A mere list of tracks and analysis of each song individually would only touch the surface of what Tommy is all about. When seen as a full opera, a masterpiece of story and sound, Tommy fully comes alive.

The Overture, as in many musicals and operas, gives a brief overview of the tunes to come – almost providing a summary of the show before it even starts, This same idea is true for Tommy; however, near the end of the Overture we hear “Captain Walker never came home. His unborn child will never know him.” This segues without pause into “It’s A Boy,” where Tommy is born to the presumed-widow Mrs. Walker. Mere years later in “1921,” Cpt. Walker returns to his family alive but sees that his wife, believing he had died, has found a new lover. Cpt. Walker murders this man in from of Tommy’s very eyes, and in this crucial moment, Cpt. Walker tells young Tommy “You didn’t hear it. You didn’t see it. You won’t say nothing to nobody, never in your life. How absurd it seems without any proof.” Thus, Tommy becomes deaf, dumb, and blind, and he develops after this traumatic moment using only his imagination and sense of touch.

An ambiguous man, “The Hawker,” claims that his wife can cure Tommy’s mental deficiencies. At first reluctant, Tommy’s parents refuse and attempt to cure him themselves. They hope that he can find religion so as to be saved from “the eternal grave,” yet on Christmas “Tommy doesn’t know what day it is.” Mr. and Mrs. Walker give up on their son, leaving him to be disturbingly bullied, tied up, and tortured by Tommy’s sadistic “Cousin Kevin.”

Tommy eventually meets up with the Hawker’s wife, “The Acid Queen,” who turns out to be a gypsy and gives Tommy access to mind-altering LSD. “Your boy has never been more alive. His head, it shakes. His fingers clutch. Watch his body rise.” she states as she believes to have cured Tommy. This acid trip is described in sound on the following track “Underture.” Yet, (as expected), the LSD does not cure Tommy, and he continues to be neglected by his parents. Left alone with his Uncle Ernie, Ernie takes advantage of Tommy’s deafness and blindness by sexually molesting him (“Fiddle About”).

Abused and neglected, Tommy lives the coming years of his life in sadness and depression. However, this all changes when he discovers an innate skill on pinball machines (“Pinball Wizard”). Tommy’s reputation does not go unnoticed to the locals, and his parents reignite their search for a cure, taking him to a real doctor. This doctor believes that Tommy can see and hear just fine, but he just doesn’t react due to his long isolation and traumatic life. He wants to be cured, thinking to himself “See me. Feel me. Touch Me. Heal me.” The doctor says “Go to the mirror, boy.” where it is discovered that Tommy enjoys staring at his reflection. While amazing in the moment, Mr. and Mrs. Walker grow frustrated that all their son does it stare at himself so they smash the mirror.

Whatever mental problems that Tommy had possessed were smashed along with that mirror, and Tommy could once again see, hear, and understand. He understands his own worth. “I’m a Sensation,” and attempts to go out into the world and make something of himself, to no avail. Tommy digresses back to his former self (“See Me, Feel Me”) in shame and despair.

After reading that, it should be clear that Tommy is much more than a classic-rock album.