Sensations: The Story Of Tommy

[TheLoony]

I actually don't know much about The Who, just the basics of their career.

Good doc, funny how many songs I know from it but didn't know they came from Tommy. I've seen the movie way back in the day but I've never owned a The Who album(yeah, I think I messed up there with that one) so I just want your thoughts on this one and their career and I hope some of you guys can see this and give their opinions of what the peeps say about it.

Heck, I don't even know which was released first, Quadrophenia or Tommy, I'm that ignorant. I Can't Explain is still one of the '60's coolest rock songs, though.

I do know a little but seriously am ignorant of The Who. I did watch The Kids Are Alright back in the '80's but all I remember is the mayhem of the Smothers Bro's and Baba 'O Reilly, with Pete's cowboy yell at the beginning.

So why the hell didn't I get into The Who as a young 'un? What the heck did I miss out on?

[Zeuhlmate]

Listen to that drummer

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

Indeed ... listen to that drummer.



Let me preface this by saying that I am probably the biggest Who freak on this board.

Keith Moon could do anything with a drumkit, except keep time; and Entwistle followed the drummer (as a good bassist does), so it was left to Townshend to keep time with his rhythm guitar and chording leads. It wasn't until Quadrophenia (which is about five years after Tommy) that Townshend was acually able to show in the studio what a fine guitarist he really was.

Where to start? It depends on what you like; for sheer proggy goodness you want to start with Who's Next and Quadrophenia. For explosive power, go to Live at Leeds or Live at the Isle of Wight, , the modern version of which has a near-complete version of Tommy. The difference between the studio version of Tommy and the way they would play it live is an education in itself, the difference between what they could do in the moment as opposed to the clinical environment of the studio.

Only on Quadrophenia did they really manage to catch that lightning in a jar* - and that is really strange, because it's also the most heavily-produced of their albums (as opposed to Face Dances, which is the most over-produced). With all the synths you'd think that The Who would get lost in the shuffle, but instead they were let loose to demonstrate what they could do without worries about not sounding right, and Moonie didn't have to worry about keeping time; the tapes did that for him and he could just be the greatest Keith Moon style drummer in the world. Similarly Entwistle, who had his finest studio moments on "The Real Me" and "5:15".

I was going somewhere with this, I think.

Oh. Right. Progginess. From the second album, Pete experimented with escaping the three-minute-pop-song mold with songs like "Rael" and "A Quick One (While He's Away)". Listening to those albums - The Who Sell Out and A Quick One - you hear an amazing variety of sonic textures, nothing like the sameness of their contempporaries like the Stones. Their song diversity was right up there with The Beatles (the "White Album").

TheLoony, I've probably already said too much while not telling you what you want to know. I'll shut up now.


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* Though their greatest single studio song was WGFA, which also had the "synth advantage".

[Steve F.]

^^^^^^^^

You are NOT the biggest Who freak on this board.....

[SteveSly]

Another huge Who fan and I did not even discover the band until the 80's. For me the 3 album run of "Tommy", "Who's Next" and "Quadrophenia" may be one of the best by any band in the history of rock. All 3 are amazing records.

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

^^^^^^^^

You are NOT the biggest Who freak on this board.....

Ah, you're probably right. I haven't even gone to see The Two perform. To me, they're just not The Who. With Moon gone it was questionable; with Entwistle gone, it's game over.

[mozo-pg]

Ah, you're probably right. I haven't even gone to see The Two perform. To me, they're just not The Who. With Moon gone it was questionable; with Entwistle gone, it's game over.

I'm not so sure about that - when I saw the The Who (2) perform Quadrophenia about 8 years ago, it was simply magical.

[Zeuhlmate]

It was the second international band I saw in concert. 1970 (the first was John Mayall Turning Point).
Me and my classmate were 13 and sat in one of the first 10 rows just a little off center.
Tommy, and some more tracks - Loud ! - Entwhistle in his skeleton suit. I will never forget it.

2 minutes ago I discovered that somebody recorded it. Poor sound, but...

[SteveSly]

I'm not so sure about that - when I saw the The Who (2) perform Quadrophenia about 8 years ago, it was simply magical.

I did not see the Quadrophenia tour, but I have seen the 2 man version of The Who 3 times and they were all fantastic shows. Zac Starkey is the perfect fit on the drum kit. I thought Roger sounded better vocally the last time I saw them last year than he did in 2012.

[TheLoony]

Ok, so Tommy, Next and Quad sounds like a good place to start as a three album run that's classic stuff. A lot of meat there to take in via Youtube but I'll somehow, someday have to get up the gumption to just do it.

Forgot to talk drums. He rarely used a hi-hat. What was his reasoning for that? That's pretty odd. Maybe I don't know sounds as well as I do(heck, there's this one Queensryche thing that I just don't know what the hell it could be that drives me nuts but that's another story) but it seemed the footage had him not playing a hi-hat when actually he was. I'll have to go back and watch again. I pay a little more attention than most around here to drummer stuff it seems but I'll go back and watch again to see if that matches up.

It always is real easy to see when the video and sound are not right it's the drummer, as it's a really visual instrument. Easy way to spot a crappy doc from a good one. But sometimes they have to deal with this and that, so, whatever.

Live At Leeds is also on the list as it's got THAT reputation. I do have a really beat up record but that won't do. It's only one record, ain't that long, I think I can do them the service of a listen to that one.

I get so distracted it's hard for me to sit down and listen to something I don't know, no, that's the wrong words.......what I need to hear or watch at that particular moment. I just got done with like four or five hours of anti-Scientology shit, Leah Remini on Joe Rogan was fun and also very good, and my mind wanders in so many ways even with all the time I spend here at home to just sit and watch The Who.

Try and get to it before I die. Still a fun discussion, at least.