Albums

The Who - Greatest Hits/Greatest Hits Live

Paul Cook 08/02/2010

Rating: 3/5

After a quite literally electrifying performance at Superbowl XLIV (that's forty four right?) The Who are to release another Greatest Hits collection. Whilst disc 1 is almost a carbon copy of 2007 Best Of Album Then & Now, disc 2 is a brilliant collection of live performances from the 1960's, 70's and 80's.

The highlight for The Who fanatics is perhaps the fourteen minute medley concocted from parts of Naked Eyes, Let's See Action and My Generation. A moody blues intro' steadily soars into the rock 'n' roll choruses of some of The Who's best-loved songs.

Wont Get Fooled Again and 5:15 live from Capital Centre, Maryland are particularly exemplary of The Who's live capabilities. Whilst the Superbowl might have seemed a bit 'dad-rock', Greatest Hits Live is impressive from start to finish (largely due to the omission of any recordings from the last two decades.)

Unfortunately for owners of Then & Now the first disc of the new Greatest Hits Collection will be a disappointing repeat. Luckily for digital customers it is possible to buy just the Greatest Hits Live collection (£9.99 on iTunes) making it possible for fans to add to their collection without having to double up on the recorded material.

The live tracklisting on paper is a fairly standard selection of the band's hits, however once you listen to the CD from start to finish it becomes clear that they have been chosen for their audio quality and instrumental deviation featuring several guitar and drum solos previously unavailable on CD.