V? : √ = The album had a title and track list that varied between the UK and USA releases.
See the album links for more information.
Period collections
Notwithstanding their renown as a concept-album band, The Who had an active life as a singles band until 1972, when they released their last non-album single "Relay" in December. Their singles and various unreleased materials were occasionally collected and released as albums even while the band was still active, sometimes as stopgaps for years when no album was on the horizon.
The resulting albums are distinguished from the "Late Collections" (below) because they are collections of singles and other unreleased material of the relevant period rather than "greatest hits" or late "kitchen sink" collections. The material tends to be very good, and these albums are often thought of as Classic Who Albums along with the regular studio albums.
A good history of the pre- Who's Next Who. Not available as a remastered CD, though most of the material appears as bonus tracks on the other remastered CDs.
Concert in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust, with special guests such as Bryan Adams and Paul Weller. Recorded on 27 November 2000, released in 2003.
The 1970 and 1990 live albums are available as two-CD sets including a performance of Tommy plus about an hour of other material. Live At Leeds is also available on a single CD without the performance of Tommy. "Live At The Royal Albert Hall" contains a bonus disc with 4 songs from a performance on 8 February 2002.
The Who, until the release of Tommy, were known mostly as a singles band; that is, they were better known for their individual songs than the albums that they appeared on.
Zoot Suit / I'm the Face - 1964 (Released when they were known as The High Numbers)
Original recordings of the Who's music were used intermittently in various contexts unrelated to the band, starting with the use of a track from Tommy in a March of Dimes television commercial during in the 1970s. However, starting in the late 1990s there was a marked increase in the rate of such usage, summarized below.
Many Who fans consider the commercialization of these songs to be a crass sell out on Pete Townshend's part, especially the use of the originally spiritual "Bargain" to sell SUVs.
Filmography
Films
1970Listening to You: The Who at the Isle of Wight Festival
Concert film of The Who's performance at the third Isle of Wight Festival. It was filmed in 1970, but not released until its direct-to-video release in 1996. For more information about the movie see its entry at The Internet Movie Database. (Excerpts from this performance are also included in the film Message to Love: The Isle of Wight Festival, released in 1997, and a sound recording of The Who's performance was released in 1996 under the name Live At The Isle Of Wight Festival 1970, as listed in the discography above.)
A Franc Roddam film that expands on the sketchy story of the Rock opera. It tells of the coming of age of a young mod at the time of the Mod versus Rocker riots of 1964. Sting plays a prancing phony along with a cast of unknowns. The Who's participation was limited to the soundtrack, which includes songs from the Rock opera, new songs written for the soundtrack by Pete Townshend, and the original recordings of various Motown hits. For more information about the movie see its entry at The Internet Movie Database.
A Jeff Stein documentary about The Who, including live performances, TV appearances, and interviews from all phases of their career up to that point, including their US debut on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. For more information about the movie see its entry at The Internet Movie Database.
The Who's stage-wide destruction competes with Jimi Hendrix's lighter fluid. For more information about the movie see its entry at The Internet Movie Database.
Includes a for-the-occasion performance of "A Quick One While He's Away". Filmed in 1968, but not released until its direct-to-video release in 1996. Lore among Who fans holds that it was this performance that kept the film from being released, because The Who so upstaged the Rolling Stones' performance with it. For more information about the movie see its entry at The Internet Movie Database. (A portion of this performance is also included on the The Kids Are Alright album described in the discography above.)
