Tommy (film) - Changes From Album

Changes From Album

The film version of Tommy differs in numerous ways from the original 1969 album. The primary change is the period, which is moved forward to the post-World War II era, while the original album takes place just after World War I. As a result the song "1921" is renamed "1951" and the opening line "got a feelin' '21 is gonna be a good year" changes to "got a feelin' '51 is gonna be a good year". The historical change allowed Russell to use more contemporary images and settings.

In the album, Group Captain Walker returns to find his wife with a new lover and kills him, but in the film this is reversed; the lover (Reed) kills Walker in front of Tommy, heightening the psychological trauma.

Unlike other filmed rock operas (such as that of Pink Floyd's The Wall) the album is never dubbed over the film; the different actors – including Nicholson and Reed, neither of whom were known for their vocal prowess (Reed's character's songs were cut from Oliver!, and Nicholson's in On a Clear Day You Can See Forever appeared only in the now-lost roadshow version) – perform the songs in character instead of The Who, with the exception of Daltrey as Tommy and where Townshend sings narration in place of recitative.

Because of this, all the songs are rerecorded and the song order is shuffled around considerably; this and the addition of several new songs and links creates a more balanced structure of alternating short and long sequences. A large number of songs have new lyrics and instrumentation, and another notable feature is that many of the songs and pieces used on the film soundtrack are alternate versions or mixes from the versions on the soundtrack album.

Major differences between the 1969 and 1975 version:

• The film opens with an a new instrumental, "Prologue 1945" (partly based on the 1969 "Overture") which accompanies the opening sequences of Captain Walker's romance and disappearance.
• "It's A Boy" is separated from "Overture" and becomes the medley "Captain Walker / "It's A Boy"; in the film this medley narrates the aftermath of Walker's disappearance, the end of the war and the birth of Tommy.
• A new song, "Bernie's Holiday Camp", which follows "Captain Walker" / "It's A Boy", portrays Tommy's childhood and his mother's romance with Hobbs (Oliver Reed). The song also features the melody from, and even foreshadows, "Tommy's Holiday Camp".
• "1921" from the 1969 version becomes the medley "1951/What About The Boy", covering the sequence that climaxes with the return of Tommy's father and his killing.
• "The Amazing Journey" (shortened to three minutes) has almost completely different lyrics, and the "guide" from the album is depicted as Tommy's dead father.
• The running order of "Christmas" and "Eyesight to the Blind" is reversed; references to pinball are removed from Christmas and the character of The Hawker becomes The Preacher (Eric Clapton), leader of a faith-healing pop cult worshipping Marilyn Monroe. Arthur Brown is cast as the character The Priest in the film who sings a verse in the song but is not featured on the soundtrack.
• The running order of "The Acid Queen" and "Cousin Kevin" is reversed.
• "Underture" is removed but parts from it have been re-arranged as "Sparks".
• "The Acid Queen", "Cousin Kevin", "Fiddle About", and "Sparks", linked by three renditions of "Do You Think It's Alright?", form an extended sequence depicting Tommy's inner journey and his trials.
• A three-minute version of the "Sparks" theme (with, then new, synthesiser orchestration) precedes "Pinball Wizard". In the film it is used behind the sequence of the dazed Tommy wandering into a junkyard and discovering a pinball machine. The music on the film soundtrack is heavily edited, however, and is a noticeably different mix from the version on the soundtrack album.
• A new linking theme, "Extra Extra", narrates Tommy's rise to fame and introduces the battle with the pinball champ. It is set to the tune of "Miracle Cure".
• "Pinball Wizard" has extra lyrics.
• A new song, "Champagne", which follows "Pinball Wizard", covers the sequence of Tommy's stardom and wealth and his parents' greed.
• "Go to the Mirror!" is shortened, not featuring the elements of "Listening To You", nor the phrase "Go to the mirror".
• "I'm Free" is moved earlier, and now follows "Smash The Mirror" (as was done on the 1971 symphonic album); it covers the lavish psychedelic sequence depicting Tommy's reawakening.
• "I'm Free" is followed by a new song, "Mother and Son", which depicts Tommy's rejection of materialism and his vision for a new faith based around pinball.
• "Sensation", featuring extra lyrics, is moved forward and covers the spread of Tommy's new religion.
• "Sensation" and "Sally Simpson" are joined by the link "Miracle Cure" (a version of the "Extra Extra" theme).
• In "Sally Simpson", the album version mentions her father's Rolls-Royce as blue, but the movie changes the lyrics to black. (The Rolls-Royce in the film is also black).
• In "Sally Simpson", the album version describes Tommy giving a lesson. In the film, Tommy gives a lesson, and the lyrics are changed to the words of the lesson.
• In the album version of "Sally Simpson", the title character jumps on the stage and brushes Tommy's cheek, but in the movie she is kicked off the stage before she can get close to Tommy.
• A new linking piece, "T.V. Studio", is used between "Welcome" and "Tommy's Holiday Camp".
• The 1969 album's closing track "We're Not Going To take It" is split into two pieces, "We're Not Gonna take It" and "Listening To You" / "See Me Feel Me"; this covers the climactic film sequences of Tommy's fall from grace and his final redemption.
• The recent CD reissue of the soundtrack album opens with a newer, previously unreleased version of "Overture From Tommy," which was not included either in the film or on the original soundtrack LP. The track is listed in the CD's song credits as being performed by The Who.