The Who – A Retrospective, 1964-2014

The Who A Retrospective: 1964-2014

Overview: The Who were a rock group that formed in London in 1964. In their early years, they became known for their antics of destroying their instruments on stage. They became a staple of album rock with classics such as the 1969 rock opera Tommy and 1971’s Who’s Next The original lineup of singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon lasted until 1978 when Moon died at age 32 from a drug overdose. At their concert in Cincinnati on December 3, 1979, eleven people were trampled to death when fans tried to push their way in before the show. The band broke up in 1982, but regrouped for Live Aid in 1986 and again in 1989 for a 25th anniversary tour. They subsequently regrouped multiple times. Just before their 2002 tour, Entwistle died at age 57 from a cocaine-induced heart attack. In 2006, they released their first studio album, Endless Wire, in 24 years. They reconvened again for the album Who in 2019. The Players: Roger Daltrey (vocals) Pete Townshend (guitar) John Entwistle (bass) Keith Moon (drums) On the Web: TheWho.com (official site) Facebook Wikipedia Lists: The Who: Top 100 Songs The Who: Studio Albums Ranked Spotify Podcast: Check out Dave’s Music Database podcast: The 50th Anniversary of Who’s Next. It premieres August 17, 2021 at 7pm CST. Tune in every Tuesday at 7pm for a new episode based on the lists at Dave’s Music Database.

Awards:

The Studio Albums: Hover over an album cover to see its title and year of release. Click on the album to go to its dedicated DMDB page. Compilations: MB Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy (1965-70, released 1971) H Hooligans (1965-78, released 1981) 83 Greatest Hits (1965-78, released 1983) WB Who’s Better Who’s Best (1954-81, released 1988) VB My Generation: The Very Best of (1965-81, released 1996) UC The Ultimate Collection (1964-82, released 2002) TN Then & Now (1964-2003, released 2004) 09 Greatest Hits (1964-2006, released 2009) 50 Hits 50! (1964-2014, released 2014) Under each album snapshot, songs featured on the anthologies are noted. If the song charted, the date of the song’s release or first chart appearance and its chart peaks are noted in parentheses. Click for codes to singles charts.

My Generation (1965): My Generation (11/4/65, 74 US, 99 CB, 79 HR, 1 CL, 2 UK, 3 CN, 2 AU) MB, 83, WB, VB, UC, TN, 09, 50 A Legal Matter (3/7/66, 42 CL, 32 UK, 83 AU) MB, UC The Kids Are Alright (8/12/66, 85 CB, 98 HR, 11 CL, 41 UK) MB, WB, UC, TN, 09, 50 A Quick One (1966): Boris the Spider (13 CL) MB, VB, UC, 50 The Who Sell Out (1967): I Can See for Miles (10/7/67, 9 US, 8 CB, 10 HR, 3 CL, 10 UK, 4 CN, 20 AU) MB, H, WB, VB, UC, TN, 09, 50 Magic Bus (1968): Pictures of Lily (4/22/67, 51 US, 60 CB, 49 HR, 8 CL, 4 UK, 36 CN, 7 AU) MB, WB, VB, UC, 09, 50 Call Me Lightning (3/2/68, 40 US, 38 CB, 24 HR, 18 CL, 30 AU) UC, 50 Magic Bus (7/27/68, 25 US, 10 CB, 13 HR, 3 CL, 26 UK, 6 CN, 20 AU) MB, 83, WB, VB, UC, TN, 09, 50 Tommy (1969): Pinball Wizard (3/7/69, 19 US, 15 CB, 15 HR, 1 CL, 4 UK, 6 CN, 45 AU) MB, H, 83, WB, VB, UC, TN, 09, 50 I’m Free (7/5/69, 37 US, 30 CB, 29 HR, 7 CL, 83 AU) WB, UC, 50 See Me, Feel Me (excerpt from “We’re Not Gonna Take It”) (9/26/70, 12 US, 8 CB, 9 HR, 5 CL, 4 CN, 70 AU) WB, UC, TN, 50

Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy The Who

Released: October 30, 1971 Recorded: 1964-1970 Peak: 11 US, 9 UK, -- CN, 27 AU Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, -- UK Genre: classic rock

Tracks: (1) I Can’t Explain (2) The Kids Are Alright (3) Happy Jack (4) I Can See for Miles (5) Pictures of Lily (6) My Generation (7) The Seeker (8) Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere (9) Pinball Wizard (10) A Legal Matter (11) Boris the Spider (12) Magic Bus (13) Substitute (14) I’m a Boy Total Running Time: 42:54

Rating: 4.582 out of 5.00 (average of 21 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy: When looking back on a act’s body of work years later, first anthologies don’t always hold up as they can sometimes be padded with songs that later are inessential in comparison to later work. This collection, holds up well with most of these songs remaining important decades into the Who’s career. Tracks Not on Previously Noted Albums: I Can’t Explain (1/15/65, 93 US, 57 CB, 72 HR, 2 CL, 8 UK, 87 AU) MB, H, WB, VB, UC, TN, 09, 50 Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere (5/21/65, 26 CL, 10 UK) MB, WB, VB, UC, 50 Substitute (3/4/66, 4 CL, 5 UK, 5 AU) MB, 83, WB, VB, UC, TN, 09, 50 I’m a Boy (8/26/66, 31 CL, 2 UK, 11 AU) MB, WB, VB, UC, TN, 50 Happy Jack (12/3/66, 24 US, 13 CB, 16 HR, 6 CL, 3 UK, 1 CN, 4 AU) MB, 83, WB, VB, UC, TN, 09, 50 The Seeker (3/21/70, 44 US, 30 CB, 30 HR, 9 CL, 19 UK, 21 CN) MB, 83, VB, UC, 50

Who’s Next (1971): Won’t Get Fooled Again (6/25/71, 15 US, 9 CB, 8 HR, 1 CL, 9 UK, 7 CN, 14 AU) 83, WB, VB, UC, TN, 09, 50 Baba O’Riley [5:08] (10/23/71, 1 CL, 80 AU) H, VB, UC, 09, 50 Behind Blue Eyes (11/6/71, 34 US, 24 CB, 27 HR) H, UC, TN, 09, 50 Bargain (2 CL) H, UC, 50 The Song Is Over (11 CL) H My Wife (11 CL) 83, UC Quadrophenia (1973): 5:15 (9/30/73, 45 US, 53 CB, 55 HR, 5 CL, 20 UK) H, 83, VB, TN, 50 Love, Reign O’er Me (10/23/73, 76 US, 54 CB, 89 HR, 2 CL) 83, TN, 09, 50 The Real Me (1/12/74, 92 US, 82 CB, 7 CL) H Drowned H The Who By Numbers (1975): Squeeze Box (11/15/75, 16 US, 11 CB, 11 HR, 12 RR, 5 CL, 10 UK, 1 CN, 45 AU) H, 83, WB, VB, UC, TN, 09, 50 Slip Kid (8/7/76, 14 CL) H, 50 Who Are You (1978): Who Are You (7/4/78, 14 US, 9 CB, 9 HR, 7 RR, 1 CL, 18 UK, 7 CN, 23 AU) H, 83, WB, VB, UC, TN, 09, 50 Had Enough (18 CL) H, UC Sister Disco H, UC Trick of the Light 50

Hooligans The Who

Released: September 1981 Recorded: 1964-1978 Peak: 52 US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, -- UK Genre: classic rock

Tracks: (1) I Can’t Explain (2) I Can See for Miles (3) Pinball Wizard (4) Let’s See Action (5) Summertime Blues (6) Relay (7) Baba O’Riley (8) Behind Blue Eyes (9) Bargain (10 The Song Is Over (11) Join Together (12) Squeeze Box (13) Slip Kid (14) The Real Me (15) 5:15 (16) Drowned (17) Had Enough (18) Sister Disco (18) Who Are You Total Running Time: 80:17

Rating: 3.956 out of 5.00 (average of 5 ratings)

About Hooligans: This collection focuses primarily on the Who’s output in the 1970s, including four non-album singles from the era. The collection also includes three songs from the 1960s which were already covered on Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy: “I Can’t Explain,” “I Can See for Miles,” and “Pinball Wizard.” The set would be better served by keying in exclusively on ‘70s material, since Meaty already covered the ‘60s adequately and there are notable omissions from the 1970s such as “Won’t Get Fooled Again” and “Love, Reign O’er Me.” Tracks Not on Previously Noted Albums: Summertime Blues (7/4/70, 27 US, 14 CB, 14 HR, 7 CL, 38 UK, 8 CN) H, UC, TN, 50 Let’s See Action (10/15/71, 41 CL, 16 UK, 59 AU) H, VB, UC, 50 Join Together (6/16/72, 17 US, 28 CB, 20 HR, 7 CL, 9 UK, 18 CN, 58 AU) H, WB, VB, 50 Relay (12/9/72, 39 US, 33 CB, 35 HR, 14 CL, 21 UK, 70 CN) H, 83, 50

Greatest Hits The Who

Released: 1983 Recorded: 1965-1978 Peak: 94 US, -- UK, -- CN, 13 AU Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, -- UK Genre: classic rock

Tracks: (1) Substitute (2) The Seeker (3) Magic Bus (4) My Generation (5) Pinball Wizard (6) Happy Jack (7) Won’t Get Fooled Again (8) My Wife (9) Squeeze Box (10) Relay (11) 5:15 (12) Love Reign O’er Me (13) Who Are You Total Running Time: 50:47

Rating: 4.210 out of 5.00 (average of 8 ratings)

About Greatest Hits: This is a fairly effective distillation of Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy and Hooligans into one anthology. This remedies the biggest omissions from the latter by including “Won’t Get Fooeld Again” and “Love Reign O’er Me.” It doesn’t, however, include “Behind Blue Eyes.” Also, despite a 1983 release, this collection doesn’t have any songs included from 1981’s Face Dances or 1982’s It’s Hard. Face Dances (1981): You Better You Bet (2/27/81, 18 US, 15 CB, 12 HR, 16 RR, 1 AR, 9 UK, 4 CN, 21 AU) WB, VB, UC, TN, 09, 50 Don’t Let Go the Coat (4/4/81, 84 US, 77 CB, 21 CL, 47 UK) UC, 50 Another Tricky Day (4/4/81, 6 AR) UC The Quiet One UC

Who’s Better Who Best The Who

Released: November 14, 1988 Recorded: 1964-1981 Peak: -- US, 10 UK, -- CN, 51 AU Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, 0.1 UK, 0.6 world (includes US and UK) Genre: classic rock

Tracks: (1) My Generation (2) Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere (3) The Kids Are Alright (4) Substitute (5) I’m a Boy (6) Happy Jack (7) Pictures of Lily (8) I Can See for Miles (9) Who Are You (10) Won’t Get Fooled Again (11) Magic Bus (12) I Can’t Explain (13) Pinball Wizard (14) I’m Free (15) See Me, Feel Me (16) Squeeze Box (17) Join Together (18) You Better You Bet Total Running Time: 59:49

Rating: 4.327 out of 5.00 (average of 10 ratings)

About Who’s Better Who’s Best: Like Greatest Hits, this is a career-spanning retrospective. Neither collection has any songs from 1982’s It’s Hard and this one has some head-shaking omissions like “Behind Blue Eyes,” “Love, Reign O’er Me,” and “The Seeker.” It’s all the more puzzling since, in the CD era, there was room for about 20 minutes more material. This is the first compilation on this page to feature “I’m Free” and “See Me, Feel Me.”

My Generation: The Very Best of The Who

Released: August 19, 1996 Recorded: 1964-1981 Peak: -- US, 11 UK, -- CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, 0.1 UK, 0.6 world (includes US and UK) Genre: classic rock

Tracks: (1) I Can’t Explain (2) Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere (3) My Generation (4) Substitute (5) I’m a Boy (6) Boris the Spider (7) Happy Jack (8) Pictures of Lily (9) I Can See for Miles (10) Magic Bus (11) Pinball Wizard (12) The Seeker (13) Baba O’Riley (14) Won’t Get Fooled Again (15) Let’s See Action (16) 5:15 (17) Join Together (18) Squeeze Box (19) Who Are You (20) You Better You Bet Total Running Time: 76:17

Rating: 4.231 out of 5.00 (average of 20 ratings)

About My Generation: The Very Best of: This is the most effective compilation thus far. It presents the songs chronologically, which gives the listener a better experience in hearing how the Who’s sound evolved. “Love, Reign O’er Me” and “Behind Blue Eyes” are the most obvious missing songs, but it’s hard to know what to bump to make room. “Boris the Spider” is the least necessary of the songs here. This collection also ignores 1982’s It’s Hard. It’s Hard (1982): Athena (9/4/82, 28 US, 31 CB, 19 RR, 3 AR, 40 UK, 5 CN) UC, 50 Eminence Front (9/18/82, 68 US, 77 CB, 5 AR) UC, 09, 50 It’s Hard (10/2/82, 39 AR) 50

The Ultimate Collection The Who

Released: June 11, 2002 Recorded: 1964-1982 Peak: 31 US, 17 UK, -- CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): -- Genre: classic rock

Tracks, Disc 1: (1) I Can’t Explain (2) Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere (3) My Generation (4) The Kids Are Alright (5) A Legal Matter (6) Substitute (7) I’m a Boy (8) Boris the Spider (9) Happy Jack (10) Pictures of Lily (11) I Can See for Miles (12) Call Me Lightning (13) Magic Bus (14) Pinball Wizard (15) I’m Free (16) See Me, Feel Me (17) The Seeker (18) Summertime Blues (19) My Wife (20) Baba O’Riley (21) Bargain (22) Behind Blue Eyes (23) Won’t Get Fooled Again Tracks, Disc 2: (1) Let’s See Action (2) Pure and Easy (3) Join Together (4) Long Live Rock (5) The Real Me (6) 5:15 (7) Love, Reign O’er Me (8) Squeeze Box (9) Who Are You (10) Had Enough (11) Sister Disco (12) You Better You Bet (13) Don’t Let Go the Coat (14) The Quiet One (15) Another Tricky Day (16) Athena (17) Eminence Front Total Running Time: 155:14

Rating: 3.894 out of 5.00 (average of 8 ratings)

About The Ultimate Collection: This is about as good as it gets. This two-disc retrospective covers the classic Who years from 1964 to 1982, presenting the songs in chronological and making no glaring omissions. In fact, nearly every song highlighted on any of the previous collections is included here. “Join Together” and “Relay” are the biggest songs not here which were featured on earlier collections. This set also includes a couple of tracks from 1982’s It’s Hard, which hadn’t been represented by previous anthologies. There are also a few songs appearing on a compilation for the first time: “Call Me Lightning,” “Pure and Easy,” and “Long Live Rock.” The track listing here is for the UK version. The U.S. version omits “Don’t Let Go the Coat,” The Quiet One,” “Another Tricky Day,” and “Athena.” Tracks Not on Previously Noted Albums: Pure and Easy (recorded in 1971, 47 CL) UC Long Live Rock (9/28/74, 54 US, 66 CB, 73 HR, 5 CL, 48 UK) UC

Then and Now The Who

Released: May 3, 2004 Recorded: 1964-2003 Peak: 57 US, 5 UK, -- CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US and UK) Genre: classic rock

Tracks: (1) I Can’t Explain (2) My Generation (3) The Kids Are Alright (4) Substitute (5) I’m a Boy (6) Happy Jack (7) I Can See for Miles (8) Magic Bus (9) Pinball Wizard (10) See Me, Feel Me (11) Summertime Blues (12) Behind Blue Eyes (13) Won’t Get Fooled Again (14) 5:15 (15) Love, Reign O’er Me (16) Squeeze Box (17) Who Are You (18) You Better You Bet (19) Real Good Looking Boy (20) Old Red Wine Total Running Time: 77:13

Rating: 3.814 out of 5.00 (average of 8 ratings)

About Then and Now: It hardly seems necessary to have YET ANOTHER compilation, but this is a decent one-disc distillation of the Who’s career. The two new songs, “Real Good Looking Boy” and “Old Red Wine,” certainly aren’t classics, but they are worthy editions to the band’s catalog. A 2007 edition of the album replaced “Summertime Blues” and “Old Red Wine” with “Baba O’Riley” and “It’s Not Enough.” Tracks Not on Previously Noted Albums: Real Good Looking Boy (5/2/04, --) TN, 09, 50 Old Red Wine (5/2/04, --) TN

Endless Wire (2006): It’s Not Enough (10/7/06, 26 AA, 37 AR) 09, 50

Greatest Hits The Who

Released: December 22, 2009 Recorded: 1964-2006 Peak: 19 US, 12 UK, -- CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.1 UK Genre: classic rock

Tracks: (1) I Can’t Explain (2) My Generation (3) The Kids Are Alright (4) Substitute (5) Happy Jack (6) Pictures of Lily (7) I Can See for Miles (8) Magic Bus (9) Pinball Wizard (10) Behind Blue Eyes (11) Baby O’ Riley (12) Won’t Get Fooled Again (13) Love, Reign O’er Me (14) Squeeze Box (15) Who Are You (16) You Better You Bet (17) Eminence Front (18) Real Good Looking Boy (19) It’s Not Enough Total Running Time: 78:29

Rating: 4.215 out of 5.00 (average of 8 ratings)

About Greatest Hits & More: This is largely a repackaging of Then and Now. This was rereleased in 2010 as Greatest Hits & More with a second disc of live songs.

Hits 50! Hits 50!

Released: October 27, 2014 Recorded: 1964-2014 Peak: -- US, 11 UK, 44 CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.1 UK Genre: classic rock

Tracks, Disc 1: (1) Zoot Suit (2) I Can’t Explain (3) Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere (4) My Generation (5) Substitute (6) The Kids Are Alright (7) I’m a Boy (8) Happy Jack (9) Boris the Spider (10) Pictures of Lily (11) The Last Time (12) I Can See for Miles (13) Call Me Lightning (14) Dogs (15) Magic Bus (16) Pinball Wizard (17) I’m Free (18) The Seeker (19) Summertime Blues (20) See Me, Feel Me (21) Won’t Get Fooled Again (22) Let’s See Action (23) Bargain (24) Behind Blue Eyes Tracks, Disc 2: (1) Baba O’Riley (2) Join Together (3) Relay (4) 5:15 (5) Love, Reign O’er Me (6) Postcard (7) Squeeze Box (8) Slip Kid (9) Who Are You (10) Trick of the Light (11) You Better You Bet (12) Don’t Let Go the Coat (13) Athena (14) Eminence Front (15) It’s Hard (16) Real Good Looking Boy (17) It’s Not Enough (18) Be Lucky Total Running Time: 2:35:21

Rating: 4.352 out of 5.00 (average of 7 ratings)

About Hits 50!: This is a fantastic overview of the Who’s fifty-year career, tracking all of their singles chronologically. It includes a few songs (“Zoot Suit,” “The Last Time,” “Dogs,” “Postcard”) not featured on any of the other compilations on this page. There was also one new song: “Be Lucky.” A single-disc version was also released. Tracks Not on Previously Noted Albums: Zoot Suit (7/3/64, --) 50 The Last Time (6/30/67, 34 CL, 44 UK) 50 Dogs (6/22/68, 43 CL, 25 UK, 93 AU) 50 Postcard (11/23/74, 64 CB, 42 CL) 50 Be Lucky (9/25/14, --) 50 Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for The Who Wikipedia page for Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy Wikipedia page for Hooligans Wikipedia page for Greatest Hits (1983) Wikipedia page for Who’s Better Who’s Best Wikipedia page for My Generation: The Very Best of Wikipedia page for The Ultimate Collection Wikipedia page for Then and Now Wikipedia page for Greatest Hits (2009) Wikipedia page for Hits 50! First posted 3/23/2008; last updated 8/13/2021.