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No band has made more hay out of their catalogue than The Who. In their first 40-years, between 1965’s My Generation and 2006’s Endless Wire, they produced 11 studio albums and 20 compilation albums – plus another 5 compilations since. With this years Quadrophenia: Live in London, they have as many live albums as studio albums.

So if you’re Pete Townsend and Roger Daltrey, the last remnants of The Who, what better way to celebrate the bands 50th anniversary than with a greatest hits album, The Who Hits 50!?

Stretching from their pre-Who days with The High Numbers Zoot Suit and their first singles as The Who, I Can’t Explain, Anyway Anyhow Anywhere and My Generation to the post-Y2K collection of hits, 2004’s Real Good Looking Boy, 2006’s It’s Not Enough from the last Who studio album Endless Wire and Be Lucky, recorded earlier this year.

As always when you get a collection from a band has been around as long as, and have had as many hits as the Who, the 42 song set is loaded with great material and almost anyone is sure to find a number of songs they like, and one or two they are less keen on. But every significant era of The Who, the early singles, Tommy, Quadrophenia, the 70’s rock, the Kenny Jones era, is well represented here. Personal favourites that I don’t get to hear often enough, Postcard and Who Are You’s Trick of the Light are on the album, compensating for what I consider too many of the early pop singles. Those early singles, however, have never sounded better. The sound on this collection is excellent, with everything sounding clear and clean.

Overall The Who Hits 50! is a solid collection that sounds great and has enough material for everyone to enjoy. If you happened to have bought the last three Who collections, I’m not sure you really need this one. But if your looking for some Who, this is a great set.

Tracklist

1. Zoot Suit (as the High Numbers)
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
25. baba O’Riley
26. Join Together
27. Relay
28. 5: 15
29. Love Right O’er Me
30. Postcard
31. Squeeze Box
32. Slip Kid
33. Who Are You
34. Trick of The Light
35. You Better You Bet
36. Don’t Let Go The Coat
37. Athena
38. Eminence Front
39. It’s Hard
40. Real Good Looking Boy
41. It’s Not Enough
42. Be Lucky

Album release, Review Anyway Anyhow Anywhere, Be Lucky, Greatest Hits, I Can’t Explain, My Generation, Quadrophenia, The Who, The Who Hits 50, Tommy