Townshend’s stories substantiate the creation of Tommy and help to explain the reason why young Mr. In that these are some of the first interviews that truly delve into the somewhat recently unearthed facts about Townshend’s childhood sexual abuse, this is an exceptionally noteworthy documentary. The success of Tommy, of course, led to a great many rock operas, many of which have become as (or more) iconic, such as Pink Floyd’s The Wall, Genesis’ The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway and The Who’s own Quadrophenia.Īll of these remarkable observations are made through brand new interviews with lead guitarist, singer, lead songwriter and Tommy creator Pete Townshend, as well as the dynamic lead singer (who portrayed Tommy Walker himself in the original opera and the 1975 motion picture) Roger Daltrey (who still looks about 20 years younger than he is). Tommy, the story of a blind deaf mute, his inability to comprehend or interact with his world, his subsequent awakening, rise, fall and rise, set the band up in the public’s eyes as true visionary artists befitting of their near-peerless virtuoso-level command of their instruments. However, Sensation: The Story of the Who’s Tommy points out that while these precursors to Tommy were acclaimed and known by fans, The Who were primarily recognized as hit-makers with a long string of successful singles. Also noteworthy are the songs “Rael 1” and “Rael 2” from the aforementioned The Who Sell Out, the pair of which constitute something of a mini-opera and “Glow Girl” from the same album, some of the lyrics and music of which were rearranged for use In Tommy. These include the nine-minute (and misleadingly titled) “A Quick One, While He’s Away” (from the 1966 album A Quick One), which contains several movements and tells a story about multiple (speaking) characters. To be sure, The Who had flirted with mini-rock operas before.
Tommy immediately stood out in 1969, not simply because of what it was (one of the best concept albums of all time and arguably the first bona fide rock operas ever made), but because of who it was that created this opus. The Who had already broken ground with iconoclastic albums like The Who Sell Out, which featured the huge hit (and incredible hard rock) of “I Can See for Miles”, which was only one of a great many big hit singles for the burgeoning, inventive British Invasion band. While it’s true that Tommy remains the band’s most recognizable single work (and certainly marked the dividing line between The Who as stars and The Who as SUPERstars), Tommy was hardly The Who’s first success, nor is the rock opera truly considered (by most fans and critics) to be The Who’s best album. It’s a common misconception that “ Tommy made The Who”. A related question might be “Is there a market for more documentaries on The Who’s Tommy?” The answer to that one is “Of course!” The answer to that question remains “quite a lot”. There are documentaries about the 1969 album, the tours, the resurgent concert performance with its many guest stars, the 1975 film adaptation, the motivation behind the creation of this iconic rock opera and, of course the stage musical which debuted in 1992.
The story of the incredible rock band The Who and their arguably most famous Tommy has been told almost as many times as that of Rapunzel letting down her hair.
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