In the music spotlight: The Who

A live album called “The Who’s Tommy Orchestral” is set for a mid-June release.

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Roger Daltrey performs in London in 2015. | Fabrice Demessence

Who likes symphonic music?

Last summer, Roger Daltrey visited Ravinia Festival with a band including contemporary Who sideman Simon Townshend to perform the groundbreaking 1969 rock opera “Tommy.” The group was accompanied by a full orchestra. The format was a surprisingly natural fit for songs like the captivating “See Me, Feel Me,” frenetic and rebellious “We’re Not Gonna Take It.”

A live album called “The Who’s Tommy Orchestral” is set for a mid-June release. “Adding all of the orchestration to enhance the root of the rock band is a magical experience, and ‘Tommy’ is the ideal music for the two together,” Daltrey told the Sun-Times in 2018. “After seeing a lot of grand operas, I think ‘Tommy’ is one of the best operas ever written.”

In 2017, Who songwriter and guitarist Pete Townshend focused on a different rock opera, bringing “Classic Quadrophenia” to the Rosemont Theatre in support of Teen Cancer America. Townshend’s 2015 album of the same name featured songs including “The Real Me” and “The Rock” performed by England’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The cast in Chicago included UK tenor Alfie Boe, rocker Billy Idol and Who disciple Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam.

Based on such recent, critically-praised activity, you’d think that Townshend and Daltrey would be unified in their desire to combine their solo experiences to bring magnificent strings and brass to concerts under the Who banner. The pair are attempting just that with their Moving On! tour, performing with a 52-piece orchestra. The set list features Reader’s Digest overviews of “Tommy” and “Quadrophenia,” while also digging deep for singles including “Eminence Front” and fan favorite rarities like “Imagine a Man” from 1975’s “The Who by Numbers.”

The ambitious concept hasn’t been without turmoil, however. On the “Moving On!” tour’s opening night in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Townshend made a snarky statement from the stage. “I just think this is a sh-- idea Roger [Daltrey] had,” he said.

There was ample sarcasm at play, of course. The provocative guitarist was expressing comic frustration at having to reign his instincts for rock abandon in order to accommodate the measured precision of symphonic accompaniment. The outspoken Townshend has notoriously blown hot and cold about his band throughout his career. Chances are, he’ll soon call the show Daltrey’s stroke of genius. Regardless, Townshend’s bombastic compositions would have suited orchestration on any tour since “Tommy’s” debut. Judging by ticket sales, Who fans think the concept is a winner.

The tour is not expected to include new material, but the Who have been hard at work recording the band’s first new album since 2006’s “Endless Wire” (from which Daltrey and Townshend have been performing the intimate “Tea and Theatre” as a duo). Townshend has promised that the album’s sound will connect with Who fans, while still taking a few sonic risks. Townshend is not particularly known as a political writer, but one of the new Who tracks called “Twice Refugees” has been revealed as commentary on the Syrian refugee crisis. 

* The Who, 7:30 p.m., May 21, Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre, 19100 S. Ridgeland, Tinley Park. Tickets start at $54; livenation.com

Jeff Elbel is a local freelance writer.

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