Adding Bonus Tracks to Who's Next

[B0RN2RUN@aol.com]

<<The way the album starts with a synthesizer type sound (Baba) and ends the
same way (WGFA). Adding songs would ruin the concept IMHO. As Roger Daltrey
put it: "Putting 'Pure&Easy' in there would just make it a longer great
record".>>

Quite frankly, I've never found this to be a compelling argument against
adding bonus tracks to a CD.  As long as the bonus material is tacked on at
the end, what's the big deal?  If you like how a certain album ends, you can
simply stop the disc at that point.    

Apparently, however, this argument has been compelling for some in the past,
but it has now finally been laid to rest with the Elvis Costello releases,
which feature a 15 second pause between the end of the original album and the
bonus material.

As for your suggestion of a Lifehouse box set, I'd love to see one too.
 There's clearly more material from those sessions than could ever fit on a
single CD, and that's not even counting the live material from the
performances at the Young Vic Theatre (or Pete's demos, for that matter).
 While a 4CD Lifehouse box set featuring two discs worth of studio material
and two discs of live material from the Young Vic theatre would be a great
idea, I seriously doubt that MCA or Polygram would ever release such an
elaborate package.  Sure, Who's Next is every bit the landmark album that
Layla is and Layla received the deluxe treatment (indeed, with the release of
the live set, the market has now been flooded with FIVE CDs worth of Derek
and the Dominos material), but the guy who oversees reissues for Polygram
(Bill Levinson, I believe) happens to be a huge fan of Eric Clapton and Duane
Allman.  [BTW, Levinson is also a huge Velvet Underground fan, thus
explaining three excellent straight album reissues (at least one of which was
remixed), two CDs of unreleased material, and an upcoming box set for what
was always a noncommercial (though critically acclaimed) band).]  I know the
same cannot be said about Andy McKaie at MCA (who clearly prefers the likes
of Steely Dan), and even if he were a big fan, he lacks the ability the get
anything done (e.g., the long delayed two CD Skynrd rarities set, the long
delayed Buddy Holly box set, the long delayed booklet upgrades for [fill in
name of artist], etc.).  Even a 2CD release seems unlikely, because I suspect
that the label people along with Charlesworth are wedded more to a Who's Next
Plus concept than an all-new Lifehouse concept.  

Probably the best we can do is try to get as much Lifehouse material released
as possible (extra tracks will likely appear eventually on a new, and
hopefully definitive, rarities compilation) and then compile our own
Lifehouse tapes.