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The Who: The Ultimate Collection Average Customer Review:  Audio CD (11 June, 2002) list price: $24.98 -- our price: $20.99 (price subject to change: see help) US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Editorial Review The Who's mighty catalog of beautiful, poignant, and often silly pop songs bashed out with Cassius Clay finesse has suffered in the past at the hands of multiple, butcher-shop best-ofs and horrible packaging. But this thrilling band--undeniably one of ye classicke rocke's greatest--gets the career-spanning entry-point compilation it deserves with the double-disc Ultimate Collection. The songs included here are no-brainers, for the most part--if they aren't huge hits like "My Generation," "I Can See for Miles," or "Baba O'Riley," they're long-standing fan favorites such as "Boris the Spider," "Pure and Easy," and "Squeeze Box." And while this reviewer wishes different songs were chosen from Tommy, and more than one tune was gathered from their arguably finest (and definitely silliest) album, The Who Sell Out, this record really isn't for fans (aside from the total trainspotter types) but for newcomers.--Mike McGonigal ... Read more Features Reviews (98)
Asin: B000065UFD |
$20.99 |
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Who's Next Average Customer Review:  Audio CD (07 November, 1995) list price: $13.98 -- our price: $12.99 (price subject to change: see help) US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Editorial Review A mix of old favorites and buried treasures makes this edition of Who's Next a definite must. One of the defining albums of 70s hard rock from one of the 60s most successful bands, the original album includes some of The Who's best-known work, such as the anthemic "Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again", the by turns sorrowful and angry "Behind Blue Eyes", and perennial favorite "My Wife". The new tracks on this album are equally worth hearing, including "Pure and Easy" (an alternate edition of which is available on Odds & Sods) and the original version of "Behind Blue Eyes". A hard rock classic, Who's Next is required listening for rock fans of all ages. --Genevieve Williams ... Read more Features Reviews (270)
So I was mighty skeptical when the remastered version included seven previously unreleased tracks (one of them is an alternate version of "Behind Blue Eyes"). So skeptical, in fact, that I didn't listen to the additional tunes for the first six months I had the CD. But on a long stretch of interstate with a good opportunity to crank the music and really take it in, I did just that. And I'm very pleased. "Naked Eye" and "Water" are scorchers, every bit as good as what's on the original LP. "Pure And Easy" is softer and somewhat more pop-oriented. "Baby Don't You Do It" reminds me in a way of Jan and Dean styled surf music from the early 1960's. "Too Much of Anything" also makes a lasting impression.
"Behind Blue Eyes" is about the villain in the Lifehouse project. "Goin' Mobile" features some of Keith Moon's fastiest and most frenzied drumming. Session pianist Nicky Hopkins (who also guested on Jeff Beck and Rolling Stones records) helps out the Who on "Gettin' In Tune" and "Song Is Over". Roger Daltrey's vocals are fierce, especially the scream at the end of "Won't Get Fooled Again". Bass player John Entwistle composes 1 song here- "My Wife" (on which he features brass). Pete takes care of virtually everything else (save the violin on "Baba O'Riley") from guitar to synthesizer to lead vocals on "Goin' Mobile" and dueting with Roger on "Song is Over". Other songs included with the rerelease are "Water", "I Don't Even Know Myself" (which wound up as a B-side on "...Fooled Again"), "Pure and Easy" (whose theme can be heard at the end of "Song..."), "Naked Eye", "Baby Don't Do It" and an alternate take of "Behind Blue Eyes" (featuring Al Kooper on organ). Also, the Lifehouse sessions box set is due out sometime this year! I look forward to its release.
Asin: B000002OX7 |
$12.99 |
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Who's Next (Deluxe Edition) Average Customer Review: Audio CD (25 March, 2003) list price: $29.98 -- our price: $26.99 (price subject to change: see help) US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Editorial Review The success of Who's Next and its slate of classic-rock tracks has often obscured its true roots--Lifehouse, the unwieldy multi-media project that Pete Townshend originally concocted as the follow-up to Tommy. Variously informed by apocalyptic visions, sci-fi notions of interconnectivity that neatly presaged the internet and, of course, an unwavering conviction that rock & roll would save the world, the core tracks of the sprawling Lifehouse were recorded, cut, re-recorded and finally boiled down into a collection that seems to represent as much alienation ("Behind Blue Eyes") and overweening cynicism ("Won't Get Fooled Again") as it does liberation and unity. Aside from Townshend's own self-released, multi-disc meditation on the project, this expanded new edition is the most rewarding attempt to place Lifehouse and the over-exposed classic it spawned in their proper context. Six tracks from the album's original, but abandoned New York sessions flesh out the familiar material, with previously unreleased outtakes of "Getting in Tune" and a revealing, early arrangement of "Won't Get Fooled Again" warranting special note. The second disc documents one of Lifehouse's most quixotic elements with the first-time release of one of the series of concerts staged at London's Young Vic theater during the project's gestation, events during which band and audience would somehow mystically become One. Core tracks from the project are interspersed with typical hard-rocking Who fare of the time, resulting in a show whose focus and dynamics belied something very different from the arena-rock clichés that would eventually overwhelm them. --Jerry McCulley ... Read more Features Reviews (57)
As for the studio Record Plant stuff, Behind Blues eyes is wonderful (as we knew from the previous release), Love Ain't For Keeping--with Pete singing--is the definitive version (as we knew from the Odds 'n Sods re-release, but it's nice to hear it here in context), and Won't Get Fooled AGain is wild...you can actually hear the band giving it shape & form as they thrash about on it; it may be missing Roger's trademark scream, but his deep growly vocal rages much closer to live intensity than on the standard version. And yeah, Leslie West plays lead axe on Baby Don't You Do It, but the band still smokes on it, and I'm certainly glad they dug it out of the vaults (if they wouldn't have, someone ELSE would've complained, I'm sure....). The booklet claims that the studio Time Is Passing was from the Olympia session, not the Record Plant (as Odds 'n Sods asserts), so I guess that's why it's not here. I really DO wish it was, along with Let's See Action, Mary (Pete's demo is worthy enough) and the studio versions of Naked Eye, I Don't Even Know Myself, and Too Much of Anything. I would've preferred that these songs and the "standard" version of Pure and Easy were the bonus tracks to the Who's Next disc--making it closer to a complete Lifehouse studio album--and that the Record Plant session was on a separate bonus disc. But you can't have everything, and it truly would've taken 3 discs to have all of the above. As for Relay, Join Together, and Put the Money Down, those were recorded in '72, NOT at these sessions (and studio Water wasn't recorded till '73). So they don't need to be here (though in my scenario above there'd have been room for them on the Record Plant disc, along with John's When I Was a Boy, a great non-Lifehouse track that WAS recorded in '71). No matter how you slice it, this is a stellar two-disc set, I think alot of love was put into it and I send some of the same back to all those involved, especially Pete, Roger, and, wherever they are, John & Keith.
Asin: B00008LOS1 |
$26.99 |
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Thirty Years of Maximum R&B Average Customer Review:  Audio CD (05 July, 1994) list price: $59.98 -- our price: $53.99 (price subject to change: see help) US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Editorial Review This exemplary four-disc box takes the high road, attempting nothing less than an honest reconstruction of the Who's stormy, adventurous, uneven pilgrimage. While offering an evenhanded cross-section of single hits and classic album tracks, 30 Years garnishes the expected high points with B-sides, alternate and live versions of familiar tracks, and the quartet's earliest singles as the High Numbers. Reinforcing the package's documentary agenda are interview and stage-patter sound bites. What emerges is a fascinating chronicle of how the Shepherd's Bush mods journeyed from the giddy, explosive concision of their January 1965 debut single, "I Can't Explain," to the discursive, knotty sweep of creative architect Pete Townshend's "rock operas," Tommy, Quadrophenia, and the uncompleted, unreleased Lifehouse. The Who's swift evolution into rock visionaries is traced chronologically, meaning the band's original immersion in "maximum R&B," which forged their earliest club dates, doesn't surface on record until midway through the sequence, on key tracks from their thundering Live at Leeds album. Fans may quibble over the relative weight given specific albums, but the shape of the Who's career and their passionate identification with their audience are rendered faithfully. So, too, is Townshend's skill at mingling issues of faith and identity with generational manifestoes and sly broadsides. And there's ample evidence of the quartet's outsize musical power; the sheer volume and violence that earned them notoriety early on is matched by a lyricism that deepens by mid career. Given the candor of the presentation, it's not surprising that 30 Years reaches its zenith midway through the set or that the last song (a reunion of the surviving trio covering Elton John) can't help seeming anticlimactic. --Sam Sutherland ... Read more Features Reviews (38)
I truly had forgotten how much I love The Who until I heard this collection. I never, ever listen to "classic rock" radio, and if I did, I'd probably only hear Baba O Reilly or Won't Get Fooled Again. The "Oldies" stations would never play "I Can't Explain", although it's innocuous and catchy. So I bought this. I saw it at a record store, yes a record store, not online, and was flooded with memories of Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy introduced to me at the tender age of ten (say 1977, maybe) by a "grownup" teenage neighbor who had a forest in his closet. But I never thought of them as one of the greatest. The Stones, of course, but The Who? Well, yes. Compare this to any of the Beatles collections. If you were trapped in a restroom for the rest of your life (I'm sick of the desert island scenario) which compilation would you rather have? Which has more substance, more diversity, more, can I say this, cajones as rock LEGENDS? I just bought The Kids Are Alright here at Amazon. I can't wait to see it again. It's been 15 years. By the way, Rock and Roll Circus wasn't aired because Mick Jagger was angry that The Who blew them away. True story, I'm told. Thank you, and rock on....man.
Besides the constant seguing, the other most annoying thing on here is the inclusion of way too many songs from 'Sell Out,' a total of eight of the original thirteen. There's also too much material from 'Who's Next' and the original LAL. Giving more than three or four songs from each album is no longer just giving a little sample of each album represented, and it feels jarring hearing them all played out of order, with so many songs from those albums included. Maybe that's the reason why there were barely any songs from their sorely underrated Eighties catalogue, with only one song apiece from their final two studio albums and then the next two Eighties songs being really poorly representative of that period. They could have picked a better song from 'Who's Last,' as bland a live effort as it may be, in lieu of the live version of "Twist and Shout" they used, as well as a better song from the '89 triple-LP 'Join Together' over the endless live rendition of "I'm a Man." The final song, a '91 cover of the Elton John song "Saturday Night's Alright (For Fighting)," is fun and peppy, but could have been included somewhere else if it had to be included at all. That is not the track you use to close a boxed set with; it should have been so obvious that the final track should have been a blistering live version of "WGFA" or "SMFM"! Still, the material included here is by and large great, along with some cute Keith skits done for the BBC, interviews, onstage dialogue, and studio conversations held before songs. There are also a lot of songs that were unreleased before this boxed set came along, though since then most of them have been released as bonus tracks on the CD remasters. And some of the songs are still hard to find on CD, are only on vinyl, or are hard to find altogether, whatever the format they're available on, like the irresistably cute ditty "Dogs," "Call Me Lightning," and the High Numbers-era material like "Here 'Tis" and "Zoot Suit"; before this, only the High Numbers song "I'm the Face" was available on an official release. It's too bad they couldn't have cut some of the superfluous songs to make room for more rarities, like "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" or some of the songs on the out-of-print 'Two's Missing.' Overall, the many mistakes and annoyances aren't enough to overlook the fact that it's still great material. I'm lucky I found a used copy of this, complete with the booklet, for only $35 in a used record store! ... Read more Asin: B000002ORU |
$53.99 |
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The Who: The Complete Guide to Their Music by Average Customer Review: Paperback (01 September, 2004) list price: $6.95 -- our price: $6.95 (price subject to change: see help) US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Reviews (2)
Isbn: 1844494284 |
$6.95 |
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My Generation (Dlx) (Dig) Average Customer Review:  Audio CD (27 August, 2002) list price: $29.98 -- our price: $29.98 (price subject to change: see help) US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Editorial Review The roaring, raging quartet heard on Who's Next, Live at Leeds, and Quadrophenia is scarcely discernable on much of this, their first album. But the Mod-fueled, American R&B-inspired sense of ambitious pop that powers A Quick One, Sell Out, and even Tommy isn't so hard to find here. This reissue not only expands the original with a bonus-disc treasure trove of 17 outtakes and rarities (including the Pete Townshend-penned, previously unissued "Instant Party Mixture"), but has been remixed from the original 1964-'66 session tapes by producer Shel Talmy and released in true stereo for the first time. Anchored by early Who/Townshend anthems "My Generation" (also included in an instrumental version), "I Can't Explain," and "The Kids Are Alright," disc one's original LP set veers somewhat schizophrenically from Townshend's nascent power-guitar thrashing on the anthems and Roger Daltrey's ill-advised James Brown and Bo Diddley impressions on "Please, Please, Please" and "I'm a Man," respectively, to the surf-inspired John Entwistle-Keith Moon instrumental showcase, "The Ox." Not surprisingly, it's the Townshend originals (like "It's Not True," "Legal Matter," and the proto-psychedelic "Circles") that point to what the band would become in a few short years. The bonus material on disc two leans equally heavily on covers, but also contains its share of signposts to the future Who, including a rare, alternate version of "Anyhow, Anyway, Anywhere." Also included is a new booklet with many rare photos and a history of the album's recording by Andy Neill (coauthor of Anyway Anyhow Anywhere: The Complete Chronicle of the Who 1958-1978). --Jerry McCulley ... Read more Features Reviews (40)
DISC 1: DISC 2: *REMEMBER - ONCE YOU BUY THIS, YOU WON'T BE DISSAPOINTED!
Asin: B00006GF6Y |
$29.98 |
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A Quick One (Happy Jack) Average Customer Review: Audio CD (20 June, 1995) list price: $11.98 -- our price: $10.99 (price subject to change: see help) US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Editorial Review The Who's second album is a mite inconsistent, not least because allfour members were encouraged by a business deal to churn out songs. A QuickOne nonetheless manages several Who classics, notably "A Quick OneWhile He's Away," Pete Townshend's first longform (10 minutes) piece, andJohn Entwistle's licensed-to-ill "Whiskey Man" and "Boris theSpider." The band's sense of humor, however, gives way on rote pop tuneslike Roger Daltrey's "See My Way." But CD bonus tracks like the great"Disguises" (included in a murkier mix than that on the 30 Years ofMaximum R&B boxed set) and the Beach Boys tributes "Bucket T" and"Barbara Ann" are a distinct help. --Rickey Wright ... Read more Reviews (38)
I will agree, however, that Townshend is the tunesmith of the band. John Entwistle's songs are clever and sinister ("Whiskey Man" and "Boris the Spider"). Roger Daltrey's sole piece "See My Way" is only fair as is Keith Moon's "I Need You" (with his Beach Boys falsetto). "Don't Look Away" is the Who's attempt to sound country and "Run Run Run" sounds a little like "My Generation". We're also missing the original "Happy Jack". The extras are songs from Ready Steady Who! (excepting "Instant Party" which was released on the American version of My Generation) and the American release Magic Bus (like "Disguises", "Doctor Doctor" and "Bucket T"). Then of course there's Pete's 1st rock opera ever "A Quick One While He's Away", which is by far the highlight of this CD. A lonely girlguide misses her man who's been away "for a night and a year". Along comes Ivor the Engine Driver who promises "I'm gonna make you feel allright!".
This is one of those albums I had to give a second listen to for the songs to really sink in and for me to fully appreciate what this album is all about, and I wouldn't recommend it to a new fan. Still, perhaps because I'm a female fan and most Who freaks are men, I've always viewed these songs as cute and campy instead of embarrassing or something that makes one want to vomit when listening to it. And you can hear that this is their transition album, going from the bubblegummy sound of the 1966 Pop Art culture that inspired it to more mature things, as evidenced in songs like the title track (how many songs in 1966 were over three minutes in length, to say nothing of nine minutes and ten seconds long?), which was their first mini-opera, as well as the other better tracks like "Boris the Spider," "Whiskey Man," and "So Sad About Us." It wasn't meant to be a masterpiece like their later albums, it was just meant as a fun slice of 1966 pop paradise. ... Read more Asin: B000002OX3 |
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The Who Sell Out Average Customer Review: Audio CD (20 June, 1995) list price: $9.98 -- our price: $9.98 (price subject to change: see help) US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Editorial Review The Who Sell Out's pirate-radio concept goes south in the album'ssecond half--the Who ran out of time before they could write enough fauxcommercials--but it still remains in many ways their best and most entertainingalbum. Pete Townshend and John Entwistle supply song after great song, and alongwith Keith Moon play them with power and focus. The classic single "I CanSee for Miles" is matched on at least a handful of tracks, including theopening psychedelic-pop blast of "Armenia City in the Sky" (written byTownshend pal Speedy Keen), the hilarious social-interaction tales"Odorono" and "Tattoo," and the majestic mini-opus"Rael." This remaster's bonus tracks are occasionally too much of agood thing, but the Tommy rough draft "Glow Girl" is brilliant.--Rickey Wright ... Read more Features Reviews (77)
When the album was originally released in '67 it was slimmed up so it could fit on a single record. Only on this brilliantly remastered package, which more than doubles the length of the original, do you get the whole picture: ads for Top Gear and Coca Cola, Early Morning Cold Taxi, Jaguar, Melancholia and Glow Girl (which is also on the other superb Who reissue: Odds & Sods). The liner notes, too, are top notch w/ many pictures and discographical info. What is sad is that many Who fans even are unfamiliar with this album recognizing only I Can See For Miles (which Townshend felt was the ultimate pop single) but the band is clearly at the top of their game. Townshend at his experimental best, Entwhistle is solid on the bass and frivolous on the horns (he writes most of the commercials), Daltrey is straddling the Mod/Rocker dividing line and his vocals have the same innocent youthful intensity that drives his singing on Tommy and is lost into assured arena rock by the time the innovative Who's Next comes around. Finally, Moon never sounded better, with his wild building tom rolls pounding in and out of control simultaneously. This is definitely peak stuff and it is easy to hear how Tommy, the grand opera, is the next logical step.
Asin: B000002OX5 |
$9.98 |
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Tommy (1969 Original Concept Album) Average Customer Review: Audio CD (12 March, 1996) list price: $13.98 -- our price: $11.99 (price subject to change: see help) US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Editorial Review Tommy had the dubious distinction of being the first-ever rock opera; however, it's none the worse for that, Ken Russell's adaptation notwithstanding. Due largely to Pete Townshend's skill as a songwriter and composer, Tommy tells a coherent story and includes quality rock and roll at the same time, an impressive feat by itself. While surprisingly more linear than the later Quadrophenia, Tommy boasts several songs that stand up well on their own, including the classic "Pinball Wizard," "The Acid Queen," "I'm Free," and "Sally Simpson." Much of the rest doesn't make much sense lyrically unless you listen to the entire album, but you'll probably want to do that anyway, preferably with the lights low and the stereo cranked. --Genevieve Williams ... Read more Features Reviews (145)
First, the music really does sound like show tunes. Ultimately, Townshend's stellar lyrics redeem some of the weakness of the music, but if one doesn't take the time to read them, he may be misled to think he's listening to the soundtrack to "Jesus Christ Superstar" or "Rent." Second, the album rightfully betrays a little bit of Townshend's pomposity. Some of the songs, e.g. "Sensation," are rather condescending, and Pete coined the baleful term "rock opera" by allowing "opera by Pete Townshend" to be placed on the record sleeve. At my public library, the double CD is even shelved with operas by Puccini, etc... Nonetheless, this is a stellar piece of music. Even though the most famous single "Pinball Wizard" makes little to no sense within the narrative structure of the album, the whole story of a "deaf, dumb, and blind kid" becoming a great pinball player and eventually being regarded as a Messiah rivals Jethro Tull's "Thick as a Brick" for the title of the most interesting concept album, and Townshend succeeded in making the tale universalizable (much as Waters' "The Wall" is ostensibly about the nervous breakdown of a lonely, withdrawn rock star but really addresses concerns that all individuals must face). Certain songs, such as "The Acid Queen," "Go to the Mirror Boy," "I'm Free," and "We're Not Gonna Take It" reflect this universal nature and are probably the best on the album. At the very least, Townshend deserves credit for introducing an important metaphor to the musical world, namely, that of physical separation from the world reflecting our mental separation. In that sense, "Tommy," while flawed, foreshadows later records such as "The Wall." Ultimately, it's a great idea to buy this album, but listen to "Thick as a Brick" and "The Wall" after in order to have a fuller explanation of what, if anything, Townshend was trying to say.
Asin: B000002OZY |
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Tommy (Hybr) (Dlx) Average Customer Review: Audio CD (28 October, 2003) list price: $29.98 -- our price: $26.99 (price subject to change: see help) US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Features Reviews (31)
However, the 5.1 SACD layer was remastered by Pete Townshend himself. It extends at least one track slightly, brings out instruments and effects that weren't really audible before, and adds some nice, largely pretty subtle, surround effects. It really is almost like hearing the album "for the first time again," as the cliche goes! The first thing I did when I bought my SACD player was to throw this disc on and sit quietly listening to the album, beginning to end. It would have been nice to have the stereo CD audio layer contained a stereo-downmixed version of this surround remix, since it changes much more than just speaker placement of the music, but it's also nice that the CD contains the original version for historical purposes, along with the new, redone 5.1 version.
Asin: B0000DJZAH |
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Live At Leeds [Deluxe Edition] Average Customer Review: Audio CD (18 September, 2001) list price: $29.98 -- our price: $26.99 (price subject to change: see help) US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Editorial Review Long considered one of the greatest live albums ever recorded, the Who's Live at Leeds was originally edited and packaged to resemble the haphazard state of early-'70s bootlegs, then expanded and sonically upgraded in the mid-1990s. But this deluxe edition finally restores the blistering February 1970 Leeds University concert to its full running length by adding the band's earliest officially available live rendition of the then-fresh Tommy in its entirety. And while it isn't perfect (the Tommy tracks have been moved from their original slot in the show and resequenced to fit onto disc 2 here), this album now takes its place as the best available document of the Who in their truly ferocious prime, trumping the previously available Isle of Wight show (recorded some six months later) in both performance level and sound quality. It also begs a little revisionist pondering: Are these the true godfathers of punk? Pete Townshend's music and chord structures may have often been jazz-based, but they careen with an energy that seems at once feral and superhuman. Roger Daltrey's vocals snarl with palpable grit, while the rhythm section of John Entwistle and Keith Moon thunders menacingly along like an overheated locomotive. The Tommy heard here is still vital and alive, played by a band whose fervent, in-the-moment abandon is a wonder to behold. --Jerry McCulley ... Read more Features Reviews (71)
The original 1970 release contained six rock masterpieces which showed the rough side of the Who. Amazingly, given the growing public appetite for garish double live albums that was beginning to gain momentum at this time, the original Live at Leeds album was not even thirty minutes long. It was this release that came to be known as perhaps the greatest album ever recorded. In 1995, the original album was generously expanded to over twice its original length with the restoration of performances form the concert which showed the poppier and more experimental sides of the Who. It also sounded better than ever. This beautiful release only increased this album's already giant stature. Now in 2001, we get the "deluxe edition" of this classic which now contains the complete performance of Tommy from this same show. One could debate the placement of Tommy out of its original performance sequence by placing the entire thing on disc two, but I don't really think that this is a problem. Personally, while I have always had a great amount of respect for Pete Townshend's first masterpiece, I've always considered it overblown, pretentious, and slightly dated (I've always considered Quadrophenia to the the better of the two). On its own merits, the previous incarnations of Live at Leeds were perfect albums for anyone with more than a passing interest in rock and roll or the blues. It is therefore appropriate that the original tracks be relegated to disc one. It makes for easier listening. These same casual fans may not really appreciate the pomp of Tommy on disc 2(although, in all fairness, it IS a really good performance). In short, casual fans will definitely be more appreciative of the non-Tommy tracks and may be better served by purchasing the less expensive '95 reissue.
Asin: B00005NB0H |
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Quadrophenia Average Customer Review: Audio CD (02 July, 1996) list price: $31.98 -- our price: $28.99 (price subject to change: see help) US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Editorial Review An excellent and frequently astonishing album, Quadrophenia is both more ambitious and less accessible than Tommy, the first and most well known rock opera. At its simplest level, Quadrophenia is a coming-of-age story with an awesome soundtrack. The album features some of the Who's finest material, in songs like the enraged "Real Me," the cynical "Punk Meets the Godfather," the wistful "5:15" and "Sea and Sand," and the powerful "Love, Reign O'er Me." The songwriting (courtesy of Pete Townshend) is top-notch, as is the production (the Who actually managed to use synthesizers in an original manner, something few rock bands can aspire to). The mix of powerful songwriting and skillful composition makes this one of the Who's finest moments. --Genevieve Williams ... Read more Features Reviews (176)
Anyone who has not listened to this record has not really lived. That is a bold statement, yet I believe that Quadrophenia stands up as not only a great rock album, but a work of art on multiple levels. We have all been Townshend's protagonist Jimmy at one point in our lives, disillusioned and rebellious, yet romantic and hopeful. Do your heart, mind and ears a favor and listen to Quadrophenia. It has the power to alter the way you see music and so much more. And how many rock albums can make that claim??
Asin: B000002P1P |
$28.99 |
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The Who by Numbers Average Customer Review: Audio CD (19 November, 1996) list price: $18.98 -- our price: $14.99 (price subject to change: see help) US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Editorial Review This 1975 collection excels in large part due to its modest goal. It's the Who's singer-songwriter record. Without the ostensible shield his "rock operas" provided, Pete Townshend's personal demons strut about nakedly. Not a pretty sight, but an involving spectacle nevertheless. "They Are All in Love" and "How Many Friends" are forgotten Who songs, but they've aged beautifully. John Entwistle's "Success Story" sequences nicely with the rest of the album. And "However Much I Booze," "Dreaming from the Waist," and "In a Hand or a Face" are great decade-early exercises in mid-life self-pity. There are only three bonus tracks here--live versions of "Squeeze Box," "Dreaming from the Waist," and the earlier "Behind Blue Eyes"--but By Numbers is such a cohesive collection that they're less welcome extras than annoying distractions. Still, By Numbers now stands as one of the linchpins in a great band's catalog. --Steven Stolder ... Read more Features Reviews (53)
It's the simplicity, directness and honesty that makes By Numbers work. It's a stellar example of The Who still at the top of their game and willing to take risks; most fans and critics were unprepared for this midlife crisis album. It has aged amazing well (better than a lot of The Who catalog). Although John only has one song on the album, Success Story more than holds it's own with Pete Townshend's terrific songs. Daltry manages to breathe life into the minority of weak songs. Always critized for his a lack of subtly, he turns in a sensitive and powerful performance. By Numbers is the last true masterpiece from the band. The band limped from here until their final studio album with Kenny Baker in 1982. If this had been their last album, they would have gone out with an emotional bang.
What is it about albums like this one, Dylan's "Blood On The Tracks" or Lennon's "Plastic Ono Band" that is so compelling? Dylan himself expressed surprise that anyone could listen to "Blood..." for pleasure, and yet whenever I reach a crisis point in my life it's records like these that bring me the most comfort because they speak to me, THEY UNDERSTAND! It's clear from the likes of However Much I Booze, How Many Friends, They Are All In Love, In A Hand Or A Face and Imagine A Man that Pete was having an emotional/spiritual crisis during this period. He lays his tortured soul out naked for all to see (so much so that Daltrey refused to sing However Much...) - and the results are both harrowing and first class songwriting at the same time. But if it all gets you down, there's always Squeeze Box and Blue Red & Grey (or is this one ironic?) to show the lighter side of life. It may not be The Who's greatest CD (choose between "Who's Next", "Sell Out" and "Meaty Beaty Big & Bouncy" for that honour), but often it's the only one I want to play because it makes such a connection.
Asin: B000002P2W |
$14.99 |
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Who Are You Average Customer Review: Audio CD (19 November, 1996) list price: $18.98 -- our price: $14.99 (price subject to change: see help) US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Editorial Review Posited between punk (Pete Townshend's instinctive ethos) and progressive (much of the music), Who Are You is ultimately a failed attempt to conciliate two camps that thrived on their opposition to one another. Neither the insurgent punks of Johnny Rotton's generation nor Townshend's comfortably numb peer group had the least need for one another. Townshend, on the other hand, seemed to want one thing from both forces: their contempt. It was something he could share with them. All of which led to one exceptional song (the title cut) and a handful of lesser statements (the modified minuet "Guitar and Pen," "Music Must Change," "New Song"). John Entwistle fills three song slots with the tactless "Had Enough," the slight but likable "905," and "Trick of the Light," an above-par classic-rock showcase for Roger Daltry. A generous five bonus tracks round out the reissue. --Steven Stolder ... Read more Features Reviews (49)
Asin: B000002P2V |
$14.99 |
Four stars for the album, two for the remixing
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The Who - The Kids Are Alright (Special Edition) Director: Jeff Stein Average Customer Review: DVD (30 September, 2003) list price: $29.98 -- our price: $22.49 (price subject to change: see help) US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Editorial Review Half its members may be dead and its leader may be keeping a low profile, but the Who remains enormously popular. Devotees who haven't availed themselves of Jeff Stein's thrilling, self-mocking 1979 documentary about the group shouldn't wait another minute now that the film has been painstakingly--perhaps heroically--restored to its theatrical-release length from original elements. The sound is clearer than on previous video releases, images are once more crisp and color-rich, and adjustments in tape speed make the Who sound like themselves again, particularly in vintage television performances and filmed club dates from as far back as the band's sonically thrilling, early R&B period. Special features are, shall we say, extensive: 100 or so minutes of multiple-angle footage, an insightful interview with Roger Daltrey, a featurette about the film's restoration, and a mesmerizing, isolated John Entwistle audio track. --Tom Keogh ... Read more Features Reviews (64)
This is everything one would want in a DVD package. They don't call it "Special Edition" for nothing! 1. Nice hardcover slipcase to put your DVD cover in. 2. A nice booklet of photos, commentary from the director and producer, and liner notes of each track. 3. 2 DVDs... the first containing the movie in glorious hi-def. color/B&W, 5.1 surroundsound. Also includes audio commentary by director Jeff Stein, and subtitles of where each performance comes from. 4. The second DVD filled with "extras". Contains a "Restoration process" documentary, 6 camera angles of the tracks "Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again", those 2 songs with just Entwisle's bass track, 2 quizes with prizes!, hidden gems, as well as an interview with Jeff Stein, photos of the Who, and an audio/visual comparision between the VHS (old) version of TKAA and the DVD version. As for the movie itself what can I say? The ultimate rock and roll documentary. Even if you are not a big "Who" fan, you can appreciate the band more by watching this documentary. The color is superb, the sound is phenomenal for old footage. Oh and I almost forgot, the producers restored the movie to its orignal theatrical length! The perfect DVD! A++ all the way.
This is the way a Rock movie should be done overall--songs play through and no one talks over them! The camera edits don't jump and cut every 3 seconds either. I love having the multi-camera angles on the two songs. Now I can just watch Keith and still not know how he plays like that. Even better is having solo OX bass audio to enjoy (he doesn't do that much in Baba unfortunately, but Won't Get Fooled is incredible.) I don't know who it was that ever started that nonsense about the Stones being the "Greatest Rock Band", but all the proof you need that it has ALWAYS been The Who--is right here. No more DVDs should be allowed to be released before they live up to this quality standard.
Asin: B0000AFQS0 |
$22.49 |
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Live at the Royal Albert Hall (with Bonus Disc) Average Customer Review: Audio CD (22 July, 2003) list price: $24.98 -- our price: $24.98 (price subject to change: see help) US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Editorial Review The Who wrapped up their 2000 World Tour--possibly their final wave of the Union Jack hankie now that John Entwhistle has died--with this red-carpet Teenage Cancer Trust charity shindig at the Royal Albert Hall. Time has taken its toll on some of the Who's more splenetic sensibilities; there are times when Roger Daltrey sounds too seasoned and contented to muster much in the way of vocal vitriol. But the old grumblers can still sound enthusiastically cross. While few live albums rival Live at Leeds for impelling urgency, Live at the Royal Albert Hall has added curiosity value by virtue of the contributions from a slew of younger and famous devotees, including Eddie Vedder, Paul Weller, Bryan Adams, Noel Gallagher, Kelly Jones, and Kennedy. Not to be upstaged by younger bucks, the Who sound positively regal on "Won't Get Fooled Again" and as feral as rutting tigers on "My Generation." --Kevin Maidment ... Read more Reviews (13)
Asin: B0000942K8 |
$24.98 |
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The Who - Live at the Royal Albert Hall Director: Dick Carruthers Average Customer Review: DVD (25 September, 2001) list price: $24.99 -- our price: $19.99 (price subject to change: see help) US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France Editorial Review For a band that held its farewell tour in 1982, the Who sound farfrom finished when it comes to exploring the greater passions and sonicpossibilities of its old material. Never has that been more evident than inThe Who: Live at the Royal Albert Hall, a record of thegroup's remarkable stand at a charity gig in London late in 2000. Perennialpatrons of adolescents, the Who is clearly energized by an emotionalattachment to Britain's Teenage Cancer Trust (beneficiary of thefundraiser), a feeling that also sweeps through several well-chosen guests whohappen to be spiritual descendants of the band. After a long opening set thatincludes a scorching "Anyway Anyhow Anywhere," a gorgeous update of "The KidsAre Alright," and a soulful "Bargain," the Who usher in punk violinist NigelKennedy to help electrify "Baba O'Riley," the Jam's founder Paul Weller for alovely, acoustic rendition of "So Sad About Us," and Stereophonicsguitarist-vocalist Kelly Jones for a nearly epiphanous "Substitute." More than just a parade of celebrities paying homage to Townshend and fellowOlympians Roger Daltrey and John Entwistle, the select visitors here challengethe Who to add new colors to old warhorses (Noel Gallagher's psychedelic tingeon "Won't Get Fooled Again") and delicate semiclassics (Eddie Vedder'ssympathetic duet with Townshend on "I'm One"). By the end of a robustevening, Daltrey's voice is shot and Townshend looks ready for a shot ofvitamins, but anyone who would declare the Who a bunch of worn-out grandpasis spoiling for a Mod-era stomping. This is an essential set for Wholoyalists and a wonderful show for everyone else. --Tom Keogh ... Read more Features Reviews (64)
Recorded during a benefit concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London the Who is augmented by guest performers like Bryan Adams, Nigel Kennedy, Eddie Veder and others. The truth is that the main attraction on this concert is the Who. Every member performance is in top form and the band goes through many hits songs in an intense and long set. Not bad for a band that has not released any new material in years. Key to note is that the band avoids sounding like the Who covering themselves like other Classic Rock bands that end up giving the audience not so good interpretation of old material. In this case the Who, as a band, is as relevan and intense as 30 years ago. As for the DVD the first disc cover mainly the concert and the second one has the extras with rehersal footage with guest performers and other stuff but nothing really out of the ordinary. Sound quality is excelent and the images are clear.
Some have criticized the fast-pace cutting. I think it's edited the way a rock concert should be. It creates a frenetic ambience which puts you right on stage with the greatest rock band in the world. Sure, these guys are pushing sixty, but the energy is still there. The pouty, snarling Townshend, and the grinning, happy-go-lucky Daltrey, are the yin and yang of this legendary band, and they're anchored by a guy who is probably the best musician of the lot -- John Entwistle, bass player extraordinaire. (You're going to love the bass-cam shots on 5:15). Rounding out the quartet and sitting in for Keith "I died in 1978" Moon is none other than Zak Starkey, son of a Beatle, and a darn good drummer himself. I highly recommend this double-disc selection. (The second disc has some rehearsal footage and a mini-documentary on the charity. Great stuff, but I must admit I wanted more extras -- maybe some highlights from the 2000 tour?).
Asin: B00005NFZQ |
$19.99 |
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