The hastily-assembled debut stands the test of time, with their Mod roots revealed via two James Brown covers as well as the Motown classic, "Dancin' In The Streets." Plus,...
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An explosive debut, and the hardest mod pop recorded by anyone. At the time of its release, it also had the most ferociously powerful guitars and drums yet captured on a...
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The live version of the "mini-opera" titled "A Quick One" from the Rolling Stones' Rock & Roll Circus (also available on The Kids Are Alright) is superior--but this is a...
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The group's second album is a less impressive outing than their debut, primarily because, at the urging of their managers, all four members penned original material (though...
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In the early '80s, MCA Records reissued the Who's A Quick One (Happy Jack) and The Who Sell Out as a double-pack vinyl set, as well as a single cassette. ~ Stephen Thomas...
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Overrated then and overrated now. Still, the underproduced original recording is superior to all the subsequent re-recording and renderings (including a terrible Ken Russell...
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The full-blown rock opera about a deaf, dumb, and blind boy that launched the band to international superstardom, written almost entirely by Pete Townshend. Hailed as a...
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Even when I was a kid, this LP didn't make sense. It wasn't live (despite the misleading title), and even the cover art (a psychedelic bus a la Magical Mystery Tour) seemed...
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A rip-off of sorts even upon its original release, with a few senseless repeats of tracks from Quick One and Who Sell Out, as well as a sleeve that erroneously implied a...
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In the mid-'70s, MCA Records reissued the Who's first two American albums, My Generation and Magic Bus, as a double-pack vinyl set. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music...
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In its original condensed form, this ranked as one of rock's all-time great live albums. In 1995, however, thanks to the longer length of CDs, MCA reissued it in its...
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Probably their best, most consistent album. "Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" got overplayed on FM album rock for nearly two decades--but that wasn't their fault....
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Much of Who's Next derives from Lifehouse, an ambitious sci-fi rock opera Pete Townshend abandoned after suffering a nervous breakdown, caused in part from working on the...
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In the early '80s, MCA Records reissued the Who's Who's Next and Odds & Sods as a double-pack vinyl set, as well as a single cassette. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music...
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They released two classic albums in that same year. This collects all of the band's early singles (and lesser-known, in America, album tracks), from "I Can't Explain"...
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Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy has the distinction of being the first in a long line of Who compilations. It also has the distinction of being the best. Part of the reason why...
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In the early '80s, MCA Records reissued the Who's Meaty, Beaty, Big & Bouncy and Who by Numbers as a single cassette. For casual fans who don't mind tapes and are on a...
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In some respects, a final hurrah, although the concept remains confusing--the film version makes more sense than the record. In retrospect, it might've made a better single...
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Pete Townshend revisited the rock opera concept with another double-album opus, this time built around the story of a young mod's struggle to come of age in the mid-'60s. If...
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The beginning of the end, as Townshend seems to be anticipating a middle-age crisis, even before actually hitting middle age. Redeemed by the hit "Squeeze Box" and "Slip...
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The Who by Numbers functions as Pete Townshend's confessional singer/songwriter album, as he chronicles his problems with alcohol ("However Much I Booze"), women ("Dreaming...
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Even if Moon hadn't died, this should've been the swansong, thanks to ridiculously self-conscious tunes like "Guitar And Pen." The title track was a hit single--but this is...
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On the Who's final album with Keith Moon, their trademark honest power started to get diluted by fatigue and a sense that the group's collective vision was beginning to...
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In the early '80s, MCA Records reissued the Who's Live at Leeds and Who Are You as a double-pack vinyl set, as well as a single cassette. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All...
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Like the film itself, the soundtrack to the Who's Kids Are Alright documentary is frustrating even as it pleases, since it falls short of being definitive. If the film was...
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Their first effort without Moon--and Jones has nowhere near the same power. "Don't Let Go The Coat" wasn't bad (perhaps their final tolerable moment) and "You Better You...
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Without Keith Moon, the Who may have lacked the restless firepower that distinguished their earlier albums, but Face Dances had some of Pete Townshend's best, most incisive...
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A double-disc document of The Who's 1982 farewell tour, Who's Last is a tepid and utterly forgettable album. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music...
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A document of one of the band's many "reunion" tours with Jones, this one from their 1989 American trek, though only God knows why anyone would want one, especially when...
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A most worthwhile find for the serious Who fan, comprising 27 tracks that the group recorded for the BBC between 1965 and 1970, the accent falling heavily on the 1965-67...
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Hooliganstakes a slightly different angle than previous compilations, concentrating on the group's '70s album rock heyday. Only three songs ("I Can't Explain," "I Can See...
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A follow-up to Who's Missing, with more obscure B-sides, little-known R&B covers, and other relics of the band's early history, of which the best part is their soulful...
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Who's Better, Who's Best is a compilation of the Who's best-known songs, containing all of the familiar items -- "I Can't Explain," "I Can See for Miles," "Pinball Wizard,"...
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A dozen B-sides, UK-only singles, and other oddities from the 1960s and early '70s. Some of these are really good: the raucous 1965 cover of James Brown's "Shout and...
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Following the "farewell tour," MCA released yet another Who collection, the first one ever titled Greatest Hits. The compilers don't take the title literally. Sure, many of...
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MCA's The Who's classic 1979 movie documentary, The Kids Are Alright, contained countless awe-inspiring clips of the band in concert throughout the years, confirming the...
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A loud, raunchy concert showcase for the group, with surprisingly little material from Tommy. The group's R&B roots are showcased here far better than on their post-My...
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Much of Who's Next derives from Lifehouse, an ambitious sci-fi rock opera Pete Townshend abandoned after suffering a nervous breakdown, caused in part from working on the...
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Their first truly great album--a parody of commercial radio, including hilarious radio spots. Featuring the great single, "I Can See For Miles," as well as the classic...
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Pete Townshend originally planned The Who Sell Out as a concept album of sorts that would simultaneously mock and pay tribute to pirate radio stations, complete with fake...
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Critic Robert Christgau joked that this Who album was different from any other Who album--it was released by Sony instead of MCA! It's a case of too little way too late....
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This double CD is pretty similar in sound and content to the expanded Live at Leeds album, except there's much more from Tommy, and a few semi-obscure numbers like "I Don't...
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Like any record company worth their salt, MCA knows a good gimmick when they see it, and when the millennium came around...well, the 20th Century Masters -- The Millennium...
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This compilation of outtakes and rarities from the Who's first decade was a rather jumpy listen that harbored few songs that could be termed top-of-the-line. Also, since its...
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The Who have issued more greatest-hits collections than any other major artist, releasing a vast array of compilations while they were together and in the years following...
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Driven by Pete Townshend's arching musical ambitions, It's Hard was an undistinguished final effort from the Who. Featuring layers of synthesizers and long-winded, twisting...
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A fine compilation of 1965-73 BBC performances, the majority of the tracks hailing from 1965-67, although some are drawn from 1970 and 1973. As one of the best live bands...
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Following in the footsteps not only of Universal's many Ultimate Collection, but also the Beatles 1 -- a groundbreaking collection in the sense that it proved that a...
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This two-disc set should be the final word regarding the Who's February 14, 1970, performance at Leeds University. The main impetus for consumers -- who may have repurchased...
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As many Who fans know, disputes between the Who and producer Shel Talmy held back the release of a CD version of My Generation taken from the best available original sources...
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The Who's catalog was revamped in the mid-'90s, with every title (except My Generation, due to legal entanglements with producer Shel Talmy) receiving new remastering and...
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When Then and Now: Maximum Who was released in March 2004, there were no less than four Who hits compilations on the market (including the classic singles collection Meaty...
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