Pete Townshend . . . inspirations from LSD, tfips
and the benign guru Meher Baba.

Tommy returns and
shows he’s grown up

NEW YORK, Thursday: From
the first time it was heard more
than 20 years ago, the Who’s
Tammy divided listeners into two
camps: those who admired its
ambition and grandeur, and those
who scoffed that the‘yery phrase
“rock opera” was a pretentious
oxymoron.

But when the Who performed
Tommy on Tuesday night at Radio
City Music Hall, even a seeptic
had to be heartened at how well
Pete Townshend’s improbable
honr-length work - about an
abused deaf, dumb and blind boy
who finds transcendence through
pinball - has stood the test of
time.

That Tommy works at all is
astonishing, considering the spir-
itual quest its composer was on

when he was pulling it together in
the late 19608.
Townshend’s inspirations

included the benign guru Meber
Baba, numerous LSD trips, and
tales of a spiritually perfect race
on another planet by one George
Adamski.

Yet there was nothing dated or
nostalgic about Tommy as per-
formed by the core of the Who -
Townshend, vocalist Roger Dal-
trey, and bassist John Entwistle
- supplemented by a dozen other
musicians forming a mini-orchas-
tra.

And there was no sign of the
well-pnblicised depressive cyni-

cism from the Who’s yin-and-
yang: Daltrey, in T-shirt and
jeans, sang with force and delight,
while the blaek-suited Townshend
played with passion. His expres-
sion was inscrutable, as if pet-
fonning Tommy was helping him
solve some longstanding inner
mystery.

The rock opera itself was
streamlined, with the 10-minute
instrumental filler Underture
from the 1969 album version
deleted. Video screens flanked the.
stage, and slides that illustrated
parts of the libretto were flashed
behind themnsicians.

If there is any emblem of the
validity of the songs from Tommy,
it is Pinball Wizard, which has
even outlived the now-antiquated
activity it once celebrated.

Because Tommy was so short,
the group played a greatest-hits
set for the next 90 minutes.

The primal stomp of Can’t
Explain and SW, among the
Who’s earliest songs, had it all
over later career dlnosaur-gasps
such as the insincere-sounding.
Join Togedwr With the Band and
the trivial pop of You Better You
Bet.

A new tune from Townshend’s
current solo album sounded like a
weak Cat Stevens song. But when
Townshend wound up his arm for
his ttadelnark windmill strum on
Won’t Get Fooled Again, all was

forgiven. Newsday