Film Soundtrack Album:
Tommy
Not strictly a Who album, although all four members of the band were featured on the reworked versions of the '
Tommy' songs that appeared in Ken Russel's movie. There is an interesting selection of vocalists here, including non-singers Oliver Reed ('
Bernie's Holiday Camp') and Jack Nicholson ('
Go To The Mirror]'. Offset against these, however, are Tina Turner, who gives a tremendous version of '
The Acid Queen' and Elton John, whose take on '
Pinball Wizard' was recorded with his own stage band, and became a huge hit single for him
By and large, the songs all feature an abundance of Pete's synthesizer work and elaborate choral arrangements by backing vocalists brought in to counter the musical shortcomings of the tone deaf singers
Several songs were radically reworked by the all star band, which ironically included Kenney Jones on many of the tracks since Keith couldn't always be relied on
There are also a couple of completely new songs on offer - '
Champagne and '
Mother and Son, both sang by Ann-Margaret
John does most of the bass work as well as playing all the synthesizers. Pete produced the record - a thankless task that drove him to the brink of a nervous breakdown
This LP is really a kitsch novelty item, of interest mainly to Who completists. Stick to the original Who version, or, better still, seek out some of the live versions of 'Tommy' recorded by the band circa 1969/1970