Album of the Day

Tommy, by The Who (1969): Tommy has a weird position in my musical history because I didn't actually own a copy of it until I was in college (and now, unfortunately, my remastered CD version is messed up!). I knew the singles off the album ("Pinball Wizard," "We're Not Gonna Take It," etc.), but I was intrigued by the whole "rock opera" idea. Of course, as the liner notes to the version I have point out, it's not actually a rock opera, but more of a song cycle. It's a concept album, actually, in the most straightforward use of the term. And maybe the fact that I grew up knowing what it was supposed to be but not actually hearing it really primed me for large scale rock works. That prep has certainly served me well.