Tommy was one
prolific deaf, dumb, and blind boy. The Who’s 1969 double album didn’t just set
their career on track at a time when it seemed to be sputtering and officially
entered the term “rock opera” into the pop lexicon. It became an ace vehicle
for the band’s stage shows, an all-star symphonic album and concert series, an
overblown Ken Russell movie, and a Tony-winning Broadway musical. Fortunately,
Martin R. Smith’s 2013 documentary The
Who – Sensation – The Story of Tommy is really only concerned with the original
album that— along with the rock performances it spawned—was the best thing
about the phenomenon. Pete Townshend and his buddy and faithful Who-chronicler
Richard Barnes do most of the heavy lifting, while Roger Daltrey, soundman Bob
Pridden, artist Mike McInnerney, and a small clutch of rock critics contribute
additional color.
Because Sensation
is mostly concerned with what Pete Townshend intended Tommy to mean, and because that meaning is so intensely personal to
him, some of the story of the opera’s creation gets short shrift. Manager Kit
Lambert’s role in helping steer the songwriter into the rock opera realm is
underplayed, as are the contributions of John Entwistle (who composed two key
episodes in Tommy Walker’s troubled childhood) and Keith Moon (who devised the
zany holiday camp aspect of the story). Nevertheless, it is always fascinating
to hear Pete Townshend to talk about—well—pretty much anything. He is
especially candid in Sensation, getting
deeper into some of his own childhood traumas he’d discussed in his
autobiography Who I Am. His candor
makes Sensation more than some rote
“Classic Albums” episode, and we learn how extensively the rock opera was
inspired by his own experiences. Townshend’s ability to weave personal sadness
into such grand success is a true triumph.
Augmenting the feature on Eagle Vision's new home video release is one fantastic extra: The Who’s
complete 1969 Tommy special from the
German series “Beat Club”. As well as miming along to eight Tommy tracks with his band against a
chroma-key backdrop of pinball tables and Mike McInnerney’s artwork, Townshend fields questions
about his newly written opera. The special is a fab piece of Rock & Roll
kitsch very true to the spirit of The Who.
