Before "Tommy" The Who was just another band like The Beatles who were your typical 60's pop group, once this album hit they evolved from those 3 minute song rockers to the complex, progressive artists driven by Townshend's power lyrics and Daultry's amazing vocals (backed by argubly the greatest drummer and bassist of all-tme). If your trying to get into this band, I would start with "Who's Next" as it showchases their biggest songs but from there you NEED "Tommy" and "Quadrophenia".

This is the album that made The Who memorable and legendary. Buy, listen, and appreciate.

Few will deny that The Who's "Tommy" remains one of the all time great classic rock albums. Although concept albums had been done before this one, "Tommy" was the first one to really catch a wave of public support and basically define just what a concept album was. There was nothing like this out there when "Tommy" was released in 1969 as The Who raised the bar for rock n roll creating a work of art instead of just an album full of songs. Of course this rock opera went on to inspire a film, all star staging's of the material, and a Broadway musical. "Tommy" is not the best concept album ever created in fact it is not even the best by The Who ("Quadrophenia" is better), but it has stood the test of time as a great musical composition and remains a great influential album. Songwriter and Who guitarist Pete Townshend began the run of his life as "Tommy" was the beginning of a 3 album creative spurt that is as good as any in the history of rock n roll. "Who's Next" and "Quadrophenia" would follow "Tommy" and all three are bona fide classics without a weak track on them that would propel The Who to the top of the heap.

This album shows a time where The Who were at their prime. The energy of these songs continue to blow newcomers out of the water. Buy this product. You'll fall in love with the greatest rock band of all time all over again. I certainly did.

the cd is a testament to pete's genius,musically and lyrically. never get tired of the who

This is the masterpiece in The Who cannon. I know some of you will say Who's Next or Quadrephenia. I could accept arguments for Who's Next, but I still give Tommy the nod because of its ambition and abundance of good melodies and good playing. Quad is way too ambitious to be enjoyable. It is as exhausting to listen to as it must have been to make. Tommy signals the end of the 60's ethos. The hippie thing had become commercialized and enlightenment would have to be pursued individually, not en masse. For the youngsters who don't get it, well, we're gonna leave you behind with the kids are alright!! You had to be there and if you weren't, this is as close as you'll ever get. And if you don't get it then you won't at all.

Alongside Days of Future Passed (Moody Blues, 1967) and In the Court of the Crimson King (King Crimson, 1969), Tommy (1969) has got to be one of my favorite rock records of all time. For me, the appeal lies with the strong melodies, the wonderfully played instrumental passages and the overall concept. I suppose too, that there are "progressive" elements to the music that are also attractive as well; elements that would be explored further on the Who's other magnum opus Quadrophenia (1973).

This concept album was evidently inspired by another (earlier) rock concept album entitled S.F. Sorrow (Pretty Things, 1968) and showcases Pete Townshend's abilities as a performer (vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, keyboards) and as an arranger/composer - what he does here on Tommy with just a few central themes is fantastic. The rest of the group is equally stunning and both Keith Moon (drums and vocals) and John Entwistle (bass, French horn and vocals) drive everything along with power and dexterity. Roger Daltry (vocals, harmonica) is an excellent and explosive singer, but is very expressive as well and nicely relates the underlying story of Tommy with help from the rest of the band. With respect to instrumentation, a host of instruments including electric and acoustic guitars, piano, organ, percussion, French horn (courtesy of John Entwistle), and most importantly rich, three-part vocal harmonies are employed. Although the effects are subtle, the varied instrumentation and vocal harmonies really add to the fullness of the recording.

While the instrumentation and instrumental tracks are collectively interesting, like everybody else, I enjoy the popular radio tunes Pinball Wizard, I'm Free, See Me, Feel Me and We're Not Gonna' Take It. Generally however, I prefer to listen to the entire album as a complete work. Speaking of which, the individual tracks that comprise Tommy are arranged in a song-cycle, with instrumental interludes positioned at key points. In addition, central themes are restated throughout the cycle, which serve to link the individual songs through which the story of Tommy unfolds. Both the song-cycle and the restatement of central themes are techniques taken from classical music and Pete uses both very well. I should note that while some folks feel that the instrumental passages constitute "filler" I am of the opinion that they work just fine and really are an integral part of the overall composition. The lengthy Underture (approx. 10:00) is a good example of an instrumental interlude on the album.

This remastered album is nice and it is pretty cool that they were able to squeeze the entire double LP album onto one compact disc. The sound quality is very good and the liner notes feature the artwork and lyrics.

All in all, this is yet another landmark recording by an English rock group that has withstood the ravages of time (unlike my old LP) and is highly recommended along with Quadrophenia.

A rock opera? A concept album? Just rock n' roll?

Eh, it doesn't really matter.

What matters is the quality of the music. There's little question that The Who have pursued a grand vision with Tommy. But what about the actual music? To some extent, the album is overrated. There's a lot here that is less than wonderful, though it's difficult to maintain the highest level of quality over such an expansive effort. But there's a lot of good, too. The album really hits its stride with "Eyesight to the Blind," starting a stretch of four great tracks that provides a great middle to the album.

The second half of the album is considerably different. It's more geared toward the story line, and the songs tend to be shorter. Despite having the album's two most famous tracks ("Pinball Wizard" and "I'm Free"), it is a weaker showing than the first half, though still generally good.

All in all, the album is good, though a bit up and down throughout. I don't think it's quite the masterpiece that it's hailed as, but it's still an interesting and enjoyable album, and certainly an ambitious one.

The Who's fourth studio (and fifth overall) album Tommy was released in May of 1969.
The Tommy album by The Who was the make or break for the group because if Tommy had failed, The Who would have probably disbanded due to lack of funds despite their concerts selling out based on Pete Townshend's guitar smashing and Keith Moon's drum kit demolishing at the end of each gig.
Guitarist Pete Townshend, under the gun after "I Can See For Miles" failed as a single in the UK (although it was their biggest ever hit here in the US) came up with a rock opera about a deaf, dumb and blind kid named Tommy whom becomes those aforementioned things after witnessing an event as a child that traumatized him (his father killing his step-father whom he considered his father).
Originally considered to be a single length album, the band felt it didn't make sense so they expanded it into a double album and the result is one of rock's Top 10 greatest double studio albums in history (alongside other classic double albums like the then-already released Jimi Hendrix's Electric Ladyland and The Beatles' White album and would help pave the way for more classics like The Rolling Stones' 1972 masterwork Exile on Main Street, The Who's 1973 release Quadrophenia, Elton John's 1973 classic Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Genesis' 1974 masterwork The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, Led Zeppelin's 1975 classic Physical Graffiti, Pink Floyd's 1979 masterpiece The Wall and Bruce Springsteen's 1980 classic The River among many others).
Alot of classics appear on this album like the "Overture", the classic Top 20 hit "Pinball Wizard", "Amazing Journey", the "Underture" (best instrumental on here which is basically a repeat of the album's other instrumental "Sparks"), "Go to the Mirror", "I'm Free", "Cousin Kevin" (one of bass player John Entwistle's greatest compositions), "Fiddle About" (about the perverted Uncle Ernie also penned by The Ox), "Tommy's Holiday Camp" (another excellent ditty written by drummer Keith Moon whom did an excellent rendition in the film version of Tommy in 1975) and the classic finale "We're Not Gonna Take It"/"See Me Feel Me".
The other tracks on the album "It's a Boy", "1921 (You Didn't Hear It)", "Eyesight to the Blind", "Christmas", "The Acid Queen", "Do You Think It's Alright", "There's a Doctor I've Found", "Tommy Can You Hear Me?", "Smash the Mirror", "Sensation", "Miracle Cure", "Sally Simpson" and "Welcome" are all great pieces as well though tend to be overlooked.
The album made The Who legends for good and peaked at #4 on the Billboard chart and was their first Gold seller (eventually Platinum).
In 1996, the album was re-released as a remastered CD but used a first generation master tape for the remixed reissue.
In October of 2003 (a few months before Tommy's 35th Anniversary), Geffen Records (formerly known as MCA) re-released the album as a 2-disc Hybrid SACD with the original 1969 mix on the CD layer and a killer 5.1 mix on the SACD layer and this version uses the very original tapes that were found in Universal's vault after being said that the original tapes were destroyed by Kit Lambert in a fire. As a result of the discovery of the original tapes, the sound quality is amazing on here.
Disc two has great outtakes and demos like "I Was", The Who trying to record Sally Simpson with hilarious results and instrumental versions of Tommy Can You Hear Me, Christmas and Tommy's Holiday Camp among many other rarities (like Dogs Part 2, Cousin Kevin Model Child) plus a cool booklet with rare photos of the band recording the album.
Highly recommended.

Still a classic after so many years. I haven't heard it in a long time and I had forgotten how great it is.

In the movie 'almost famous', when his sister leaves home she instructs him that if lights a candle, stares into it, while listening to tommy, he will see his future. the moment i first heard the into with Moon's incredible, effortless drumming, i was hooked. I downloaded the album and its utterly hypnotic. It is a classic oratorio, telling and weaving a complete story of the hero's journey, like 'handel's messiah'.

I just got this album and let me say it is one of the best i have heard. I think it is great that Pete Townshend decided to write an opera. All the songs are great and just flow the way all cds should go. But since it is an opera it should flow in order. Overature is a good song to start then just goes on after that. In my opionion Christmas and the mirror song are my favorite by the way they sound. Everyone is amazing weather it is Keith on the drums or John on bass or Roger on vocals or Pete on guitar or vocals it is just an amazing album that any who fan should own, or if you just love music from the 60's...GET IT you won't be disapointed

My mentor mentioned that playing "The Who" would help me when I am writing... especially those late night deadline crunching 2am stints to get the assignments in by 8am the next morning...
Doesn't matter what time of day (okay, yes it does... The WHo are not quite as effective before 12noon :) )... this has truly proved to inspire my creative energy and helped me flow much better.
I highly recommend for the creative types - if you get any kind of "block," throw on The Who in the background and get to work!

Although Tommy made the Who successful and Roger Daltrey into a "rock god"
I was never drawn to it. In my opinion it is better if you listen to the album from beginning to end instead of certain tracks with the exception of "Pinball Wizard", "I'm Free", and "Amazing Journey."

One reason why I was never drawn to Tommy is that I find it rather dull and tedious. Another reason is that I always thought "Fiddle About" was rather sick. However, Tommy is an important milestone not only in the history of the Who, but also in the history of rock.

Sure, there's no questioning the importance of Tommy, the Who's landmark 1969 double-LP rock-opera opus. The record, along with King Crimson's debut, is one of the founding documents of progressive rock, and among the first albums to treat rock `n' roll as a serious art form rather than a pop music flavor-of-the-decade. It's also one of the group's most popular albums, and the home of at least one signature Who tune ("Pinball Wizard"). Its position in rock history is, for better or worse, pretty much secure. But enough time has elapsed since its inception and recording to reveal that Tommy is also a bloated, pretentious mess of an album.

I mean, seriously, look at this thing: The "plot" of the opera is thinner than wax paper and full of gaping holes. The symbolism is overdone and heavy-handed, and the story swerves from incomprehensible to melodramatic, with plenty of irrelevant plot turns and head-scratching non-developments thrown in for good measure. There's not much in the way of good characterization, either. In general, the whole thing feels like a slip-shod, thrown together affair.

All of which would be mostly tolerable if Tommy were stuffed with great songs. Sadly, a lot of these tracks are here mainly to advance the plot (even though some of them serve only to muddle it). "It's A Boy," "There's A Doctor," "Smash the Mirror," "Fiddle About," "Miracle Cure," "Tommy Can You Hear Me" and "Tommy's Holiday Camp" are the most notable culprits, since none of them even seem to attempt to be enjoyable in and of themselves (even though the latter does have a certain charming silliness). Even the more substantial songs tend to fall short of excellent: "Christmas" matches an uninteresting melody with annoyingly melodramatic lyrics, while "Sensation" is generic third-rate power pop. There's also an excruciatingly stiff and pitifully un-bluesy cover of Sonny Boy Williamson's "Eyesight To The Blind," and a just-okay Entwistle tune entitled "Cousin Kevin."

So, why am I giving this thing three stars? Because the Who are the Who, that's why! Even their weaker albums had world-class songs, and Tommy's inordinate size really gives the law of averages a run for its money. "Pinball Wizard" is a rollicking classic with some fantastic power-chordage and memorable lyrics. There's also the wistful, swinging folk rock of "Sally Simpson" and the dreamy, almost psychedelic "I'm Free." We've also got the lilting "Welcome" and the merciless pound of "Acid Queen." "Amazing Journey" is intoxicating and hypnotic, and it spills into the rip-roaring instrumental that is "Sparks." "Overture," despite having a name and purpose that smack of theatrical pretention, is an engrossing and shape-shifting introduction to the album. "Underture" an unwieldy epic that, although it may overstay its welcome, does feature some great moments as well. "1921" has a melody that isn't too far from beautiful, and "We're Not Gonna Take It" brings the album to a rocking conclusion. "Go To The Mirror, Boy" is the album's hidden gem, a classic bit of crunching power pop with an absolutely spine-tingling second half.

So, influence aside, there's really only a clutch of good songs preventing this album from being a true disaster. Get it for the good tunes and the historical value, but if you want a truly great rock opera from the Who, check out Quadrophenia.

This probobly gets second place for the best The Who Albums. Quadrophenia beats Tommy by just a little. I like the way all of the songs are related like Quad. What I don't understand are the pointless 10 second songs. Like Tommy's Holiday Camp, Miracle Cure, Its a Boy, and There's a Doctor. Great movie too! Here are the top ten songs on the album.
1.Pinball Wizard
2.Christmass
3.The Acid Queen
4.Overture
5.Were Not Gonna Take It
6.Tommy Can You Hear me?
7.Fiddle About
8.1921
9.Sally Simpson
10.Underture

--Scott Schaeffer age 11

This is one of those album you have to have if you listen to the who or rock music it goes right along albums like, Dark Side Of The Moon, Are You Expirenced and Back In Black. It is such a good album it acttullay tells a story the only other album i've ever listened to that tells a story is the wall by pink floyd. Some of the best songs are, Were not gonna take it, acid queen and sparks well really every song on it in my opininon rocks and an album that changed the who's image forever from 3 minute singles to concept rock albums a dramatic change in over 1 year of time buy it now if you still have it today!

Pompous and overblown. It takes two albums to say what could have been said in one. Don't you have anything better to do than listen to this album from beginning to end?

the who in top form,pinball wizard a classic.a must in any who fans collection.a real rock opera.i seen them play marley park in dublin ireland 2007 ,still magic.

The Who's Tommy had been foreshadowed lyrically by "A Quick One, While He's Away" - which Pete Townshend referred to as "Tommy's parents" on Live At Leeds - and musically by the two-part "Rael" from The Who Sell Out. (Although I am not sure about the continuity between "A Quick One" and Tommy.) Granted, the foreshadowing was subtle, but clearly Townshend had big things in mind as The Who's stature grew. But as a "rock opera", if we are to use that term, Tommy was not an entirely original creation. It was presaged by The Pretty Things' S.F. Sorrow in 1968. Moreover, word had apparently leaked to Townshend that Ray Davies was working on Arthur, or: the Decline and Fall of the British Empire. So just as The Kinks had influenced The Who's early sound, eg, "I Can't Explain", so too would they appear to have influenced them in the middle period of their heyday.

The centerpiece of Tommy is "Pinball Wizard", whose strummed chords are among the most recognizable in rock, and which serve as a motif throughout the record. However, I should note - as others have - that it is not too far removed from the chords heard on "Old Man Going" from the previously mentioned S.F. Sorrow. (But hey, even the opening to "Stairway To Heaven" had a precursor in "Taurus" by the band Spirit.) Of the two dozen tracks on the album, this is probably the only one known to a wider audience, and rightfully so. This is an excellent single which stands well on its own, and serves as one of the pillars for an album that also includes three instrumentals ("Overture", "Sparks", "Underture") and several under one-minute adhesive pieces, which are at times reminiscent of the fake commercials on Sell Out. Among the other solid, free-standing songs are "Amazing Journey", "Christmas", "Go To the Mirror!", "Sensation", "Sally Simpson", and "I'm Free". Pete Townshend wrote all of these songs, and most of the others on Tommy. But there is also the smartly chosen cover of Sonny Boy Williamson's "Eyesight To the Blind (The Hawker)". Plus, John Entwistle's two tracks introduce the unsavory characters one would expect from him, in this case the bully "Cousin Kevin" and the alcoholic, sexually abusive Uncle Ernie ("Fiddle About").

Tommy is surely to be praised for its great songs and ambition, but also for the fact that the story holds together quite well. It is easy to criticize it for being sketchy, but no libretto can serve to illustrate every scene of an opera perfectly. Townshend obviously expected it to be presented on stage. I will not go too deeply into the plot, but it is worth pointing out the highlights. Tommy witnesses the murder of his mother's lover by his father, long thought to have been killed in World War I ("1921"). Terrified by his father's insistence that he saw and heard nothing, and that his never to tell anyone about it, he is psychologically struck deaf, dumb, and blind. His parents, bereft of hope, first seek to heal him first through a strange spiritual leader ("Eyesight To the Blind") and then hallucinagens ("The Acid Queen"). Both fail, but in the meantime Tommy discovers he has an uncanny talent for pinball, which catapults him to fame. Soon after this, his parents find a doctor who discovers that Tommy's symptoms are psychosomatic ("There's A Doctor"). The refrain of "See me, feel me, touch me, heal me" comes from Tommy, who is aware of what is happening even though he cannot express himself. Tommy is healed when his mother destroys the mirror into which he perpetually stares, and through which he saw the murder happen ("Smash The Mirror"). Thought by many to have been the recipient of a miracle, he acquires legions of followers, who too hope to have their senses revived figuratively the way Tommy's were literally ("Sally Simpson", "Welcome".) Alas, like most so-called gurus, Tommy insists that his followers gain enlightenment the same way that he did. This, coupled with the fact that Uncle Ernie is heading up the camp, cause his followers to abandon him ("We're Not Gonna Take It"). Fortunately, Tommy does not abandon himself as the latter half of "We're Not Gonna Take It" - released in single form as "See Me, Feel Me" - indicates.

If any band were to make the rock opera legitimate, The Who was surely the big band who could. Although S.F. Sorrow deserves its share of credit, and although Arthur is a better album, Tommy is the one that everyone knows about. Obviously such a large project ran the risk of being overblown, but Townshend's penchant for graceful but powerful singles and longer pieces prevented this from happening. Tommy may not be a Great album, but it is a very good one, and is worthy of its status as a major breakthough in the history of rock.

The Album is a masterpiece of all time rock n roll, even if this is "the less Who album" of the Who... but nevermind!
The Sound in both Stereo (from the original master tape discovered in the vault of UMG) and 5.1 (mixed by Pete Townshend himself) is great...
As you put the disc in your player you'll hear the great differences from the 1996 reissue even if you have only a "simple" CD player..
If You're a great Who fan and you a have SACD player buy ABSOLUTELY this album and enjoy it 'til the laser of your player won't work anymore...
The second disc is clearly for fans only but the quality of some track even if are demos or outtakes is very very good!!

Tommy came out my freshman year in college and I listened to it continuously. The Dayton Ballet just did an awesome ballet version of Tommy in April, so I bought this for my daughter's 13th birthday, she loves it!

The music of Tommy is where I first began really appreciating rock and roll, way back in 1988 when I was only 7 years old. That was a very important day in the life of me. There's no telling which direction my taste in music would have gone had I not heard some of the wonderful tunes from Tommy. I fear it would have eventually gone towards Limp Bizkit and other similar unenjoyable bands.

The music on this album is simply incredible. It's one thing to make a concept album and tell a good story. It's another when you can take a story and wrap *extremely* memorable music around it, which is what Tommy does so well.

I didn't really appreciate Keith Moon's drumming when I first heard this album, or Daltrey's emotional roller-coaster ride of a voice, going from convincingly angry to touching and sad. He's very good at going back and forth between those two emotions.

Still, I can't help but think back to my childhood. The line "See me, feel me, touch me, heal me" has stuck with me all these years, and there's a feeling when I listen to how that melody is sung that strucks me on a personal note. The "Right behind you, I see the millions" vocal line is another hook that has always stood up well, and will probably continue to do so.

I admit, Tommy is probably not my favorite Who album these days, because I've familiarized myself with other Who albums in the last decade. Denying the influence this album had on me would be ignorant and wrong, because Tommy is where my rock and roll obsession took off. The rest is history, my friend.

Ah Amazon again... nice to be back been away a while.... Tommy eh... there's some audio clips of this record on Amazon and if you ask me you should write down in words what you are thinking now before you buy this one.

It's an opra eh? It's a story of some kind I don't know much about these things but I know what I like and I like Tommy best... and that's a lot of music isn't it? I still listen to a very select selection of other bands but nothing satisfies like my Tommy.

Here it's almost funny what you can do with a four piece rock group but it's true... The Who in their original recording line-up are featured on this double album.

Pete Townsend plays the guitars and wrote most of the songs. All fine guitar work by anybodies standard with some stuff that to me surpasses genius and goes by Arcturus as well. Some parts bore mystify even enlighten but it seems to make it's presence in the recording sound planned if you catch my drift. There's no screaming out of tune high pitched feedback or anything like that at all... just well planned and executed guitar work. Very inspiring.

Roger Daltrey was the front man in those days the days of Tommy... as usual he's the best part about Who albums. I saw the band later at Pontiac stadium in Detroit... Michigan and Roger was just a showman....

The late John Entwistle plays bass and most of the French Horns on this record... you have to appreciate Pop bass playing to get a hold of his stuff. He sang on some of the recordings and his voice always makes the Who sound very near...

The late Kieth Moon played drums... you might want to look up Pop drumming here as well cause Kieth always played for all it was worth...

The recording itself is appropriate for the kind of undertaking the Who brought about and I don't think anyone will hold it against them.... Sounds like a real pro was in the booth. Nice stereo effects planning and presentation....

Go to the mirror boy..

Tommy is Pete Townsend's classic rock opera. It tells the story of a boy born deaf, dumb, and blind, and his eventual coming out and triumph. The music is tremendous with great soaring pieces, well crafted lyrics, and an interesting story line. Plus, it's the WHO; probably the best rock band ever. This is the album the include I'm Free, Pinball Wizard, Amazing Journey, and We're Not Gonna Take It. Actually, I really like the Overture.
This was one of the first albums I bought. It was my introduction to the WHO. And, I play it quite frequently.
It is a classic album, and well worth the listen.

The Who-Tommy*****

The Who's Tommy could quite possible be the greatest album of all time, in fact I would go so far as to say it is the greatest album of all time. No other album in history has been able to tell a story so beautifully and so perfectly it would make William Shakespeare blush. This album once and for all proved that Pete Townshend was not just a mere lyricist or songwriter but a composer of rock and roll masterpieces.

His lyrics and vocals are spectacular throughout especially through songs like the brilliant `1921' and `It's A Boy.' The imagination behind songs like `Go To The Mirror' and the sharp lyrics of `Christmas' Undoubtably rank Townshend among music's best lyricists. Lets not forget the masterful guitar played by the man. This was the first album to really solidify Townshend as a guitar God, especially on tracks like `Sparks' and `Christmas,' and lets not forget the killer intro on `Pinball Wizard'. Roger Daltry's power vocals and sometimes screams are absolutely over the top, as if his good looks don't help his appeal, but that's another story. John Entwistle who not only played some of the best bass of his life but he also lent lyrics to some of the albums great songs like `Cousin Kevin' and `Fiddle About,' honestly this album would be nothing without Entwistle. Keith Moon plays drums as only Keith Moon knows how which is completely out of this world. This album helps to prove once and for all that Moon is the all greatest drummer in the history of playing. The Who are truly one of the greatest bands of all time and this album shows it more then any other because of the interaction between the four counter parts.

The story of a deaf, dumb, and blind kid is one of the craziest most outlandish ideas for a premise of and album I have ever heard, but it is also one of the best I have ever heard, if not the best. When this album was originally released in the 1960's the subject matter of being blind, deaf, and dumb was very taboo. Not to mention the thought of a song about a boy who was molested by his uncle then went on to become a joke religious leader was enough to outrage most of the world resulting in The Who being banned from the BBC in England and from many states in the United States not to mention the ban from almost all of the radio stations in the country at the time. When first buying this album I thought with a reputation like this, Tommy better be one of the best damn albums I will ever hear, and it was the greatest album I had ever heard.

This is one of the best, and strongest albums in all of rock and roll history, not to mention music history. The subject matter is not for the timid, it is truly a work of art which should be heard by all. So for my final verdict this is one album I recommend to the entire world.

personally, i am not really down with the idea of rock operas. maybe my attention span feels threatened by such concepts. i don't know. anyway, you see that i gave this 5 stars. here execution trumps concept in my heart. there is simply too much great music contained on this album not to give it it's due. "overture" and "underture" are about as elegant and classy as rock music gets. the whole affair really allows keith moon and john entwhistle to shine with outstanding drum and bass patterns, as townshend's signature power chords are absent here. acoustic guitar textures are prominent in place of the usual electric thrashings. and things in general are tasteful and subtle, layered on top of the great rhythm work. daltrey's vocals are in excellent form, too. seldom has his voice been equal to the sensitive nuances of expression that he brings to this song cycle. no, i do not want or need anymore rock operas in my life, but i am begrudgingly ecstatic that this one exists. a classic rock album, for sure.

I had the original release of Tommy on LP album. I purchased the stage version of Tommy on CD and was given the Who Live CD with Tommy included. The new versions paled in comparison to the origin LP. Since it was rapidly wearing out, I purchased Tommy on CD. It's still the greatest version.

The full-blown rock opera about a deaf, dumb, and blind boy that launched the band to international superstardom, written almost entirely by Pete Townshend. Hailed as a breakthrough upon its release, its critical standing has diminished somewhat in the ensuing decades because of the occasional pretensions of the concept and because of the insubstantial nature of some of the songs that functioned as little more than devices to advance the rather sketchy plot. Nonetheless, the double album has many excellent songs, including "I'm Free," "Pinball Wizard," "Sensation," "Christmas," "We're Not Gonna Take It," and the dramatic ten-minute instrumental "Underture." Though the album was slightly flawed, Townshend's ability to construct a lengthy conceptual narrative brought new possibilities to rock music. Despite the complexity of the project, he and the Who never lost sight of solid pop melodies, harmonies, and forceful instrumentation, imbuing the material with a suitably powerful grace. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide

The rock opera needs no introduction. The 2 disc reissue has many bonus tracks but I only listened to them once, I wanted the original album remastered most of all and they did a superb job on this!

As many others, this is the first Who album I was exposed to and first I loved it. As I got more and more into the band's music my fondness for it began to fall, not only because of the mostly absurd lyrics but also due to the flat production. I can see why Kit Lambert wanted more an orchestra feel than a rock a roll one, but in most of the songs the classical Who punch is absent (being Sparks one of the most obvious examples). For a more faithful sample of the real Tommy check out the live versions from either Live At Leeds or Isle of Wight.

I can see why it's so highly regarded. After all, it came in a moment where The who seemed to be bound to call it quits, but it's not the masterpiece that's said to be.

The one track I really skip is Underture and I'm sure I'm not the only listener who does. Overlong and decidedly filler, it either should have been drastically shortened or directly dropped.

Highlights for me include:

-Overture.
-Amazing journey.
-The Acid Queen.
-Pinball Wizard.
-Go To The Mirror.
-Tommy Can You Hear Me.
-I'm Free.
-We're Not Gonna Take It.

3/5.

Tommy is an important cd not just because its arock opera but because it was the first time many people heard the who. Overture is a great start with ox on horn amazingjourney sparks always ahighlight christmas asks and makes the listener understand the innerblock. Underture is a good instramental. everything from pinball wizard on tells how tommy breaks ouy of his block. go to the mirror smash the mirror sensation im free sallysimpson welcome were not gonna take it stand out. Tommy is great it asks questions helps some tounderstand what it would be like Still important and relevent to the lastday.

One of the most important, groundbreaking amd influential albums in the history of rock and roll, The Who's 1969 magnum opus "Tommy", a rock opera about a deaf, dumb and blind kid who sure plays a mean pinball, is now better than ever thanks to the brilliance of SACD and DSD remastering techniques.

Every song on the cd sounds like it was recorded just yesterday. It is 100 % crystal clear, perfectly remixed and remastered. It gives you a clearer view of the story as well as a more pleasurable than ever listening experience. Pete Townshend and the people involved in this truly put their hearts into making "Tommy" better than ever.

The bonus disc is also worth it. A lot of awesome raritis. The liner notes are an interesting read, and the album itself is of course a masterpiece nobody should be without.

wow i love this cd, for such a detailed concept this is remarkably solid music, the only thing better than the tommy on this cd is tommy live which luckily has been released twice, once on live at leeds, and on isle of wight, i reccomend all those cds to any fan of the who

The Who's first actual rock opera, Tommy. Written by Pete Townshend and first released in 1969. With 24 songs, (two of them are instrumental), it is a great CD. It has a number of songs under 3 minutes long, including It's A Boy, 1921, Eyesight To The Blind, Do You Think It's Alright, Fiddle About, There's A Doctor, Tommy Can You Hear Me, Smash The Mirror, Sensation, Miracle Cure, I'm Free, and Tommy's Holiday Camp, pretty much the whole thing. It has two very long ones though, Underture(10:09) and We're Not Gonna Take It(7:09). But they're good. It has got to be in your Who collection if you want to call yourself a fan

I never tire of this album and honestly it makes most modern music seem like rubbish in comparison. I also recommend the Woodstock bootleg of the Tommy performance. Much more energy and power in that version.