Overture (The Who song)

"Overture" is a song by English rock band the Who, written by Pete Townshend. The track is one of three instrumental tracks on Tommy, the other two being "Underture" and "Sparks".

"Overture"
Single by The Who
from the album Tommy
A-side	"See Me, Feel Me"
Released	10 October 1970 (1970-10-10)
Genre	Rock
Length	3:50 (album) 4:01 (single)
Label	Track
Songwriter(s)	Pete Townshend
Producer(s)	Kit Lambert
The Who singles chronology
"Summertime Blues" (1970) "Overture" (1970) "Won't Get Fooled Again" (1971)

On 9 October 1970, the song was included as the B-side of "See Me, Feel Me" – which did not chart – and was titled "Overture from Tommy".^[1]

Song structure

As an overture the song features samples of Tommy's themes:

• 0:00 – 0:16 Adapted from "1921"
• 0:17 – 0:32 Adapted from "See Me, Feel Me"
• 0:33 - 0:36 Adapted from “The Hawker”
• 0:36 – 0:58 Adapted from "We're Not Gonna Take It"
• 0:59 – 1:33 Adapted from "Go to the Mirror!"
• 1:34 – 1:55 Adapted from "See Me, Feel Me"
• 1:56 – 2:18 Adapted from "Go to the Mirror!"
• 2:19 – 2:55 Adapted from "Listening to You"
• 2:56 - 3:03 Adapted from “Go to the Mirror!”
• 3:04 – 3:19 Adapted from "We're Not Gonna Take It"
• 3:20 – 3:50 Adapted from "Pinball Wizard”

There is no pause between the tracks "Overture" and "It's a Boy" so the songs are often combined as "Overture".

Personnel

• Pete Townshend – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, piano, Hammond organ
• John Entwistle – bass guitar, French horn
• Keith Moon – drums, percussion

The Assembled Multitude version

The Assembled Multitude, an instrumental ensemble group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, scored with a remake of "Overture" which peaked at #16 in August, 1970 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.^[2]