Who's Next

Vintage65

Anybody taken the plunge?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Whos-Next-Anniversary-Graphic-Novel/dp/B0CB91MQBY/

rlw

Probably not but Who knows.....

TTony

At half the price, it's a tough call.

At the actual price, it's an easy decision.

merlin

I have a life. 
I also have a struggling bank balance. 
So "no" on all counts. 

Philly_Q

Perhaps the thread title should be Who's First?

theatreanchor

HELL NO.

Philly_Q

I bought a 50th anniversary box set for Wishbone Ash's Argus album.  But that was £100 less than this.

mudslide73

Most of it is on Spotify (10 discs v 11 here). I've got a long commute so I'll dive in - I'm not spending that much for the physical versions though. 

merlin

Are these recording of all the outtakes, alternative versions, thrown out stuff that the band/producers didn't like and didn't think were good enough or appropriate for the release? 

axisus

I've always hated the album cover. Crass. I don't want to see blokes pee residue thanks.

RandallFlagg

I have access and listened to the 10 CDs of audio, while of casual interest to flick through, I wouldn't recommend paying £200 for it.

The original album and live tracks from various other albums is more than enough.

ICBM

axisus said:

I've always hated the album cover. Crass. I don't want to see blokes pee residue thanks.

It was apparently actually just water, but otherwise I agree.

I've got the remastered version from the 90s (I think) with some bonus tracks, and that seems like enough.

mudslide73

RandallFlagg said:

I have access and listened to the 10 CDs of audio, while of casual interest to flick through, I wouldn't recommend paying £200 for it.

The original album and live tracks from various other albums is more than enough.

I've got through the original album and Pete's home demos tonight. Incredible sounding demos.. They'd be release quality for most bands. The synthesiser parts on Baba and Won't Get Fooled Again ended up on the album by the sounds of things. 

I've heard a few tunes off the NY version and also the takes with Leslie West on lead but these longer versions have exposed some edits in the 90s releases.

Edit: I listened to the next few discs his morning on the way in - mainly alternate mixes/versions with some singles and b-sides.  The Young Vic Apr '71 live versions are worth listening to. There's some interesting between song chat about remembering the chords/arrangements and discouraging the crowd from distracting them (dancing mainly). There are also some staples from the live set to keep the kids engaged, I assume.

I think it's good so far but it may benefit listeners to concentrate on one or two discs as it's dead easy to skip over things when there's so much on offer. 

Redlester

Artistic statement or cash in? 

Who's Next is a tight, cohesive little album. 

The rest of this is certainly for completists. 

Vintage65

Redlester said:

Artistic statement or cash in? 

Who's Next is a tight, cohesive little album. 

The rest of this is certainly for completists. 

I find work in progress recordings quite interesting, but I wouldn't pay £230 for them unless they were the actual master tapes.  

Philly_Q

I didn't know tracks with Leslie West on guitar still existed.  I would be interested to hear those.

mudslide73

Philly_Q said:

I didn't know tracks with Leslie West on guitar still existed.  I would be interested to hear those.

This has been around for a while. I was also wrong about the unedited version. It isn't isn't new for this release.

http://www.richieunterberger.com/whoexc1.html - some interesting background here.

Philly_Q

@mudslide73 thanks, that was very interesting!

Whatever amps the Mountain men brought into the Record Plant, it's hard to imagine a louder in-studio tandem than Townshend and West in early 1971. "I was using a very small Sunn cabinet, with one 12-inch speaker, and a 50-watt Marshall," West told Gibson.com. "Townshend was using his Hi-Watt amps, and he said to me that he wanted to be the loudest. Afterwards he came over to me – I guess he was a little embarrassed – and said, 'Can you hear yourself okay?' I told him I could hear myself even if I was in Chicago."

Offset

Fuck me, I could buy a decent Harley Benton for that price and have enough left over for a new set of pickups.

Redlester

Vintage65 said:

Redlester said:

Artistic statement or cash in? 

Who's Next is a tight, cohesive little album. 

The rest of this is certainly for completists. 

I find work in progress recordings quite interesting, but I wouldn't pay £230 for them unless they were the actual master tapes.  

@Vintage65 Your reply got me thinking…. Value is very much in the ear of the listener here. I wouldn’t give anyone £230 for the tapes. I know the Who have a devoted fanbase, but I couldn’t imagine many people outside that demographic engaging with this. And in 50 years what kind of value will this stuff have, beyond its place in the Spotify catalogue? 

Vintage65

Redlester said:

@Vintage65 Your reply got me thinking…. Value is very much in the ear of the listener here. I wouldn’t give anyone £230 for the tapes. I know the Who have a devoted fanbase, but I couldn’t imagine many people outside that demographic engaging with this. And in 50 years what kind of value will this stuff have, beyond its place in the Spotify catalogue? 

I've been through a few deluxe edition box sets that were before my time and I still find them fascinating, as they give a glimpse of how they got to the finished song. I like song stems too for the same reason, so I'd say it's more musicology than fandom for me.