Good question, kid. Let me tell you. I always knew the answer was "a lot," but I never knew just exactly how much that lot was until I was perusing The Who's web site just now and checked it out. So, as of April 28, 2011, The Who have officially released the following number of compilations (including box sets, special limited editions, etc.):
TWENTY
That's not even including soundtracks like the one for Quadrophenia, Tommy, or The Kids Are Alright, which are basically old Who tunes you know and love regurgitated in new or different forms. It's also not counting live albums, such as Join Together or Who's Last. So, if you want to include those, feel free and inflate that total even more. Note that this number does include the Magic Bus LP as it was the very first US compilation.
Amazing, isn't it? That the band was already being compiled and resold right after their third LP (the UK got Direct Hits as their first comp). But above and beyond that, how many freaking times can you sensibly compile the same tunes and expect people to buy them? Why not just let new generations of Who fans sit through Meaty Beaty Big & Bouncy or The Who's Greatest Hits and take it from there? Those were both fine and solid collections that are still an enjoyable listen to this day. In fact, the latter was my first Who purchase and did a pretty fine job of showing me the scope of what the band was all about, beyond "My Generation" or "Who Are You?"
But I guess once you get into that rut, you just have the tendency to do it. Universal must think the kids are not all right and need a new Who compilation every few years to make sure no one forgets about the band. Which leads me to wonder what the sales are for these various comps versus the actual albums of "new" material the band recorded from The Who Sing "My Generation" to ...well, I was going to say It's Hard, but go ahead and throw that boring Endless Wire one on the pile as well. I'd say certain comps easily outsell those last two studio albums.
There must be a market for such a commodity, else why would Universal keep cranking them out? Is the "regular" Who fan just someone who wants the hits and nothing more? I suppose that makes some sort of sense, like owning Who's Next and Tommy and a greatest hits album, much like a casual Pink Floyd fan may only own Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here and/or The Wall and that's it. Do casual fans want to hear nuggets like "Mary-Anne With the Shaky Hands" or "How Can You Do It Alone?" Probably not. For them, "My Generation" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" are probably good enough and the rest of the hits in between, maybe say "Pinball Wizard" will perk up the ears and make them feel like they spent their money decently.
But have there been other bands that have gone through a similar thing so obviously? The Who's '70s output wasn't as regular as a band like The Rolling Stones. And god knows the Stones have had their fair share of compilations, too. Just looking at the Wikipedia entry for their count of compilations...it says they've had...
Thirty-One.
All right, so maybe this whole post is pointless. Fuck you, Rolling Stones. Fuck me sideways.
