Now this is The Who...
Before "Tommy" The Who was just another band like The Beatles who were your typical 60's pop group, once this album hit they evolved from those 3 minute song rockers to the complex, progressive artists driven by Townshend's power lyrics and Daultry's amazing vocals (backed by argubly the greatest drummer and bassist of all-tme). If your trying to get into this band, I would start with "Who's Next" as it showchases their biggest songs but from there you NEED "Tommy" and "Quadrophenia".

This is the album that made The Who memorable and legendary. Buy, listen, and appreciate.

Awesome
Nobody writes stuff this good anymore, except maybe Nick Worrall. Simply stunning in every way possible.

The Who - Listening To You ............
Few will deny that The Who's "Tommy" remains one of the all time great classic rock albums. Although concept albums had been done before this one, "Tommy" was the first one to really catch a wave of public support and basically define just what a concept album was. There was nothing like this out there when "Tommy" was released in 1969 as The Who raised the bar for rock n roll creating a work of art instead of just an album full of songs. Of course this rock opera went on to inspire a film, all star staging's of the material, and a Broadway musical. "Tommy" is not the best concept album ever created in fact it is not even the best by The Who ("Quadrophenia" is better), but it has stood the test of time as a great musical composition and remains a great influential album. Songwriter and Who guitarist Pete Townshend began the run of his life as "Tommy" was the beginning of a 3 album creative spurt that is as good as any in the history of rock n roll. "Who's Next" and "Quadrophenia" would follow "Tommy" and all three are bona fide classics without a weak track on them that would propel The Who to the top of the heap.

The Best Blueprint for a Live Album Ever
OK, thirty years on, what is Tommy's true standing? The songs are there, and they are nothing short of amazing. The band was firing on all four cylinders. What ultimately comes up lacking is the production. In my opinion, Kit Lambert tried too hard to force Tommy into previously-codified forms, such as a "rock" opera, or a song cycle. What one hears on this album is just a precusor to the white-hot beast that Tommy could become in concert. If you doubt my opinion, listen to the live renditions of "Tommy" on Live at Leeds and the Isle of Wight festival recordings. On such recordings the Who literally slam the first effective rock concept album across with an energy which wouldn't be rivalled until the advent of the Ramones and the Sex Pistols. I am not trying to dissuade anyone from buying this recording of Tommy; it is, after all, the only one which was in common circulation until the release of the Isle of Wight performance. Generations of headphone freaks cut their teeth on this album. Still, having heard the live versions of Tommy, it's hard to go back to the studio niceties of the original album. If it'd had the dynamic production of Who's Next, Tommy in this form would almost assuredly stand as a definitive recording of rock's entry into the world of "serious" musical accomplishment. As things stand, the studio recording of Tommy is now best seen as a dry run for what the album and narrative would become. Get the live versions, if only to hear Townshend's damn-near overpowering guitar coupled with Daltrey's seemingly effortless shifting between dramatic voices, all done live for your benefit.

Magnum Opus
This album shows a time where The Who were at their prime. The energy of these songs continue to blow newcomers out of the water. Buy this product. You'll fall in love with the greatest rock band of all time all over again. I certainly did.