Tommy A Bluegrass Opry (Compass, 2015)

Six months ago, few had heard of The Hillbenders, a rather non-descript bluegrass band from Springfield, Mo. Today, they are garnering more press for their new release than most bluegrass bands attract in a decade.

Working with SXSX co-founder and producer Louis Jay Meyers, who also conceived the concept, The Hillbenders have done the inexplicable. They have turned the still eminently listenable (as long as you ignore gaping holes within the plot), but obvious rock excess of The Who's "Tommy" into a successful bluegrass project. As good as Luther Wright & the Wrong's interpretation of Pink Floyd's "The Wall" was more than a decade ago, "Tommy: A Bluegrass Opry" surpasses it.

The original "Tommy" - one of the first rock opera, concept albums - led The Who to superstar status. "Tommy" has sold some 20 million copies, was made into a film, which received an Oscar nomination for its score, has been performed as a ballet, a symphony production and a Broadway play. For all of its shortcomings, it remains - 46 years after its initial release - a pivotal album within rock 'n' roll.

For the unfamiliar, Tommy, a young boy rendered deaf, dumb and blind from the related trauma of seeing his father murdered by his mother's lover, has some challenges. Neglected by self-serving parents, the boy endures considerable physical, sexual and drug-induced abuse before finding that he can feel vibrations enabling him to become a pinball master. Regaining his senses, he becomes a messiah figure, leading followers toward enlightenment before losing his cult and again retreating into himself.

"Tommy: A Bluegrass Opry's" greatest strength, beyond its inherent chutzpah, is the instrumental performance of the five-piece Hillbenders. "The Overture" and especially "Sparks" come to life as invigorated bluegrass instrumentals. Elsewhere, select songs sound ideally arranged for bluegrass instruments (alas, no fiddle is present). "The Acid Queen" is one such as mandolist Nolan Lawrence takes the song to a place Peter Townshend never likely imagined. The clarity of the recording as a whole - the pulsing bass, the delicacy of the mandolin notes, the grooviness of the reso - is quite remarkable.

Weaker are the vocals, but only in places. Some of the group performances, as on "Tommy, Can You Hear Me?" embrace the original concept remarkably accurately while imposing more earthy elements of bluegrass vocal harmony. Especially on the first third of the album and songs including "Amazing Journey" and "Captain Walker," things hold together nicely. "Sally Simpson" is another highlight.

Given that the songs require different vocal characterizations, one isn't surprised that some songs fall slightly flat, with Sonny Boy Williamson's "Eyesight to the Blind" being one and "Go To The Mirror" another. Later, as on "Sensation" and "I'm Free" the highs aren't reached or even attempted, perhaps due to the intricacies of Townshend's vision.

Significant to the storyline, one suspects "Fiddle About" and "Cousin Kevin" are too disturbing by half for most festival bluegrass audiences, and that is saying something considering the crimes of jealousy and deprivation that have been committed within the canon.

"Tommy" has been made more concise, which is both positive and negative. Twenty minutes have been cut from the original album's running time, with the "Underture" dropped in its entirety: a mistake given the opportunity that track would have provided the musicians to further showcase their instrumental prowess. Wisely, they have truncated longer, repetitive pieces by a minute or two, making this bluegrass rendition highly listenable.

Is this a novelty album? Certainly. But "Tommy: A Bluegrass Opry" surpasses this easy dismissive by challenging the listener to re-hear music that has been a part of our soundtrack for more than 40 years. It is a successful album that needn't be created, but happily was.