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“I'm Free“ is a song written by Pete Townshend and performed by The Who on the album Tommy. Within the plot of the album, “I'm Free“ tells of Tommy's vision to spiritually enlighten others due to his sudden and immense popularity. The Pinball Wizard riff (earlier on the album) appears at the end of the song during the “How can we follow?“ part. This song was used in the 1969-1970 concert classic set list. It is often switched with Sensation on setlists, including in the movie and in the Broadway musical as Tommy rejoices at regaining his sight, voice and hearing after the shock provided by his mother.. In 1975-1976, the song was reintegrated into The Who's set list. The version played at these shows featured more raucous vocals and a reworked guitar riff. It was later released as a single, reaching number 37 in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100.[1] It also reached #20 in the Netherlands.[2] In 1997, the Christian rock band Geoff Moore and the Distance covered this song, on the album Threads. In 2002, The Who played this for a stretch on their 2002 UK Tour, with a similar arrangement to the versions played on the 1975-1976 tour. However, it was dropped again by the time bassist Entwistle died. In 2004/2006, a cover version was recorded by Neal Morse with the participation of Randy George and Mike Portnoy, released 2006 on the album Cover to Cover. In 2009, The Smithereens included the song on their tribute album, The Smithereens Play Tommy. The song has been used in a Saab commercial.[3]
