Could a deaf, dumb and blind kid really have been responsible for prog rock? When Tommy was released in 1969, bands scrambled to create an overblown rock opus they could call their own, but none could match Pete Townshend's overarching vision of a sensory-deprived messiah with preternatural pinball skills. And not a goblin or snow goose in sight Tommy may not have been as grandly realised as Quadrophenia, four years later, but it was packed with great riffs and addictive melodies, and spawned one of The Who's biggest hits, Pinball Wizard. Tommy already got the remaster treatment in 2003, but this new version features 20 unheard demos done in Townshend's meticulous style, plus a live performance of Tommy (guitars nicely cranked up) taken from tapes Townshend had ordered destroyed, but which were salvaged by sound engineer Bob Pridden.
Download: Pinball Wizard; Sensation; I'm Free