The Who

The full-blown rock opera about a deaf, dumb, and blind boy that launched the band to international superstardom, written almost entirely by Pete Townshend. Hailed as a breakthrough upon its release, its critical standing has diminished somewhat in the ensuing decades, because of the occasional pretensions of the concept and the insubstantial nature of some of the songs that functioned as little more than devices to advance the rather sketchy plot. Nonetheless, the double album has many excellent songs, including "I'm Free," "Pinball Wizard," "Sensation," "Christmas," "We're Not Gonna Take It" and the dramatic ten-minute instrumental "Underture." Though the album was slightly flawed, Townshend's ability to construct a lengthy conceptual narrative brought new possibilities to rock music. Despite the complexity of the project, he and the Who never lost sight of solid pop melodies, harmonies, and forceful instrumentation, imbuing the material with a suitably powerful grace. The 2004 double-disc DVD Audio release follows the same pattern as the two-CD Deluxe Edition, in terms of arrangement of bonus materials etc., with three important differences. On a properly equipped DVD machine (which is to say, DVD Audio-capable players), it offers Advanced Resolution 24-bit Surround Sound and Advanced Resolution 24-bit Stereo, which are extremely impressive through good speakers and bring out even more nuances in the playing and singing than the Deluxe Edition; and on ordinary DVD Video players (that is, not equipped with, which is what most of us have), it offers Dolby Digital Surround Sound, which is still a step up from standard CD playback. But lest anyone think that DVD Video owners have to settle for "second best" buying this package, disc two contains an extended on-camera interview (playable on DVD Video machines) with Pete Townshend discussing composition of the original work and the details of the original recording as well as the remastering and remixing for the current project, the genesis of various intermediate reinterpretations of the work -- most notably Lou Reizner's early-'70s orchestral recording of the piece -- and various aspects of his rediscovery of the music off the original studio masters. He also explains precisely why Keith Moon comes off so magnificently on the new edition of the work (including the Deluxe CD edition); Townshend's work always came out well, but here bassist John Entwistle is finally heard properly in the mix, and Moon's drumming now comes off as the best of his career to date and perhaps the best across a full album of his whole career -- Moon's drums serve the same role on Tommy that the orchestra would have, had the band had the time and money to engage an orchestra for this recording, and it's a wonder to behold in the hearing, on this set or the Deluxe Edition; but here Townshend goes into the mechanics of it, and he remembers everything. The interview by itself is worth the price of the package. ~ Richie Unterberger & Bruce Eder, All Music Guide