First| Previous| Up| Next| Last

The Who - Who's Next (Disc 1) Album Artist/Composer The Who Length 154:03 Format CD Genre Rock Index 631 Collection Status In Collection Packaging Jewel Case Track List Who's Next (Disc 1) 79:19 01 Baba O'riley 05:01 02 Bargain 05:33 03 Love Ain't for Keeping 02:10 04 My Wife 03:35 05 The Song Is Over 06:17 06 Getting in Tune 04:49 07 Going Mobile 03:43 08 Behind Blue Eyes 03:42 09 Won't Get Fooled Again 08:35 10 Baby Don't You Do It (New York Record Plant Session) 08:21 11 Getting in Tune (New York Record Plant Session Outtake) 06:36 12 Pure And Easy (New York Record Plant Session) 04:33 13 Love Ain't for Keeping (New York Record Plant Session Outtake) 04:06 14 Behind Blue Eyes (New York Record Plant Session Outtake) 03:30 15 Won't Get Fooled Again (New York Record Plant Session Outtake) 08:48 Who's Next (Disc 2) 74:44 01 Love Ain't for Keeping 02:57 02 Pure And Easy 06:00 03 Young Man Blues 04:47 04 Time Is Passing 03:59 05 Behind Blue Eyes 04:49 06 I Don't Even Know Myself 05:42 07 Too Much of Anything 04:20 08 Getting in Tune 06:42 09 Bargain 05:46 10 Water 08:19 11 My Generation 02:58 12 (I'm a) Road Runner 03:14 13 Naked Eye 06:21 14 Won't Get Fooled Again 08:50 Personal Details Details Spars DDD Rare No Sound Stereo Notes Who's Next (Deluxe Edition) - Disc 1 of 2\n2003 MCA Records, Inc.\n\nOriginally Released 1971\nMCA Steve Hoffman Version CD Released 1985?\nRemixed & Remastered with Bonus Tracks Version Released November 7, 1995\nMCA MasterDisc Gold CD Version Released August 29, 1995\nMFSL Gold CD Version Released October 12, 1999\nDeluxe Edition Released March 25, 2003\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: 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 bonus tracks. Nearly eight years later, Who's Next, one of the group's most beloved albums, was given another remastered/expanded treatment as part of Universal Chronicles' Deluxe Edition series. Now it spans two discs, including a full disc devoted to their legendary show at the Young Vic on April 26, 1971. Reportedly, this is also the first time the original master tapes were used for a CD master as well, and while the difference isn't as dramatically different as it was from the 1984 CD to the 1995 CD, this is a richer, resonant mix, which may be reason enough for some fans to acquire it. Most collectors will focus on the bonus material, all of which ranges from very good to great, yet the set on the whole gets a qualified recommendation for one very simple reason: The greatest of the material here was already featured as bonus material on the 1995 reissue. True, some of the versions were present as single edits, but the greatest songs -- "Pure and Easy," a rollicking cover of "Baby Don't You Do It," the live set pieces "Naked Eye" and "Water," "Too Much of Anything," "I Don't Even Know Myself," the original take of "Behind Blue Eyes" -- were all bonus tracks on the previous edition (this is not counting the fact that the electric version of "Love Ain't for Keepin'," which is really good, is also on Odds & Sods). That said, there is some unreleased music here that is either fascinating (the first take of "Won't Get Fooled Again," which sounds as if it's on the verge of collapse) or excellent (the whole of the Young Vic show, where you can hear the band get its strength back; it's a truly fine concert). But no matter how good, or even revelatory, some of this is, the end result feels underwhelming because any Who fan has heard the most crucial music here before (and those who enjoy nitpicking will surely wonder why there wasn't more of an effort to present Lifehouse rejects and outtakes here instead of a full concert). If you're a fan, Who's Next: The Deluxe Edition is like paying a bill -- buying it is something that needs to be done, you're glad once it's done, but it's not something you're necessarily eager to do. -- Stephen Thomas Erlewine\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: (Standard Edition) 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 sequel to Tommy. There's no discernable theme behind these songs, yet this album is stronger than Tommy, falling just behind Who Sell Out as the finest record the Who ever cut. Townshend developed an infatuation with synthesizers during the recording of the album, and they're all over this album, adding texture where needed and amplifying the force, which is already at a fever pitch. Apart from Live at Leeds, the Who have never sounded as LOUD and unhinged as they do here, yet that's balanced by ballads, both lovely ("The Song Is Over") and scathing ("Behind Blue Eyes"). That's the key to Who's Next -- there's anger and sorrow, humor and regret, passion and tumult, all wrapped up in a blistering package where the rage is as affecting as the heartbreak. This is a retreat from the '60s, as Townshend declares the "Song Is Over," scorns the teenage wasteland, and bitterly declares that we "Won't Get Fooled Again." For all the sorrow and heartbreak that runs beneath the surface, this is an invigorating record, not just because Keith Moon runs rampant or because Roger Daltrey has never sung better or because John Entwistle spins out manic bass lines that are as captivating as his "My Wife" is funny. This is invigorating because it has all of that, plus Townshend laying his soul bare in ways that are funny, painful, and utterly life-affirming. That is what the Who was about, not the rock operas, and that's why Who's Next is truer than Tommy or the abandoned Lifehouse. Those were art -- this, even with its pretensions, is rock & roll. -- Stephen Thomas Erlewine\n\nAmazon.com Editorial Review\nThe 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 \n\nAlbum Description\nBelieve it or not, this landmark album, the record that changed FM rock forever in the early-'70s, has never been reissued from the original master tapes...'til now! But that's only the beginning...in addition to the original nine tracks, disc one adds six bonus tracks that were recorded at The Record Plant in March 1971, ('Baby Don't You Do It', 'Getting In Tune', 'Pure and Easy', 'Love Ain't For Keeping', Behind Blue Eyes' & 'Won't Get Fooled Again') three of which have never been available and the other three of which are here in their full-length versions for the first time. Then disc two captures a largely-unreleased April 26, 1971 gig at London's Old Vic Theatre (including the previously unreleased tracks - 'Love Ain't For Keeping', 'Pure And Easy', 'Young Man Blues', 'Time Is Passing', 'Behind Blue Eyes', 'I Don't Even Know Myself', 'Too Much Of Anything', 'Getting In Tune', 'Bargain', 'My \n\nAmazon.com Customer Review\nKind of worth it for CD2, but CD1 is redundant, March 29, 2003 \nReviewer: Jac in Tucson from Tucson, AZ United States \nOK, so CD1 has gone back to the original master tapes, and not something a generation or two removed. For audiophiles with $5,000 sound systems, it may be worth it to them to buy the "new" first CD. But for 95 percent of us, many of whom have bought the "remastered" version with bonus tracks, the first CD really is redundant and a waste of money. Who's Next is absolutely one of the best rock albums of all time -- and if you've got the remastered CD1, you've got the essentials. CD2 is for completists, or those curious to hear one of the Old Vic recordings in which Townshend was fine-tuning Lifehouse. (For Townshend's modern-day take on the project, check his own CD of Lifehouse.) The live CD rocks on a level almost equal to Live at Leeds and if you just HAVE to have some live versions of songs from Who's Next, then fork over the pile of cash for this CD. Like Live at Leeds, the first CD is essential, the second CD is worth owning if you've got a nice fat back account. But for my money, check out the Who's performance at the Isle of Wight Festival, which is as dynamic as Live at Leeds and, like Live at Leeds CD2, contains Tommy. I've lost track of the many issues, reissues, remasters, and (especially) "best of" compilations of The Who. If you're new to the band, pass on this and just get CD1 of this, CD1 of Live at Leeds, and Tommy, and you've got your own "essential Who" collection! For now, though, this "Deluxe Edition" is meant for those Boomers among us who don't mind buying two CDs just to get one CD's worth of new material...\n\nCaveat emptor...\n\nAmazon.com Customer Review\nA review of this set written by Luke Pacholski at lukpac.org, April 13, 2003 \nReviewer: Bradley Olson from Bemidji, MN USA \nAs most people know, one of the main selling points of Who's Next: Deluxe Edition is that the original album comes from the original stereo master tapes "for the first time on CD". The story is that only copy tapes have been used all of these years. On the other hand, Steve Hoffman, former MCA engineer, has claimed for a long time that he found the master tapes in a file cabinet at the Mastering Lab in LA in the mid-80s and used them for his CD version, one variation of which is still available in Canada today.\n\nWell, between listening to the two side by side and running the tape box pictures past Steve, it would indeed seem the Deluxe Edition is the *second* time (at the very least) the true masters have been used for CD. There's little doubt in my mind that Hoffman's version also used the tapes. Both forms of the album sound quite good, although there are some differences between the two.\n\nThe Hoffman CD has an EQ that favors the vocals, with the side effect of causing the cymbals to sound a bit "midrangy". The Deluxe Edition, on the other hand, goes for a slightly more "smooth" cymbal sound, at the expense of the vocals, causing them to be submerged slightly, if you will. The DE is a bit less "open", IMO.\n\nThere are also some minor differences beyond EQ. For his CD, Hoffman essentially played the tapes back "straight", without fading the hiss out between tracks. [side note: the Canadian version has the hiss "blacked" between some tracks. The original US and Japanese pressings don't.] The Deluxe Edition takes a different approach. As the songs come to a close, the entire track is faded out, causing the hiss to fade as well. The side effect of this is that in some cases the very last moments of some songs are lost.\n\nInteresting note: the between song gaps for most of the album seem to be just about identical between the Hoffman CD and the DE. However, while some previous versions of the original mix (including the Hoffman) have essentially no pause between Behind Blue Eyes and Won't Get Fooled Again, the Deluxe Edition has a few seconds of silence between the two. Very strange. On the other hand, the old US MCA CD (a version not mastered by Hoffman) does have a small gap as well.\n\nA big question on many peoples minds has been noise reduction (NR). Jon Astley (who mastered the Deluxe Edition) is notorious for using NR on just about everything. This has the effect of sucking the life out of the music and causing nasty digital artifacts. Kind of a "swirling" sound if you will. Just listen to some of Live At Leeds: Deluxe Edition for a good (or bad, I guess) example of this. Well, I've got good and bad news. The good news is that *most* of the album is NR-free. Hiss levels are usually about the same as the Hoffman CD, and in a few cases they actually seem to be every so slightly higher. That said, several intros, quiet sections, and fade-outs do have noise reduction. One key place is Won't Get Fooled Again - the intro, synth break, and fade-out all have NR. There's very little hiss during the break, and then as soon as the drums come in, the hiss level goes *way* up. Fortunately the NR isn't quite as intrusive as it was on some other Astley-mastered CDs, but it is still annoying, and there's simply no reason for it.\n\nAs far as the rest of the (bonus) cuts go, I haven't really gotten that far yet. I would note that while Baby Don't You Do It is longer than on the 1995 CD, it is still edited in a few places. What's the point?\n\nOn the other hand, some (but not all) of the backing vocals mixed out of Pure & Easy on the 1995 CD are present here. The song also comes to a formal close, rather than a fade-out.\n\nBehind Blue Eyes still only has a single guitar solo, unlike the dual solos on the bootleg mix.\n\nI briefly skimmed through disc 2. Rich "White Fang" Weiner has said he thought the mastering was significantly worse on this disc, but honestly, I don't hear (m)any negative effects of noise reduction. It's certainly better than I was expecting. That said, I haven't heard the mixes prior to mastering, and I believe he has. Whatever the case, the sound is *far* better than some of Jon Astley's prior work.\n\nHow would I rate this set? Well, it was certainly better than expected. A key selling point is use of the "original tape" for the original album. While I'd say it does sound *very* good, bits of noise reduction aside, I'm hesitant to say it sounds "better" than the Hoffman CD. Both versions have their own strengths and weaknesses. Casual fans will probably do fine with the DE, although I'd still suggest the Hoffman CD to those who really care about sound quality. You might still prefer the DE, but then again, you might not.\n\nEven ignoring the original album, I'd say the set is well worth picking up. The mixes of the Record Plant material are interesting, and the Young Vic show is great from both a performance and sound standpoint.\n\nDespite its flaws, in my opinion this is the best Who reissue to come out in a long time. \n\nAmazon.com Customer Review\nWorth it for disc 2 alone., March 26, 2003 \nReviewer: David Goodwin from Westchester, NY USA \nAhh, "Deluxe Edition." Record company speak for "We've figured out how to make you spend upwards of twenty-five dollars for *the same stuff!* AGAIN!" Universal's two-disc Deluxe Edition series has had some great successes and some...well, puzzling entries. Thankfully, this release is largely in the former category, although there are a few important caveats that need to be addressed. Read on...\n\nFirst, let's look at the package: the original album, plus a few period bonuses, plus a good bit of the infamous "Young Vic" concert which found the band trying out the material live for the first time. One of MCA/Universal's selling points for disc 1--the original album, which the entire world probably has seven or eight times over at least--is that the disc uses FOR THE FIRST TIME the "Original Master Tapes." Now, let's examine this claim. Frankly, I think it's indicative of the sheer, unmitigated gall these bloated companies have that they can advertise previous releases (the fairly-awful MCA Gold disc, which claimed to use the original master tapes) as using the "Original Master Tapes," and then pull a 180 and go "Oh, no, wait, we screwed up...THIS is the one you need. $25 please." Chutzpah, eh? And the weird part is that it probably isn't true (the master tapes *were* used for at least one previous issue of the album).\n\nBut I'm getting ahead of myself. The currently-available Who's Next single disc uses an uneasy combination of remixes from the multitracks ("My Wife," for example) and original mixes. Disc one of this set uses the original mixes through and through, and despite the somewhat dubious reputation of some of those behind this set, is actually sounds fairly splendid, with only a few no-noised intros really standing out (and it's safe to say most won't notice them). Is this the best "Who's Next" has sounded on CD? It's certainly up there with the previous best incarnation.\n\nThe bonus tracks on disc 1 are mostly extended versions of the bonus tracks on the '95 single disc (although, bizarrely, we're missing a few tracks here, like the studio alternate of "Too Much of Anything"). They're also remixed, and some are still edited ("Baby Don't You Do It"). Some are entirely new ("Won't Get Fooled Again"). Still nice.\n\nIt'd disc two, though, that is *the* selling point of the set: a previously-unavailable Who concert. The producers of the set excised most of the non-Who's Next related material (ostensibly to fit the affair onto a single disc), but it doesn't really hurt the concert. This Young Vic show is essentially the first airing of the WN material in front of a crowd, and in some cases it marks the first and *last* airings of some song ("Time is Passing"). While the playing is occasionally tentative--vocals are out of tune, etc--it's still utterly enthralling and top notch, and it's been mastered a LOT better than Live at Leeds Deluxe.\n\nThe verdict? If you're one of the...lesse...five? Five people on earth who somehow does NOT own Who's Next, this package is an excellent introduction; there're certain albums that are rock institutions, pure and simple, and this is one of them. If you're a slightly more seasoned collector, though, the set is still essential, if only for disc 2. The fact that some of the tracks on the single disc reissue are missing is unfortunate, but that's record company politics for ya...hopefully, copies of the '95 single disc will be floating around for cheap now that this is out. \n\nHalf.com Album Notes\nThe Who: Roger Daltrey (vocals); Pete Townsend (guitar, piano, organ, ARP synthesizer, background vocals); John Entwistle (horns, piano, bass, background vocals); Keith Moon (drums, percussion).Additional personnel: Leslie West (guitar); Nicky Hopkins (piano).\nProducers: The Who, Glyn Johns, Kit Lambert.\nRecorded between 1968 & 1971. \nIncludes liner notes by Pete Townsend, John Atkins, and Chris Charlesworth.\n\nNew Musical Express (09/18/1993)\nRanked #21 in NME's list of the `Greatest Albums Of The '70s.'\n\nNew Musical Express (10/2/93, p.29) - Ranked #99 in NME's list of the `Greatest Albums Of All Time.'\n\nQ Magazine (1/03, p.62) - Included in Q Magazine's 100 Greatest Albums Ever\n\nRolling Stone (9/2/71, p.42) - ...intelligently-conceived, superbly-performed, brilliantly produced, and sometimes even exciting rock'n'roll... \n\nRolling Stone (9/30/71, p.42) - ...what they have given up in rawness and razzle-dazzle they have gained in depth of vision and musical maturity. Every cut on the album has something to offer...\n\nQ Magazine (1/96, p.158) - 4 Stars - Excellent - Considered by many to be the band's best, 1971's WHO'S NEXT was their only Number 1 album...