The Who - Then & Now! 1964-2007
Review by Jack Foley
TO COINCIDE with their 2007 European tour and headline slot at Glastonbury, The Who have revamped their critically-acclaimed best of package Then And Now.
The CD features 20 of the band’s best known songs including seminal hits My Generation, I Can’t Explain and Pinball Wizard as well as some of their more recent material.
The new version also includes Baba P’Riiey, which completes the triumvirate of theme songs featured on the CSI shows – set in Vegas, Miami and New York.
Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend and co seem to have lost none of their energy – much like the Rolling Stones – as they continue to belt out their hits at venues across Europe. But with songs as anthemic as My Generation, it’s little wonder.
Then And Now certainly showcases what helped to make them become one of Britain’s biggest and most enduring bands in the first place, from their formation in 1964 featuring the primary line-up of Daltrey, Townshend, John Entwistle and Keith Moon.
They subsequently rose to fame in the UK with a series of top 10 singles and top five albums, beginning in 1965 with I Can’t Explain. They followed up their British success with their first US top 10 entry in 1967 with I Can See For Miles, while the 1969 release of Tommy marked the first in a series of top five albums for the group in the US.
Sadly, Keith Moon died in 1978 after which the band released two more studio albums, Face Dances and It’s Hard with drummer Kenney Jones before officially disbanding in 1983. They reformed on several occasions during the 1980s and 1990s to perform at concerts such as Live Aid, before deciding to come back properly of late.
In truth, given the prominence of their music on pop culture (thanks, in no small part, to shows like CSI) it feels like they’ve never been away. Then And Now offers the perfect recap as they continue to impress fans and newcomers alike – both in their own concerts and as part of the festival circuit.
Download picks: I Can See For Miles, Pinball Wizard, My Generation, Substitute, Magic Bus, Behind Blue Eyes, Who Are You
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