Steve Van Zandt has described The Who’s 1969 rock opera Tommy as “the highest pinnacle of the art form”. The article presents the praise as recognition of the album’s ambitious storytelling and its role in demonstrating that an LP could function as a unified artistic work rather than simply a collection of songs.

Tommy was The Who’s fourth studio album and helped popularise the concept-album format through its connected narrative and songs including ‘Pinball Wizard’. Van Zandt also cited the band’s live work, particularly Live at Leeds, as an example of a live record worth making when it substantially reworks or expands on studio material.