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WHO sounds good...



Per Gary's request, here's kind of a "sound quality" recommended discography
for the various Who albums and CDs...

Best picks: (pre-remix/remaster)

The Who
--------------------
My Generation

Original Brunswick UK or
Virgin reissue vinyl

The MCA CD never picked up on the full sound even AFTER it was "fixed" and
doesn't have the full-length "The Kids Are Alright"... Forget about the
original USA Decca vinyl. The "stereo" and "mono" pressings were actually the
same (no true stereo at all) and didn't sound "clear"...
---------------------
A Quick One (aka "Happy Jack")

Polydor Germany vinyl. Most of the tracks are in excellent true stereo,
except for "So Sad About Us" (stereo version can be found on French "Best Of
The Who Vol 2" or USA "Happy Jack" --original pressings have very good sound)
and "See My Way" (not available in stereo anywhere). For those of you who may
own it, but don't know it... This version came in the "Phases" box set... The
original USA Decca was a hodge-podge of true stereo, simulated stereo and
mono. Nothing to brag about, except for the "Happy Jack" and "So Sad About
Us" tracks...

For CD, forgetting about the MCA piece of <Picard>, the German Polydor is
pure mono and sounds the best as such. Although I maintain the mono mix of
this album is depressing to listen to...
-----------------------
The Who Sell Out

I always liked the Japanese vinyl one. However, the German one and UK one are
almost up there, perhaps not quite as "quiet"...  

For CD, (this will cause debate), but after much ado, I think the German
Polydor & USA MCA sound about the same. The Polydor is banded (where the
tracks change with your CD "clicker") much better, and the MCA's banding is
bad, but if you listen to the damn thing straight through, it doesn't matter.
AND the MCA has the "track records" run off, the Polydor doesn't...
-----------------------
Magic Bus

I'll only say this about that... The ORIGINAL Decca version has the BEST
studio version/mix of the title track (true stereo). The MCA CD is worthless,
unless you have to have the 2nd version of "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde" on CD...
-----------------------
Tommy

On vinyl, the best of them is the original USA Decca, but try to find a copy
that isn't worn... I'm not crazy about ANY of the reissues as they range from
"bad to worse" (the Japanese Polydor sounds VERY flat...) However, UK copies
'73 to about '87 contain the alternate vocal version of "Eyesight To The
Blind". 

In CD form, the ONLY one to even consider is the 1996 reissue...
------------------------
Leeds

hMMM... German vinyl and German CD all the way. Compare these to the tinny
MCA for a real laugh... I have a sealed original Decca copy that I obviously
never played, so in all fairness, it may be OK. However, hard to imagine
anything sounding better than these...
---------------------
Who's Next

I think I like the UK vinyl version for this one...
I'll also go as far as saying the pre-gold version, MCA CD sounds pretty
good, too. Polydor never corrected their WN CDs between the time of original
release and reissue/remaster...
------------------------
Quadrophenia

Japanese (CBS/Sony Label) vinyl is phenomenal. After that, the German CD. I
don't think the MCA sounds too bad at all and was surprised it was as good!
However the MFSL version sounds like <Picard> to me...
-------------------------
Odds & Sods

As above, Japanese (CBS/Sony) vinyl sounds the best. The German Polydor CD
sounds great too. However, forget the MCA---pure <Picard>...
-------------------------
Who By Numbers

Again, Japanese (CBS/Sony--no I don't own stock) vinyl sounds the best with
the German Polydor CD sounding very good. I only have the 1st pressing MCA CD
(to compare CDs) and it sounded to tinny for my ears...
-------------------------
Who Are You

Japanese (CBS/Sony) vinyl, with the German CD following behind it. The
original MCA CD sounded horrible (all bass, no treble) and the MFSL, while
certainly "acceptable", nowhere as good as the German CD...
--------------------------
The Kids Are Alright

In all fairness, I haven't played my Japanese vinyl version, that I only got
last year. However, if it's like the other CBS/Sony versions, I'm sure it
sounds great.... I am very happy with the sound on the German Polydor CD, but
unfortunately, for the purists, like the worse sounding MCA version of the
same, it also has the same "Roadrunner" medley edited out so it fit on one
CD... The UK and German vinyl versions sound better than the MCA vinyl & CD
as well...
---------------------------
Face Dances

MFSL vinyl or Warner Brothers CD probably sound equally as good. I didn't buy
the MCA CD since I thought I've given them ENOUGH money...
---------------------------
It's Hard

Here's one for yah... the 3rd generation Warner Brothers CD (the most silver
on the face of the CD--made in the USA). The first Polydor CD was pretty
muddy and although I have a recent pressing of the same, I never properly
a/b'd them. I don't have a clue on the MCA reissue. On vinyl, the USA Warner
promo on Quiex II sounds the best...
---------------------------
Who's Last (aka "The Who Live" in Germany & France) (yeah, "pooey" is right!)

For some reason, the German, UK and Japanese CD pressings all sound (I think
the mix is actually a bit better) better than the USA (ALL on the MCA label).
The USA versions have very ugly cover (yes, that's what it's down too) and
the UK and other European versions are on ONE CD. However, the UK and
Japanese (2 CDs) has the "Burning flag" cover, the German has a picture of
Roger's head (circa '75) and the French version has a band shot (circa '75).
Confusing, isn't it?
------------------------
Join Together

I'll just say that I like the UK Virgin CDs better than the MCA if for no
other reason I like the label better...
-------------------------
Who's Better Who's Best

I'll give the MCA the "edge" for the nicer cover, but don't judge the "book"
by it's cover. The Polydor CD sounds much better... Either way it's a reissue
"best of", but since there was 2 CDs with the same title, it was worth
noting. BTW, for you collectors, the FRENCH version has a black "overlay" for
a cover...

Perhaps some solo stuff tomorrow....

-wf