I did it again... Tommy

[Lizzerd]

Some may remember a thread I started at 7G, before OC, and after I had listened to The Who's Tommy again after not hearing it for a couple years.

Well, I did it again tonight. Uh, this morning, actually. I'll be checking my ceiling for fallen plaster and my recliner for poop marks when I get out of bed tomorrow, uh, this morning.

I just can't get over what a great overall musical composition Tommy is. And in case you didn't know, the term "rock opera" wasn't just a phrase given to Tommy. It followed all the "rules" of being worthy of the classification of being an "opera".

Pete Townsend's virtuoso talents, both as a writer and guitarist, the range of a young Roger Daltry's voice, the late, great John Entwistle's magic bass, and the late, great Kieth Moon's drumming talents... As soon as the goose bumps settle down, I'll go to bed.

Sorry to the young 'uns for my rant. If you've never listened to Tommy from start to finish at volume level 11, you don't know what innovation in the relatively early days of rock 'n roll are. It's an old fart thing, I guess, but Tommy is with out a doubt a true masterpiece worthy of any music hall of fame.

[Ankf00]

at volume level 11

http://media.urbandictionary.com/image/large/spinaltap-36821.jpg

:cool:

[EDwardo]

I presume it was vinyl.

I had a similar moment last week with Deep Purple Live in Japan. You and me are lucky Lizzard. We were there! :)

[racer2c]

I was never a really a fan of The Who. The hits on the radio were decent enough but they never made me run to the record store to pick up the vinyl. I was a child of the '80's and had my head into punk and metal.
But recently I caught The Who on TV, their Woodstock (or some 60's festivel) and they really showed me why their music and legend still survive today.

It just goes to show you, there can be ten pages of threads about flavor of the week alternative rock bands in which even their so called fans will forget their names in a year, will never hold a candle to the big boys i.e. Who, Floyd, Zep, Beatles, Stones among many others. The musical vibe back then was incredible and the talent was and still is simply phenomenal.

[nissan gtp]

I'm a huge Who/Townsend fan as well. Quadrophenia is my favorite, great rock without the "pop" of Tommy.

[EDwardo]

My Who story

When I was 17 the Who came to town for a concert at a Place called Freedom Palace. It was a scorching hot day but I had 2 tickets and a hot date with Marie. The Palace was a converted ice rink and had no seating. The promoter took advantage of this and oversold the tickets. The place was packed. It had no air conditioning either and it was brutal inside. When Pete and the boys came on stage everyone forgot about the heat. They plugged in and started. For about 2 seconds and then the power breakers tripped. The roadies swarmed the stage and reset everything. Then they started again. For about 2 seconds.
Everyone was beginning to remember how hot it was. The roadies reset and they started again. For about 2 seconds.
In their younger days Roger and Pete weren't known for good manners. Roger was livid. He spun around. (in those days his mike was attached to a heavy cord, which he used to swing his mike.) With a mighty heave he threw it at a giant speaker. Which was still live. There was a massive amplified feedback detonation that rattled the walls. And that was the end of the show.
Years later I saw them again in St. Louis. Roger even mentioned the infamous Freedom Palace meltdown.
Quite a few people had passed out from the heat and several ambulances were summoned. The concession stands were selling cups of ice for $1. There was a big scandal about the unsafe conditions and gouging people desperate for fluids. Freedom Palace was closed soon after.

[devilmaster]

Awesome album, Awesome band. Hell, the movie kicks ass too and I have it on DVD.

I'm probably a spectacle to see (or not) when I'm driving around and Won't Get Fooled Again comes on the radio...... ;)

[RusH]

They were great. I still have my t-shirt from the MSG shows in NYC in 1979.
They were super popular during "The kids are alright". Great LP too.

Our band used to cover Baba OReily all the time. It was tricky trying to mimic the synth in the begining with a guitar...but I got close.
I still have all the recordings of our covers :gomer:

[dando]

I caught The Who a couple of years ago on their last tour. While it wasn't the real deal w/Moon and The Ox passed away, but Townshend and Daltrey were incredible. The energy they exhibited that evening was phenomenal. Truly one of the best concerts I have ever witnessed, and causes me to wonder how great they were back in their prime. :thumbup:

-Kevin

[Kiwifan]

Some of us know exactly what you mean, Lizzerd. :) Take care of those eardrums mate. ;)

Rusty.

[extramundane]

I caught The Who a couple of years ago on their last tour. While it wasn't the real deal w/Moon and The Ox passed away, but Townshend and Daltrey were incredible. The energy they exhibited that evening was phenomenal. Truly one of the best concerts I have ever witnessed, and causes me to wonder how great they were back in their prime. :thumbup:

-Kevin

2000 was awesome. Daltrey, Townshend, Entwistle + Zack Starkey & Rabbit Bundrick for the synth parts. No backup singers, no additional guitarists, just rock.

[devilmaster]

Our band used to cover Baba OReily all the time. It was tricky trying to mimic the synth in the begining with a guitar...but I got close.
I still have all the recordings of our covers :gomer:

I'd like to take a listen if you could mp3 em up.....

[RusH]

I'd like to take a listen if you could mp3 em up.....

We had a scramble for a singer for the show we did..she has was a bit crappy...I`ll see what I can do.

[nz_climber]

being one of the younger folks here, i know what you are on about, I heard the record for the first time at xmas time when going through my dad vinyl collection and loved, got talking to him about the movie etc, anyway I promptly brought the dvd and watched it a few times now, great album.. I am a big fan of the entire album thing - not just 3hits and bsides to fill it out (which is most of the crap these days)

rusty i suggest you go to the real groovy website and get the dvd for $20

[Ziggy]

They made some great albums, I like "Live at Leeds" alot.

"Who's Next" is also a great album, as is "Who are You."

[Hard Driver]

Tommy is good, but I was always partial to Quadraphenia as far as rock opera's were concerned. And I think Live at leads is just an awsome album.

I saw them several times. :thumbup:

[Andrew Longman]

Never liked them. I found them pretentious and part of trend that I felt took Rock'nRoll away from its rebelious, raw, bluesy, roots. I stick them with Yes, ELP, ELO, and a bunch of other bands that took themselves a little too seriously and were way too commercial.

Rock is rock and opera is opera (and Oprah is Oprah :gomer: )

Chuck Berry, Bo Diddly, Clapton, Allman Bros, Pat Travers, heck the Guess Who, but not The Who.

But that just this old farts opinion. I could be wrong. I'm sure Lizzard will tell me. :)

[Greg B]

I have seen them 3 times. The first time was December 1979 in Cincinnati. What a mess. I was happy to get in alive. It was a good concert but totally overshadowed by the deaths. I felt I needed to go see them as soon as possible so we went down to Rupp in Lexington the following summer. Not a bad concert but good Lord that place is huge. Our seats sucked. Last time we saw them was around 7 years ago on the Quadrophenia tour with Billy Idol & Gary Glitter. We had 7th row seats. That was cool. Hopefully this tour I'll be able to see them again. They are really not welcomed in Cincinnati so I guess we're doing some driving.

[RacinM3]

The only time I hate my iPod is when I have it on shuffle play, and a track from Tommy comes up out of the blue, and then when that track ends, it goes into a track by another band. I always want to hear the next track from Tommy!

It really is one of the few records out there meant to be listened to from start, to finish, uninterrupted.

[devilmaster]

They are really not welcomed in Cincinnati so I guess we're doing some driving.

:confused: I understand the 11 deaths, but do some blame the Who for that in Cincy?

[Greg B]

:confused: I understand the 11 deaths, but do some blame the Who for that in Cincy?

Without a doubt. Them & "festival" seating. The lead story on the news just 3 days ago was a report on a comment Pete made on his website saying that there will be general admission seating on their tour this summer. They brought out the old footage of the bodies and they even had new interviews with some concert goers. They finally permitted 1500 general admission at a Springsteen concert last year & you would of thought they were letting KKK members into a 50 Cent concert. The story went on for weeks. All the local news did "Live in-depth, breaking news reports" through the evening keeping the on-edge citizens aware of the carnage that was about to break out at any minute. The whole Who thing is very touchy around here. When they stopped in Dayton on the Quadrophenia tour it was big news. "My God, they're within 50 miles". I'm not kidding. The musical Tommy came to town a few years ago and that was big news with the same interviews & old footage.

[tllips]

The only time I hate my iPod is when I have it on shuffle play, and a track from Tommy comes up out of the blue, and then when that track ends, it goes into a track by another band. I always want to hear the next track from Tommy!

It really is one of the few records out there meant to be listened to from start, to finish, uninterrupted.


Yup! And I have the same feeling with Quadrophenia.


I like both albums and Tommy was obviously the first of its kind and deserves its props for that, but I think Quadrophenia just rocks better!

I've seen the who a couple of times including the Quadrophenia tour w/Billy Idol. Even with Pete's Tinninitis (sp?) and the special plexiglass wall to protect his ears, they are still damn loud. :thumbup:

[oddlycalm]

part of trend that I felt took Rock'nRoll away from its rebelious, raw, bluesy, roots. Ironically, the Who began as a badass rock band. All windmill power chords and gut wrenching bass. During their early career they were not well known in the US and played a lot of small gigs around the Great Lakes area. I first saw them live at a high school gym in 1967 and it was incredible. Big rows of the then-new Sunn Colliseum amps and so loud you could feel it in your gut. As was their custom, they destroyed their equipment during the finale "My Generation" which was all quite alarming to the school officials and parents present. :D No operas in those days, just hard three chord rock and roll(two chord in "My Generation")

I liked all phases of the Who, but I have to say that I liked the Happy Jack/Who Sell Out and the "Who's Next" eras best. I always thought that "I Can See For Miles" was one of the best three chord rock tunes of all time. While the quality of the "Live At Leeds" recording sucked, I thought it captured what they were like live pretty well in a way Woodstock did not. As far as innovation goes, they are high up the chart. They invented the windmill power chord, were first to bring up the high end on the bass so there was enough definition to actually make out the notes, and were the first to think in terms of broad thematic work. Using the most powerful amps run totally clean and without effects produced a ripping guitar sound that was like the air was being ripped apart.

BTW, the opening act was local boy Ted Nugent's old band the Amboy Dukes. Ted was a skinny 16yrs old at the time and was seriously burning on his old Byrdland. In those days he didn't attempt to sing.

oc

[Andrew Longman]

Ironically, the Who began as a badass rock band. All windmill power chords and gut wrenching bass. During their early career they were not well known in the US and played a lot of small gigs around the Great Lakes area. I first saw them live at a high school gym in 1967 and it was incredible. Big rows of the then-new Sunn Colliseum amps and so loud you could feel it in your gut. As was their custom, they destroyed their equipment during the finale "My Generation" which was all quite alarming to the school officials and parents present. :D No operas in those days, just hard three chord rock and roll(two chord in "My Generation")

I liked all phases of the Who, but I have to say that I liked the Happy Jack/Who Sell Out and the "Who's Next" eras best. I always thought that "I Can See For Miles" was one of the best three chord rock tunes of all time. While the quality of the "Live At Leeds" recording sucked, I thought it captured what they were like live pretty well in a way Woodstock did not. As far as innovation goes, they are high up the chart. They invented the windmill power chord, were first to bring up the high end on the bass so there was enough definition to actually make out the notes, and were the first to think in terms of broad thematic work. Using the most powerful amps run totally clean and without effects produced a ripping guitar sound that was like the air was being ripped apart.

BTW, the opening act was local boy Ted Nugent's old band the Amboy Dukes. Ted was a skinny 16yrs old at the time and was seriously burning on his old Byrdland. In those days he didn't attempt to sing.

oc

I fully expected/expect to get flamed for not loving The Who. There is obviously great talent there, but even their early stuff didn't appeal to me. The Stones always seem to have it over them IMO on whit, originality, rawness.

Now Nugent was another matter. And talk about loud. I saw him about 1978 in Arrowhead stadium and there were noise complaints about 25 miles away. I thought my ears were going to bleed. Certainly not the talent and diverse body of work as the Who (or commercial success) but much more in keeping with the R&R genre. R&R should make want to pick a fight with the baddest ass in the room. Townsend and Daltry never did that for me.

Nugent has become a charactiture of himself and Townsend's bust for child pornagraphy a few years back left me even colder. I can believe he was abused as a kid but I have a hard time believing he was doing "research". That's what a lot of people call it.

Anyway, enjoy. I'm not trying to spoil anyone's fun so I'll shut up about it.

[racer2c]

I fully expected/expect to get flamed for not loving The Who. There is obviously great talent there, but even their early stuff didn't appeal to me. The Stones always seem to have it over them IMO on whit, originality, rawness.

Now Nugent was another matter. And talk about loud. I saw him about 1978 in Arrowhead stadium and there were noise complaints about 25 miles away. I thought my ears were going to bleed. Certainly not the talent and diverse body of work as the Who (or commercial success) but much more in keeping with the R&R genre. R&R should make want to pick a fight with the baddest ass in the room. Townsend and Daltry never did that for me.

Nugent has become a charactiture of himself and Townsend's bust for child pornagraphy a few years back left me even colder. I can believe he was abused as a kid but I have a hard time believing he was doing "research". That's what a lot of people call it.

Anyway, enjoy. I'm not trying to spoil anyone's fun so I'll shut up about it.

He swung on a rope in a loin cloth and sang "Wango Tango". :rolleyes:

Now Skynyrd on the other hand...a rather forgotten band due to their southern fried stigma, but had many hits and whose body of work is still quite impressive. I heard some crappy remake of Simple Man last Summer and it almost made me puke. Why do people feel the need to butcher a perfectly good song.?

[Ziggy]

Take a chill pill Andrew, I dont think anybody flamed you. If that was a flame, then you need to grow a sack. It appears to me but one guys opinion, and not one sentence cast any such negativity towards what you, of your own free will, posted

so STFU, It reads like your quite full of yourself

Now go enjoy your Lawerence Welk and Burl Ives albums, double down on the prunes :D

[nrc]

He swung on a rope in a loin cloth and sang "Wango Tango". :rolleyes:
Ted had some pretty good guitar chops back in the day. And he rarely noodled.

[dando]

Ted had some pretty good guitar chops back in the day.
Stranglehold is a classic....especially when played in The Shoe during the Nugent era. :thumbup: Otherwise, Cat Scratch Fever, Great White Buffalo, and Wango Tango = one-hit wonder status.

-Kevin

[racer2c]

Thin Lizzy, there is an underrated band with good chops. They were doing really melodic duel guitar solo's way before the '80's metal barrage.

How about an "underrated rock band" thread. :)

On topic, one of my favorite rolling Stone cover was Townsend holding his guitar with blood streaming down his hand.

[Andrew Longman]

Take a chill pill Andrew, I dont think anybody flamed you. If that was a flame, then you need to grow a sack. It appears to me but one guys opinion, and not one sentence cast any such negativity towards what you, of your own free will, posted

so STFU, It reads like your quite full of yourself

Now go enjoy your Lawerence Welk and Burl Ives albums, double down on the prunes :D


Whoa Whoa Whoa Zig. I have failed to communicate. Crap.

Didn't say I was flamed, just bracing for it. And never expected my Nugent experience to label me a LW fan. Until Cat Scratch Feverin 77, no one but me knew who Nugent was in Jersey. My Michigan connections turned me on to him long before that. Freeforall at 11 was/is my favorite "tactic" for waking the drunken crowd to get them out of my house on the morning after.

Anyway. Maybe I'm full of myself, but that's not my intent and welcome the feedback to keep me real.

[racer2c]

Ted had some pretty good guitar chops back in the day. And he rarely noodled.

I lumped Ted into same catagory as Nazereth and BTO. They had loyal fans but they were still b-rate bands.

[Opposite Lock]

One day, Chuck Norris wanted to rock out on a guitar. Upon realizing that a guitar is usually tuned in intervals of mostly 4ths, (instead of 5ths like the violin that he grew up playing, under one of his covert names, Itzhak Perlman), Chuck went hunting for a guitar player, and time-travelled to 1969 to give a round-house kick to the Amboy Dukes, which caused them to journey to the center of their minds, eventually resulting in Ted Nugent finding himself on his butt, next to the New Jersey Turnpike. Out of sheer alpha instinct, Ted immediately fired Derrick St. Holmes. Hey, Baby – could have been about anyone.

By this time Chuck Norris was pizzled that it wasn’t about Chuck anymore. Chuck gave Ted the option of “getting mellow”.

(then there were some flaming arrows and more round-house kicks, and nobody is really sure what happened, but some say “hucking” was involved.)

By sunset, with each party still refusing to concede to the other, Ted advised Chuck that Chuck’s house was in danger:
“IF YOUR HOUSE GETS IN MY WAY BABY
YOU KNOW I'LL BURN IT DOWN.”
(At this point, film documentarist Ken Burns briefly interrupts to make an ole-timey musical suggestion. He is advised to “step” off.)

Upon discovering that Ted’s threats had been carried out, but only on a figurative, (not literal) level, Chuck Norris declares himself the winner, and emphatically notes that those who don’t learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat it. The estate of George Santayana then delivered him a powerful round-house kick for infringement, and then added, “not that there is anything wrong with it.”

[Greg B]

As I mentioned in an earlier post. The whole December 3th, Who thing is very much alive in Cincinnati. Here is a response from Pete Townsend to a local TV news channel posted today.

Pete Townshend Comments

LAST UPDATE: 2/8/2006 10:38:03 AM


If "The Who" returns to Cincinnati, the group would take extra precautions to avoid past tragedies. Last week, the band announced it will go on tour with festival seating for the first time since eleven people were killed in Cincinnati in 1979. Rocker Pete Townshend tells us he would like to come back to the Tri-State. But if that does happen, the band would make an exception, and not use festival seating here. Right now, no American cities or dates are set for the tour.

Pete Townshend's response to Local 12:

"To begin with a kind of disclaimer: the festivals the Who join this summer will happen whether or not we appear. At these events we do not control any aspect of the way the crowd is treated. Every Festival is subject to strict safety laws made stricter by high police presence at all public music events in Europe.

I would love to come back to Cincinatti. I would find it emotional and cathartic. If we ever were to play the city again, we would acknowledge the lessons of the past and refuse Festival seating (as we do at all shows we ourselves control unless it is an integral part of any special and long standing event). It would be an opportunity to speak about what happened all those years ago, and to reassess what the "industry" of rock has got right, and what it has got wrong over the years.

Pete Townshend"

[racer2c]

What ever happened to Pete and his pediphile charges?

[dando]

As I mentioned in an earlier post. The whole December 3th, Who thing is very much alive in Cincinnati. Here is a response from Pete Townsend to a local TV news channel posted today.

Pete Townshend Comments

LAST UPDATE: 2/8/2006 10:38:03 AM


If "The Who" returns to Cincinnati, the group would take extra precautions to avoid past tragedies. Last week, the band announced it will go on tour with festival seating for the first time since eleven people were killed in Cincinnati in 1979. Rocker Pete Townshend tells us he would like to come back to the Tri-State. But if that does happen, the band would make an exception, and not use festival seating here. Right now, no American cities or dates are set for the tour.

Pete Townshend's response to Local 12:

"To begin with a kind of disclaimer: the festivals the Who join this summer will happen whether or not we appear. At these events we do not control any aspect of the way the crowd is treated. Every Festival is subject to strict safety laws made stricter by high police presence at all public music events in Europe.

I would love to come back to Cincinatti. I would find it emotional and cathartic. If we ever were to play the city again, we would acknowledge the lessons of the past and refuse Festival seating (as we do at all shows we ourselves control unless it is an integral part of any special and long standing event). It would be an opportunity to speak about what happened all those years ago, and to reassess what the "industry" of rock has got right, and what it has got wrong over the years.

Pete Townshend"

I thought Ohio state laws outlawed festival seating for concerts after the Cincy tragedy? I was just 13 @ the time, but I could swear I remember reading about that @ the time.

-Kevin

[dando]

What ever happened to Pete and his pediphile charges?
He was cleared.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/01/13/entertainment/main536249.shtml

-Kevin

[Greg B]

I thought Ohio state laws outlawed festival seating for concerts after the Cincy tragedy? I was just 13 @ the time, but I could swear I remember reading about that @ the time.

-Kevin
I don't think so. I saw U2 in Cleveland in December and the floor was GA. In Cincinnati 2 years ago they had about 1500 GA tickets available for a Springsteen show. I believe Cincinnati may of had an ordnance banning it but when it became obvious that some acts were refusing to play in Cinti (such as U2 & Bruce) they modified it. I think they built in a percentage total tickets/GA tickets clause into it.

[nz_climber]

what is this crazy seating thing that kills people? me I been to plenty on concerts here - and none have had seating at all on the floor... just big moshpits and weirdo's (like myself) :P