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The Who - Quadrophenia (1979 Soundtrack):  

UK - 1979 <Unlabeled> LP Alternate album cover, produced, but unused. Glossy pictures and text from the movie	UK - 1979 Polydor LP
UK - 1979 Polydor Cassette	UK - 2000 Polydor CD (Promo) Front cover
UK - 2000 Polydor CD (Promo) Back cover	UK - 2001 Polydor CD (Promo)
UK - 2017 Polydor CD (Promo) Front cover	UK - 2017 Polydor CD (Promo) Back cover
UK - 2017 UMC LP Green vinyl	UK - 2017 UMC LP Green vinyl
USA - 1979 Polydor LP With Hype Sticker	USA - 1979 Polydor LP Close-up of Hype Sticker
USA - 1979 Polydor LP	USA - 1979 Polydor LP (Promo)
USA - 1979 Polydor LP (Promo) Label face	USA - 1979 Polydor Cassette
USA - 1979 Polydor 8-Track	USA - 1979 Polydor LP (Promo) Pete Townshend & Roger Daltrey Talk About Quadrophenia
USA - 1993 Polydor CD	Argentina - 1979 Polydor LP (front cover)
Argentina - 1979 Polydor LP (back cover)	Argentina - 1979 Polydor Cassette
Australia - 1979 Polydor LP	Canada - 1979 Polydor LP
Canada - 1979 Polydor LP With Hype Sticker	Canada - 1979 Polydor LP Close-up of Hype Sticker
Canada - 1979 Polydor 8-Track	Canada - 2000 Polydor CD (Remastered)
France - 1979 Polydor LP	France - 2017 Polydor/Universal CD (Promo)
Germany - 1979 Polydor LP	Germany - 1979 Polydor Cassette
Germany - 1993 Polydor CD	Greece - 1979 Polydor LP
Holland - 1979 Polydor LP Germany cover, Holland LPs	Italy - 1979 Polydor LP
Italy - 1979 Polydor Cassette Volume 1	Italy - 1979 Polydor Cassette Volume 2
Japan - 1979 Polydor LP	Japan - 1982 Polydor LP (Reissue)
Japan - 1991 Polydor CD Original pressing	Japan - 2000 Polydor CD Remastered
Japan - 2011 Polydor CD SHMCD. Mini-LP cover. Remastered	Japan - 2011 Polydor CD SHMCD
Japan - 2020 Polydor CD	Japan - 2020 Polydor CD (Promo)
Korea - 1979 New Horizon LP	Mexico - 1980 Polydor LP
Mexico - 1980 Polydor LP (Promo) Front cover	Mexico - 1980 Polydor LP (Promo) Back cover
Mexico - 1980 Polydor LP (Promo) Front cover	Mexico - 1980 Polydor LP (Promo) Back cover
Mexico - 1980 Polydor LP (Promo) Front cover	Mexico - 1980 Polydor LP (Promo) Back cover
Norway - 1979 Polydor LP	New Zealand - 1979 Polydor LP Sleeve made in Australia
Philippines - 1979 Polydor LP	Portugal - 1979 Polydor LP
Portugal - 1979 Polydor LP (Promo) Front cover. Translucent plastic sleeve. Front cover black & white art. Back cover clear plastic, allowing insert to show through	Portugal - 1979 Polydor LP (Promo) Back cover. Translucent plastic sleeve. Front cover black & white art. Back cover clear plastic, allowing insert to show through
Saudi Arabia- 1979 747 Cassette	Spain - 1979 Polydor LP
Spain - 1979 Polydor Cassette	Venezuela - 1979 Polydor LP

Album: Quadrophenia (1979 Soundtrack)

LPs (vinyl) Sampled: Polydor (UK), Polydor (USA), Polydor (Greece)

CDs (original) Sampled: Polydor - 1993 (Germany), Polydor- 1993 (USA), Polydor - 2011 (Japan), Polydor - 2020 (Japan)

Note: The single CD edited version does not include the "non-Who" songs that were released with the original LP.

CDs (remastered 2000) Sampled: MCA (USA), MCA (Canada), Polydor (Japan)

CDs (remastered 2011) Sampled: Polydor (Japan)

LP Comments: I found no distinguishable sound quality differences between the USA and UK pressings.

CD (original) comments: Both 1993 German and USA copies sounded identical. The 1991 (2) CD Japan copy usex tapes that are not as good as the 1993 releases. However, it doesn't sound "bad" by any means.

CD (remastered 2000) comments: These CD's masterings are too loud/compressed.

CD (remastered 2011) comments: This CD sounds great!

CD (remastered 2020) comments: This CD sounds even better than the 2011.

Compare for yourself!   Below are 30 second WAV samples of "The Real Me" from various pressings of the "Quadrophenia" (Soundtrack) as described above. 1979 UK Master Tape   1991 Japan CD   1993 USA CD   1993 Germany/UK CD   2000 Canada CD   2000 Japan CD   2011 Japan CD   2017 UK CD (Promo)   2020 Japan CD (Promo) (Remastered)

Note: Sound comparisons are only as good as your ears and the equipment you are listening to the music with.

Summary: If you're looking for the best sounding "complete" version, then the UK or USA LPs are equally fine. If you want the best sounding CD version, then obtain either the 1993 USA or Germany copies (original mastering) or the 2020 Japan (3rd Remastering).

Other Comments: In 1979 John Entwistle remixed the original "Quadrophenia" songs for this soundtrack and there are some notable differences. For example, "The Real Me" features a completely different bass track, more "upfront" vocals and a "finished ending".

About: Quadrophenia (Soundtrack) I remember when I first bought this album in the early 80's (and before I saw the movie), and thinking to myself... "Who's this guy on the cover and where are The Who???" My "claim to fame" with this album is that I took "Get Out And Stay Out" along with "Four Faces" and "inserted them" between "Cut My Hair" and "The Punk Meets The Godfather" (has anyone figured out why this song has 2 titles?) on my "Quadrophenia" cassette tape (in the days before CDs). I never saw the "fit" of "Joker James" and sort of left that one to "dangle" elsewhere... (There was a previous rumor that Keith Moon was on one of these newly released songs. These 3 songs were recorded fresh for the Soundtrack and each of them features Kenney Jones on drums.) Fast forward 30 years later with release of the Quadrophenia Demos (included with the Super Deluxe Box Set version of Quadrophenia) and I can "pat myself on the back" for figuring out where the songs got placed. (Which really wasn't too difficult since that was the only logical place to put them anyway...) At some point (probably when CD versions became available), the insertion of these songs stopped and they ended up being unlistened to for many, many years... What's sorta neat about this soundtrack is that it contains different mixes to the album - in the case of "The Real Me", John Entwistle recorded a whole new bass line, while songs like "I'm One", "I've Had Enough" and "Love Reign O'er Me" have additional instrumentation added to make them more "musical". Apparently MCA was not too keen on this <worldwide Polydor> album's release (because they didn't want to siphon sales away from their own "Quadrophenia"). So, the album became limited to "some" songs from "Quadrophenia" (with various changes) as well as mixed with other artists (from the movie). This way it wouldn't be viewed as a "competitive" product. (Now that Polydor and MCA are part of Universal, something like that wouldn't be an issue...) As a Who "purist", I never really had any interest in the other, non-Who songs. Sometime last year, I made my own version of the Soundtrack by copying the songs from the original Germany CD to a CDr in the song order of the original album. What I ended up with was a mini "Quadrophenia" remix, with some different arraignments and very enjoyable... After finally hearing the Pete demo of "Joker James", I realized what I didn't like so much about this version - it's too short (and not complete)! The original lyrics for this song were actually written in 1968.Whereas the 1972/73 demo of the song deleted the "Mary Ann had shaky hands verse" (of course Pete might have another demo version stored someplace), the Soundtrack version also does not use this verse and further deletes the "Jeannie practiced judo..." verse as well. While it's nice to hear Roger sing this song, I personally find the Pete demo much more interesting - and of course more complete. (Oh well...) I found that the 1993 Germany CD sounded somewhat smooth and vinyl like, but it lacked some clarity and definition in the higher notes. I recall not caring for the 2000 remaster, but the <2nd remastered version> released at the end of 2011 in Japan,  sounds better than the previous CD versions. All the songs are great - it's "Quadrophenia"! If you've never listened to this album before, you might be pleasantly surprised at some of the mix/arrangement changes...

Track Listing:

LP & <original> Japanese CD: I Am The Sea, The Real Me, I'm One, 5:15, Love Reign O'er Me, Bell Boy, I've Had Enough, Helpless Dancer, Doctor Jimmy, Zoot Suit (The High Numbers), Hi Heel Sneakers (non Who), Get Out And Stay Out, Four Faces, Joker James, The Punk And The Godfather, Night Train (non Who), Louie Louie (non Who), Green Onions (non Who), Rhythm Of The Rain (non Who), He's So Fine (non Who), Be My Baby (non Who), Da Doo Ron Ron (non Who)

Single CD Version: I'm The Face (The High Numbers), Zoot Suit (The High Numbers), I Am The Sea, The Real Me, I'm One, 5:15, Love Reign O'er Me, Bell Boy, I've Had Enough, Helpless Dancer, Doctor Jimmy, Get Out And Stay Out, Four Faces, Joker James, The Punk And The Godfather

Remastered Version(s): I Am The Sea, The Real Me, I'm One, 5:15, Love Reign O'er Me, Bell Boy, I've Had Enough, Helpless Dancer, Doctor Jimmy, Zoot Suit (The High Numbers), Hi Heel Sneakers (non Who), Get Out And Stay Out, Four Faces, Joker James, The Punk And The Godfather, Night Train (non Who), Louie Louie (non Who), Green Onions (non Who), Rhythm Of The Rain (non Who), He's So Fine (non Who), Be My Baby (non Who), Da Doo Ron Ron (non Who), I'm The Face (The High Numbers)