Direct Hits (The Who album)
| Direct Hits | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Compilation album by The Who | ||||
| Released | October 1968 | |||
| Recorded | 1966-1968 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 32:49 | |||
| Label | Track | |||
| The Who chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [1] |
| Rolling Stone | (favorable) [2] |
Direct Hits is the first UK compilation album released by The Who. It collects singles, B-sides, and album tracks originally recorded for Reaction Records and Track Records between 1966 and 1968.[3] Original UK issues of this album were released in both stereo and mono versions. The album was not a strong seller and was deleted in the early 1970s. This was the fourth UK LP released by The Who.
Earlier Who recordings from 1965, such as "My Generation", were released in the UK by Brunswick Records and were not available for this release due to licensing issues. This limitation makes the collection rather unrepresentative of The Who's work up to 1968.
Direct Hits shares a few songs with the earlier U.S. compilation album Magic Bus: The Who on Tour, but is otherwise unrelated to that release. Strangely, it does not include the song Magic Bus, which had reached #26 on the U.K. singles chart during the summer of 1968. Until the early 1980s this was the only album to include a few Who rarities such as "In the City", "Dogs", and The Rolling Stones' song "The Last Time."
The album is of interest mostly to collectors. It was re-issued on vinyl in stereo during the 1980s in Japan. In 2006 the mono version of this album was made available in the U.S. as a limited edition vinyl re-issue by Classic Records. This release was pressed in regular weight (150 gram) and heavy weight (200 gram) versions. The first CD version was released as a limited edition in Japan in 2007. This version is one of only two places where one can find the original mono single version of "I Can See For Miles" on a legitimate CD.
Track listing
All songs written by Pete Townshend except where noted.
Side One
- "Bucket T" (Altfield, Christian, Torrence) – 2:08
- "I'm a Boy" – 2:36
- "Pictures of Lily" – 2:43
- "Doctor! Doctor!" (Entwistle) – 2:53
- "I Can See for Miles" – 3:55
- "Substitute" – 3:47
Side Two
- "Happy Jack" – 2:11
- "The Last Time" (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards) – 2:50
- "In the City" (Entwistle, Moon) - 2:19
- "Call Me Lightning" – 2:19
- "Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand" – 2:05
- "Dogs" – 3:03
References
- ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/album/mw0000576797
- ↑ Ward, Edmund O. (18 October 1969). "Records". Rolling Stone. San Francisco: Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc. (44): 45. Retrieved 26 April 2016.
- ↑ "The Who Official Band Website - Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle, and Keith Moon | | Direct Hits". Thewho.com. 1968-10-01. Retrieved 2012-02-13.