Band: THE WHO Tittle: TOMMY Label: POLYDOR Year: 1969 Catalogue Number: 2612 006 A Info: 1st Oressing Italy Track List:

A Side:
Overture
It's A Boy
1921
Amazing Journey
Sparks
Eyesight To The Blind (The Hawker)

B Side:
Christmas
Cousin Kevin
The Acid Queen 3
Underture

A Side:
Do You Think It's Alright?
Fiddle About
Pinball Wizard
There's A Doctor
Go To The Mirror!
Tommy Can You Hear Me?
Smash The Mirror
Sensation

B Side:
Miracle Cure
Sally Simpson
I'm Free
Welcome
Tommy's Holiday Camp
We're Not Gonna Take It

The full-blown rock opera about a deaf, dumb, and blind boy that launched the band to international superstardom, written almost entirely by Townshend. It was hailed as a breakthrough upon its release, but its critical standing has diminished somewhat in the ensuing decades, because of the occasional pretensions of the concept, and 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. (Allmusic.com)