anyone own this boxset? is it worth paying $45 or so for? can anyone list the pros and cons of the set? it appears buying the individual remastered albums would give you basically every unreleased track on this boxset thats not just pete talking

I don't like it.

They seque between some tracks, I guess in an attempt to create some sort of continuity.

A great box set should leave you wanting to hear more of the artist. This collection made me feel exactly the opposite.


For me, the best thing about it is the picture of the band (really a collage with Entwhistle pushed over) on the cover. It was taken at the Winterland gig that I went to in '76. It was pretty much my perspective of the stage and was probably taken by the photographer who was standing in front of me.

Yeah, it was a great show.

so it would probably be better to just buy the remastered and expanded albums? most of the "unreleased" tracks that were used on the boxset in 1994 appear to have been added as bonus tracks to the remastered albums a few years after the boxset was released

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keefriffhard4life
so it would probably be better to just buy the remastered and expanded albums? most of the "unreleased" tracks that were used on the boxset in 1994 appear to have been added as bonus tracks to the remastered albums a few years after the boxset was released

I got this when it first came out and loved it - but this was before the albums reissued. It's a bit redundant now, I think.

It's one of the best box sets ever, lovingly compiled, from the first sounds of disc one (Pete cursing at some fans at Long Beach Arena '71) to the last notes of disc four, comprising recordings from their early days as The High Numbers up to their 1989 reunion tour.

What's interesting about this particular box set, apart from nice packaging, a fine booklet and a great selection of key tracks and unreleased (then) material, is that it combines an anthology approach with substituting certain tracks with later live versions (e.g. Substitute (sic) from Leeds University). You even get four audio clips by Keith Moon, done for BBC radio which greatly contribute to the fun you'll have, listening to this great compilation.

It's true, you'll catch most of the unreleased material on the expanded albums as well (in some cases even more), which certainly lessens it's appeal to a certain degree but it's still great fun to listen to, just for the fine compilation and great effort that went into it.



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 2009-11-03 15:02 by Greenblues.

Great to hear Pete's on-stage tirade which opens Disc 1, though. Might not be worth paying for the box just to hear that, but it certainly sets the tone excellently. I bloody love The Who.

Also, have the High Numbers songs on Disc 1 ever been released elsewhere? I'm The Face and the other two or three? Not sure.

Declan

it's a great box set if you, like me, are not into having their complete discography but just their peak albums

I guess most of the above comments are right. I never play it now as most of their albums contain the extra tracks. If you're rich it's a nice one to have for the car.

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keefriffhard4life
it appears buying the individual remastered albums would give you basically every unreleased track on this boxset thats not just pete talking

That is correct. At the time this was released (1994) many of the tracks were previously unreleased, but virtually all of them have been subsequently rereleased as bonus tracks on the various expanded and deluxed editions of the Who's original albums.

Also, it contains the fruits of someone's truly terrible idea to create a new version of A Quick One that combines the 1966 studio track with the 1968 live version from Rock And Roll Circus.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009-11-03 16:26 by tatters.

Superb boxset, had it from new. Nearly worn it out. Many rare tracks that aren't on the remastered albums.

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ablett
Superb boxset, had it from new. Nearly worn it out. Many rare tracks that aren't on the remastered albums.

I guess there's still a few good ones that are available nowhere else. The 1979 rehearsal of The Real Me, with Kenny on drums, comes to mind. But in addition to the A Quick One debacle, there's another major blunder in choosing the Live At Leeds version of Substitue over the studio track.

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Greenblues
It's one of the best box sets ever, lovingly compiled, from the first sounds of disc one (Pete cursing at some fans at Long Beach Arena '71) to the last notes of disc four, comprising recordings from their early days as The High Numbers up to their 1989 reunion tour.

What's interesting about this particular box set, apart from nice packaging, a fine booklet and a great selection of key tracks and unreleased (then) material, is that it combines an anthology approach with substituting certain tracks with later live versions (e.g. Substitute (sic) from Leeds University). You even get four audio clips by Keith Moon, done for BBC radio which greatly contribute to the fun you'll have, listening to this great compilation.

It's true, you'll catch most of the unreleased material on the expanded albums as well (in some cases even more), which certainly lessens it's appeal to a certain degree but it's still great fun to listen to, just for the fine compilation and great effort that went into it.

I agree. Great box set, one of my favorites ever. Very nice mix of the big songs and rare ones. I still listen to it all the time.

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tatters

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ablett
Superb boxset, had it from new. Nearly worn it out. Many rare tracks that aren't on the remastered albums.

I guess there's still a few good ones that are available nowhere else. The 1979 rehearsal of The Real Me, with Kenny on drums, comes to mind. But in addition to the A Quick One debacle, there's another major blunder in choosing the Live At Leeds version of Substitue over the studio track.

plus i just saw "who are you" is listed as the single edit but looking at the track length its not and they list the boxset as having "underture" live at leeds yet that song was never performed live ever so what the hell is that?

i think just getting the remasters i'm missing would not only basically be cheaper but also smarter because i'd then have basically all the tracks on the boxset but also basically every tune the who released

Is this not the only set to include their rendition of the Last Time and their '68 single - Dogs?

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DD
Great to hear Pete's on-stage tirade which opens Disc 1, though. Might not be worth paying for the box just to hear that, but it certainly sets the tone excellently. I bloody love The Who.

Also, have the High Numbers songs on Disc 1 ever been released elsewhere? I'm The Face and the other two or three? Not sure.

Declan

I'm the Face was released on 'Odds n Sods' in 1974 and on the reissued expanded version

Bought it in 94 and at the time it was an incredible collection. A model for all boxed sets ,but sure, it has been made slightly redundant by the reissues.

sc uk

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Big Al
Is this not the only set to include their rendition of the Last Time and their '68 single - Dogs?

No it´s also on rarities & who´s missing

Good box set with a few flaws. It is worth getting for Let's See Action, Relay, and Joint Together, which are not on any of the reissues. Good sound as well.

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keefriffhard4life

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tatters

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ablett
Superb boxset, had it from new. Nearly worn it out. Many rare tracks that aren't on the remastered albums.

I guess there's still a few good ones that are available nowhere else. The 1979 rehearsal of The Real Me, with Kenny on drums, comes to mind. But in addition to the A Quick One debacle, there's another major blunder in choosing the Live At Leeds version of Substitue over the studio track.

plus i just saw "who are you" is listed as the single edit but looking at the track length its not and they list the boxset as having "underture" live at leeds yet that song was never performed live ever so what the hell is that?

Underture is from Woodstock. The Abbie Hoffman "incident" is on there as well.

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tatters

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keefriffhard4life

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tatters

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ablett
Superb boxset, had it from new. Nearly worn it out. Many rare tracks that aren't on the remastered albums.

I guess there's still a few good ones that are available nowhere else. The 1979 rehearsal of The Real Me, with Kenny on drums, comes to mind. But in addition to the A Quick One debacle, there's another major blunder in choosing the Live At Leeds version of Substitue over the studio track.

plus i just saw "who are you" is listed as the single edit but looking at the track length its not and they list the boxset as having "underture" live at leeds yet that song was never performed live ever so what the hell is that?

Underture is from Woodstock. The Abbie Hoffman "incident" is on there as well.

i looked it up. its "sparks". like i said the who have never performed Underture live ever. its mislabled

Right you are the Underture isn't on 30 Years....and they haven't done it live.

well i got the boxset because i found it for cheap. here is my short review from an honest fan:
the pros:
-early pre who tunes
-keeps you from having to buy IMO the mediocre WHO BY NUMBERS and WHO ARE YOU albums
-has a lot of good unreleased live tunes and a few other oddities that can't be found anywhere else except OOP releases
-if you own the albums on vinyl or the original cd's this gives you a lot of the bonus tracks
-the sound is great IMO although yes moon's drum work gets buried on cd 3 and 4

the cons:
-only 5 post moon tunes. 6 if you count the audition version of 'the real me"
-the song "a quick one" is a mix of live and studio versions
-"sparks" is labled as "underture" for some reason
-"who are you" is a single edit
-not enough tracks from quadrophenia
-"substitute" is a live version

how this boxset could have been fixed:
-get rid of "sunrise", "armenia city in the sky", "overture" and "the song is over" and replace with "don't let go the coat", "athena" and 2 short track from quadrophenia.
-make "who are you" the full version
-make "substitute" the studio version
-make "a quick one" the live rock n roll circus version only
-label "sparks" correctly

overall a good purchase and these few changes would make the set a big winner

I can't remember in what context they placed the live Substitute. Is the SONG placed chronologically, in which case you'd have a 1970 live recording surrounded by studio tracks from 1966, or is the RECORDING placed chronologically, in which case you'd have a song from 1966 surrounded by songs from Tommy and Who's Next. Of the two possible placements, I'd say the first option is the worst.

Blimey getting abit anal aint it. What if a few song titles aint quite correct?

There's far more unreleased stuff on this boxset than anything the stones have attempted...

Life with the Moons for one

It shows how the band progressed and has a great booklet

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tatters
I can't remember in what context they placed the live Substitute. Is the SONG placed chronologically, in which case you'd have a 1970 live recording surrounded by studio tracks from 1966, or is the RECORDING placed chronologically, in which case you'd have a song from 1966 surrounded by songs from Tommy and Who's Next. Of the two possible placements, I'd say the first option is the worst.

its the first option. 1970 live version around 1966 tunes. the studio version should really have been there. the leeds version wasn't unreleased and they already placed the 3 cover tunes from LAL on the boxset plus an unreleased at the time live version of "see me,feel me". i actually enjoy the studio and concert dialogue and think they should have made sure every disc was 77 minutes and used more of the dialogue to fill it up to the max



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009-11-14 23:31 by keefriffhard4life.

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Greenblues
It's one of the best box sets ever, lovingly compiled, from the first sounds of disc one (Pete cursing at some fans at Long Beach Arena '71) to the last notes of disc four, comprising recordings from their early days as The High Numbers up to their 1989 reunion tour.

What's interesting about this particular box set, apart from nice packaging, a fine booklet and a great selection of key tracks and unreleased (then) material, is that it combines an anthology approach with substituting certain tracks with later live versions (e.g. Substitute (sic) from Leeds University). You even get four audio clips by Keith Moon, done for BBC radio which greatly contribute to the fun you'll have, listening to this great compilation.

It's true, you'll catch most of the unreleased material on the expanded albums as well (in some cases even more), which certainly lessens it's appeal to a certain degree but it's still great fun to listen to, just for the fine compilation and great effort that went into it.

Well put, Greenblues. Yes, there are some errors and puzzling editing choices (Substitute), and, yes, if you want to buy all the original albums in remastered form this set would be redundant (though I don't know if ALL the rarities here are now available in the remastered albums). But if you prefer a brilliant distillation of all the vital and fascinating material The Who created, and you desire to perfectly capture the essence of the band in a well-condensed and easily accessible format, this box set is unbeatable.

there are still some live tunes and a few outtakes not on any remaster. a few of the live tracks were on older albums that are now out of print i believe. like i said saves me from buying WHO BY NUMBERS and WHO ARE YOU to replace my viynl versions. also all the singles that were never on albums are on the set

"i'm the face" is faded out here before the end,,

after i listened to the entire thing twice IMO this should have just been a 5 disc set. hell if KISS gets a 5 cd set then so should the who. i know 4 discs is normal for most boxsets but this set left me wanting more. they could have had space for:
-the entire READY STEADY WHO EP
-don't let go the coat
-athena
-another tricky day
-its hard
-dig
-fire
-the goods gone
-Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
-under my thumb
-2-3 more tunes from quadrophenia
-more unreleased stuff