The Who - The Who Hits 50! (2014) mp3@320 {1337x}-kawli

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.

Disc 1
1. Zoot Suit – 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 (Live At Leeds)
20. See Me, Feel Me
21. Won’t Get Fooled Again (Single Edit)
22. Let’s See Action
23. Bargain
24. Behind Blue Eyes

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

Disc 1, Track 1 from Fontana single TF 480, 1964
Disc 1, Track 2 from Brunswick single 05926, 1965
Disc 1, Track 3 from Brunswick single 05935, 1965
Disc 1, Tracks 4 and 6 from My Generation (Brunswick, 1965)
Disc 1, Track 5 from Reaction single 591001, 1966
Disc 1, Track 7 from Reaction single 591004, 1966
Disc 1, Track 8 from Reaction single 591010, 1966
Disc 1, Track 9 from A Quick One (Reaction, 1966)
Disc 1, Track 10 from Track Record single 604002, 1967
Disc 1, Track 11 from Track Record single 604006, 1967
Disc 1, Track 12 from The Who Sell Out (Track Record, 1967)
Disc 1, Tracks 13-14 from Track Record single 604023, 1967
Disc 1, Track 15 from Magic Bus: The Who on Tour (Decca (U.S.), 1968)
Disc 1, Tracks 16-17 and 20 from Tommy (Track Record, 1969)
Disc 1, Track 18 from Track Record single 604036, 1970
Disc 1, Track 19 from Live At Leeds (Track Record, 1970)
Disc 1, Tracks 21 and 23-24 and Disc 2, Track 1 from Who’s Next (Track Record, 1971)
Disc 1, Track 22 from Track Record single 2094-012, 1971
Disc 2, Track 2 from Track Record single 2094-102, 1972
Disc 2, Track 3 from Track Record single 2094-106, 1972
Disc 2, Tracks 4-5 from Quadrophenia (Track Record, 1973)
Disc 2, Track 6 from Odds & Sods (Track Record, 1974)
Disc 2, Tracks 7-8 from The Who by Numbers (Polydor, 1975)
Disc 2, Tracks 9-10 from Who Are You (Polydor, 1978)
Disc 2, Tracks 11-12 from Face Dances (Polydor, 1981)
Disc 2, Tracks 13-15 from It’s Hard (Polydor, 1982)
Disc 2, Track 16 from Then and Now (Polydor, 2004)
Disc 2, Track 17 from Endless Wire (Polydor, 2006)
Disc 2, Track 18 is a new track

Media Info:
Bitrate: 320 kbps
Channels: joint stereo
Samplerate: 44100
Encoder: LAME 3.99
MPEG-1 layer 3



*many thanks and much respect to exy and to all those who care enough to share