Tommy | |
---|---|
Studio album by | |
Released | October 1972 |
Genre | Classical |
Length | 70:38 |
Label | Ode |
Producer | Lou Reizner |
Tommy is a 1972 album by the London Symphony Orchestra and English Chamber Choir, conducted and directed by David Measham, performing arrangements by Wil Malone of The Who's 1969 album Tommy with additional arrangements by James Sullivan. The project was conceived and produced by Lou Reizner, initially with Rod Stewart singing Roger Daltrey's main role. As Pete Townshend and Daltrey became more involved, Stewart's role was reduced to singing "Pinball Wizard". [1] [2]
The studio version of the orchestral Tommy was issued in boxed-set LP format. It featured original artwork and photography, which used a pinball as its main motif, was designed by Tom Wilkes and Craig Braun and won the Best Album Package Grammy in 1974. [3] [4] The art was by Richard Amsel, Robert Heindel, Jim Manos, Alex Gnidziejko, Wilson McLean, Doug Johnson, David Edward Byrd, Robert Grossman, Charles White III, Richard Harvey and Mark English.[ citation needed ]
Though it yielded no hit singles, the album fared well on Billboard's Top Pop Albums chart, debuting on 9 December 1972, peaking at #5, and remaining on the chart for 38 weeks. [5]
All tracks are written by Pete Townshend, except where noted
No. | Title | Featured performer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Overture" | The Chamber Choir, Pete Townshend, London Symphony Orchestra | |
2. | "It's a Boy" | The Chamber Choir, Sandy Denny | |
3. | "1921" | Graham Bell, Maggie Bell, The Chamber Choir, Roger Daltrey, Steve Winwood | |
4. | "Amazing Journey" | Chamber Choir, Pete Townshend | |
5. | "Sparks" | The Chamber Choir | |
6. | "Eyesight to the Blind" (Sonny Boy Williamson II) | The Chamber Choir, Richie Havens | |
7. | "Christmas" | Pete Townshend, London Symphony Orchestra, The Chamber Choir, Roger Daltrey, Steve Winwood |
No. | Title | Featured performer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Cousin Kevin" (John Entwistle) | The Chamber Choir, John Entwistle | |
2. | "The Acid Queen" | The Chamber Choir, Merry Clayton | |
3. | "Underture" | The Chamber Choir | |
4. | "Do You Think It's Alright?" | Maggie Bell, The Chamber Choir, Steve Winwood | |
5. | "Fiddle About" (John Entwistle) | The Chamber Choir, Ringo Starr | |
6. | "Pinball Wizard" | The Chamber Choir, Rod Stewart |
No. | Title | Featured performer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "There's a Doctor I've Found" | The Chamber Choir, Steve Winwood | |
2. | "Go to the Mirror Boy" | Richard Harris (narration), The Chamber Choir, Roger Daltrey, Steve Winwood, Wil Malone | |
3. | "Tommy Can You Hear Me?" | Maggie Bell, The Chamber Choir | |
4. | "Smash the Mirror" | Maggie Bell, The Chamber Choir | |
5. | "I'm Free" | The Chamber Choir, Roger Daltrey | |
6. | "Miracle Cure" | The Chamber Choir | |
7. | "Sensation" | The Chamber Choir, Roger Daltrey |
No. | Title | Featured performer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Sally Simpson" | The Chamber Choir, Pete Townshend | |
2. | "Welcome" | The Chamber Choir, Roger Daltrey | |
3. | "Tommy's Holiday Camp" (Keith Moon) | The Chamber Choir, Ringo Starr | |
4. | "We're Not Gonna Take It" | The Chamber Choir, Roger Daltrey | |
5. | "See Me, Feel Me" (Finale from "We're Not Gonna Take It") | The Chamber Choir, Roger Daltrey |
Chart (1972/73) | Position |
---|---|
Australia (Kent Music Report) [6] | 4 |
United States (Billboard's Top Pop Albums) | 5 |
Tommy is the fourth studio album by the English rock band the Who, a double album first released on 19 May 1969. The album was mostly composed by guitarist Pete Townshend, and is a rock opera that tells the story of Tommy Walker. Tommy is traumatized from witnessing his father murder his mother's lover. Tommy's parents compound his trauma by denying the experience. In reaction, Tommy becomes dissociative. Tommy then experiences the trauma of being sexually abused. As a way of coping with his trauma, Tommy dissociates further through playing pinball. He gains a following because of his skill at playing pinball. After numerous misguided attempts to heal Tommy, a doctor prescribes him a mirror so he can confront himself and his experience. Instead, Tommy becomes self-absorbed and comes to think of himself as a messianic figure. When the mirror is eventually broken, Tommy comes out of his dissociative state. Tommy then tries to lead his followers to believe that the only path to healing is through him. His followers eventually reject him and his teachings.
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Lou Reizner was an American record producer, A&R executive and head of Mercury Records European operations. He produced Rod Stewart's first two solo albums, the orchestral version of The Who's rock opera Tommy, and Rick Wakeman's Journey to the Centre of the Earth. As an A&R executive, he signed Van der Graaf Generator and arranged a US deal for David Bowie.
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Stewart's role was reduced to singing Pinball Wizard