Customer Reviews

Tommy - As Performed by the London Symphony Orchestra & Chambre Choir with Guest Soloists

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a wonderful adaptation of the Who's classic rock opera. To my mind, it is far, far superior to the movie soundtrack. The trouble with the Soundtrack (in my opinion) was the predominance of the non-singers like Jack Nicholson, Ann-Margaret and Oliver Reed (the Broadway version does not even merit mention). Sure, there was Tina Turner and Elton John, but overall, the hallmark of that 'track was the signature non-singers singing in what was an incredibly weak effort. By contrast, here we have Merry Clayton, Rod Steward and Richie Haven. Do they match up performer to performer with the Soundtrack? Depends on whether you prefer Elton to Rod, and Tina to Merry. Otherwise down the line, this is far superior.

But it is the fabulous performance of the London Symphony Orchestra and accompanying choir give this effort a fullness and lush quality which is missing from every other adaptation. Give a listen to the "Underture" which sounds just fine on the original concept album, that is, until hearing it done by a full orchestra.

Reviewer 'Music fan' may be correct. The way to go may well be by the purchase of the movie soundtrack (for Elton and the Divine Ms Turner), the Original, and this effort. Then burning one's own CD (or making an original cassette) which will give the best of all worlds.

This stands very well, however, alone. Something that until now, only the Original Concept Album could do.

If my memory serves, this came out in 1975 or so. One of my best friends from the old neighborhood gave me this for a birthday present before heading back to college (thanx, Roger). I made a cassette, then combined the three onto my reel-to-reel.

I have searched for this CD for a long time, but why Amazon calls this limited I don't know. They advertise and sell it new, with next day delivery since Rhino has re-released it.

It's the best, Mrs. Walker, its the best!

I love this recording. The performances by the guest artists are outstanding, led by a pre-glam Rod Stewart's "Pinball Wizard", and even the atonal delivery of Richard Harris comes across well. Ringo cracks me up as Uncle Ernie(as does his portrait in the accompanying pamphlet). Merry Clayton does a credible Acid Queen, but I'm comparing her with Tina's in the film version, and Bette Midler's wonderful job in the 1971 Seattle stage version(the 1st time Tommy was performed as a full-on stage production). Maggie Bell steams as Tommy's mother, and Roger Daltrey's plaintive "See Me, Feel Me" is one of the highlights. And, while I agree with the above reviewer that this is meant to be listened to LOUD, the first time I let a friend play this CD, he played the opening overture through once, and said "Wow! I've got to crank this." And promptly blew the woofers in his Klipsch Belles. Pick this up, and if you get the chance, snag the vinyl set, as the tiny format of the CD pamphlet doesn't do the booklet in the original 2-record box set justice at all. You MUST get it for the "mean widdle kid" portrait of Rod. It's classic. The vinyl set came out in '73, and though most of my musical tastes have changed, this remains a constant to me.

The music itself is a classic of the 1960's / 1970's. The addition of the London Symphony, chorus, and various artists brings out the Pete Townsehnd opera. I own the original on Decca (US) vinyl and wanted a CD for it's clean sound. The original vinyl is getting hard, if not impossible, to find, and it's hard to play an LP in the car :-)

I now have two versions of the CD. One is on Rhino / ODE records and was purchased for $20 from Best Buy. The other purchased from Amazon is on Polydor and cost $60. I purchased the Amazon version first, and as you will read further, then went looking for a different version. Upon further research, I found there are actually multiple pressings / mixes of this CD. Beware of what you are looking for. I may have a rare original CD set (or maybe a poor pirate version), but the Polydor version I purchased from Amazon is not listenable.

The Rhino / ODE version comes on one CD, has 25 tracks, and when loaded into iTunes - immediately brings up all the tracks. The Polydor version comes on two CD's, has only 24 tracks, the final three on the Rhino / ODE CDE are blended into two on the Polydor version. The Polydor version sounds worse than my well used (though well maintained) vinyl. On a B&O turntable, I can distinctly hear my Decca vinyl hiss in the background - on the Polydor CD it's much worse and is clearly in the foreground ! On the Polydor CD version you can distinctly hear the needle drop onto the vinyl at the start, multiple clicks and pops as you progress through the sound, and further, the Polydor version has noticeable skips on several of the tracks. It almost sounds as if someone played a poor version of the vinyl on inferior equipment and simply burned it onto the CD's. My own well used vinyl version burned to CD would have sounded better !

The Rhino version has a jewel case insert which looks just like my vinyl case - black top, two eyeballs. Further the Rhino / ODE insert has interior artwork miniaturized from the original vinyl. The Polydor insert is yellow on top and has interior artwork is completely different.

I have since learned that there are several versions of the CD's. There is a 1996 remix on MCA (USA) and Polydor (Germany & Japan) which are highly recommended. I would also highly recommend the Rhino / ODE version. It's clean, crisp, and aside from the usual purist comments of analog vs. digital sound, is a faithful, clean sounding version of the original. The Polydor, if it's real, for listening purposes is a piece of junk. I suspect it's a pirate version, because from all the folks I've contacted all of the CD's sounded good, so this one ...

I have purchase literally thousands of $ worth of items on Amazon, and this is my first disappointment. I don't know yet for sure if it's a rip-off / pirate or just an original but bad recording.

Beware the imitators !

I came upon this masterpiece in an unusual way. I was watching an educational movie that showed the "Blue Flame" breaking the land speed record on the Bonneville Salt Flats in a Jr. High science class (quite some time ago). The bits of background music in the movie included the instrumental refrain from "We're Not Gonna Take It" (does anybody remember this movie?). I was hooked. I searched and searched and finally found the album -- actually bought the cassette, which has lasted almost 30 years, but is now on its last legs. I later heard The Who's original 1969 Tommy Concept Album, and although I thought it was good, it just didn't match up in my opinion. Years later, I saw the movie version. It was interesting to see the celluloid images that I pictured in my mind from listening to the London Symphony version, but the soundtrack was somewhat of a disappointment. None of the artists were at their best, and I thought Elton John was flamboyant overkill as the Pinball Wizard, both visually and audibly. I haven't seen or heard the Broadway version, so I am not in a position to make any comparisons on that one.

If you get the (apparently) rare opportunity, definitely buy the 1972 London Symphony/Who version of Tommy. You will not be disappointed. The cast of musicians is stellar and in top form; most continue to stand the test of music industry time and produce fine music today. The remarkably emotional performances by the cast are only strengthened by the backing orchestra. The rock opera is a milestone in rock history, and the cast and orchestra turn it to classic gold. It is as wonderful and fresh to listen to now as it was nearly three decades ago. It is truly timeless...one of a kind. Get it. Play it loud!

I was lucky enough to find a used copy of the album in vinyl about 20 years ago as a back-up, but disheartened to find that Amazon is out of stock on the CD and awaiting a reissue. Hopefully that will happen for the sake of all of us.

First, if you can find the vinyl version of this anywhere, by all means get it. It has the coolest packaging of any album I can think of, and a gorgeous libretto booklet.
I'm a longtime Who fan, but the original "Tommy" has never been one of my favorite albums. In my opinion, the first side of the original "Tommy" is great but it tends to get bogged down in the middle and loses its energy. The movie soundtrack, to be frank, is terrible, other than Elton John and Tina Turner's tracks (though I have to admit I enjoy the movie itself).
The London Symphony version is in my opinion on a par with The Who's original version. While it has a few weak moments (Ringo as Uncle Ernie sounds less like a pervert and more like Elmer Fudd) and is overblown or too quiet musically in places, it offers pleasure in the least expected ways. The instrumental numbers ("Sparks", "Underture," etc.), some of the weaker tracks from the original, in particular show new facets in a symphonic setting that I'm sure Pete Townshend appreciated at the time. Daltrey sounds great with the L.S.O., and Entwistle as well. Keith Moon would have been a welcome addition but still, this is an interesting and beautifully presented version.

Maybe I am a complete idiot, but I don't think that this is the same recording that the other two reviews say it is. They are saying that this is the movie soundtrack to Tommy, which does NOT do the music justice. I grew up with the record of this version and it is incredible. Ann Margret and Oliver Reed are no where to be found on this, if it is the album I think it is. Neither is Elton John, for that matter. Pinball Wizard is sung by Rod Stewart, Tommy is performed by Roger Daltry, of course. The mother is played (perfectly) by Maggie Bell. Ringo Starr is Uncle Ernie. The doctor is Richard Harris. Steve Winwood is the father. Richie Havens sings "Eyesight to the Blind." And the rest of The Who are featured throughout it, including Pete Townsend as the narrator. Personally, this is the best version of Tommy. It has the best of both worlds. The music is performed well, unlike the movie version, but it still keeps a lot of the edge of the original music, unlike the broadway version. Just hearing Maggie Bell's performance of the mother is well worth the price of this album.

Good news! A re-mastered edition of this wonderful recording is now available. Issued on the German 'Repertoire' label, it comes in a slick slip case with a 36-page booklet, containing the lyrics and original art work. Well worth the wait!! It should be available here soon.

Sept 17, 1973. I was 18... bought the vinyl album and have loved it for many years. The last decade or so, I rarely have listened to my vinyl records. But a few days ago, I recieved a USB turntable with intentions of digitizing my vinyl collection, This album was, of course, one of the very first ones selected and after listening to it now, I can say in my opinion that it is one of the very best recordings I own. The fullness and warmth of vinyl is so far superior to mp3 or cd quality that I have decided to spend Christmas transferring more of my vinyl collection and deleting the poor quality mp3s from my player.

Merry Clayton's version of "Acid Queen" surpasses even Tina Turner's. John Entwistle's "Cousin Kevin" is a masterpiece... Rod Stewart's "Pinball Wizard" with the LSO accompaniment is -by far- superior to any other version available.

Many believe that the recorded version by The Who, and only The Who is better. Others would disagree. I believe that some of the artists did justice to The Who (Elton John, Tina Turner, etc), but others did not. In short, to get the most out of Tommy you will need to buy both albums. It's worth the dough, trust me. Hearing both and comparing makes it all the more worth while. ENJOY!

The production of this version of The Who s' "TOMMY" is so good that has a life of its own. There are great vocal performances on this recording such as the late John Entwistle s' take on Cousin Kevin. Also, the LSO version of "Underture" is so good cause it captures the right mode and "magic" of the song inside the hole plot.

The original recording by THE WHO, has great moments, and the reason why it generated interest for so many years, was that it gave the listener space to imagination and dream. This version (the second one), has the same effect, destroyed by the movie and the movie soundtrack (not saying that they are bad). There is the stage version,with another couple of new songs added. Also some live recordings by the Who(Join Together and Isle of Wight). There are also some Pete Townshend demos (on "Scoop" and also the new doble verion of Tommy). There is also another great recording by a unknown band released in 1972.
We only need now Pete Townshend s' demos altogether.