| Who Albums |
The Who - Who Rarity Collections - Page 1:
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The Who Rarities Volume 1 - UK - 1983 Polydor LP
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The Who Rarities Volume 1 - UK - 1983 Polydor Cassette
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The Who Rarities Volume 2 - UK - 1983 Polydor LP
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The Who Rarities Volume 2 - UK - 1983 Polydor Cassette
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Who's Missing - UK - 1985 Polydor LP
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Who's Missing - UK - 1985 Polydor Cassette
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Two's Missing - UK - 1987 Polydor LP
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Two's Missing - UK - 1987 Polydor Cassette
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The Who Rarities Vol 1 & Rarities Vol 2 - UK - 1988 Polydor CD
Edited versions of "Water" and "Baby Don't You Do It". Reissued in Germany (Polydor) with unedited versions of the above |
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The Who Rarities Vol 1 & Rarities Vol 2 - UK - 1991 Polydor Cassette
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Who's Missing - USA - 1985 MCA LP
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Who's Missing - USA - 1985 MCA Cassette
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Who's Missing - USA - 1987 MCA CD
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Who's Missing - USA - 1987 MCA CD
Long box packaging |
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Who's Missing - Canada - 1988 MCA CD
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Two's Missing - USA - 1987 MCA LP
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Two's Missing - USA - 1987 MCA CD
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Two's Missing - USA - 1987 MCA CD
Long box packaging |
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Two's Missing - USA - 1987 MCA Cassette
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The Who Join Together Rarities - Australia - 1982 Polydor LP
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The Who Join Together Rarities - Australia - 1982 Polydor Cassette
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Who's Missing - Canada - 1985 MCA LP
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Two's Missing - Canada - 1987 MCA LP
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Two's Missing - Canada - 1987 MCA Cassette
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The Who Rarities Volume 1 - France - 1983 Polydor LP
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The Who Rarities Volume 2 - France - 1983 Polydor LP
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The Who Rarities Volume 1 - Germany - 1983 Polydor LP
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The Who Rarities Volume 1 - Germany - 1983 Polydor Cassette
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The Who Rarities Volume 2 - Germany - 1983 Polydor LP
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The Who Rarities Vol 1 & Rarities Vol 2 - Germany - 1991 Polydor CD
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The Who Rarities Volume 1 - Holland - 1983 Polydor LP
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The Who Rarities Vol 1 & Rarities Vol 2 - Japan - 1988 Polydor CD
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Who's Missing - Japan - 2011 Polydor CD
SHMCD. Mini-LP cover. Track changes/additional bonus tracks |
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Two's Missing - Japan - 2011 Polydor CD
(Packaged with "Who's Missing"). SHMCD. Mini-LP cover. Track changes/additional bonus tracks |
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The Who Rarities Volume 1 - Spain - 1983 Polydor Cassette
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The Who Rarities Volume 1 - Spain - 1983 Polydor LP
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The Who Rarities Volume 2 - Spain - 1983 Polydor LP
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Who's Missing - Thailand - 1985 Peacock Cassette
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Album: Join Together Rarities (1982), Rarities Volume 1 (1983),
Rarities Volume 2 (1983), Who's Missing (1984), Two's Missing (1985)
LPs (vinyl) Sampled: Join Together Rarities: Polydor (Australia),
Rarities Volume 1: Polydor (UK), Rarities Volume 2: Polydor (UK), Who's Missing:
MCA (USA), Who's Missing: MCA (Canada), Two's Missing: MCA (USA)
CDs Sampled: Rarities Volume 1&2: Polydor (UK), Rarities Volume 1&2:
Polydor (Germany), Who's Missing: MCA (USA), Two's Missing: MCA (USA)
LP Comments: The UK "Rarities Volume 2" LP sounds better than the
Australian "Join Together Rarities" LP (same track listing). However, "Who's
Missing" and "Two's Missing" sound better than the UK Rarities LPs.
Unfortunately, not all of the same rare tracks are available on the latter two,
requiring the purchase of both.
CD Comments: The UK "Rarities Volume 1&2" CDs were made at the PDO
plant which had production defects in 1988. Discs have been reported to decay
and be unplayable over time. Fortunately, production resumed at the German
Polydor plant and those CDs are fine and unedited (the UK CD shortened the
length of "Water" and "Baby Don't You Do It"). "Who's Missing" (both USA and
Canada) sounds excellent and the same as the LP version. The mastering on "Two's
Missing" isn't as good as the LP version and the CD does not sound as good as
the LP.
Summary: In terms of sound quality, the Polydor (Germany) "Rarities
Volume 1&2" (CD), MCA (USA or Canada) "Who's Missing" (CD) and MCA (USA) "Two's
Missing" (LP) are the best. Owning 1 of each will give you all the rare tracks.
Other Comments: Some of the rarer tracks (previously exclusive to
these collections) have been reissued on the "Thirty Years Of Maximum R&B" box
set and other subsequently released CDs. However, not all of them are the same
(i.e. the live "Bargain" is edited on the box set, "Dogs" is in stereo on the
box set, etc.)
Reasons to seek out the above albums are: Circles (not re-released), Batman
(this is the mono version—a different, stereo mix appears on the reissue of "A
Quick One"), Under My Thumb (unlike the stereo version which appears on the
reissued, "Odds & Sods", this one contains the lead guitar track), "Doctor
Jekyll & Mr. Hyde" (this is the better, original mix vs. the "watered down" mix
which ended up on the USA "Magic Bus" LP), "Baby Don't You Do It" (Live-1971)
(this version remains not re-released), "My Wife (Live-1971) (Great live
version!), "Going Down" (Live-1971), Mary Anne With The Shaky Hands (this is the
"b" side to "I Can See For Miles" version with the quivering vocals. It's been
reissued in stereo on "Odds & Sods" but the mono mix is very different),
"Bargain" (Live-1971) (the "30 Years Of Maximum R&B" box set has an poorly
edited version of this track).
Note: The comments above are in consideration of the upcoming "My
Generation" CD release, which will feature the rare Shel Talmy produced tracks
which are currently exclusive to "Who's Missing" and "Two's Missing".
Note #2: The first LP pressings of "Rarities Volume 1" mistakenly
contained the LP version of "Mary Ann ... This was shortly corrected in subsequent
pressings.
Note #3: Liner notes contained on "Who's Missing" (Pete Townshend) and
"Two's Missing" (John Entwistle) are not included on the CD versions of those
albums (see next page).
Note #4: The track listing(s) for the 2011 Japan issue of
"Who's Missing"/"Two's Missing" (sold as a combined CD) have changed and have
added bonus tracks. (See track listing below for details.)
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About: Who's Missing and Two's Missing
"Who's Missing" was originally released in 1985. It was essentially
MCA's response to the various Who rarity albums that were released
beginning with "Join Together Rarities" in 1982. Apparently Polydor
Australia "went rogue" and they released their own Who rarities album
without "approval" from "Polydor central" or The Who's management.
However, copies of that LP were sold worldwide as "imports" and the
album was a success! Polydor (UK) got the hint, and in 1983, released 2
volumes of their own rarities whereas "Volume 2" actually mirrored the
Australian LP's content.
With The Who being "retired" at this time,
Steve Hoffman (then at MCA) began to dig around the Who archives to
compile his own "Who Rarities" album for MCA. In 1985, MCA released
"Who's Missing" and licensed the same to UK Polydor, who also released
it, but seemingly on a more limited run (UK copies seem fairly scarce).
The album that was compiled at the time was comprised of the following:
Shout And Shimmy, Leaving Here, Anytime You Want Me, Lubie (Come Back
Home), Barbara Ann, I'm A Boy, Mary Anne With The Shaky Hands, Heaven
And Hell, Here For More, I Don't Even Know Myself, When I Was A Boy,
Bargain (Live-1971)
These tracks were drawn from
Shel Talmy
produced b sides (Shout And Shimmy, Anytime You Want Me),
Shel Talmy
produced (and then unreleased) true stereo tracks (Leaving Here, Lubie
(Come Back Home)) 60's and 70's rarities
were also on the
"Who Rarities" Vol 1 & Vol 2 Collections> (Mary Anne With The Shaky
Hands, Heaven And Hell, Here For More, I Don't Even Know Myself, When I
Was A Boy) and finally, Bargain (Live-1971). The latter being from the
aborted Live San Francisco album. Hence Steve gave us a combination of
rarities previously released as well as some cool, unreleased songs.
Fast forward to 1987,
Steve Hoffman compiled a new rarities album and this time called it,
"Two's Missing". This album was comprised of:
Bald Headed Woman, Under My Thumb, My Wife (Live-1971), I'm A Man
(stereo version), Dogs, Dogs Part Two, Circles, The Last Time, Water,
Daddy Rolling Stone (stereo version), Heatwave (Shel
Talmy produced version), Going Down (Live-1971), Motoring, Waspman
Following the same pattern as "Who's Missing":
Shel Talmy
produced b side (Bald Headed Woman),
Shel Talmy
produced (and then unreleased) true stereo tracks (I'm A Man, , Daddy
Rolling Stone, Heatwave, Motoring), 60's and 70's rarities Rarities" Vol 1 & Vol 2 Collections>
(Under My Thumb, Dogs, Dogs Part Two, Circles, The Last Time, Water,
Waspman) and additional tracks from the aborted Live San Francisco album
(My Wife, Going Down).
Steve Hoffman had left MCA before the "Two's Missing" CD was
mastered and this accounts for why the MCA CD versions of it do not
sound nearly as good as the LP versions...
Polydor (UK) never released "Who's Missing" or "Two's Missing" on CD.
Fast forward to 2011...
Apparently these two albums were issued catalog #s in Japan many, many
years ago, but were never released. In 2011, they were finally released
in Japan as a 2CD set (2, mini-LPs, packaged together).
With this set, some changes to the original track listing were made, as
well as the addition of bonus tracks.
The changes include, "I'm A Boy". The original version used was the
mono, Pete vocal single. This version uses a stereo mix
with Roger on the lead intro (same/similar to the
Meaty Beaty Big And
Bouncy version). Also, the live tracks from San Francisco are all
unedited and/or include more pre-song dialog. (These may be the same as
what was released on
View From A
Backstage Pass.)
The bonus tracks, not previously released on either of these CDs are:
Doctor, Doctor, Someone's Coming, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (UK single
version), Fortune Teller, Postcard (Cancelled EP version), Baby Don't
You Do It (Extended version - Live in San Francisco 1971), Dr. Jekyll
and Mr. Hyde (US single version), Call Me Lightning, Melancholia,
Eyesight To The Blind (Alternative vocal version), I Don't Even Know
Myself (Cancelled EP version)
Some of these songs have been previously released elsewhere. I'm not
quite sure why "Melancholia" was included, since it was released on the
1995 "The Who Sell Out" CD.
One thing I always found odd about these two albums was that the sound
quality of "Leaving Here" and "Lubie" was always deeper and richer than
the other true stereo
Shel Talmy tracks from that period - as if they were
remixed/remastered by someone else than who did the others.
Unfortunately on this CD, the only thing that is "off" is that "Leaving
Here" has some distortion in it, which doesn't seem to be present in any
other version of "Who's Missing".
The music is really exceptional. There are still some tracks in the
vaults which have yet to be released. Hopefully sometime in the future,
the remaining rarities will be released for all Who fans to enjoy...
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Track Listing(s):
Join Together Rarities: Join Together, I Don't Even Know Myself,
Heaven And Hell, When I Was A Boy, Let's See Action, Relay, Waspman, Here For
More, Water, Baby Don't You Do It
Rarities Volume 1: Circles, Disguises, Batman, Bucket T, Barbara Ann,
In The City, I've Been Away, Doctor, Doctor, The Last Time, Under My Thumb,
Someone's Coming, Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand, Dogs, Call Me Lightning, Doctor
Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
Rarities Volume 2: Join Together, I Don't Even Know Myself, Heaven And
Hell, When I Was A Boy, Let's See Action, Relay, Waspman, Here For More, Water,
Baby Don't You Do It (Live-1971) (R)
Rarities Volume 1&2: Circles, Disguises, Batman, Bucket T, Barbara
Ann, In The City, I've Been Away, Doctor, Doctor, The Last Time, Under My Thumb,
Someone's Coming, Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand, Dogs, Call Me Lightning, Doctor
Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Join Together, I Don't Even Know Myself, Heaven And Hell,
When I Was A Boy, Let's See Action, Relay, Waspman, Here For More, Water, Baby
Don't You Do It (Live-1971) (R)
Who's Missing: Shout And Shimmy, Leaving Here, Anytime You Want Me,
Lubie (Come Back Home), Barbara Ann, I'm A Boy, Mary Anne With The Shaky Hands,
Heaven And Hell, Here For More, I Don't Even Know Myself, When I Was A Boy,
Bargain (Live-1971)
Two's Missing: Bald Headed Woman, Under My Thumb, My Wife (Live-1971),
I'm A Man (stereo version), Dogs, Dogs Part Two, Circles, The Last Time, Water,
Daddy Rolling Stone (stereo version), Heatwave (Shel Talmy produced version),
Going Down (Live-1971), Motoring, Waspman
Who's Missing/Two's Missing (2011 Japan 2 CD Set): Shout And
Shimmy, Leaving Here, Anytime You Want Me, Lubie (Come Back Home), Barbara Ann,
I'm A Boy, Mary-Anne With The Shaky Hands, Heaven And Hell, Here For More, I
Don't Even Know Myself, When I Was a Boy, Bargain (Live in San Francisco 1971),
Doctor, Doctor, Someone's Coming, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (UK single version),
Fortune Teller, Postcard (Cancelled EP version), Baby Don't You Do It (Extended version - Live in San Francisco
1971), Bald-Headed Woman, Under My Thumb, My Wife (Live in San Francisco 1971),
I'm A Man, Dogs, Dogs Part 2, Circles, The Last Time, Water, Daddy
Rolling Stone, Heat Wave, Goin' Down (Live in San Francisco 1971), Motoring,
Waspman, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (US single version), Call Me Lightning,
Melancholia, Eyesight To The Blind (Alternative vocal version), I Don't Even
Know Myself (Cancelled EP version)
