THE WHO - Who's Next / Life House
September 23, 2023, a year ago
(UMR)
There has been quite a lot said about, hinted at, and theorized about The Who's aborted concept album that was supposed to serve as a follow-up to Tommy, entitled Life House. For whatever reason (and there have been quite a few mentioned over the years, probably the most common one being its band members unable to grasp its storyline), Life House was eventually shelved, and instead, a single album's worth of tunes from the project was compiled and released as quite possibly The Who's greatest album – Who's Next.
Now, over 50 years since the 1971 release of Who's Next, comes a simply gargantuan 'deluxe edition' box set, Who’s Next / Life House, which homes in on this era of the Who.
Comprised of countless goodies (remixed versions of the album, 89 unreleased tracks, demos, a 100-page hardcover book, etc.), my personal favorite portion is two complete concerts from 1971 – London’s Young Vic Theatre and San Francisco’s Civic Auditorium – which captures the quartet in full 'Live at Leeds mode.'
There are few albums in the history of rock n' roll as deserving of such an overboard box treatment, but Who's Next is certainly one of them. And while there is admittedly too much to wade through for the casual fan, Who fanatics will be in heaven.
