THE WHO – Who Are You (Deluxe Edition) – 4LP – 180g Vinyl Box Set [OCT 31]

4LP – Limited Edition Deluxe 180g Black Vinyl Box Set including the original album newly remastered, plus live recordings from the 1979 US tour. The lift-top box includes 1 LP in a single sleeve and 3 LPs in a gatefold sleeve together with a 28-page soft cover book.

Initially released in August 1978,Who Are You marked a significant chapter in The Whos career. While it was a commercial triumph, peaking at No. 2 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and achieving double platinum status and No. 6 on the U.K. Albums Chart, it was also tragically the last album to feature legendary drummer Keith Moon, who died a week after its release.

The album saw the band pushing boundaries once more, with the songs referencing the incoming influence of punk music. In fact, the title track was written after a night out with Steve Jones and Paul Cook of The Sex Pistols. Nonetheless, Pete Townshend also delivered some of his most ambitious and intricate arrangements, incorporating layers of synthesisers and strings into The Whos powerful backing tracks.

The title track Who Are You preceded the album in early July 1978, becoming an instant anthem that has remained in the bands set list to this day. Aided by its appearance in the CSI TV franchise in the early 2000s, its one of The Whos most-streamed tracks.

The initial sessions for the album took place at the bands Ramport Studios, produced by Glyn Johns and Jon Astley. However, the recording process was fraught with challenges and creative tensions. The Who Are You Super Deluxe Edition finally tells the whole story, featuring, for the first time, the rejected original Glyn Johns mix of the album, a newly remastered version of the released Jon Astley mix and fly on the wall rehearsal sessions from Shepperton Studios, which the band owned at the time. It will also feature a wealth of unreleased material including demos, alternate takes and in the case of standout track Sister Disco, a previously lost guitar solo rescued from the multi-track tapes by Steven Wilson.

In 1978, the album was seen as a return to form for The Who, and anticipation for a tour to support the album was high. Sadly, the death of Keith Moon on the 23rd August put paid to any such plans. The band introduced their new drummer, Kenney Jones, formerly of the Faces and The Small Faces, in May 1979, along with new keyboard player John Rabbit Bundrick. One of the many highlights of the super deluxe edition is the newly mixed live tapes from the US leg of the 1979 tour, capturing The Whos explosive new lineup in full flight with tracks from the album coming to life onstage.

The band sustained that momentum into the new decade with the epic film project The Kids Are Alright, the Quadrophenia movie, and the multi-platinum Face Dances album in 1981.

Deluxe 4LP box set: This limited-edition deluxe vinyl box set features a four LP set on 180gm vinyl including the original album newly remastered, plus live recordings from the 1979 US tour. The lift-top box includes 1 LP in a single sleeve and 3 LPs in a gatefold sleeve together with a 28-page soft cover book.

Tracklist:

SIDE ONE
1. New Song
2. Had Enough
3. 905
4. Sister Disco
5. Music Must Change

SIDE TWO
1. Trick Of the Light
2. Guitar And Pen
3. Love Is Coming Down
4. Who Are You

SIDE THREE: Pontiac Silverdome, Pontiac, MI, USA 7/12/79
1. Substitute
2. I Can’t Explain
3. Baba O’Riley
4. The Punk and the Godfather
5. Boris the Spider

SIDE FOUR
1. Sister Disco
2. Behind Blue Eyes
3. Music Must Change
4. Drowned

SIDE FIVE
1. Who Are You
2. 5.15
3. Pinball Wizard
4. See Me, Feel Me

SIDE SIX
1. Long Live Rock
2. My Generation
3. I Can See for Miles

SIDE SEVEN
1. Dancing in the Street
2. Sparks
3. Won’t Get Fooled Again

SIDE EIGHT
1. Magic Bus
2. Summertime Blues
3. How Can You Do It Alone