The Who need no excuse to release a new compilation -- since 1994, a new collection has appeared roughly at the rate of one every three years -- but the band's 50th anniversary does provide the opportunity for a splashy new compilation, the first since 2009's Greatest Hits. Snappily titled The Who Hits 50!, by virtue of spanning two full CDs the set does cast a wider net than either Greatest Hits or 2004's Then & Now, beginning with the stiff R&B of the High Numbers' "Zoot Suit" and concluding with the brand-new "Be Lucky," a delirious revival of Pete Townshend's purple, overwritten '80s midlife crisis. In between those two songs come 40 tracks, including some genuine surprises -- the bonkers mod anthem "Dogs" and its Beach Boys-aping flip "Call Me Lightning," the band's cover of the Stones' "The Last Time," the first appearance of "Relay" in a comp in ages, John Entwistle's paranoid "Trick of the Light" -- but for the most part, this serves up the same songs that have popped up again and again on Who compilations over the years. This may be predictable but as a collection of basics, either for fair-weather fans or newcomers, it does its job well and it has nice artwork to boot.
The Who Hits 50!
The Who
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The Who Hits 50! Review
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Track Listing - Disc 1
| Title/Composer | Performer | Time | Stream | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Who feat: The High Numbers | 02:01 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 2 | The Who | 02:05 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 3 | The Who | 02:41 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 4 | The Who | 03:16 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 5 | The Who | 03:48 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 6 | The Who | 03:05 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 7 | The Who | 02:41 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 8 | The Who | 02:13 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 9 | The Who | 02:29 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 10 | The Who | 02:45 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 11 | The Who | 02:55 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 12 | The Who | 04:09 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 13 | The Who | 02:25 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 14 | The Who | 03:06 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 15 | The Who | 04:36 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 16 | The Who | 03:03 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 17 | The Who | 02:41 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 18 | The Who | 03:12 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 19 | The Who | 03:23 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 20 | The Who | 03:36 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 21 | The Who | 03:40 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 22 | The Who | 03:59 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 23 | The Who | 05:34 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 24 | The Who | 03:43 | SpotifyAmazon |
Track Listing - Disc 2
| Title/Composer | Performer | Time | Stream | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Who | 05:00 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 2 | The Who | 04:24 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 3 | The Who | 03:55 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 4 | The Who | 04:52 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 5 | The Who | 05:51 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 6 | The Who | 03:34 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 7 | The Who | 02:43 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 8 | The Who | 04:34 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 9 | The Who | 05:11 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 10 | The Who | 04:24 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 11 | The Who | 05:37 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 12 | The Who | 03:44 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 13 | The Who | 03:47 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 14 | The Who | 05:40 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 15 | The Who | 03:45 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 16 | The Who | 03:53 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 17 | The Who | 04:03 | SpotifyAmazon | |||
| 18 | The Who | 03:18 | SpotifyAmazon |
![Quadrophenia [Music from the Soundtrack of The Who Film]](https://rovimusic.rovicorp.com/image.jpg?c=3MWa69gqwZ-TDOSb4YF-UVWnbEN5fCjifro6xhIBuB4=&f=1)
