The Who part 3: Tommy

So far, we have examined the period in which The Who's gems were mainly their singles. The Who Sell Out showed us that they were capable of great albums too. Today, we'll be talking about one of these unforgettable albums. There's a lot to say, so let's get on with it!

Tommy was released on the 23rd May, 1969. Townshend came up with the concept of Tommy after being introduced to the work of Meher Baba, and attempted to translate Baba's teachings into music.

When it was released, critics were split between those who thought the album was a masterpiece, the beginnings of a new genre, and those that felt it was exploitative. Chris Welch, writing for Melody Maker, went to the press launch show at Ronnie Scott's and although the volume left his ears ringing for 20 hours, he concluded "we wanted more." Disc and Music Echo ran a front-page headline saying "Who's Tommy: A Masterpiece". Critics and fans were confused by the storyline, but Lambert pointed out this made Tommy no less confusing than the operas of Richard Wagner or Giacomo Puccini a century earlier.

In a 1969 column for The Village Voice, music critic Robert Christgau said that, apart from The Mothers of Invention's We're Only in It for the Money, Tommy is the first successful "extended work" in rock music, but Townshend's parodic side is more "profound and equivocal" than Frank Zappa. He praised Townshend for deliberately constructing the album so that each song can be enjoyed individually and felt that he is determined to "give his audience what it wants without burying his own peculiarity". Albert Goldman, writing in Life magazine, said that The Who play through "all the kinky complications" of the narrative in a Hard Rock style that is the antithesis of most contemporary "serious" Rock. Goldman asserted that, based on innovation, performance, and "sheer power", Tommy surpasses anything else in studio-recorded rock. Christgau named Tommy the best album of 1969 in his year-end list for Jazz & Pop magazine. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Tommy number 96 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

The album was the Who's most commercial until then, reaching double paltinum status in the US and gold status in the UK and France. The lead single, Pinball Wizard, with the famous rhythm guitar intro, went to #4 in the UK and to #19 in the US.

The next single, I'm Free, reached #18 in Germany and #37 in the US.

Last single See Me, Feel Me made #2 in France, #4 in Germany and #12 in the US.

In 1970 Ferdinand Nault of the Montreal ballet group Les Grands Ballets Canadiens created the first dance-based adaptation of Tommy. The ballet performance toured New York in April 1971, which included a light show and accompanying films by the Quebec Film Bureau.

In 1971, the Seattle Opera under director Richard Pearlman produced the first ever fully staged professional production of Tommy at Seattle's Moore Theatre. The production included Bette Midler playing the role of the Acid Queen and Mrs. Walker, and music by the Syracuse, New York band Comstock, Ltd.

On 9 December 1972, entrepreneur Lou Reizner presented a concert version of Tommy at the Rainbow Theatre, London. There were two performances that took place on the same evening. The concerts featured the Who, plus a guest cast, backed by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by David Measham. The concerts were held to promote the release of Reizner's new studio recording of this symphonic version of Tommy.

The album and concerts featured an all-star cast, including Graham Bell (as The Lover), Maggie Bell (as The Mother), Sandy Denny (as The Nurse), Steve Winwood (as The Father), Rod Stewart (as The Local Lad), Richie Havens (as The Hawker), Merry Clayton (as The Acid Queen) and Ringo Starr (as Uncle Ernie). Townshend played some guitar, but otherwise the music was predominantly orchestral. Richard Harris played the role of the specialist on the record, but he was replaced by Peter Sellers for the stage production. The stage show had a second run on 13 and 14 December 1973 with a different cast including David Essex, Elkie Brooks, Marsha Hunt, Vivian Stanshall, Roy Wood, and Jon Pertwee. The orchestral version was also performed twice in Australia on 31 March 1973 and on 1 April of the same year.

From the London version, here's I'm Free, featuring Roger Daltrey, which reached #13 in the UK.

Here's Rod Stewart singing Pinball Wizard:

Here's Merry Clayton in The Acid Queen:

... And here's Maggie Bell with Tommy Can You Hear Me:

In 1975 Tommy was adapted as a film, produced by expatriate Australian entrepreneur Robert Stigwood and directed by wild and eccentric British auteur Ken Russell. The movie version starred Daltrey as Tommy, and featured the other members of the Who, plus a supporting cast that included Ann-Margret as Tommy's mother, Oliver Reed as "the Lover", with appearances by Elton John, Tina Turner, Eric Clapton, Arthur Brown, Robert Powell, and Jack Nicholson. Russell insisted on having a known cast, though Townshend wanted people who could sing the material, and was particularly disappointed at not being allowed to cast Stevie Wonder as the Pinball Wizard.

The film was a smash and was nominated for two Oscars: Best Actress for Ann-Margret and Best Song Score for Pete Townshend. Let's pause here and become personal: first time I saw the film, a few days after Xmas 1975, I sat through 3 performances in a row. Then a couple of days later, on New Year's Day 1976, I went and watched it again. I unsuccessfully pleaded, a few months later, with a woman I didn't like, to drive me to the British military base in Akrotiri, Cyprus, to watch it (I was still underage and couldn't drive) and I successfully persuaded an American military man, a year later, to take me to the US military base in Hellenikon, Athens, Greece and watch it there. I watched it four more time since. The key messages of the film have been pivotal during my troubled teen years. Also, I have, in my own way, replicated the mirror-smashing scene after my father's death. I was 18 at the time.

I think that it's obvious that the film is important for me. I think that it's important to a lot of you as well. So what I'm going to do now is replay the whole film and discuss it scene by scene.

The film begins with Tommy's father, Captain Walker (Robert Powell), silhouetted against a giant setting sun. He's on a picnic with his wife, Nora (Ann-Margret). They have been recently married and are very much in love. However, the war is on (WWI in the original album, WWII in the film) and with nightmarish images of the London Blitz replacing the idyllic ones of the couple's romance, Captain Walker goes way to war. Mrs. Walker is tortured by premonitions, and, quite rightly so. As she's working in a factory making metal spheres for airplane bombs, she gets the telegram that her husband's plane was shot down and that he's missing in action. She faints, surrounded by the "silver balls" she was filling bombs with.

In the next scene she gives birth to her son, Tommy: it's the first day of peace. Then we see her with Tommy (now a young boy played by Barry Winch, with the singing voice of Alison Dowling) in a ceremony honoring the war heroes. Everybody's wearing red poppies - also numerous red poppies on small crosses adorn the green grass around the monument.

This video is a slightly differently edited version of the film's start, but it's the only one that I could find.

The next scene finds Nora and Tommy in Bernie's Holiday Camp. Frank (Oliver Reed), who's running the camp, is a shady guy, who works his charm on Nora and eventually wins her over.

In the next scene Frank, Nora and 6-year-old Tommy are living together. One night, in walks Captain Walker, who survived the fall of his plane, albeit disfigured. He catches Frank and Nora together, a fights ensues, and Frank kills Captain Walker. Tommy has seen everything. Panicking, Nora and Frank frantically plead with Tommy, insisting that he witnessed nothing and must keep quiet.

Tommy needs to build a very thick wall around him in order to bury such a traumatic truth. He switches off his senses of communication altogether; "he hasn't seen anything", so he's blind; "he hasn't heard anything", so he's deaf; "He will not say anything" so he's mute. It's like a curse has fallen upon him, but upon Frank and Nora too. Seeing him like this, they are forever faced with their own guilt, especially Nora, who's essentially not a bad person.

Nora's grief is growing. It is especially noticable in festive seasons, like Christmas. By wondering if Tommy, who "doesn't know what praying is", will be saved, she really is asking about herself. Tommy himself is reacting to the thick wall around him. A tiny inner voice in his head is saying "See me, feel me, touch me, heal me."

In the next scene there is a time jump and Tommy is now an adult, portrayed by Roger Daltrey. His mother takes him to a church celebrating Marilyn Monroe; a statue of her in the famous raised skirt pose from The Seven Year Itch is supposed to be miraculous. Eric Clapton, surrounded by Townshend and Entwistle sings the statue's praises. Arthur Brown is the priest who sings the last verse. Disabled people queue to kiss Marilyn's feet, hoping to be cured. Tommy, led by his mother, is the last one there. By accident, he overturns the statue; it's not even real, it's made of plaster. In this scene, Russell has a field day, making fun of organized religion, the treatment of Film Stars and Pop Stars as religious icons, and the elevation of faith (in anything) as the prime part of our existence.

Now Frank is working as a bouncer in a striptease joint. He asks the Acid Queen (the fabulous Tina Turner) to try and cure Tommy with her mixture of mind-altering drugs. Through this experience Tommy sees his past - and possibly a version of his future. The experience is too much for him though, and he collapses to the floor. Tommy, who since his "illness" had developed a fixation of staring blanky at mirrors, can now see his reflection, in red.

Next, we see Tommy going through a series of harrowing experiences, as Nora and Frank leave him with very unsuitable people to go out and have fun. First, there's Cousin Kevin (Paul Nicholas), a sadistic bully who physically abuses Tommy. Now Tommy sees a yellow image of himself in the mirror. Then there's Uncle Ernie (Keith Moon), a sleazy dirtbag, who sexually abuses Tommy. After this Tommy sees a blue image of himself in the mirror. (A faux pas by Russell: he shows Ernie reading the Gay News; this was a serious publication devoted to gay liberation, which was forever unjustly facing obscenity trials. A creep like Ernie would NOT be reading the Gay News. A clumsy maneuver.)

Obviously both scenes were inspired by the torturous time Towshend spent with his grandmother "Denny" during his childhood. We've already discussed this at length a couple of days ago, so I'm not returning to that.

The red, yellow and blue images of Tommy merge into a bright white one which leads him to a junkyard, where he discovers a pinball machine. He begins playing and aces it.

Soon, people hear of this "deaf, dumb and blind" pinball phenomenon. The reigning pinball champion (Elton John) challenges him to a game - and loses. Tommy is now the reigning pinball champion.

The pinball parable is quite interesting: Towshend chose to have Tommy excell not in a "jock" sport, but in a "nerd" sport, the precursor to video games and computer games. It's actually the sport most befitting Tommy's sensory isolation.

Tommy is now rich and famous, but Nora isn't happy, because her son is in no position to take pleasure from his gains. She's watching ads of baked beans, chocolate and washing powder on TV (a clever shout out to The Who Sell Out), while drinking champagne in her luxurious bedroom, when she seems to feel Tommy's plight for communication. She breaks down and smashes her TV, which results in beans, chocolate, and soapy water consecutively flowing out, as Nora wallows in the mire of consumer products. A very effective scene, excellently played by Ann-Margret. Also a shout out to The Who's habit of smashing things.

Frank is worried about Nora. and he finds a specialist (Jack Nicholson) who agrees to examine Tommy. Upon testing the boy, the doctor concludes that his state is emotionally, rather than physically triggered and the only hope is for him to continue to "Go to the Mirror". During the tests, Nora and the Specialist flirt, much to Frank's jealousy.

Nora, more and more frustrated with Tommy's state, at first tries to get through to him and eventually is prompted to "Smash the Mirror" by throwing him through it.

Tommy goes through the mirror, smashing his "imperfect" self, falls through water in a sort of baptism and is cured. He celebrates with spectacularly singing I'm Free and running through all sorts of landscapes.

Nora finds him and Tommy remembers everything. He forgives her, but he talks of "a higher path to follow" and goes on to strip her of all her jewelry and baptize her in the sea.

Fully sentient and preaching of a higher path, Tommy is now a Sensation, reaching through to every social group. He's now a Jesus-like superstar.

We then take a break from the main narrative to follow Sally Simpson (played by Russell's own daughter, Victoria). Sally is a "disciple", otherwise known as a rabid fan, who, disobeying her posh father, sneaks out to go to a Tommy meeting (quite like a Rock concert). She jumps on stage and tries to touch him, but "a roadie" (actually Frank) pushes her off. She hits her face as she lands, gets sixteen stitches and permanently carries a scar to remind her of Tommy's smile.

Tommy, along with a more enlightened and elated Nora and Frank, "Welcome" converts to their house, which quickly becomes too crowded to accommodate everyone.

Tommy opens an extension for his religious compound, calling it "Tommy's Holiday Camp". But the people around him, especially Frank, are not just believers; they are in it for the money.

The converts express their disdain for the commercialism of the compound and demand Tommy teach them something more useful. When he does so by actually deafening, muting, and blinding everyone, his followers' anger further rises, leading them to riot and destroy the camp in a fire, killing Nora and Frank in the process.

Tommy finds Nora and Frank in the debris and mourns; he is alone, yet he is free, free from emotional ties, other people's expectations, material desires, and everything that forms the social construct around him and within him. He is free to baptize himself again, move from the fire to the light through the water, climbing the mountains, ready to join the collective consciousness, not as one, but as part of a whole. In the final frames, he has reached the top of the mountain and he's silhouetted against a giant rising sun, stretching his arms as if ready to embrace it all. Remember how the film starts? We have come full circle, as does everything in nature.

The soundtrack peaked at #2 in the US.

In 1991, Townshend broke his wrist in a cycling accident and could not play guitar. Looking for alternative work while recuperating, he responded to a request from the PACE Theatrical Group for the rights to a Broadway musical adaptation of Tommy. The group introduced him to La Jolla Playhouse director Des McAnuff, and the pair began to develop the musical together. It opened at La Jolla in summer 1992, and was an immediate commercial success. Townshend wrote a new song, I Believe My Own Eyes, to explain the relationship between Tommy's parents, but otherwise tried to be faithful to the music on the original album.

Townshend and McAnuff rewrote parts of the musical when it moved from La Jolla to Broadway, to show a darker side for the title character. McAnuff won a Tony Award in 1993 for Best Director, while Wayne Cilento won the award for Best Choreographer. The Broadway run lasted from 1993 to 1995. McAnuff revisited Tommy during the 2013 season of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival.

In 2015, Bluegrass band The Hillbenders released a cover of the album, arranged by Jim Rea and produced by Louis Jay Meyers. The group have informed Townshend and Daltrey in order to get official blessing. The performance of the Bluegrass version has been critically praised, with Rolling Stone marking the Hillbenders appearance at South by Southwest one of the "50 Best Things We Saw At SXSW 2015". Townshend met with the group after the band's May 2015 performance in Nashville. It appears that Tommy is a gift that keeps on giving.