Until seeing this I didn’t realize that Tommy was the Who’s breakout album. It was also the album that allowed the band to break out of being a single release act and get into album based music sales. Sure, they had albums before, but they were essentially collections of singles. Mind you, I’ve never been a huge fan of The Who. Sure, I’ve owned some of their albums, and enjoyed a lot of their songs, but I’ve never really followed them.

This is an in-depth documentary with a lot of interviews, clips and more. I learned a lot. In addition to the things I’ve previously mentioned, I learned just how spiritual of an album Tommy is. I also never realized that it was essentially a one-man writing project, with that one man being Pete Townshend. I have to say that I’ve never owned Tommy, but after seeing this, I might have to change that.

While the documentary itself is great and makes this worth having, the Beat Club footage that’s included as a bonus is icing on the cake. Sure, it’s black and white and full of psychedelic trappings, but just having the songs and interviews is great. I can’t recommend this thing enough, really.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2014  Volume 2 at lulu.com/strangesound.