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The Who - Who Rarity Collections - Page 1:

The Who Rarities Volume 1 - UK - 1983 Polydor LP

The Who Rarities Volume 1 - UK - 1983 Polydor Cassette

The Who Rarities Volume 2 - UK - 1983 Polydor LP

The Who Rarities Volume 2 - UK - 1983 Polydor Cassette

Who's Missing - UK - 1985 Polydor LP

Who's Missing - UK - 1985 Polydor Cassette

Two's Missing - UK - 1987 Polydor LP

Two's Missing - UK - 1987 Polydor Cassette

The Who Rarities Vol 1 & Rarities Vol 2 - UK - 1988 Polydor CD

Edited versions of "Water" and "Baby Don't You Do It". Reissued in Germany (Polydor) with unedited versions of the above

The Who Rarities Vol 1 & Rarities Vol 2 - UK - 1991 Polydor Cassette

Who's Missing - USA - 1985 MCA LP

Who's Missing - USA - 1985 MCA Cassette

Who's Missing - USA - 1987 MCA CD

Who's Missing - USA - 1987 MCA CD

Long box packaging

Who's Missing - Canada - 1988 MCA CD

Two's Missing - USA - 1987 MCA LP

Two's Missing - USA - 1987 MCA CD

Two's Missing - USA - 1987 MCA CD

Long box packaging

Two's Missing - USA - 1987 MCA Cassette

The Who Join Together Rarities - Australia - 1982 Polydor LP

The Who Join Together Rarities - Australia - 1982 Polydor Cassette

Who's Missing - Canada - 1985 MCA LP

Two's Missing - Canada - 1987 MCA LP

Two's Missing - Canada - 1987 MCA Cassette

The Who Rarities Volume 1 - France - 1983 Polydor LP

The Who Rarities Volume 2 - France - 1983 Polydor LP

The Who Rarities Volume 1 - Germany - 1983 Polydor LP

The Who Rarities Volume 1 - Germany - 1983 Polydor Cassette

The Who Rarities Volume 2 - Germany - 1983 Polydor LP

The Who Rarities Vol 1 & Rarities Vol 2 - Germany - 1991 Polydor CD

The Who Rarities Volume 1 - Holland - 1983 Polydor LP

The Who Rarities Vol 1 & Rarities Vol 2 - Japan - 1988 Polydor CD

Who's Missing - Japan - 2011 Polydor CD

SHMCD. Mini-LP cover. Track changes/additional bonus tracks

Two's Missing - Japan - 2011 Polydor CD

(Packaged with "Who's Missing"). SHMCD. Mini-LP cover. Track changes/additional bonus tracks

The Who Rarities Volume 1 - Spain - 1983 Polydor Cassette

The Who Rarities Volume 1 - Spain - 1983 Polydor LP

The Who Rarities Volume 2 - Spain - 1983 Polydor LP

Who's Missing - Thailand - 1985 Peacock Cassette


Album: Join Together Rarities (1982), Rarities Volume 1 (1983), Rarities Volume 2 (1983), Who's Missing (1984), Two's Missing (1985)

LPs (vinyl) Sampled: Join Together Rarities: Polydor (Australia), Rarities Volume 1: Polydor (UK), Rarities Volume 2: Polydor (UK), Who's Missing: MCA (USA), Who's Missing: MCA (Canada), Two's Missing: MCA (USA)

CDs Sampled: Rarities Volume 1&2: Polydor (UK), Rarities Volume 1&2: Polydor (Germany), Who's Missing: MCA (USA), Two's Missing: MCA (USA)

LP Comments: The UK "Rarities Volume 2" LP sounds better than the Australian "Join Together Rarities" LP (same track listing). However, "Who's Missing" and "Two's Missing" sound better than the UK Rarities LPs. Unfortunately, not all of the same rare tracks are available on the latter two, requiring the purchase of both.

CD Comments: The UK "Rarities Volume 1&2" CDs were made at the PDO plant which had production defects in 1988. Discs have been reported to decay and be unplayable over time. Fortunately, production resumed at the German Polydor plant and those CDs are fine and unedited (the UK CD shortened the length of "Water" and "Baby Don't You Do It"). "Who's Missing" (both USA and Canada) sounds excellent and the same as the LP version. The mastering on "Two's Missing" isn't as good as the LP version and the CD does not sound as good as the LP.

Summary: In terms of sound quality, the Polydor (Germany) "Rarities Volume 1&2" (CD), MCA (USA or Canada) "Who's Missing" (CD) and MCA (USA) "Two's Missing" (LP) are the best. Owning 1 of each will give you all the rare tracks.

Other Comments: Some of the rarer tracks (previously exclusive to these collections) have been reissued on the "Thirty Years Of Maximum R&B" box set and other subsequently released CDs. However, not all of them are the same (i.e. the live "Bargain" is edited on the box set, "Dogs" is in stereo on the box set, etc.)

Reasons to seek out the above albums are: Circles (not re-released), Batman (this is the mono version—a different, stereo mix appears on the reissue of "A Quick One"), Under My Thumb (unlike the stereo version which appears on the reissued, "Odds & Sods", this one contains the lead guitar track), "Doctor Jekyll & Mr. Hyde" (this is the better, original mix vs. the "watered down" mix which ended up on the USA "Magic Bus" LP), "Baby Don't You Do It" (Live-1971) (this version remains not re-released), "My Wife (Live-1971) (Great live version!), "Going Down" (Live-1971), Mary Anne With The Shaky Hands (this is the "b" side to "I Can See For Miles" version with the quivering vocals. It's been reissued in stereo on "Odds & Sods" but the mono mix is very different), "Bargain" (Live-1971) (the "30 Years Of Maximum R&B" box set has an poorly edited version of this track).

Note: The comments above are in consideration of the upcoming "My Generation" CD release, which will feature the rare Shel Talmy produced tracks which are currently exclusive to "Who's Missing" and "Two's Missing".

Note #2: The first LP pressings of "Rarities Volume 1" mistakenly contained the LP version of "Mary Ann ... This was shortly corrected in subsequent pressings.

Note #3: Liner notes contained on "Who's Missing" (Pete Townshend) and "Two's Missing" (John Entwistle) are not included on the CD versions of those albums (see next page).

Note #4: The track listing(s) for the 2011 Japan issue of "Who's Missing"/"Two's Missing" (sold as a combined CD) have changed and have added bonus tracks. (See track listing below for details.)

About: Who's Missing and Two's Missing

"Who's Missing" was originally released in 1985. It was essentially MCA's response to the various Who rarity albums that were released beginning with "Join Together Rarities" in 1982. Apparently Polydor Australia "went rogue" and they released their own Who rarities album without "approval" from "Polydor central" or The Who's management. However, copies of that LP were sold worldwide as "imports" and the album was a success! Polydor (UK) got the hint, and in 1983, released 2 volumes of their own rarities whereas "Volume 2" actually mirrored the Australian LP's content.

With The Who being "retired" at this time, Steve Hoffman (then at MCA) began to dig around the Who archives to compile his own "Who Rarities" album for MCA. In 1985, MCA released "Who's Missing" and licensed the same to UK Polydor, who also released it, but seemingly on a more limited run (UK copies seem fairly scarce).

The album that was compiled at the time was comprised of the following:

Shout And Shimmy, Leaving Here, Anytime You Want Me, Lubie (Come Back Home), Barbara Ann, I'm A Boy, Mary Anne With The Shaky Hands, Heaven And Hell, Here For More, I Don't Even Know Myself, When I Was A Boy, Bargain (Live-1971)

These tracks were drawn from Shel Talmy produced b sides (Shout And Shimmy, Anytime You Want Me), Shel Talmy produced (and then unreleased) true stereo tracks (Leaving Here, Lubie (Come Back Home)) 60's and 70's rarities
were also on the "Who Rarities" Vol 1 & Vol 2 Collections> (Mary Anne With The Shaky Hands, Heaven And Hell, Here For More, I Don't Even Know Myself, When I Was A Boy) and finally, Bargain (Live-1971). The latter being from the aborted Live San Francisco album. Hence Steve gave us a combination of rarities previously released as well as some cool, unreleased songs.

Fast forward to 1987, Steve Hoffman compiled a new rarities album and this time called it, "Two's Missing". This album was comprised of:

Bald Headed Woman, Under My Thumb, My Wife (Live-1971), I'm A Man (stereo version), Dogs, Dogs Part Two, Circles, The Last Time, Water, Daddy Rolling Stone (stereo version), Heatwave (Shel Talmy produced version), Going Down (Live-1971), Motoring, Waspman

Following the same pattern as "Who's Missing":

Shel Talmy produced b side (Bald Headed Woman), Shel Talmy produced (and then unreleased) true stereo tracks (I'm A Man, , Daddy Rolling Stone, Heatwave, Motoring), 60's and 70's rarities
Rarities" Vol 1 & Vol 2 Collections> (Under My Thumb, Dogs, Dogs Part Two, Circles, The Last Time, Water, Waspman) and additional tracks from the aborted Live San Francisco album (My Wife, Going Down).

Steve Hoffman had left MCA before the "Two's Missing" CD was mastered and this accounts for why the MCA CD versions of it do not sound nearly as good as the LP versions...

Polydor (UK) never released "Who's Missing" or "Two's Missing" on CD.

Fast forward to 2011...

Apparently these two albums were issued catalog #s in Japan many, many years ago, but were never released. In 2011, they were finally released in Japan as a 2CD set (2, mini-LPs, packaged together).

With this set, some changes to the original track listing were made, as well as the addition of bonus tracks.

The changes include, "I'm A Boy". The original version used was the mono, Pete
vocal single. This version uses a stereo mix with Roger on the lead intro (same/similar to the Meaty Beaty Big And Bouncy version). Also, the live tracks from San Francisco are all unedited and/or include more pre-song dialog. (These may be the same as what was released on View From A Backstage Pass.)

The bonus tracks, not previously released on either of these CDs are:

Doctor, Doctor, Someone's Coming, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (UK single version), Fortune Teller, Postcard (Cancelled EP version), Baby Don't You Do It (Extended version - Live in San Francisco 1971), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (US single version), Call Me Lightning, Melancholia, Eyesight To The Blind (Alternative vocal version), I Don't Even Know Myself (Cancelled EP version)

Some of these songs have been previously released elsewhere. I'm not quite sure why "Melancholia" was included, since it was released on the 1995 "The Who Sell Out" CD.

One thing I always found odd about these two albums was that the sound quality of "Leaving Here" and "Lubie" was always deeper and richer than the other true stereo Shel Talmy tracks from that period - as if they were remixed/remastered by someone else than who did the others. Unfortunately on this CD, the only thing that is "off" is that "Leaving Here" has some distortion in it, which doesn't seem to be present in any other version of "Who's Missing".

The music is really exceptional. There are still some tracks in the vaults which have yet to be released. Hopefully sometime in the future, the remaining rarities will be released for all Who fans to enjoy... 

Track Listing(s):

Join Together Rarities: Join Together, I Don't Even Know Myself, Heaven And Hell, When I Was A Boy, Let's See Action, Relay, Waspman, Here For More, Water, Baby Don't You Do It

Rarities Volume 1: Circles, Disguises, Batman, Bucket T, Barbara Ann, In The City, I've Been Away, Doctor, Doctor, The Last Time, Under My Thumb, Someone's Coming, Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand, Dogs, Call Me Lightning, Doctor Jekyll & Mr. Hyde

Rarities Volume 2: Join Together, I Don't Even Know Myself, Heaven And Hell, When I Was A Boy, Let's See Action, Relay, Waspman, Here For More, Water, Baby Don't You Do It (Live-1971) (R)

Rarities Volume 1&2: Circles, Disguises, Batman, Bucket T, Barbara Ann, In The City, I've Been Away, Doctor, Doctor, The Last Time, Under My Thumb, Someone's Coming, Mary Anne With The Shaky Hand, Dogs, Call Me Lightning, Doctor Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Join Together, I Don't Even Know Myself, Heaven And Hell, When I Was A Boy, Let's See Action, Relay, Waspman, Here For More, Water, Baby Don't You Do It (Live-1971) (R)

Who's Missing: Shout And Shimmy, Leaving Here, Anytime You Want Me, Lubie (Come Back Home), Barbara Ann, I'm A Boy, Mary Anne With The Shaky Hands, Heaven And Hell, Here For More, I Don't Even Know Myself, When I Was A Boy, Bargain (Live-1971)

Two's Missing: Bald Headed Woman, Under My Thumb, My Wife (Live-1971), I'm A Man (stereo version), Dogs, Dogs Part Two, Circles, The Last Time, Water, Daddy Rolling Stone (stereo version), Heatwave (Shel Talmy produced version), Going Down (Live-1971), Motoring, Waspman

Who's Missing/Two's Missing (2011 Japan 2 CD Set): Shout And Shimmy, Leaving Here, Anytime You Want Me, Lubie (Come Back Home), Barbara Ann, I'm A Boy, Mary-Anne With The Shaky Hands, Heaven And Hell, Here For More, I Don't Even Know Myself, When I Was a Boy, Bargain (Live in San Francisco 1971), Doctor, Doctor, Someone's Coming, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (UK single version), Fortune Teller, Postcard (Cancelled EP version), Baby Don't You Do It (Extended version - Live in San Francisco 1971), Bald-Headed Woman, Under My Thumb, My Wife (Live in San Francisco 1971), I'm A Man, Dogs, Dogs Part 2, Circles, The Last Time, Water, Daddy Rolling Stone, Heat Wave, Goin' Down (Live in San Francisco 1971), Motoring, Waspman, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (US single version), Call Me Lightning, Melancholia, Eyesight To The Blind (Alternative vocal version), I Don't Even Know Myself (Cancelled EP version)

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