From Power Pop Specialists to Rock Gods: The Who's 'Tommy' at 55
The Who was the band that made my music taste. I literally wrote an article on it. When the band broke through the pop scene in their Mod aesthetic with singles such as ‘I Can’t Explain’ and ‘My Generation’ during the mid-60s, Pete Townshend (songwriter/lead guitarist), Roger Daltrey (lead singer), Keith Moon (drummer), and John Entwistle (bassist) demonstrated that pop music can be made for men amidst the sea of singles from contemporary bands such as The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Manfred Mann that aroused admiration (and excitement) from women.
Townshend wrote tracks that cemented The Who as one of the most exciting, inventive, energic, and virile bands of their generation (ahhh, you see what I did there?): songs such as ‘Substitute’, ‘The Kids Are Alright’, and ‘I’m A Boy’ have a raucous, melodic, and intellectual flair that really spoke to their male age-peers at the time and in future generations (all right, I’ll stop the puns now).
By 1967, the band were flexing their album-making muscles. The Who Sell Out is a clever LP playing on the concept of pirate radio, since their music was made popular through such medium. The Who display a more dark and psychedelic sound that complements their pop sensibilities at that point in their career: ‘I Can See For Miles’ being the album’s crowning achievement, reaching number 10 and nine in the UK and US singles chart respectively.
Although Sell Out only reached number 15 on the UK album chart and the ‘I Can See For Miles’’s position on the singles chart disappointed Townshend, the band wasn’t deterred by their more ambitious approach to music. On the contrary: The Who decided they wanted to go bigger and bolder on their next outing, taking themselves out of the music cycle in large part during 1968 to produce their rock opera Tommy.
Admittedly, for the longest time, Tommy has been an LP that I never really taken to. Yes, ‘Pinball Wizard’ is the obvious single from the project, and yes, it is an rock opera: rock opera’s aren’t designed to be listened to passively. But I’ve always thought that Tommy was overrated, and a step back for the band who would come back in spectacular, legendary fashion in the classic Who’s Next two years later.
But relistening to the LP that turns 55 this year, I understand the significance the album had on the band’s trajectory and for a project so ambitious, so mature thematically, and so distinct sonically at that point in pop music, Townshend & co. succeeded in very large part.
Tommy tells the story of a boy who becomes deaf, dumb, and blind after witnessing his mother cheating on his father, seeing the disintegration of the family unit before his eyes, who eventually regains his senses and becomes a cult leader. Yeah, it’s fairly dramatic.
For an album released in 1969, Tommy has a futuristic sound that forecasted the progressive rock sound of the seventies though. ‘Amazing Journey’ is a prime example: the whistling sound that can be heard at the verses contributes to the otherworldly quality to the music. The ‘Overture’ and ‘Underture’ gives the LP the epic-edge that so many acts ranging from King Crimson to Jethro Tull to of course Pink Floyd sought to incorporate in their projects.
I would say that the one fault in the sound is that it does sound thin at times. On their Live At Leeds album songs such as ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ and ‘Christmas’ have a fuller sound that I really enjoy: at times on Tommy, The Who sound neutered. Nonetheless, I’m impressed by how the band maintained much of their pop sensibility despite the discipline required to execute a rock opera: Entwinstle’s ‘Cousin Kevin’ and tracks such as ‘I’m Free’ are genuinely enjoyable songs with wonderful harmonies despite the former dealing with challenging topics such as childhood neglect and sadism.
The album really showcases how all four band members were maturing. Townshend once admitted that Tommy was the project that revealed to him that he could trust Daltrey to perform on tracks that are more emotionally challenging. Daltrey’s performance as Tommy, especially on the “see me, feel me, touch me, heal me” refrain that’s interwoven throughout the tracklist, is beautiful: he really conveys the vulnerability such a boy would experience in such a tragic situation.
Townshend was largely successful in presenting topics such as childhood abuse, sexual abuse, and psychological trauma in a tasteful, coherent, and melodic fashion: ‘The Acid Queen’ being the obvious example of this. I would say that Keith Moon utterly steals the show. Now, I won’t lie: his song ‘Tommy’s Holiday Camp’ was ill-advised - it epitomises how the album’s music and its concept goes off the rails by the last quarter somewhat, but his drumming holds the LP together. Pretty much all the tracks, particularly the instrumental tracks, has Moon holding them down: he really was a one-man orchestra with his speedy right foot.
As for the story itself, it held up better than I thought it would. A boy going deaf, dumb, and blind because of the breakdown of his parents’ relationship does appear melodramatic, but symbolically it’s very insightful: many people are unable to view the world, themselves, and others clearly once their faith in their parents and the goodness of life is betrayed by growing up in an abusive household.
The music keeps up with the story in large part: the songs are catchy and the story does progress well, up to the point where the mirror is smashed. From then, the album loses its coherence tonally: Tommy’s rise to cult leader and the subsequent revolt wasn’t entirely convincing, in part because of the goofy nature of the music and the disjointed flow on the tracklist.
Nevertheless, Tommy’s significance in the band’s catalogue is understandable and the album serves as a great bridge for sixties Who to seventies Who in retrospect. The project really was the band’s breakthrough, reaching number two on the UK album chart and number four on the US album chart. The Who went from power pop specialists to rock gods with this one.