The Who - Tommy OST (RSD 25) The Who

Not strictly a Who album, though all four members of The Who are featured on the reworked versions of Tommy songs as they appeared in the movie. Theres an interesting selection of vocalists, including Oliver Reed, Jack Nicholson, Tina Turner, Ann-Margret and Elton John, whose spin through ‘Pinball Wizard’ with his own stage band is the albums highlight and which became a hit single in 1975. By and large, the songs all feature an abundance of Pete’s synthesizer work and elaborate choral arrangements by backing vocalists brought in to offset the vocal shortcomings of actors. Several songs are radically re-worked by the all-star band (which, ironically, included Kenney Jones drumming on many of the tracks since Keith was absent), and there are a couple of completely new songs in ‘Champagne’ and ‘Mother And Son’. John does most of the bass work as well as playing all the horn parts. Pete played the synthesizers and also produced the musical score.