Then and Now: 1964-2004

1	I Can't Explain 2:06
2	My Generation 3:18
3	The Kids Are Alright 2:46
4	Substitute 3:48
5	I'm a Boy 2:37
6	Happy Jack 2:11
7	I Can See for Miles 4:07
8	Magic Bus 3:20
9	Pinball Wizard 3:02
10	See Me, Feel Me 3:24
11	Summertime Blues Live 3:24
12	Behind Blue Eyes 3:41
13	Won't Get Fooled Again 8:32
14	5:15 4:52
15	Love, Reign O'er Me 3:12
16	Squeeze Box 2:42
17	Who Are You 5:07
18	You Better You Bet 5:37
19	Real Good Looking Boy 5:42
20	Old Red Wine 3:43

Barnes & Noble

To help commemorate the 40th anniversary of their arrival on American shores, the surviving members of the Who have compiled this career-spanning disc. While the song selection -- which ranges from explosive early hits such as "My Generation" and "I Can See for Miles" to latter-day favorites like "Who Are You" and "You Better You Bet" -- is perfectly fine, the set's real draw is a pair of newly recorded tunes. Yep, for the first time in more than two decades, Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend -- abetted by keyboardist John "Rabbit" Bundrick, drummer Zak Starkey, and bassist Greg Lake -- went into the studio to cut fresh material. They emerged with a pair of winners. "Real Good Looking Boy," which Townshend has described as a sort of homage to Elvis Presley, is one of those majestic, slow-building numbers the band mastered circa Tommy. Laced with stately keyboards (and incorporating a snippet of the King's "I Can't Help Falling in Love with You"), the song taps into nostalgia without mimicking a museum piece. The disc-ending "Old Red Wine," reminiscent of Townshend's recent solo work, is more wistful, rife with musings about approaching life's finish line while furtively glancing in the rearview mirror -- a fitting epilogue to the angry-young-man screeds that kick off the set. David Sprague

All Music Guide

When Then and Now: Maximum Who was released in March 2004, there were no less than four Who hits compilations on the market (including the classic singles collection Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy, which was available as an import), which raises the question: why another hits compilation, especially one that shares its title with Sanctuary's midline series of re-recorded live hits and new songs from B-level artists? The answer is, it's the first step in reintroducing the Who as an active recording unit -- the "now" part of the Then and Now equation. At the end of this disc, after 18 familiar hits have been trotted out, two new songs are unveiled: "Real Good Looking Boy" and "Old Red Wine." This is a rather low-key way of releasing new material from a classic act, but it's a smart move since it doesn't call attention to itself yet gives listeners an idea of what the forthcoming album, expected in either late 2004 or early 2005, might be like. While neither of the songs can compare with the previous 18 songs, that's an unfair comparison since these are low-key, mature works that would have worked well on a Pete Townshend solo album from the '80s. And that's a compliment -- the final two Who albums, Face Dances and It's Hard, had material that would have sounded better on a Townshend solo album, but he wasn't ready to break free, and the band wasn't ready to change its approach to suit his new material. Here, the reconstituted band -- featuring longtime keyboardist Rabbit Bundrick and drummer Zak Starkey -- fits the material, and more importantly, Roger Daltrey has grown considerably as a vocalist, delivering the nuance within Townshend's lyrics (compare his delivery on "Real Good Looking Boy" to "You Better You Bet," where he just blows through the words). While this is not classic Who, it is the most interesting music either Townshend or Daltrey has made in nearly 20 years, and it bodes well for the forthcoming full-length. Whether that justifies yet another Who compilation is another matter, particularly since the audience that most wants to hear this new material will already have each song on this disc several times over in its collection, which will no doubt frustrate collectors. On the other hand, this is one of the better hits-oriented compilations, containing nothing but the biggest FM hits, and if a casual listener doesn't already have My Generation: The Very Best of the Who or any other single-disc sampler, they'll be satisfied with this since, apart from these two very good new tracks, it's virtually interchangeable with any other career-spanning single-disc sampler. Stephen Thomas Erlewine