 Tommy. Concept album, rock opera, feature
film, Broadway smash.
The Who's 1969 album certainly has had a long, lively career
in a number of different incarnations. Pete Townshend took
his deceptively simple story and created an entire album around
it. In doing so, The Who grew artistically from a singles
band to something so much more.
Pete
Townshend's rock opera tells the story of young Tommy Walker
who, after witnessing a horrifying act of violence, is struck
"deaf, dumb, and blind." Tommy experiences a childhood of
neglect and abuse. Tommy's main outlet, besides staring into
a mirror, is his mastery of pinball, which makes him a huge
celebrity. Tommy regains his senses after being thrown through
his mirror by his mother, and uses his new perspective and
fame to elevate himself to guru/godlike levels. His followers
eventually revolt, causing it all to crash down upon him.
Just as Roger Daltrey sings in the character of Tommy: "See
me, touch me, feel me;" the evocative, mesmerizing story screams
out to be told. Maverick English director Ken Russell took
the work, and with the assistance of The Who, created an acid
trip of a feature film in 1975. In 1993, Townshend took Tommy
to Broadway, resulting in a huge, long running hit show. Now
we come back to the beginning. almost.
In 1989 for its 20th anniversary, The Who performed the legendary
rock opera Tommy in its entirety at the Universal Amphitheater
in Los Angeles. The Who: Tommy Live documents this performance.
Having seen his work translated into different mediums by
others for so many years, Townshend must’ve had some
brilliant ideas on what to do if The Who were ever to perform
Tommy on stage.
 He almost got there.
Because the story of Tommy can be just a wee bit confusing
and full of plot holes, this performance of Tommy is fleshed
out with pictures and some text (as seen by the audience on
screens). For the most part, these cutaways aren't too distracting
and do help clarify the bumpy narrative, although it certainly
helped me to have seen Russell's film prior to this. On the
record, the band performs all the characters; in the film
the band and a boatload of actors portray the various characters;
in the play it is only actors. For this anniversary show,
there are special guests singing as select characters. Even
though this approach is quite effective, more characters should've
been portrayed. My take on it is this: If you are going to
use guest stars to tell your story, go the full way or keep
it a pure Who show. As it was here, halfway was half as satisfying.
The first guest on stage is the always fantastic Steve Winwood
as The Hawker. Winwood comes on stage, guitar slung across
his shoulder, and belts out the fantastic, bluesy Eyesight
To The Blind (originally written by Sonny
Boy Williamson II.)
 The
next guest is Billy Idol as bully Cousin Kevin. Now, before
you groan the way I did when I saw his name on the box, let
me tell you this: He actually surprised me. His voice is quite
pleasant, and his irritating mugging and histrionics are kept
to a minimum (never fear, he saves it for the finale.) Perhaps
much of my surprise has to do with him singing the quality
song Cousin Kevin (written by the late Who bassist,
John Entwistle) instead of his usual, crap pseudo-punk.
We are next graced with a true force of nature: Super diva,
Miss Patti LaBelle. Patti's performance of The Acid Queen is, by itself, worth the price of admission. She was so good,
that she actually rivaled the epic Tina Turner version from
the Russell film.
When you reach the high point of Patti LaBelle, you would
expect Elton John performing Pinball Wizard to be a
suitable act to follow her. In this case, you couldn't be
more wrong. Elton John played The Pinball Wizard in Ken Russell's Tommy and actually scored a hit with his cover of the
song from the film. Elton John circa 1989 isn't half the man
that he was in 1975 (despite being twice the size.) John struts
onto stage in a red suit, sequined fedora, and ink black Ray
Bans like the gay Blues Brother. His voice, out of tune, and
as gravelly as a backcountry road, essentially destroyed any
good memory of him doing the song in the past.
 Finally,
Phil Collins comes on stage. Due to the lowest of expectations
on my part, he nearly steals the show. Phil is playing the
reprehensible pedophile Uncle Ernie, and outside of Patti
who may or may not be dressed in character (it's hard to tell
with a diva), he is the only guest to really inhabit the part. Collins wardrobe really recalls Keith Moon's when
he played Uncle Ernie in the film. In fact, Collins' performance
is really the only nod to the late, great Who drummer in the
entire show. Collins sings Fiddle About (written by
Entwistle) and comes back later for Tommy's Holiday Camp.
With the circus out of the way, we really get into The Who.
But there is so much more than guest stars that really detract
from the band. Due to the complexities of the music and Townshend's
hearing problems, we are overwhelmed by a dizzying amount
of musicians on the stage. We have the principals: Townshend
(frustratingly playing only acoustic guitar for the entire
show), lead singer Roger Daltrey, and bassist Entwistle. Then,
crowded onto the same stage as The Who, we have a guitar player,
a keyboard player, two percussionists, three backup singers,
and five horn players. Granted, they sound really good, especially
Daltrey whose voice still sounds fantastic, but damn if it
all doesn't seem bloated.
Anyone who has followed The Who knows that there is probably
more drama in that band than there was in Fleetwood Mac during
their heyday. Most of that drama is encapsulated in one man:
Pete Townshend. As primary songwriter for The Who, he has
always controlled the direction of the band, making the other
three appear to be nothing more than mere  employees.
When original drummer Keith Moon died in 1978, The Who carried
on, unlike Led Zeppelin who never again reformed under that
name when they lost their drummer. When Townshend tired
of The Who, they went on their ironically titled Who's Last
tour in 1982. Since then, they've been through any number
of retirements and farewell tours. Townshend's mercurial personality
is largely the reason for this and it has certainly affected
his bandmates. This fact is quite clear as you watch the show.
The core members have exactly NO interaction with one another.
Not during their classic songs, not during extended solos,
not even during the big bows at the end of the show. Thankfully,
their interpersonal coldness never seems to affect the music:
Seasoned pros that they are, not a note is blown or a cue
missed.
The very end of the show is maybe the most frustrating part.
After the final bow, Roger Daltrey tells the crowd that they
were "just getting warmed up." Then you hear a drumstick clack
and then. fade to black. There was obviously an encore, yet
it wasn't kept on the disc. Dammit!
Video: Eyesight To
The Blind
Visually, The Who: Tommy Live is spectacularly produced.
Through a number of cameras (stationary, tracked, craned,
and handheld,) we get great looks at nearly everything on
stage. It appears as if this show might have been cut live,
as not  every
set-up seems 100% prepared. Very few of these moments exist,
though, and will go unnoticed to most viewers.
The show, captured in 1989, was shot on video that was vintage
to the time. While you don't get the trippy trails from the
light, there are quite a number of hotspots and a general
softness to the picture. The nice surprise is that the transfer,
in spite of the source material, is so clean; no pixilation
or haloing at all. The edits are heavy on fade wipes, which
can really be a train wreck for poor digital transfers. I'm
pleased to say that The Who: Tommy Live handles all
these obstacles with ease.
Audio: Tommy, Can You
Hear Me?
This title is certainly a sonic treat. If you have a home
audio system, feel free to crank this one up. Everything here
is mixed very well, and besides the very minor complaint about
Entwistle's bass getting lost, things sound great. No crappy
board dub with audience noise mixed in for this title.
Extras: Christmas
There are only two extras on this disc: One is a photo gallery
and the other is a visual commentary by Roger Daltrey and
Pete Townshend.
The photo gallery is basically a visual collage of vintage
Tommy art and photos from both the Tommy Era and the '89 tour,
all accompanied by the live version of Overture.
 The visual commentary is an interesting feature. Interspersed
through most of the show is the option to click to the commentary,
which superimposes Daltrey and Townshend (although obviously
not in the same room and never at the same time) over the
show. Townshend, who can certainly be an insufferable prick,
comes across as incredibly interesting and even funny at times
while discussing the inspiration behind Tommy. Sadly, towards
the end, he loses that humor which is replaced by self- absorption.
Townshend, being Townshend, never mentions Daltrey once. Daltrey,
on the other hand, seems terrified of saying anything that
Townshend could interpret as anything other than glowing praise
for him. In fear of being unemployed again, he sucks so much
ass in his commentary that there is hardly any time for interesting
tidbits. Daltrey's bit on Elton John's appearance, and how
he feels about guest stars in general, make it worth slogging
through his ass kissing.
What this title could've really used is some liner notes.
Not anywhere on the disc is it mentioned what brought this
show about. Only because of my own research did I learn that
this show was part of a tour for the 20th anniversary of Tommy.
The Bottom Line: Do
You Think It's Alright?
Tommy was the kind of record where you could put on your headphones,
listen to each of the four album sides, and allow your mind
to tell the interesting, strange story in your own personal
way. The film and the Broadway show told  that
story for us, robbing the viewer of the real discovery and
imagination that made the album such an experience. To a degree, The Who: Tommy Live brings us back to where we are
in control of interpreting the story ourselves.
While there are so many ways this title could've been improved,
it is still a rare chance to see a legendary band play one
of rock's greatest albums live and it its entirety. More than
just a one-time viewing, this is the kind of title where you
can fire up your home theater and feel like you have the best
seat in the house.
NOTE: Although it could've been my specific disc, there were
some slight freezes during chapter changes and some sync issues
after the freezes.
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