Oakland's Vinyl Vault - Tommy

Today we head to the opera! Don't worry if you don't have any ornate, gilded binoculars-on-a-stick, because they won't be needed for this opera. You see, this is a rock opera. In fact, it is the first rock opera ever made! It's Tommy, by the Who.

Release date: May 23, 1969
Singles: Pinball Wizard; Go to the Mirror!; I'm Free; Christmas; See Me, Feel Me
A lot has been said over the years about The Who's Tommy. It's been called a masterpiece. It's been called pretentious. It is probably both. The term "rock opera" wasn't applied after the fact, or by some marketing genius. Pete Townshend set out specifically to make a rock opera. Not a concept album. An opera. Pretentious? CHECK.

When one hears the term "rock opera," it conjures a fun story, played out in opera-inspired rock tunes. The story of Tommy is anything but fun. Tommy witnesses a murder, is raped and filled with drugs by a prostitute, tortured by his cousin, and sexually abused by his uncle. Not exactly subject matter that screams to be made into a rock song.

Fortunately, Townshend didn't let any of that stop him from making an impressive album. While there are a couple of filler tracks that serve to progress the story, the majority of the album is excellent. Even for a double album, four singles (plus "See Me, Feel Me," which is a compilation of a few tracks) is a strong sign that they did something right, especially since it would seem harder to have stand alone hits when all the songs are part of a larger story.

Rating: 5 pinballs: Multiball! - This album is legendary for a reason. It is may be a little overrated due to its historical significance as the first "rock opera," but it stands the test of time thanks to its great music. To appreciate it fully, take the time to just sit and listen to it, and follow along with the lyrics on the booklet that's included with the album.

And now: the best part of any good rock opera: it is inevitably made in to a strange, artsy movie. Here is an excerpt from Roger Ebert's review of the 1975 movie:

But none of [the story] matters, because Russell correctly doesn't give a damn about the material he started with, greatest art work of the century or not, and he just goes ahead and gives us one glorious excess after another. He is aided by his performers, especially Ann-Margret, who is simply great as Tommy's mother. She has one number that begins in an all-white bedroom with her sexy red dress slit up the side to about the collarbone, and ends with her slithering through several hundred pounds of baked beans. It's that kind of movie.

Ann- Margret was nominated for an Oscar for best actress. No joke.

Finally, here's the movie version of "Acid Queen," featuring Tina Turner as the Acid Queen.