A Reissued, Remastered ‘Tommy’ Recalls Past Thrills : THE WHO: “Tommy” MCA ****

The disheartening, middlebrow Broadwayization of “Tommy” couldn’t have been a bigger slap in the face to many Who fans than if parts of the classic 1969 rock opera had been licensed for use in toilet bowl commercials.

After seeing the musical at the La Jolla Playhouse in 1992, I doubted I would ever be able to listen to the Who’s original album again with the old admiration and wonder.

But it didn’t take much more than the overture of this digitally remixed and remastered edition of “Tommy” to become enthralled again by the power and majesty of Pete Townshend’s music and vision.

On most scorecards, the Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” stands as the most extraordinary album accomplishment in ‘60s British rock. But “Tommy” is arguably an equally enduring work--a spiritual-edged exploration of reality and purpose in life, with special focus on adolescent confusion and the role of idols in society.

This new edition comes with an extensive essay about the evolution of “Tommy” by Richard Barnes, a valuable chronicler of the Who over the years. It’s a fascinating history, filled with unlikely developments in both the writing and recording of the album.

Consider, for instance, the history of “Pinball Wizard,” which has become in some ways the album’s signature song.

Partway through the recording of “Tommy,” Townshend played a rough mix of the music to influential British rock critic Nic Cohn. Flustered by Cohn’s lukewarm response, Townshend, aware that Cohn was a pinball fan, rushed home and added a pinball element to the story.

“I attempted the same mock baroque guitar beginning that’s on ‘I’m a Boy’ and then a bit of vigorous kind of flamenco guitar,” Townshend says in the liner notes. “I was just grabbing at ideas.”

Though not impressed at first by the song, Townshend was so encouraged by the enthusiastic reaction when he played the demo in the studio that he started thinking more seriously about the song, and it became a pivotal part of the work.

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