Rock On! Wednesday, 23 July 2025 – The Who, Humble Pie, Jeff Beck, The Pretty Things & Steppenwolf

Psychedelic, heavy, prog and more innovating sounds spanning the late 60s and the early 70s – Dan’s pick of the week: The Who (Tommy), Humble Pie (Smokin’), Jeff Beck (Truth), The Pretty Things (S.F. Sorrow) & Steppenwolf (Steppenwolf).

Tommy (1969) is een baanbrekend rockopera-album van de Britse band The Who, geschreven voornamelijk door gitarist Pete Townshend. Het album vertelt het verhaal van Tommy Walker, een jongen die doof, stom en blind wordt na een traumatische gebeurtenis, maar uitgroeit tot een spirituele leider en flipperkampioen. In 1975 werd de rockopera verfilmd door de Brit Ken Russell, met Roger Daltrey als Tommy. De bandleden van The Who speelden zelf ook in de film mee. Later werd het bewerkt tot een Broadway-musical (1993).

Sputnik Music review: “To sum the album up in a nutshell, Tommy utilizes acoustic guitars mostly, some keyboards and horns are thrown in for good measure, Roger Daltrey and Pete Townsend seem to share vocal duties about equally, and John Entwistle’s bass is very prominent as well. Of course you’ve got the legendary Keith Moon on drums who really shines throughout the album. With 24 tracks this sounds like a task to get through the whole album, but when you listen from start to finish it seems that time flies because it’s truly mesmerizing. The moment you hear the opening chords of Overture you know you’re in for something truly special. (…)

That was a pretty thorough explanation of the entire album but what exactly makes this a classic in my eyes? Well it’s the piece as a whole. If you were to randomly listen to certain tracks it just wouldn’t work. Instead one must really listen from beginning to end, notice the recurring themes you hear over and over again and really enjoy the story. I really think it’s crucial to understand the story going on because it adds to the emotional depth of the experience.

Tommy has left a legacy, and that legacy is the foundation for all concept albums to come. I can’t help but feel if not for Tommy there wouldn’t have been other defining concept albums such as The Wall or Bat Out of Hell or even another Who album Quadrophenia. This really shows the humble beginning of the “rock opera” and most of the time The Who use simple instruments: guitar, drums, and bass, to craft a diverse sounding album that covers a lot of ground. So come one and all on the amazing journey, and learn all you should know.”

Wednesday, 23 July 2025 12:00 noon CET Brussels – 11 a.m. GMT London. Repeated: 16:00 & 20:00 hrs CET Brussels, 3 p.m. & 7 p.m. GMT London
Ends: 12 midnight CET Brussels, 11 p.m. GMT London.