For the quarter century since its arrival on vinyl, "Quadrophenia" has been known as Pete Townshend and the Who's "other" rock opera—deep in the shadow of their earlier "Tommy." The flashy production of "Quadrophenia" that came to the Forum on Tuesday (and continues its U.S. arena tour on Friday at the Pond of Anaheim) isn't likely to change that situation.

Just as the ambitious tale of youthful anxiety and desire deals with the split personalities of a '60s British teenager named Jimmy, the rambling production suffers from its own identity crisis—its powerful music frequently neutralized by excessive embroidery.

The passion of the original recording was so distanced at times by the various video and other theatrical extras at the Forum that you almost expected lead singer Roger Daltrey to step from the proceedings and scream out, in the tradition of one of "Tommy's" most famous passages, "Jimmy, can you hear me?"

Thrilled by the way "Tommy" has been embraced by '90s theater

The grandiosity in a reunion staging of 'Quadrophenia' puts a distance between the show and the music.

Audiences, Townshend appears anxious to give "Quadrophenia" a similar life of its own—eventually, no doubt, as a musical play with actors and a story line. At the start of the encore Tuesday, he even joked about waiting backstage for scripts and suggestions from all the "movie folks" in the audience.

While this tour may well inspire some thought in that direction, the true inspiration for a successful "Quadrophenia" production is likely to come from simply listening to the album again or viewing director Franc Roddam's excellent 1979 film version.

The Who's Daltrey, Townshend and bassist John Entwistle were joined on stage by a virtual army of associates: lead guitarist Simon Townshend, drummer Zak Starkey, two keyboardists, two backup singers, a percussionist and five horn players. The production also used three overhead video screens to push the story of Jimmy forward via excerpts from the Roddam film and newly shot footage.

To add color, British rock singers Gary Glitter and Billy Idol acted out in song the parts of two "Quadrophenia" characters. Unfortunately, the two were little more than cartoonish turns that cut into

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