall story was not very clear to me upon my first listen. Maybe this is something that becomes more apparent in subsequent listens, but typically an album of this sorts makes its characters and plot clear from the start and has story beats that carry this all the way to the end. With 'Tommy', I did not feel a strong connection to this concept which just left me listening to it as a random collection of songs. When looking at it through this lens, I don't think it's their best work from a songwriting and arrangement perspective (although I have not heard a ton of Who material). This one has the potential for me to truly understand and respect it more, but I am not sure that there was enough here even in its long length to make me want to come back for sure. Overall, I enjoyed this one and understand its spot on this list, but it wasn't as great as some people might think it is. 3/5.

* too instrumental. Great beats and riffs not backed by lyrics.

I have a difficult time with concept albums, especially with linear story lines. I don't feel there is enough for me to grab on to and follow through in the music. The guitar work ranges from great to mediocre, but i think this would be worth another spin. Undertone is a good self contained groove. Pinball Wizard kicks ass. Sally Simpson is a cool groove. We're not Gonna Take It/See Me, Feel Me doesn't feel powerful enough musically to match the lyrical content cap of the album.

Certainly an ambitious project but Tommy really is all over the place. I only saw the musical about two months back thanks to NetflixUK and my reaction to that was 'what did I just watch', the album by itself feels even more abstract and disconnected without the imagery. That's not to say it isn't enjoyable, in parts it's almost so bad it's brilliant and it's still a pivotal album regardless.

how to disguise halfassed songwriting by telling people it's on purpose pinball wizard is sick

7/10

Tedious.

Noted for delisted but this is a groundbreaking album

Other bands that describe their albums as "concept albums" sure sound silly after you hear Tommy. I can't believe Pete was only 23 when he wrote this masterpiece.   He is also one of the best acoustic players and has the knowledge of music and the guitar that allows him to compose and play things that few others can. The strumming after the initial vocals in the  Overture shows his prowess on acoustic.  Amazing Journey is one of the best songs ever written and was made for a live Who performance as there are lots of short pauses between chords so Pete can windmill and jump, plenty of 5 second breaks from singing so Roger can twirl the mic, and ample opportunities for ass kicking drum and bass sequences. When they played Tommy  live, Amazing Journey is when the rocket that is a Who concert blasts off. Tis the season . . .  The song Christmas is amazing. Moon is on fire.  Cousin Kevin is an excellent song about the school bully. Pete asked John to write the two songs that addressed bullying and molesting since John was better at creepy songs. I guess Boris the Spider was the creepy example pre-Tommy. John stepped up and wrote two good creepy ones.   The Acid Queen was perfect for the times given the popularity of experimenting with acid.  Sure the underture is a little too long but this really is a musical so it comes with the territory. The two opening chords to Pinball Wizard are iconic. Since Pete is as far as you can get from a three chord wonder, the two chords are difficult for mere mortals. The fingering for the two opening chords are: 7x997x and 7x987x so the 1st and 5th strings must be deadened. This means strumming the other four strings very quickly while making sure the 6th string is in play but the 5th and 1st aren't. Next time a guitar is nearby, ask the best player in the room to try and make those chords sound right. And wish him luck. Some of the lesser known songs are now among my favourites.  Songs like Go To The Mirror! and Sally Simpson with excellent keyboards that I think were played by Pete?? (I wouldn't have been surprised to see an Ian Stewart credit but there are no credits for him or anyone else.) We're Not Gonna Take is an amazing finish. Yeah See Me Feel Me gets a little long the 5 millionth time I heard it. But hey, the sun rose at Woodstock when they played this song. After Jimi upstaged them by burning his guitar at Monterey, time was their friend as they evened the score at Woodstock. Who fans will tell you that this album fails to capture the energy the Who has live. Anyone who assumes the studio version of Tommy is The Who's sound would find the Live at Leeds album eye opening since it contains some of the non-Tommy songs The Who played on the Tommy tour and gives a hint of how Tommy was played live. I had a bootleg  called Gather Your Wits (a line from the Acid Queen),  that was the full concert from the Tommy tour and the difference in rawness and energy was unbelievable.  It's interesting that Pete gave Moon the songwriting credit for Tommy's Holiday Camp since Pete wrote it. I expect it was a way for him to give Moon some extra cash from the royalties. Pete also had an obscure unreleased Keith Moon composition be the B side for the Tommy single which would have also been a financial windfall for Keith.

The Overture and Underture pieces sound a bit cliched now, but in 1969 they were probably cutting-edge, and of course, apropos for the first Rock Opera. The songs seem a bit stripped down by today’s standards, more acoustic than I remember, but that makes them riper for the orchestrated and produced versions that followed. Lots of great tracks, like the series that starts with Amazing Journey. Like the album that preceded it, I’m surprised Pete does so much singing. I was going to give it a 4, but since I gave George Jones a 4....

An interesting attempt at a rock opera concept album, but I think it wears out its welcome and got very repetitive fast and could have been shortened to just one album. I look forward to hearing their later efforts which are much better eg Quadrophenia

A classic

5/10

weird

I don't like rock operas and this album didn't change that, but I didn't hate it as much as I thought I would. 2.5/5

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.

Not all the music here is tip top, but I'm giving points for sheer ambition, and for spinning a rather peculiar yarn in the process. Incidentally, when the music clicks, it's fantastic. Stuff like 'Sensation', 'Pinball Wizard', and the Overture/Underture passages are top tier Who

I don't believe I'd ever listened to this whole album before. It does feel rather unfair to write a review after one listen of something that's, if memory serves, 487 songs long. But my gut instinct tells me I'll reach for Who's Next over this every single time. I do like all things pinball though, so...

Ambitious but overly long and overblown. Quite dark at times with songs like Cousin Kevin and Fiddle About is literally about Tommy getting molested by his uncle, wtf? Anyway, there are some good tunes on here, Pinball Wizard being the highlight but overall it does drag on a bit and I think would benefit from some visuals on stage or film.

Disappointing

I liked I’m Free

Quite good

Tired of getting the same bands and music from the same decade. This shit random or not?

Before I listened to this album, the number of concept/story albums in the rock world that I liked and would listen to again was very small (Alan Parsons Project, some other prog metal, etc.). The number didn't go up after this. Forgettable, story was...eh...and music...well....no thanks.

I love a concept album. This is great in scope, I just need more listens to get the lyrics down. Likely to grow on me further

wasalt sa nofsu

Ogħġobni. Twil istja.

Meh

I actually liked this MUCH better than I thought I would. My pre-judgements coming in...too long, stupid premise, hokey songs. The premis still strikes me as stupid but the songs are so strong - what a drummer Keith Moon was - that I did not feel the album was bloated at all. very little filler and some truly transcendent musical moments. 4.5 stars

La primera gran òpera-rock de la història. He fet l'experiment d'escoltar-lo en shuffle i s'ha demostrat un gran error: sona totalment desllavassat i inconnexe. Tal com s'ha de sentir, però, reforça el seu posi històric. Malgrat que a mí sempre em va semblar més complet i disfrutable 'Quadrophenia', 'Tommy' va ser el primer i amb el qual van aconseguir arribar a l'estratosfera com a banda. I això sense gaire singles roents, més enllà de les increïbles 'I'm Free'. 'We're Not Gonna Take It' o 'Pinball Wizard', però amb un tot molt difícil d'igualar, tant en història com en composició

Pinball Wizard is the best song and naturally the most well known. There are some weird songs on this album. I have seen bits and pieces of the motion picture before but I did not watch it for this listening. I am not sure I will watch it or listen to this album again.

Pinball Wizard is a great song. Didn't love the rest.

Don’t listen to a ton of The Who but I thought this was good

A lot of short little tracks, I think I'd enjoy this more if I had watched the show beforehand or read up on the plot synopsis. As it is, it's an okay listen but I didn't connect very well to the music. Favourites: Pinball Wizard, Go to the Mirror

Quite strange and confusing, in almost an interesting way. Lots of potential here

Maybe a bit over-blown in places, but it's well-crafted & will reward multiple listens.

Es como una ópera rock. Se me ha hecho bastante bola.

This story of "deaf, dumb and blind" Tommy couldn't have been written in any other time than '69, but that's when this kind of art would be heralded as game-changing. Thus, even though the taste is questionable and the music not particularly mind-blowing, the adventurous attitude at the root of this record still reels me in.

Not a huge fan of the softer, high pitched voices used in this album. For a hard rock album, it's decidedly soft. Rock Opera is a cool concept, but some real strange tracks exist to hold the confusing narrative together. Highlight Tracks: 4, 8, 13, 21

No songs I had heard before, and unfortunately none that stood out.

Si lo curtiese más seguro me gustaría más.

Rock Operas are usually a by-word for naff. But this one is ace

This is an epic - in the sense that it is really long. Plenty of bangers are included, but can get a bit lost in the length of the album. It does take the listener of an engaging and enjoyable journey, though. That this is a rock opera is very apparent. The ebb and flow, big choruses, and narrative of musical theatre are clear, so the length gets a pass in this case and it is judged as something different (more?) than just an album of songs. 3.5/5 (for the bangers, narrative journey and a bonus half point for ambition).

O The Whosach napisalem juz wszystko co zem wiedzial na dwoch poprzednich albumach, ktore chronologicznie ustawione byly akurat miedzy dzisiejszym pickiem, magnum opus bandy jakim niewatpliwie jest Tommy, czyli plyta z gatunku oper rokowych traktujaca o gluchym, glupim i slepym biednym chlopcu zwanym Tommy, od wczesnego dziecinstwa, przez dorastanie jako wyalienowany inwalida, gnebienie w rodzienie, szukania sposobow na uzdrowienie, muzyke, znalezienie pinballowego sensu zycia, do zostania bozkiem, ktory jest wykorzystywany do robienia piniedzy przez dobrego wujaszka, a ta historia opowiedziana jest w 24 aktach, bo tyle wlasnie kawalkow ma ten 75 minutowy album, a jak to byla z dobrymi lirykami, a takimi stoi cala plyta, Pete Townshend potrafi przekazac cos wiecej niz tylko opowiesc na danym traku, a cos znacznie bardziej osobistego, jesli chodzi o strone instrumentalna plyta ta poprzedza live at leeds, ktora czerpie wlasnie z Tommiego, wiec album byl nagrywany z mysla o tym zeby go sprzedac na zywca, a polaczyc to z trzymajaca sie kupy historia to nie lada sztuka, najlpeszy zywy tommy jakie slyszalem to nagranie z Ottawy z 69, wiec z roku wydania albumu, na plycie nie ma zadnych sesyjnych muzykow, a jedynie czterech czlonkow bandy, z nietypowych instrumentali pojawia sie harmonijka, puzon lub trabka francuza, czy bonjo, ciezko wybierac plejkowe utwory z tak konceptowego albumu, ktory warto przesluchac od poczatku do konca zeby uzyskac pelnowymiarowe doswiadczenie, ale na liscie mialem juz pinballowego wizarda, to dodam jeszcze songa o leczeniu tommiego przez pimpa hawkera, eyesight to the blind i zamykajacy calosc song we are not gonna take it, gdzie kampowicze daja do zrozumienia, ze nie sa w stanie podazac za naukami pinballowej religii, ktora moze byc nawiazaniem do rewolucji dzieco kwiatowej, ktora w 69 juz zaczynala umierac, jak wszystkie albumiki piecio gwiazdkowe calosc leci na spotifajowa poleczke biblioteczna

Es un disco muy ridículo pero funciona muy bien como ópera.

No me emocionó tanto como lo otro que ha salido acá de los The Who. 7/10

Ooof, this was a little darker than I was expecting. I guess you can’t drag out pinball wizardry for a full 75mins but that didn’t prepare me for the torture of for poor inert Tommy to be his uncle’s fuckmeat. Musically it’s not doing much for me, I thought The Who were supposed to Rock, this is all jangly folk acoustic guitars. A bit forced and lame. Fun fact: how does Tommy play such a mean pinball? Answer: he’s not blind at all, it’s psychosomatic so his eyes are perfectly fine.

Pinball wizard is good. The rest of it is kind of a slog.

I want to like The Who, I hate The Who

Plenty of good musicians in the band. Why moot them? I didn’t mind it, and know it’s a concept album, but it’s probably more up Helen Keller’s alley.

Over-inflated, ludicrous storyline - but brilliant

Some classics

Who liked this? There are a few songs that are bangers but most of it is awful.

Weird story but love the music

This has big nostalgic vibes for me, since it was a large part of me growing up. Apart from a single skip, it's basically still perfect to me.

Another great one I actually have on vinyl. Never saw the play or the film, but I have loved the album. I think that's pretty incredible for a rock opera in that it really stands alone and it stands the test of time. Daltery and Townsend are a legendary duo. I went through a Who phase. They have a ton a of great songs, but when it comes to an album, I come back to Tommy every time. Who's Next and Quadrophenia are crazy good though.

Me ha resultado un poco largo

My second favorite The Who album, the one that firmly established the rock opera genre (although SF Sorrow came first). I argue it is also the second best rock opera after The Wall. Production is among the best of the era. Lyrics are clear and spread out enough for people to understand what's going on. The short interludes help with the synopses, while the songs may be short or long but covers some central theme in Tommy's story. The music, often hard, psychedelic, or orchestral, perfectly reflects the subject. Tracks blend in really well, and it truly does feel like listening to a movie. There's a lot of diversity in these tracks, but besides "Pinball Wizard," I'm not hearing any hits. (Oh fun fact, pinballs were illegal at the time of this album release, so the song showed Tommy as a social rebel.) They could all just fly by if you're not paying attention. It doesn't help that the album's double in length, so a bunch of not-so impressive songs with lyrics you need to pay attention to can be an unappealing experience. The psychedelic instrumentals help keep things interesting for the most part. The opening track was a great choice, but the closing track felt a little rough. These weaknesses would normally justify a 3 star rating, but the fourth star comes from the storytelling, innovation, and diversity in tracks. Favorite Tracks: Sparks, Eyesight to the Blind, Christmas, Underture, Pinball Wizard

Goes on a bit, some great tracks and a lot of filler IMO, doesnt change my mind on rock operas

Haven't listened to this in quite awhile. I was never a massive Who fan back in the day but I thought this held up really well and was very interesting to listen to all the way through and follow the story. A lot of it I never really picked up on before. Cool shit.

Classic!

Mostly good - better than I was expecting, but too many off tracks for me

😍

A very cohesive rock opera record that at times can test your endurance with long instrumental parts, without much textual substance. It has a greatly unique quality however, and I admit it deserves its status as a classic. Just not in classic territory for me personally.

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.

The first real rock opera!!!

I'm conflicted about The 'Oo. Daltrey must be the worst singer ever to become a rock Gos after Dylan. Townsend lurches from writing absolute classics to ridiculous nonsense. Most of this album falls into the latter. Sometimes I love them, but other times (like this) I just wonder what they were thinking.. Rock opera? Well if you must, Pete, but I'd prefer Who's Next instead, please.

Liked though couldn't listened to the end.

The real OG rock opera. It has that classic Who sound, but unfortunately I think the narrative is muddy to say the least; unfortunate, considering what I was hoping for out of a rock opera. The music itself was pretty consistently fun, however. Even more interesting is knowing how this project almost acted as a vehicle for Townshend to explore his own traumas and spirituality; that honestly is the most interesting part of it all for me.

A sort of depressing loop, but purely cinematic and and wonderful. My only complaint is that songs tended to be incredibly samey.

I loved Tommy the first time I heard it. But then I heard Quadrophenia and realised everything the band did better. Tommy has aged much worse in my book, with a story which hangs together by a thread with an awkward mix of molestation and whimsy. The amount of short \"filler\" tracks wears thin, as does the long \"Underture\" jam to fill out time. I also much prefer the energy that \"Listening to You\" has in concert or in the 1975 film. At its best, Tommy showcases the Who as an ensemble of peerless musicians and must have been powerful live. Christmas, Pinball Wizard, Go to the Mirror... all classics. I have to appreciate the scope and ambition behind it as well, so this gets 3* from me.

This album is an utter, rotten mess. There is one hit and the rest is stream-of-conciousness rot. There's no structure to most of the songs and the story they tell is utterly reprehensible and pointless. The ONLY reason this is getting 2 stars is because "Pinball Wizard" is still pretty good, though I don't like it as much as I did before I had this album as context. What a waste of time.

I really love it this far, it's a long album though. That's a four for some reason :))

It’s good. It’s really good. But it does drag in some spots- some of the instrumental interludes kinda drag, even within the lyrical focused songs. Most of the time it’s awesome, but when it drags-it DRAGS. Still, some amazing song writing and performances from The Who. On the flip, the good stuff is REALLY good. Definitely would recommend, just pack your patience for some dull parts.

словом, мы все больны пинболом... ну что сказать, 69 год. По прослушивании метался немного, делать ли скидку на время выхода, и по итогу решил немного сделать. С другой стороны этот альбом - буквально отец того ебучего рака, который уничтчожает нормальную музыку, и имя ему - КОНЦЕПТУАЛЬНОСТЬ. Да, это прородитель всех этих сюжетных альбомов и рок-опер, самого душного и графоманского говна. И это слышно, лол! По сути оценивать это как музыкальное произведение вообще смысла не имеет - музыки тут хуй да нихуя. Все инструменталы блеклые и одинаковые, хотя в начале вроде был задел на музло с какими-то дудочками, там, синтами. Но почему-то всё это очень быстро испарилось, и остался только унылый гитар плакинг (а здесь 24 песни, на секунду!) Но, конечно, не музыкой единой, у нас же тут ИСТОРИЯ, а значит надо слушать тексты, читать справочные материалы и смотреть (естественно!) фильм, снятый по альбому. Последнее, естественно, я делать не буду, а вот первыми пунктами озаботился. Про историю я уже упоминал как-то у себя на канале - она на самом деле довольно рофляная. Вкратце: пиздюк видит, как батя-мореход убивает любовника его матери и слепнет/глохнет от охуения. Потом его травят, ебут и всё такое, а потом он становится всемирно известным игроком в пинбол (лол), потом мессией и в конце его вроде как опять ебут прихожане (но это не точно). Ну типа история-то не самая унылая, это вам не горгород! Но всё-таки понять её можно исключительно из пересказа на википедии - собрать самому разрозненные тексты песен в цельную истори решительно невозможно. Даже учитывая, что там ОЧЕНЬ много тупо прямолинейного сторителлинга, типа "Я кузин Томми, я хулиган, сейчас я буду его пиздить и пытать, ахаха какой я злой!". Ну в итоге и получается, что единственный адекватный вариант получить от этого продукта удовольствие - это прочитать сначала сюжет, потом с гениусом сидеть читать тексты, ну и всё, собственно. А, фильм ещё, да! Надеюсь ни по одному альбому больше никогда не снимут фильм. В итоге что имеем? Ну, есть пара в целом слушабельных треков: The Acid Queen (наверное самый приятный), Eyesight to the Blind (это шестой трек, и только на нём начинается хоть какая-то музыка на альбоме), Christmas (самое близкое к песне, которую можно понять без контекста сюжета), Pinball Wizard (куплеты бодрые, припев хуйня какая-то), ну и мульяшная Tommy's Holiday Camp (напоминает музыку из губки боба или типа того). Вообще плюс-минус ровный пробег нормальных песен начинается только под конец - последние три трека немного напряжения дают. Но всё равно в целом это унылейший экспириенс, интересный лишь как историческая справка и какая-никакая веха в развитии музыки. Впрочем, в отличие от многих других альбомов, к которым у меня в этом списке претензия из разряда "как это вообще сюда попало", здесь могу сказать, что попало не зря. Ну важный альбом, в целом. Жалко, что не интересный. 6/10

Enjoyed the live half of this more than I typically do. Lots of classics, and of course got Pinball Wizard stuck in my head for hours after this.

Wow! Een Engelse vertaling van "Di-rect doet Tommy". Vandaag luister ik beiden naast elkaar om goed te vergelijken. Ik hoor bij The Who veel Supertramp, maar ook Beatles en Queen. Zang is net als bij Di-rect soms een beetje vals, maar de muziek is echt geniaal. Favorieten zijn nummers als "Pinball Wizard / Flipper Koning" en "I am free / Were vrij" maar ook vele anderen zijn prachtig gecomponeerd. Zeer melodieus en met gevoel. Naar het einde wordt het album alleen maar beter. Met als hoogtepunt het nummer "We are not gonna take it / Niemand van ons pikt dit" waarin het hele album samenkomt. Na afloop van deze twee albums ook nog effe de film gekeken. Nu valt alles op zijn plaats. Wat is dit een fijne verrassing op een volledig vrije dag. ****

Top album!

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.

// Favs: – Score: Light 3

Opera rock

It's long, and self-indulgent, and it's not perfect. But it's damn good. Concept albums are always a tricky business because it's hard to pull it off without sounding like you're patting yourself on the back for the whole thing, lauding how clever you are. And the idea of this album, as narrative heavy and out-there as it is, is certainly lofty and far-fetched. But in all fairness, the writing, imagination, and delivery on this album are great. The whole album works as a single body of work, while also having some excellent single material, like Pinball Wizard, I'm Free, The Acid Queen... and both Overture and Underture are a delight to listen to. It does feel bloated at times, and at it's points of greatest contrivances, it is a bit ridiculous. But you've got to say that in as far as they could, they pulled this one off

It's kind of a shame that this album developed a reputation as the great early rock opera, since The Pretty Things did it first (and better) with S.F. Sorrow. It's not great, not terrible - just like everything else The Who has ever done. Best track: Pinball Wizard

What a drag.

Truly epic! There's a reason that this is THE quintessential rock opera. Jam packed with fun, rock n' roll, and cameos.

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

Gave it a listen, have always been aware of this but never listened to anything other than pinball wizard until now. Really cool concept and can see how it would have been awesome in it's time and context. Doesn't really do it for me listening to it today.

Watched the film a long time ago, it was nice to revisit the music

Saw this play as a kid. Listening took me back. Very clear that it was for a play, lots of consistency in some of the melodies that appear through the album. A classic.

Until today, known as the album William Miller was told to listen to with a candle burning so he could see his future. Zooey Deschanel knows of what she speaks of. Listen to this thing in order as the rock opera Townshend intended it to be. Both surprised and not surprised by how much I love this thing. Does Townshend sing lead on too many of the songs? Probably, but this is his baby, and Daltrey does justifiably handle lead vocals on the most famous song ("Pinball Wizard"). I have a sneaky suspicion a number of Who albums could get 5 ratings from me. And this is somewhere between a 4 and a 5. It's just a little too long. Maybe I just need to light a candle while listening to it.

Have heard many times. Some great songs, some not so much. Weird story makes me worry about Pete Townsend.

Better story than it is music. Famous concept album But for me not all the songs are that great. It’s definitely better as a whole but only a few songs are enjoyable as standalone pieces. 7.3/10

Slow, relaxing and airy rock. Lots of instrumentals so far. Album seems like it needs to be felt as an experience and in the right setting.

Had high expectations of this as a story based album, but the songs were boring leaving me not caring about the narrative.

A wholly interesting album that screams "rock opera." The album is at times catchy (Pinball Wizard), at times disturbing (Fiddle About), but on its whole it was a joy to listen to and a feat for The Who to accomplish. Following Tommy throughout his life, I suppose it would make sense to visit all of the ups and the downs, because that is what makes up all of our lives. Parts of it put me off, but in the end the album won me over.

R Kelly did it better.

Some very good music here. Unfortunately, the concept it is so famous for brings some quite underwhelming filler tracks.

I mean, it's Tommy. I don't know what else to say.

Good album with some classic who tracks. Dragged on a bit

I find it an interesting overlap between stuff like the Beatles and darker/heavier/more psychedelic 70s rock. The vocals occasionally get awful. Especially on cousin kevin. Overall, I like their later albums better. But still enjoy Pinball Wizard

not memorable, too british.

Just can’t get through it. Not invested in the concept. I don’t think it holds up otherwise.

Excellent album. Had not listened to all the way thru but knew some of the songs.

Loved the opening journey of this one!

Erstmals am Stück gehört! Tolles Album! Nicht nur wegen Pinball Wizzard!

Bei The Who gibt es noch was für mich zu entdecken eher 4-5

Oh YES YES YES!!

Such an interesting record, and I agree with Nick's sentiments that the narrative of "Tommy" feels like Townsend's cynical summary of the late 60s/Summer of Love. While this narrative is not entirely clear at times, the grand concept and sonic atmosphere of "Tommy" elevates it to a higher plane. But I wonder if the concept of a blind Tommy actually plays well into the dense storytelling. I enjoyed the interplay between the hard rock that the Who are known for, to the more fragile, softer moments. I don't think I've noticed the double tracked vocals of Daultry before, which might sound counterintuitive because of his huge voice, but it really adds to the spacey/ethereal vocals. "Tommy" feels like a signpost to show where rock music was headed into the 1970s. Fav Tracks: I'm Free, Sparks, Pinball Wizard, Underture, Go To The Mirror!, Amazing Journey Rating: 4.5/5

The tale of a boy who endures abuse, reaches stardom, becomes a messianic figure, and ultimately has his cult turn on him feels like some kind of loose metaphor for the 60s. There's something really admirable about the ambition and execution of this record: the first real rock opera. And for the most part, I think the Who hit the mark (barring a few tracks that don't quite stand up as well). I particularly appreciate how the band works so well within their musical language, rather than taking too many ill-advised detours. At its highest highs, this album is something almost otherworldly. This era, 1967-1971, is the Who at their best. Rating 4.5/5 Favourite tracks: "Go To The Mirror!", "I'm Free", "Pinball Wizard", "Amazing Journey", and "Underture"

Amazing