THE WHO Vinyl & CDs

Review: As part of their latest full-discography reissue via UMR, The Who re-release their second full-length rock opera, Quadrophenia. Newly to 180-gram black vinyl, this mammoth project is an early rock concept album by the band, credited for the revival and cementing of the Mod subculture at large in the seventies. The album is set between London and Brighton in 1965, and follows a young mod named Jimmy and his many tight-blazered, Moped-bound travails and heartaches. Responsible for producing the Mod as a full-blown, marketable, subcultural identity, Quadrophenia was the blueprint for a youth aeon, and went on to inspire the teen drug-addled, alley-way action of the later film of the same name, directed by Franc Roddam.

Review: The Who's 50th Anniversary edition of Who's Next is being released in multiple formats and chief among them is this relatively short and succinct 4xLP version. Though four sides of vinyl isn't usually thought to be "short", this is a minimal incarnation of the reissued album, compared to the juggernaut CD and Blu-Ray box set which contains over 155 original audio tracks on it. This version is as comparatively minimal and monolithic as the 2001: A Space Odyssey monolith referenced on its front cover, though it's not still without its nice extra-album bonuses, 'Pinball Wizard' and 'Naked Eye' included.