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Thirty Years of Maximum R&B [Box set]

The Who
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews) | More about this product

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Biography

The Who are a four-piece mod/rock band whose first album, My Generation, bristled with attitude; the lyric "I hope I die before I get old" tapped into the disaffection felt by post-war baby boomers, helping to secure a loyal fanbase and establish the band at the forefront of the mod movement.

In the studio the band's innovative approach to recording helped to realise Townshend's vision and album… Read more in Amazon's The Who Store

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Product Details

  • Audio CD (November 15, 1994)
  • Original Release Date: July 5, 1994
  • Number of Discs: 4
  • Format: Box set
  • Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
  • Label: Mca
  • ASIN: B000002OU6
  • Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #346,771 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Disc: 1
1. Pete Dialogue - Pete Townshend
2. I'm the Face
3. Here 'Tis
4. Zoot Suit
5. Leaving Here
See all 29 tracks on this disc
Disc: 2
1. Rotosound Strings
2. I Can See for Miles
3. Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand
4. Armenia City in the Sky
5. Tattoo
See all 28 tracks on this disc
Disc: 3
1. Shakin' All Over [Live]
2. Baba O'Riley
3. Bargain [Live]
4. Pure and Easy
5. Song Is Over
See all 17 tracks on this disc
Disc: 4
1. Long Live Rock
2. Life with the Moons
3. Naked Eye [Live]
4. University Challenge
5. Slip Kid
See all 21 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This exemplary four-disc box takes the high road, attempting nothing less than an honest reconstruction of the Who's stormy, adventurous, uneven pilgrimage. While offering an evenhanded cross-section of single hits and classic album tracks, 30 Years garnishes the expected high points with B-sides, alternate and live versions of familiar tracks, and the quartet's earliest singles as the High Numbers. Reinforcing the package's documentary agenda are interview and stage-patter sound bites. What emerges is a fascinating chronicle of how the Shepherd's Bush mods journeyed from the giddy, explosive concision of their January 1965 debut single, "I Can't Explain," to the discursive, knotty sweep of creative architect Pete Townshend's "rock operas," Tommy, Quadrophenia, and the uncompleted, unreleased Lifehouse. The Who's swift evolution into rock visionaries is traced chronologically, meaning the band's original immersion in "maximum R&B," which forged their earliest club dates, doesn't surface on record until midway through the sequence, on key tracks from their thundering Live at Leeds album. Fans may quibble over the relative weight given specific albums, but the shape of the Who's career and their passionate identification with their audience are rendered faithfully. So, too, is Townshend's skill at mingling issues of faith and identity with generational manifestoes and sly broadsides. And there's ample evidence of the quartet's outsize musical power; the sheer volume and violence that earned them notoriety early on is matched by a lyricism that deepens by mid career. Given the candor of the presentation, it's not surprising that 30 Years reaches its zenith midway through the set or that the last song (a reunion of the surviving trio covering Elton John) can't help seeming anticlimactic. --Sam Sutherland
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Customer Reviews

60 Reviews
5 star:
 (33)
4 star:
 (18)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:
 (3)
1 star:
 (4)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (60 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A Whole Lotta Who...but at Who's Cost, October 23, 2000
By J. Thomas "jimmyjames8" (Out on the Lost Highway) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Thirty Years of Maximum R&B (Audio CD)
You would have to spend a lotta money to get all these songs on their original discs. This is the best "best of" compilation ever...but at the cost of superior sonics. The sound quality on these discs is horrible. Listen to any track on the box's discs from WHO'S NEXT and then listen to the remastered WHO'S NEXT from just a few years ago and the difference will amaze you. I can stand for the sound to be a little wooly on the older stuff but for the tracks on disc 3 and 4 to sound the way they do is a crime. The box is only worth it to me for the hard to find tracks like JOIN TOGETHER and LONG LIVE ROCK and THE KIDS ARE ALLRIGHT. Other wise save your money and by the remasters of WHO'S NEXT and LIVE AT LEEDS.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars More Like 20 Years, Actually, January 23, 2003
This review is from: Thirty Years of Maximum R&B (Audio CD)
The "Thirty Years" title of this collection is misleading. Though released to coincide with the band's 30 year anniversary, it had already been 15 years since the death of drummer Keith Moon and 12 years since the release of the band's last studio album. Only one track was recorded after the band's 1982-83 "farewell" tour. Chronological nitpicking aside, this four disc box set, while indeed containing a ton of terrific music, suffers from an identity crisis.

Who exactly is its target audience? I ask that question because it is about evenly split between rare tracks/alternative versions and original recordings from the band's studio and live albums. As such, the collection is too lengthy to be of interest to casual fans and contains way too much repetitious material for ardent fans who likely already own most if not all of the Who's catalog. Confusing things even more are a generous helping of "dialog" tracks (including Pete swearing at the audience during a live show, the band members making disgusting phlemetic noises prior to recording "Behind Blue Eyes") that do more to damage the band's legacy than enhance it.

All of that said, the music itself remains tremendously powerful. For all of its flaws, "30 Years" is still well worth repeated listenings for those with a little extra money to spend.

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Definitive Who, August 1, 2005
This review is from: Thirty Years of Maximum R&B (Audio CD)
This is a big pill to swallow. It is a huge pill. Five hours of a band that has built the reputation of being the hardest rocking band out there. The Who have been around since the early sixties, and this box captures it all. Not every track, but plenty enough to capture an acurate picture of the band at every stage of their career from The High Numbers through the 1989 Reunion Tour. In addition to the unforgettable and unforgivable songs in their illustrious catalogue, this collection is peppered with amusing snippits of concert dialogue, comedic radio sitcoms, and studio false starts. Alternate versions of already familiar songs help keep this collection fresh, and the book that comes with it is detailed and enlightening. There is more than enough here to introduce the uninitiated to The Who, and there is certainly enough unreleased material to keep the ititiated interested. This is comprehensive. It is what a box set is supposed to be. However, don't expect to be listening to it start to finish repeatedly. Rather, it is like a cherrished book that is lovingly read every once in a long while and fondly remembered in between.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars MAXIMUM WHO
This is a fantastic collection of material by The Who, and represents real value for money, whether you're a fan with passing interest in this band's music or, like me,... Read more
Published 1 month ago by MRT

4.0 out of 5 stars 30 years...THE WHO, in a box, 4 CD's.
If you are a fan of THE WHO, then you have probably heard most of the material, contained in the box set, but if you sift threw the dust, a few nuggets might appear, with some... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Dr. Feelgood

5.0 out of 5 stars Often immitated but never equaled
A box set is a great vehicle to get material out to a variety of fans. Maybe that is the problem. Trying to please everyone. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Eric E. Weinraub

4.0 out of 5 stars Mostly good, but some questionable choices of material...
This is one of the better box sets out there, and it's a pretty good summation of The Who's amazing journey of a career. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Grigory's Girl

1.0 out of 5 stars Not happy at all.
I ordered the Who's 30 Years Of Maximum R&B 4-cd set.
I received only one disc of the four, and it was damaged - looked like the surface of the disc had been dropped on... Read more
Published 14 months ago by L. Dunbar

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best
if you could fit all the best of the Who into a smaller box set, this is it. They changed music as we know it and are one of the best bands of all time. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Rickey D. Bills

5.0 out of 5 stars THE WHO : MAXIMUM R & B
i already had a respectable WHO collection but this is like icing on the cake..
Published 23 months ago by E. Perez

5.0 out of 5 stars The Who are #1
Since the first time I listened to the album Live at Leeds, the Who have been my favorite band. This collection of who material lives up to my expectations ranging from the... Read more
Published on July 30, 2007 by Dawn M. Scully

5.0 out of 5 stars THE WHO "THIRTY YEARS OF MAXIUM R&B" (SOME BITTER DISAPPOINMENTS) REALLY A WHO BIOGRAPHY...NOT JUST A GREATEST HITS COMPILATION
Some reviewers look at this Who box set as a bitter disappoinment. I agree if you think this box set is mainly a greatest hits compilation. Read more
Published on February 3, 2007 by Patrick Miller

4.0 out of 5 stars possumsmcbikeritems
There are other single 'Who' Cd's I'd buy before this one collection.
It is good but mainly because it has some rare and unobtainable music etc on it, good but not great... Read more
Published on January 9, 2007 by Gary Palmer

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