Tommy in Quintophonic Sound!

[flippyshark]

Quadrophenia is a terrific film, but it backgrounds The Who's music (it's in no sense a rock opera) using it as a score for a very well done period piece about mods and rockers in Brighton. The DVD is no longer in print, though Amazon has copies starting at eighty-some bucks.

I agree that Pink Floyd: The Wall is a more powerful album, and film, than any version of Tommy. But it isn't nearly as fun. Roger Waters has talked about The Walls origins in his own utter contempt for his audience and the emptiness he felt at the height of the Floyd's success, and the resulting work, though brilliant, is awfully bitter. Tommy is by turns moving, preposterous, catchy, thrilling, pretentious and uplifting. It's a mess that somehow captures the imagination and leaves plenty of room for "roll your own" interpretation. The Wall is more focused, and a bit like taking repeated hammer blows to the head. (not saying I don't like those hammer blows, mind you.) Tommy has leftover hippie vibes, The Wall has a hangover and painful withdrawal symptoms. They do make a good double feature.

iSM - the original Tommy album is well worth revisiting, but it's spare and minimal compared to later incarnations. For an overblown but sometimes exciting variation, check out the London Symphony Orchestra version with The Who and guest stars like Sandy Denny, Rod Stewart and Ringo Starr as perky Uncle Ernie. It is this version that convinced Ken Russell to take on the film, as his musical interests were with classical, not rock. And while you're at it, the Broadway version provides some interesting variations and has some nifty vocal arrangements, most memorably on "Tommy Can You Hear Me." (a song that is all but thrown away in the movie.) there are also a few different live Who performances, including the Isle of Wight festival recording, which is wonderful, and some much later revivals with various guest stars. Let Tommy become your obsession for a while, and you'll find plenty to keep you busy. Personally, none of these versions seems definitive or ideal to me, so I merrily go through them all now and then.