It just means that The Who are popular enough to go top five in Germany without bundling. They’re popular enough to do that in the USA and UK, too. It’s that simple.
Ah, yes - that why the phrase "...if you primarily like collecting things" was included. Of course there is much crossover. Most here on this forum profoundly love music AND love having a physical copy of that music in their collection. Then there are those, like me, who no longer care about 'owning' a physical artifact, so long as I can access a lossless version of the musical content. But surely then, there are those who 'must' have a copy of the artifact for their collections, regardless the content. And for them there are multiple pressings, some one green vinyl, and if you have that, then no collection is complete without the Union Jack vinyl. Wait, you have the green vinyl and the Union Jack vinyl? Do you have the signed green on one side, Union Jack on the other side limited edition pressing? I do believe there are people who want each and every iteration, and power to them. I'm no better than they are - I'm no truer a fan, nor am I less a fan. Additionally, I haven't yet decided which is the more cynical approach to selling albums: bundling, or making many different versions of the same content. So, there are folks who just want the music. Then there are folks who just want the artifacts. Also, there are folks who want both.
As just a hapless fan of The Who, with no access to their management - I'm not entirely sure what you want from me. I had nothing to do with the bundling scheme. It seems that Curbishley and his team did feel a need to bundle CDs with tickets. This is what they do for a living, they make decisions based off of information I have no access to whatsoever. If fans feel slighted that this album wasn't given an opportunity to sell on its own merits and that bothers them, then I suppose they should air their grievances with the bigwigs. Considering that many millions of dollars have changed hands as a result of this album and tour, I doubt any decisions were made lightly.
MAN I love this album. I'm so delightfully surprised after the uninspired Endless Wire -- this is just a quality record from one track to the next. And I agree with everyone who says "This Gun Will Misfire" should have been an official album track, in fact it may be my favorite song on the album! (And the album needs more Pete lead vocals for sure, although Roger sounds great.) Now if I could only find a place to buy a download of SAND -- the 30 sec sample online sounds fantastic. But I just can't see buying the CD a second time (for $30+) just for the one song. Anyone found a website selling downloads of this track? We wants it, we needs it. Must have the precious...
Agreed and agreed. I really think that with the right push, Break the News can really become a popular track. It just has that easy-to-license quality. I can so easily hear it in commercials, Netflix films, soundtracks and so forth. Great song. I'm so very impressed with this album.
Endless Wire came out before Apple music existed and before YouTube was a major force in the music scene. My daughter is 13 and she doesn't own any physical media but she loves The Who and has discovered most of their songs herself either through YouTube or apple music recommendations. I will argue the who are more popular with young people today than they were in 2006
I am still weirdly and stubbornly wanting my first "full real listen" to be a CD through my living room setup, not out my laptop. But I did allow myself to listen twice to the bonus tracks which will afaik NOT be on the bundle CD. Gun will Misfire, really sounds meant to be sung by Rog and seems in there swinging in quality with the three pre-release "singles" tho I have not heard enough to really follow the lyrics, and lyrics are important with PT songs of course. "Nothing to Prove" is a wild joy although obviously totally out of place in a sonic sense with the rest of it, but glad they slipped it to us anyway. I would love any and all extant unreleased Pete 60s demos to have this treatment. So fresh, for him or the Who, a big sort of early Scott Walker cinematic vibe, pure Carnaby Street joy. Love it. Danny and Ponies---again I need to focus on lyrics--and while I like the autotune on the backup vocal as effect, it is REALLY overused on the lead. I might grow to not care, but first two listens I did. An indelible and great PT melody tho for sure, and has a kind of "would have been a top tier track on WHITE CITY" feel to it to me....
Trying a third listen to the cd. Still like All This Music Must Fade. Tempo, lyrics, melody, running time, energy. The orchestral Blues of Ball & Chain still get me as does that virile vocal. Followed up by the poppy I Don't Wanna Get Wise, for me the 1st 3 songs make for a solid and strong trio of tracks in many ways. The bridge still seems more awkward to me than natural but it's short and the hook and line chorus returns quickly and the outro drives that chorus home to bring the song back full circle. The main stylistic influence that drives Detour still seems just a tad limp to me but the mellow sections that follow the Detour sections make for some very effective transitions. Its possible if the Detour sections were heavier, or faster, all the sections that follow, may not have flowed as well as they do. I don't know. Beads On A String is a modest beauty and am so glad Roger has the lead vocal on it and The Two do some nice singing together as well. Ha, good to hear Roger croon a bit through the chorus. Smart to end the song similar to how it begins and add a little coda that works well without being too melodramatic. The sequencer-like keyboard pattern is also a winner. Roger's articualtion in parts of the verse of Hero Ground Zero sound a bit unclear or uncertain to me but I like the chorus, tempo and instrumentation. I feel like a paired, second vocal in the verses, offering some support to the lead vocal, would have been a good idea for this song, to bolster the performance. I'm not quite as wild about Street Song as some other fans, but fwiw I like it. Pete's vocals help make it for me. I like the drumming too. Seems kind of Prog to me on the whole. Like a Yes influence or something. It's a bit of a musical risk and surprise which I like. I think I'll Be Back is kind of like a classic PT ballad, maybe more solo Pete than band Who though. "I got so used to loving you" is an interesting sentiment and remark. I think a little less might have been better on this one. He doesn't negotiate one of the later sections in the song all that great in his lower register. Did someone post it has a sort of classic Stevie Wonder vibe to it? Yeah, Break The News is one I like too. Sorry but when hearing it, it has a great sense of familirity to it. Beatles, U2, somethimg folkier, I can't place it, but like it a lot. I like the musically ironic Rockin' in Rage with its jazzy, theatrical style, followed by the transformation into some poppy rock and roll, in spirit, energy, and instrumentation. Another tasty track. She Rocked My World continues in the vein of the jazzy and theatrical. A littl tea and theatre with some Blues. Another tasty morsel of a track. Unexpected. Ugh, ends too soon! Agreed with other posters that This Gun Will Misfre fits on the album stylistically and sonically. Sometimes 11 songs are enough or more than for an album, but this 12th track, is just as good or effective as some of those other 11. Got Nothing To Prove is still a fun romp. Not sure about the musical direction they went for, for the song. In '66 this could have simply been a poppy and rockin r&b # for early Who, but it's a smart, enjoyable arrangement now too, imo, just with perhaps a much different approach. I like the closer, Danny and His Ponies. Waiting for the 10" "Sand" to arrive. Solid album through and through. Surprisingly inventive at times. Embracingly familiar during others. Deserves the many good reviews imo. My sense is as an album it gets good marks. I like the flow of the album and by the quality of it it would seem they are not done making good, new songs and music together.
Used to love it when ol' Celine bounced that Les Paul Deluxe all over the stage befor smashing it to pieces... Oh! wait...
An acknowledgement of the absurdity of your notion that this album wouldn't have charted at all without bundling would suit me fine. And maybe a little less pulling statistics out of thin air (such as "60% of concert goers never buy albums by anyone ever").
I was talking the album up to a friend of mine last week and she added to her Apple Music playlist. (She often says the Quadrophenia & More show I took her to was the best concert she ever saw) This morning I asked what she thought. She said, "I only listen to Christmas Music during the season, so ask me again after the 25th."
In between my Christmas music listening (Brian Setzer Orchestra albums, Elvis, 50's Rock n Roll Christmas stuff), I've been playing my favorite Who albums (Who's Next, Sell Out and Quadrophenia) along with WHO. To me, this album has been fitting in nicely with those three, much more so than It's Hard, Face Dances or Endless Wire. It just has that vibe that it's The Who. On a side note, I've also been playing the Daltrey/Johnson Going Back Home album as well, and I really am enjoying this more recent bunch of efforts by Daltrey and The Who!
I finally got my free/unpaid for/bundled CD and listened to it several times this weekend. Biggest surprise? Simon's tune. I've never really warmed up to his work before, but this is a good one. Biggest disappointment? Pete's Yacht Rock track. I recall slow dancing to this song in middle school in 1978. Swap it out for one (or both) of his bonus tracks.
Only slightly off topic... while I was scouring the web for a place to buy a download of SAND (which I haven't found) I ran into this listing for a rare Pete Townshend cassette of Iron Man demos with him singing lead vocals (later replaced by other vocalists like Nina Simone). Wow, this would be amazing to get. Anyone have a copy of this extreme rarity? http://www.*****/Other3.htm
Surprisingly, here's something ( as far as I know ) that hasn't been brought up yet. We have 1 true WHO tweener song, ( halfway between ) WHO & Endless Wire..the 1 off single BE LUCKY....recorded for the then new greatest hits package....does Be Lucky sound like an Endless Wire or WHO 2019 or neither ?? Much like the 2 other orphan tracks, Old Red Wine & Real Good Looking Boy from the 2004 greatest hits, these are the 3 modern WHO non lp studio tracks... Just my 2 cents, I think Be Lucky matches up a lot closer to the new WHO 2019, than Endless Wire...I think Old Red Wine & RGLBoy, match perfectly with Endless Wire..but i'm curious about other opinions. Be Lucky is produced by Dave Eringa, seems a bit less densely produced, & a more lighthearted kind of tune, but I don't find it sticks out among the WHO 2019 tracks.
Agreed! I think RGLB and ORW could fit on WHO, too, in that their structures ramble a bit but, like the tracks on EG, they don't seem concerned with how Who-like they could be, whereas I feel like, on much of WHO, they sought to emphasize classic Who-ness, which helps keep songs moving despite the sometimes-too-complex arrangements and sometimes-jarring stop-start dynamics. -E
Still no CD from Target. Is someone going around hijacking UPS trucks or something? My CD was last seen at the local UPS location on Saturday. "Being forwarded to local post office". And then.... nothing. How does the thing get lost on a 30 minute drive from UPS to my post office!?? Similarly, I had a blu-ray shipped from Target 2 weeks ago that got as far as Secaucus and then vanished off the face of the earth. All I want is my stinking WHO CD? What is the problem!!!?!? HAS THE WHOLE WORLD GONE CRAZY!!?!
I was just emailed that we’re looking at three weeks from your pre shipment date to receive the triple album.
I was thinking about this today, when playing the Hits 50 set. I'm feeling that "Be Lucky" feels and sounds a lot more like it would be on WHO than Endless Wire, with "Old Red Wine" and "Real Good Looking Boy" going more to EW. Also, RGLB has the nod to Elvis in it, and having some mentions to other Rock heroes in EW (Buddy Holly, for one) seems to work wore with that album, to me.
Between It's Hard and Endless Wire we had Dig, Fire. Real Good Looking Boy and Old Red Wine. That would have been a pretty week little collection really
