Tommy

Meh. Late 60s, rock opera, double LP. Too long and most songs sounds very similar.

not as turd as i remember it being last time i listened to it. its a huge self indulgent ego stroking project from townsend but the less said about townsends stroking habits the better. speaking of nonces, not a big fan of listening to any song about noncing. only a nonce thinks a noncey uncle is an integral part to a rock opera. reading the synopsis on wiki did make listening to it more understandable, though it is a plotline that holds up about as well as something from Hollyoaks.

Not impressed, not quadrophenia. May work better as a live/stage preformance

The Who is definitely a band I’ve listened to before and tried to get into at some point in my life; their music never really stuck, but this album is great nonetheless. I see why it’s highly praised. Honorable mentions: Cousin Kevin and Acid Queen.

It has some nice songs but it drags on too much. By the second hour it was really hard to find this enjoyable. By the end, I no longer cared about the overall story, so I guess rock operas are not my thing.

Topic

Liked this album

Good album although didn't finish it but would listen again.

That feels sacrilegious, tbh, but I’m writing this as a review hearing it now, not as a product of its times, primarily. It is of course a genre-busting revelation. But wow, the politics of this record do not hold up at all. Disability as metaphor is so tired, and the way sexual violence is portrayed is um, problematic, to say the least. That said, I enjoy the storytelling, and musicianship, and the vision of it all, and also too, I found a fair number of songs to just be boring? And, there are some great lines, harmonies, and sweet memories of singing along to it with my dad as a kid. (edited)

Boring/meh

I know The Who are one of the most influential rock bands, but this is the first album I've listened to. I've got to say, I love this! Would love to see the this production on stage.

Veel beter einde dan begin. Het concept van een rock opera is heel tof. Werkt wel beter als je het verhaal eens leest.

Speciaal album. Sommige nummers zijn best oké, andere vind ik helemaal niets

Not what I expected tbh, not a fan

I think I'm just not into Rock Operas. It has some good songs for sure, but it's more filler than killer.

Escutei metade, incrível!!

Groundbreaking for its time with some fine tracks but overall an underwhelming experience

Some good musicianship. Hit and miss with the songs but some strong ones in there to make up for the weaker ones. Pinball Wizard is a worldie. Album makes more sense as a soundtrack.

Couple of good tracks, couple of pompous shit tracks, mostly average guff

Not a fan.

If you're into that sorta thing. I bet I could beat that deaf dumb and blind kid at pinball.

It would probably be of more interest to me alongside the stage play but I couldn't be assed with this as a stand-alone album.

Cool story song and theme about Tommy but not a big fan of the lyrics “we’re going to rape you”

3-4 absolute classics don’t hide the fact this is a bloated mess.

Mmmm I was a massive Pearl Jam Fan in High School, so had an understanding that The Who was a good band, but just never really got into it. Never listened to this album, but know the story, which is super wierd and interesting. After the first listen...not for me. Sorry Eddie! 24 tracks! For such a long album, I don't think they needed to repeat the chorus so many times in so many songs... Really like the drama of Overture and Underture and Pinball Wizard is the standout track

Ik vind het niet heel mooi. een tikkeltje te bizar

It's cool but not for 2 hours

pretty good rock n roll

Great

Not bad for the first choice.

Not really my style, but good music!

I mean all Who jokes aside this one is kinda boring

First great who album

Álbum triple (en Spotify solo 2), con disco en estudio y otro en directo donde se puede apreciar el tipo de rock de principios de los 70. En ocasiones guitarrero, algún tema que ha llegado hasta hoy y buenas sensaciones, aunque no me ha llegado a llenar del todo

What a stark difference between this and their prior album. I could not get into this one and I think that's because all my favorites are on the other album and besides those the Who kinda just feels like folksy UK music. Didn't even feel like rock music. Mixing between one minute songs and ten minute songs on an album with 24 total songs feels a lot like the preamble to Drake's Scorpion.

Remembered this from the musical. Still like it

Simplesmente foda

Didn't finish because it was toooo long. But I enjoyed very much. I thought The Who were harder, this was like too soft. Really good, though!

As a double album, it's tough to listen to all the time, but it is dramatic and playful all at once. It's nice to be able to listen to one song (the intro), and really get the feel of the whole album.

Listened to half. It felt so pretentious.

Classic! One of the original rock musicals. Some controversial themes. Great music

A classic

Prior to this I’d only probably heard the singles/famous songs off this album, so it was cool to finally listen to the whole album. Overall, the album was good, but nothing really grabbed me (other than the songs I already knew). Also the story of this concept album is a bit odd at times and not super compelling. However, it’s iconic and I’m glad I listened to it.

lukewarm

no

Pinball Wizarddd

don't like

Enjoyed it but i felt like it dragged on a little bit.

Interesting narrative weaved throughout, recognized the pinball song but otherwise unfamiliar with The Who. Felt like relatively standard rock stuff, some cool sounds sprinkled throughout though.

Meh

This is a tough one to give a 5 to. I didn't find it a particularly enjoyable album, frankly, but it's clearly competent musically. I'm giving it a 5 mostly for its sheer scope and ability to make you feel things, even if it wasn't always pleasant.

I knew many of these songs before listening to the album in full, but it was great to hear them all connected to better understand the full concept

Dear Diary....it's been about 20 days since our last Who album. I fear we may never hear another band again. Out of morbid curiosity, I looked and saw only five Who albums on this list, and we've had four in our first 80. Something tells me these things are like the heads of the Hydra—for each one you finish, two more are created. Tommy is in an interesting experiment that overstays its welcome. The movie was entertaining, but not even "Pinball Wizard" is worth 75 minutes of generic opera-rock. Technically this fits in the "classics week" category, but it's not a classic for my taste. Favorite tracks: Pinball Wizard, I’m Free, Acid Queen. Album art: Intriguing design, I can tell someone worked hard on this. It’s very recognizable but doesn’t hold much weight for me. I’ll always think the “Who’s next?” cover is their best. 3/5

Siempre he sido demasiado fan del pinball; si tuviera suficiente dinero una larguísima fila de máquinas sería uno de los proyectos sin sentido que seguramente realizaría de inmediato. En algún momento entre los 13-14 años estando en las maquinitas vi una máquina que tocaba una y otra vez el inicio de una canción y eventualmente se quedó embebida en mí "Ever since I was a young boy I've played the silver ball From Soho down to Brighton I must have played 'em all But I ain't seen nothing like him In any amusement hall That deaf, dumb and blind kid Sure plays a mean pinbaaaaaall DU-DU DU-DUN DU-DUUUUUUUN" Y básicamente, eso fue lo que me llevó a conocer a The Who, no había escuchado Teenage Wasteland, quizá conocía My Generation pero no los relacionaba, no sabía nada y me dediqué a buscar una ópera rock de la nada por un pinball. En su momento se me hizo el disco revelación de mi vida, quizá no me interesaba aún realmente por el mensaje en la música (que de hecho la "historia" y letras creo desde ese entonces se me hacía medio vagas y ahora las compararía con un viaje espiritual tipo canción Led Zeppelin sin sentido pero que dura una hora y media) pero musicalmente se sentía el contar una historia, la variación de canciones pero manteniendo siempre el sentido del album, esas partes que ahora entiendo como leit motifs. En su momento a mis 13 se me hizo una cosa brillante de genios. Hoy en día me sigue gustando, quizá no a ese nivel. Lo que tengo que admitir, tanto para bien como para mal es que es la VERDADERA Opera Rock (no, ni The Wall ni Quadraphenia y nada... es este) tiene overtura, interludios, una historia que se sigue por tejido narrativo y no solo por ideas conceptuales, es ambicioso, es un musical entero es... operático. Lo malo es que también siento que esa ambición hoy, analizada con calma, trabaja un poco en su detrimento en cuanto a que no se puede realmente apreciar como disco e historia, musicalmente escucharlo termina con pedazos que se sienten sobran, ese dramatismo de sentirse tal cual como si fuera un musical hace que solo pienses que estas escuchando algo incompleto (que por ejemplo no pasa ni con Quadraphenia ni con The Wall). Disco super ambicioso, grande, muy muy bueno pero quizá "too big for it's own good" lo detiene de llegar a la cima.

Probably a classic

Epic and nostalgic

You can definitely give props for the rock opera attempt... it is interesting, and something that i amazingly love when it comes to quadrophenia. this album doesn't have any great songs (i'm free and pinball wizard are probably my least "favorite" popular who tracks). still originality and style shine through.

Great

Interesting to know this is a concept album. Some good songs here and there, but I am having the same experience I have had previously with The Who, which is to say I just can't really get into them.

It was ok. None of the songs connected with me on the 2 play throughs.

Interesting sound and chorus. Melodies are all over the place. The voice of the artist is a little high pitched but it's pleasant to hear.

1.5 i don't get it

Kind of got bored with this album for some reason.

I used to love this when I was a nipper and I think it mostly held up til around the middle where it gets a bit boring. Also, why is there so much rape/molestation craic on this album? Like a concept album about a wee fella playing pinball doesn’t seem like the right venue?

really don’t like the who as much as I used to. 2.5

Definitely sounds like a rock opera.

got bored

Production: 8/20 Songwriting: 6/20 Innovation: 9/20 Bangers: 5/20 Emotional response: 5/20 =33 Booooooring

The first real rock opera and certainly one of the greatest. I have to admire the vision and bravery it took to bring this project to completion. And I love that the arrangements were such that they could essentially play the whole of it live. Not bogged down with an orchestra and the like. Can you imagine seeing this live back in the day? My stepdad did and said they played Tommy through, then took an intermission and came back and basically played a whole nother set worth of their other material. The energy and stamina each of them possessed! Some absolute anthems in here. Only thing that really threw me off was "Tommy's Holiday Camp"

This was a trip down to Wikipedia. I can admire the idea of the rock opera, but in some ways this one feels a bit self-indulgent. It feels somewhat exploitive of the idea of a "deaf, dumb, blind kid" as well as abusive situations of said character. I doubt that was their intention, but it's a peculiar choice. I suppose it's "edgy" of those times, now it just feels kind of try-hard. I can definitely respect The Who going for it though, and I think it has artistic significance. No tracks I really dislike, but nothing really speaks out either, which I suppose is potentially good as a cohesive album. There are other rock operas I would rather listen to, but I can respect it.

De este álbum conocía la canción de "Pinball Wizard". Nunca imaginé que la canción formara parte de una ópera, y conforme escuchaba la letra de las canciones entendí el por qué del nombre del disco. Me parece una idea muy genial y original. A pesar de lo original, y de haber escuchado el disco unas tres veces (por curiosidad), no me veo escuchándolo muchas veces en el futuro, excepto por Pinball Wizard. Creo que es un disco que "envejeció mal", lo cuál es una lástima.

La verdad no me gusta the who

La música que hicieron para este disco es sin duda excelente: arreglos de voces, solos de guitarra, hasta el uso de motivos que se repiten en toda la obra al estilo de la música clásica. Además, romper con la base de los sencillos comerciales de tres minutos era todavía algo novedoso en aquel entonces. No más por eso se lleva, facilito, una buena calificación. Por el lado personal, sin embargo, aunque los discos conceptuales me gustan, este a veces es muy largo y muy rebuscado dentro de su mismo concepto… Quizá la película podría ser más interesante, pues lo que me falta es ver las imágenes.

Pretty formative for me, this one. It was when I first realised that rock music can tell stories (and as a nerdy kid that loved books but wanted to be cool this was transformative). Yes it's pretentious and pompous at points, but so am I.

Need to listen again for the concept of it, nothing special from a surface listen

Some great songs. Some very forgettable ones. Album was a very long for my liking but pretty solid.

Meh

-

Too long.

A classic.

beautiful but quite a long album

Points for being one of the first Rock Operas and reoccurring motifs and cool songs like "Pinball Wizard" and "I'm Free".

idk man, not that entertaining. Just....bland

I appreciate that this album has an actual narrative compared to other concept albums of the time that were more about themes. The probably with this album is that it is boring and not good. It’s influence and benefit to the concept album is important but there is no diversity and no pieces to hold on too.

Did not like

Classic 70s concept album! Love it!

Classic! However, I really only knew Pinball Wizard, but this whole album is a banger. 'Christmas' and 'Underture' are my other stand-outs thus far.

Apparently, I like concept albums. I'm typically not a huge fan of The Who, but this one is an easy 4 stars for me.

Spotify only had disk 1 and 3 I enjoy rock opera/albums that tell a story Only listened to released album, no demo or live

Loved it! I've never listened to this album but it was an awesome journey. I can see why people went crazy for it.

Not sure what to think about it. Not really my style

heeel medium, vond het echt niet zo leuk was een chore om naar te luisteren

One of the founders of hard rock, at this moment the album isn't that special to listen to, but this was unheard of at the time.

Pinball ball wizard

Epic, and the ones that aren’t overplayed are great

Only knew a few of the songs but nothing really stood out to me on my first listen

Decided to look up the story this time and cool no one knows what the hell its about either. The music and ideas are still fun tho

Never been big on the Who, but I did enjoy this one. More of a 3.5ish. Love the idea of a rock opera, it just stretches a bit long. Keith Moon and John Entwistle steal the show on quite a few tracks, but then again, they always did. Favorite tracks: "Eyesight to the Blind", "Go to the Mirror!"

More rock operas and especially prog projects need to take cues from this album. The story is small scale, and the 75 minutes drags less than many ambitious 60-minute projects. Fine pop writing, but ultimately the instrumentation doesn't hold up the structure of the thing. A very enjoyable 3.5, but the critical acclaim baffles.