10 Rock Albums That You MUST Listen To In Full
4. Tommy - The Who
At the start of the '60s, the Who were known as one of the more raucous live acts to come out of the British Invasion. Off the strength of songs like My Generation and I Can See For Miles though, you could tell that Pete Townshend was starting to head in a bit of a different direction with his songwriting. Even though the three minute single was fun, it was time that rock's material entered the big leagues.
Having the idea for an opera of sorts, Townshend fashioned Tommy as the first rock opera, with each song complimenting the next revolving around the life of a deaf, dumb, and blind boy. By far, this was the most ambitious that the Who had ever gotten, bringing in horns and string sections to fill out the rest of the sound. Make no mistake though, this is still a rock album, as Tommy's tale goes through a sad story of redemption only to find it crumbling down around him, which proved to be oddly prophetic of the rock star lifestyle itself.
The resounding success was so successful that it spanned into a Broadway show, a movie, and a tour where the Who played the entire opera in its entirety. With people still referencing it years later, it's safe to say that Townshend fulfilled his vision of having something greater than just a couple of chords.