Tommy [PA]

Performer: The Smithereens
Engineer: Kurt Reil; Kurt Reil
Producer: Dennis Diken; Jim Babjak; Kurt Reil; Dennis Diken; Jim Babjak; Kurt Reil; Pat DiNizio
Distributor: E1 Distribution (USA)

Notes: Tributee: The Who. Personnel: Jim Babjak (vocals, guitar, background vocals); Pat DiNizio (vocals, guitar); Dennis Diken (vocals, drums, percussion, background vocals); Severo Jornacion (bass guitar). Audio Mixer: Kurt Reil. Audio Remasterer: Arnold Mischkulnig. Liner Note Authors: Jim Babjak; Bill Crowley . Recording information: House of Vibes, Highland Park, NJ. Illustrator: William Stout. The Smithereens are nothing if not rock-&-roll historians, and these power-pop heroes covered the Who's "The Seeker" long ago, so it's not that shocking for them to follow up two Beatles tribute albums with one dedicated to Pete, Roger, and company. The title of THE SMITHEREENS PLAY TOMMY is pretty self-explanatory, and while they don't necessarily take the note-for-note reproduction idea as seriously here as on their Fab Four albums, they stick close to the original recording of the Who's classic rock opera, though it's impossible for head Smithereen Pat DiNizio to do anything without bringing his own stamp to the proceedings, however faithful to the material he may be.

The Smithereens filtered their '60s British Invasion pop/rock roots through an '80s alt-rock sensibility. Pat DiNizio's deep, moody vocals and Jim Babjak's thick, heavy guitar riffs added darkness and modernity to the classic pop structures of the group's songs. They broke big in the mid-'80s, and kept on chugging for quite a while, but, by the end of the '90s, DiNizio shifted his focus elsewhere, working as a solo act and running for political office in New Jersey. The outfit reunited in the late-'00s.

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