THE WHO: Odds and Sods (MCA)

Now here's a disc that's been on my want list for a long time. Sonically speaking, the original CD was less than spectacular. Like most of the other recent Who reissues, Odds and Sods now sounds better than ever. There are several differences between the original album and the new CD version. Personally, I think it's great; although there are a few minor flaws here and there. The original album had the lyrics to all the songs, the CD doesn't. The original album had liner notes for all the songs, written by Pete Townshend. The new CD does also (in some cases, more than what was in the original album), but some of them are incorrect. There are a few other things, but I won't nit-pick here.

The thing that really matters is the music. There are 12 bonus tracks that weren't on the original album--including rare studio versions of "Summertime Blues," "Baby, Don't You Do It," and "Young Man Blues." Other bonus tracks include "Time is Passing" (a song Townshend once said The Who never recorded), an alternate version of "Love Ain't For Keeping" with Townshend on vocals, plus other assorted demos and outtakes. Odds and Sods has been a favorite among Who fans since its original release. Now with more than twice the music, MCA took a great album and made it even better!