Six Rock Operas Released in the Wake of ‘Tommy’

Today marks the 49^th anniversary of The Who’s seminal rock opera ‘Tommy.’ The album, about a boy who becomes deaf, blind and dumb after witnessing a traumatic event, would become one of the first and most well-known rock operas in music history.

It is not unheard of for a band to want to tell a story with their music. And in the nearly five decades following the release of ‘Tommy,’ there have been countless other bands who have released their own rock operas. In some instances, these works have garnered a lot of attention for their respective artist, either reviving their careers or launching them into the stratosphere.

Inspired by the album’s anniversary, Vinyl Bay 777, Long Island’s music outlet, is taking a look at some of the rock operas to come out in the wake of ‘Tommy.’ From coming of age stories to farces about time travel and beyond, here are six that have had an impact on the musical landscape.

1.       The Who, ‘Quadrophenia’: I would be remiss if I didn’t mention The Who’s other rock opera. ‘Quadrophenia’ was released in 1973 and was the band’s first album written entirely by Pete Townshend. The story follows Jimmy, a mod fed up with his life as he comes to terms with the changing world around him. While it never saw the kind of success ‘Tommy’ did, many critics at the time felt it was a much better story and album, and is widely considered one of the band’s best albums to this day.

2.       Green Day, ‘American Idiot’: Released in 2004, ‘American Idiot’ reinvigorated Green Day’s career after previous album ‘Warning’ failed to maintain the band’s momentum. The story is pretty similar to that of ‘Quadrophenia,’ following punk “Jesus of Suburbia” as he tries to find himself. ‘American Idiot’ pairs social commentary with strong melodies and lyrics, transcending the band’s punk roots. Green Day released another rock opera, ‘21^st Century Breakdown,’ five years later, but it never gained the same kind of traction, and a handful of its songs became part of the ‘American Idiot’ Broadway production.

3.       My Chemical Romance, ‘The Black Parade’: Two years after Green Day released ‘American Idiot,’ My Chemical Romance decided to make their own rock opera (with the same producer, Rob Cavallo). ‘The Black Parade’ was a big album for the band, who had found success within the pop-punk/“emo” scene with their first two albums but had yet to hit mainstream notoriety. The story centered on a man dying of cancer looking back at his life and his experience in the afterlife. For a band that spent as much effort on theatrics as they did on music, a rock opera makes sense, as the band virtually became the Black Parade in its wake.

4.       Ludo, ‘Broken Bride’: A minor pop-punk band out of St. Louis, Ludo made a name for themselves in 2008 with the minor hit “Love Me Dead” from their major label debut, ‘You’re Aweful, I Love You.’ But before people discovered their fun, over the top style, the band put out a mini rock opera that was pretty well received (perhaps the reason for their discovery). ‘Broken Bride’ told the fantastical story of a man who travels through time to save his wife. Another band who doesn’t shy away from the dramatic, ‘Broken Bride’ is the perfect reflection of their storytelling prowess.

5.       Pink Floyd, ‘The Wall’: Besides ‘Tommy,’ ‘The Wall’ is probably the best known rock opera out of to come out of the 1970s. The story focuses on famed rock musician Pink and all the factors that led him to isolate himself from the outside world. Though originally paned, ‘The Wall’ became one of the band’s defining albums, even giving them their only number one hit with “Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2).”

6.       Queensryche, ‘Operation: Mindcrime’: In 1988, Metal band Queensryche released ‘Operation: Mindcrime,’ their third album. The story follows protagonist Nikki, a reformed drug addict who becomes brainwashed into becoming a political assassin. Unlike the other albums on this list, ‘Operation: Mindcrime’ was recorded as if it were a stage production, with singer Pamela Moore singing the parts for Sister Mary and actor Anthony Valentine taking on the role of Dr. X, while frontman Geoff Tate played protagonist Nikki. The album went on to become the band’s first platinum-selling album and directly led to even bigger successes. ‘Operation: Mindcrime’ is also the only album on this list to warrant a sequel, which was released in 2006 and featured Ronnie James Dio taking over the role of Dr. X.

In the nearly five decades since The Who found success with their album ‘Tommy,’ many other artists have followed in their footsteps to create their own rock operas. From psychedelic to punk to metal, bands of all genres have been able to have success with the format. Such has proved to be an excellent way to push an artist’s boundaries and tell a story in new and exciting ways.

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Find groundbreaking rock operas from these artists and more at Vinyl Bay 777. Long Island’s favorite new independent record shop has a wide selection of new and used vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, music DVDs and memorabilia in stock. Browse thousands of titles in a variety of genres in store at our Plainview location or online at vinylbay777.com. More titles are being added to our selection all the time, so you never know what you might find at Vinyl Bay 777.