
The Who, past and present
Review created: 07/05/06(updated 07/05/06)
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.
This has to be my favourite Who album ever, probably my favourite album ever, full stop. It contains a very good selection from their songs, right through from I Can't Explain, the first Townshend composition to hit the world, right through Tommy and Quadrophenia, their two Rock Operas, to Old Red Wine and Real Good Looking Boy, two brand new releases on this album.
As well as a good selection of old and new, it also contains a good selection of the sublime and the rediculous, with I'm a Boy and Happy Jack sharing the CD with Love Reign Over Me, Who Are You? and My Generation.
As well as peices by Townshend, there are some wonderful covers, Summertime Blues and Real Good Looking Boy (as far as I am aware). The Who started off as a cover band and they have always done a very good job of it.
One thing that is missing though is anything by John Entwistle. It is a compilation of Who songs entirely devoid of My Wife, Boris the Spider, Cousin Kevin or any of his other gems. How you can have a compilation which is supposed to encapsulate the band without any of his works is a mystery to me.
If you're a newcomer to The Who, or wanting to explore them for the first time, I would say this is the best album to choose. It has something for everyone, and, even if you've heard one song and hated it, you're still likely to find something you like in their repertoire, and it's probably on here. For the long time Who fan though, it comes as a bit of an annoyance, they're not new recordings of classic songs, they're the old recordings but with two new songs. But Old Red Wine and Real Good Looking Boy are undoubtedly worth buying the other tracks all over again, they are pure magic.
I love this album, if you've never heard of The Who and are looking for something new to listen to (where have you been) and also, it's a great choice. If you love The Who as much as I do, you will love Real Good Looking Boy and Old Red Wine, and not having to change the CD to play the old favourites together will probably come as a slight relief too.
Review ID: 10000000000921985

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