Why did they actually do it? … This is the question every Smithereens fan—and every fan of The Who—must ask when listening to The Smithereens Play Tommy. It is common knowledge that Tommy is terrific, full of songs worth playing. And it’s common knowledge that The Smithereens—a briefly big power-pop outfit from North Jersey that had a small string of hits and fine albums in the 1980s—are a band deeply in love with the British Invasion. The Smithereens, packing dosed-up guitars that ring with power and full-throated singing, are up to the task of playing Tommy. The band, in short, sounds a whole lot like The Who. This is an accurate, respectful maybe too respectful—recreation of a classic album release.
In 2007, Pat DiNizio (lead vocals and guitar) and his band released Meet the Smithereens, a track-by-track cover of Meet the Beatles. It was followed within a year-plus by B-Sides – the Beatles, a collection of less common tunes by the Fab Four. On the backs of these heartfelt but relatively unadventurous tributes, The Smithereens toured small theaters all over the country, playing their hits, sure, but also playing these ringingly familiar classics to receptive ears. It is ingenious, really, because releasing new albums of original music and hoping that the new music will be received happily by the band’s now-middle-aged fans .
