Tommy [2 LP] [VINYL]

Product Information

This album is super bold including a subplot that only lasts one song. It’s about the story of Sally Simpson who is a fan of Tommy’s and accidentally got slashed in the face being at the front of the stage, and then moved on and got married to someone else and forgot about him. It’s not completely relevant to the entire story but it’s such an interesting, short story that connects some of the themes and plays off the main narrative. This is one of the earliest examples of postmodern storytelling that I could think of in music. If you are still hoping to get an original UK edition of Tommy, here is my advice. Get this half-speed master edition now while you still can, then keep an eye out for any used “OG” copies that may well start showing up in the stores in the months ahead as older collectors and audiophiles purge their copies for a clean new edition. The album was commercially successful, reaching No. 2 in the UK album charts. It peaked at No. 7 in the US in 1969, [44] but in 1970 it re-entered the charts, at which time it went on to peak at No. 4. [45] It sold 200,000 copies in the first two weeks in the US alone and was awarded a gold record for sales of 500,000 on 18 August. [46] " Pinball Wizard", " I'm Free" and " See Me, Feel Me" were released as singles and received airplay on the radio. "Pinball Wizard" reached the top 20 in the US and the top five in the UK. "See Me, Feel Me" reached the top 20 in the US and "I'm Free" reached the top 40. An EP of selections from the album was planned to be released in the UK in November 1970 but was withdrawn. [47] As of 2012, Tommy has sold 20 million copies worldwide. [25] [48]

Pinball Wizard” — one of the arguable centerpieces of the album [no arguments here!—MM] — sounds brilliant, with Townshend’s acoustic guitar punctuating the mix alongside the electrics and Moon’s drums. And Roger Daltrey’s vocals on “Go To The Mirror” are simply fantastic on this LP. Mark Smotroff is an avid vinyl collector who has also worked in marketing communications for decades. He has reviewed music for AudiophileReview.com, among others, and you can see more of his impressive C.V. at LinkedIn.) Offiziellecharts.de – The Who – Tommy" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 6 December 2022. One of the most interesting things about the album is the perspective. It’s all about Tommy, clearly, but it seems to be from the point of view of other people in his life. We see a lot from cousin Kevin, uncle Ernie, his mother, and even a whole section about perspective of some random girl named Sally Simpson. With these themes of reflection, it might be very well that all these people in Tommy’s life see themselves in Tommy and by telling his story from their perspective, they’re relating their experiences to his and in some situations, like Kevin’s bullying and Ernie’s diddling, their negative actions towards Tommy might just be a reflection of their own insecurities and problems, that they choose to take out on him because he’s easy to manipulate and take advantage of. Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time". Rolling Stone. 2012 . Retrieved 19 September 2019.

Customer reviews

Neill, Andy; Kent, Matt (2002). Anywhere Anyhow Anywhere: The Complete Chronicle of The Who. Virgin Books. ISBN 978-0-7535-1217-3. a b Bayles, Martha (1994). Hole in Our Soul:The Loss of Beauty and Meaning in American Popular Music. University of Chicago Press. p.224. ISBN 0-226-03959-5. Released in 1967, The Who Sell Out was the third album released by the band and is revered for being one of the first concept albums, celebrating the short-lived pirate radio stations of the late 60s with its groundbreaking use of fake adverts and jingles between songs.

It’s a Boy”, “‘21”, “Amazing Journey”, “Eyesight to the Blind (The Hawker)”, “Christmas”, “Cousin Kevin”, “The Acid Queen”, “Do You Think It’s Alright?”, “Fiddle About”, “Pinball Wizard”, Go to the Mirror!”, “Tommy Can You Hear Me?”, “Smash the Mirror”, “Sensation”, “Sally Simpson”, “I’m Free”, “Welcome”, Tommy’s Holiday Camp”, and “We’re Not Gonna Take It” Eder, Bruce. "Tommy – As Performed by the London Symphony Orchestra". AllMusic . Retrieved 18 August 2014. By 1968, Townshend was unsure about how the Who should progress musically. The group were no longer teenagers, but he wanted their music to remain relevant. [12] His friend, International Times art director Mike McInnerney, told him about the Indian spiritual mentor Meher Baba, [13] and Townshend became fascinated with Baba's values of compassion, love and introspection. [14] The Who's commercial success was on the wane after the single " Dogs" failed to make the top 20, and there was a genuine risk of the band breaking up. [15] The group still performed well live and spent most of the spring and summer touring the US and Canada, [16] but their stage act relied on Townshend smashing his guitar or Keith Moon demolishing his drums, which kept the group in debt. Townshend and Kit Lambert realised they needed a larger vehicle for their music than hit singles and a new stage show, and Townshend hoped to incorporate his love of Meher Baba into this concept. [17] He decided that the Who should record a series of songs that stood well in isolation but formed a cohesive whole on the album. He also wanted the material performed in concert, to counter the trend of bands like the Beatles and the Beach Boys producing studio output that was not designed for live performance. [18] This might seem acceptable, though tragic, but even after all of this abuse, once Tommy becomes the Pinball Wizard, his family again tempts and exploits the boy. This would certainly lend credence to the notion that Pete was abused as a child and that his parents ignored him until he became rich and famous, only then wanting their share of his fame. Townshend, Pete (1993). Tommy: The Musical. Pantheon. 173 pp. + a CD w/ the song I Can't Believe My Own Eyes. ISBN 0-679-43066-0. Also titled The Who's Tommy: The Musical.Hurwitz, Nathan (2014). A History of the American Musical Theatre: No Business Like It. Routledge. p.225. ISBN 978-1-317-91205-7. Tommy remained in the Who's live set through the rest of the year and into 1970. In October 1969, the Who played six shows at the Fillmore East, where Leonard Bernstein praised them for their new music. [95] The group's show on 14 December at the London Coliseum was filmed for a possible future Tommy feature. [96] Lambert was keen for Tommy to be taken seriously and wanted the Who to perform at opera houses. [97] In June 1970, the group performed two shows at the Metropolitan Opera House, which was the first time Townshend announced the show as being the "last Tommy ever". [98] The group made a second trip to the Isle of Wight, appearing at the 1970 festival on 29 August, before an audience of 600,000. [87] The last live performance for 1970 was at The Roundhouse, London on 20 December. Townshend said "This is the very last time we'll play Tommy on stage", to which Keith Moon promptly cried, "Thank Christ for that!" [99]

In 1998, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for "historical, artistic and significant value". [48] In 2000 it was voted number 52 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums. [66] In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Tommy number 96 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, [67] it maintained the rating in a 2012 revised list, [68] and was re-ranked at number 190 on the 2020 list. [69] The album is one of several by the Who to appear in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. [70] According to Acclaimed Music, it is the 132nd most ranked record on critics' all-time lists. [71] Atkins, John (2000). The Who on Record: A Critical History, 1963–1998. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-0609-8. Christgau, Robert (25 January 1983). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York . Retrieved 3 July 2013. Dimery, Robert; Lydon, Michael (2011). 1001 Albums: You Must Hear Before You Die. Hachette UK. p.455. ISBN 978-1-84403-714-8. The new half-speed mastered Tommy sounds especially nice in the lows and mids, yet with natural highs. There is a good sense of dynamics that allows you to turn up the volume without everything falling apart, and things getting harsh. Indeed, this new Tommy felt bigger when I increased the volume on the “Sparks” section (one of my favorites on the album, along with “Underture”). Keith Moon’s drums resonate massively in a quite three-dimensional sense, much more so than on the U.S. pressing. Listen for those intense tom-tom fills on “Eyesight To The Blind” — and then, when guitarist Pete Townshend is soloing, close your eyes to immerse yourself in the studio space.So, coupled with the aforementioned hi-res editions, I was contented enough over the years with the versions of Tommy that I do have. I eventually upgraded my much-loved and played American copy of Tommy — which got me through high school and college in the late ’70s and early '80s, truth be told — with a nice, near-mint copy that sounds pretty good for what it is. (Yes, I know, dear AP friends, the UK version would likely trounce it.) Rather then the music, I am speaking to the concept of the album here, where for me, the notion of the story of Tommy is akin to the notion of a rape fantasy, where the girl has been awakened to her sexuality, even though by rape, and has now blossomed into a raving beauty, strong and secure, perhaps even glad that she had been deflowered in such a violent manner ... no longer young, deaf, dumb or blind. But this work is far more insidious and dark, and perhaps true on a subconscious level for Mr. Townshend. Both super deluxe editions of these albums contain Townshend's home studio demos, which he presented to the band for them to record properly. While we wouldn't exactly urge anyone to spend the exorbitant sums required just to hear those demos, they are fascinating. Many of those albums' finer details – especially Quadrophenia's synthesised horns, synthesiser washes and drum fills – were all laid down by Townsend before the band gave them muscles and energy and vocals. The demos aren't as good as the finished albums, but hearing the songs emerge from monochrome to Technicolor offers a much fuller glimpse into the band's creative process than anything before. Tommy and Quadrophenia could have been longer too Kisselgoff, Anna (9 February 1981). "Dance: Ballets Canadiens". The New York Times . Retrieved 16 October 2014.

In 1970 Ferdinand Nault of the Montreal ballet group Les Grands Ballets Canadiens created the first dance-based adaptation of Tommy. [105] The ballet performance toured New York in April 1971, which included a light show and accompanying films by the Quebec Film Bureau. [106] [107] 1971 Seattle Opera production [ edit ] Christgau, Robert (1969). "Robert Christgau's 1969 Jazz & Pop Ballot". Jazz & Pop . Retrieved 17 April 2014.

Cawthorne, Nigel (2005). The Who and the making of Tommy. Unanimous Ltd (Vinyl Frontier 5). pp.224. ISBN 1-903318-76-9 Bargreen, Melinda (22 July 2005). "Glynn Ross, 90, turned Seattle into opera destination". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on 24 May 2011. The Who continued to play a smaller selection of Tommy live in subsequent tours throughout the 1970s. [102] They revived Tommy as a whole for its twentieth anniversary during their 1989 reunion tour, reinstating the previously overlooked "Cousin Kevin" and "Sensation" but still omitting "Underture" and "Welcome". Recordings from this tour can be found on the Join Together live album and the Tommy and Quadrophenia Live DVD. The Los Angeles version of this show featured Phil Collins as Uncle Ernie, Patti LaBelle as the Acid Queen, Steve Winwood as the Hawker, Elton John as the Pinball Wizard, and Billy Idol as Cousin Kevin. [103] [104] Other incarnations [ edit ] 1970 Les Grands Ballets Canadiens [ edit ] a b Segretto, Mike (2014). The Who FAQ: All That's Left to Know About Fifty Years of Maximum R&B. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-480-39253-3 . Retrieved 6 October 2019.