Who's Last

Who's Last is the second live album by British rock band The Who, recorded in 1982 during what was then billed as the band's "farewell tour".^[1] Thus, this album, released in 1984, was to be the band's last album.

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Background

Most of Who's Last album was taken from the band's 14 December 1982 show at Richfield Coliseum outside of Cleveland, Ohio, which was their "last concert in the USA" (as Pete Townshend can be heard saying after "Won't Get Fooled Again") this time around. Four songs come from different sources (verified by meticulous comparison with soundboard and audience recordings and videos from that tour). "Behind Blue Eyes" is from the 10 October show at Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford; "Magic Bus" and "Summertime Blues" are from the 20 October show at the Kingdome in Seattle; and "Substitute" is from the 27 October show at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego.

Notable by their absence from this recording, released by MCA two years after the tour, are songs from the band's two then recent Warner Bros. Records albums, Face Dances and It's Hard, although they played "The Quiet One" (from Face Dances) and several songs from It's Hard every night on the tour.

Five songs from this tour were released as bonus tracks to the 1997 editions of Face Dances ("The Quiet One" from the Shea Stadium on 13 October 1982), and It's Hard ("It's Hard," "Eminence Front," "Dangerous" and "Cry If You Want" from Toronto on 17 December 1982, the first three of which were later included on the 2007 release Live from Toronto. While that album is from the same tour, it does not contain any of the performances on Who's Last.^[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[3]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	^[4]
MusicHound	1.5/5^[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	^[6]

Reviewing for AllMusic, critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote of the album "it's a damn long way from Live at Leeds to Who's Last, and the distance between the two extremes is nothing short of stunning. Who's Last is so lifeless and lackluster that it's hard to believe the same band released both records. It may not be a graceful way to end the Who's career, but it's hard to imagine a better testament to why it was time for the band to come to an end." Rolling Stone called the album a "pointless...contractually obligated release from a tired, directionless band on its half-hearted farewell tour."^[6]

Track listing

All songs written by Pete Townshend, except where noted.

Side one
No.	Title	Recording date	Length
1.	"My Generation"	14 December 1982, Richfield Coliseum, Richfield Township, Ohio	3:23
2.	"I Can't Explain"	14 December 1982, Richfield Coliseum, Richfield Township, Ohio	2:35
3.	"Substitute"	27 October 1982, Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego, California	2:57
4.	"Behind Blue Eyes"	10 October 1982, Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey	3:40
5.	"Baba O'Riley"	14 December 1982, Richfield Coliseum, Richfield Township, Ohio	5:37

Side two
No.	Title	Recording date	Length
1.	"Boris the Spider" (John Entwistle)	14 December 1982, Richfield Coliseum, Richfield Township, Ohio	2:41
2.	"Who Are You"	14 December 1982, Richfield Coliseum, Richfield Township, Ohio	6:35
3.	"Pinball Wizard"	14 December 1982, Richfield Coliseum, Richfield Township, Ohio	2:52
4.	"See Me Feel Me/Listening to You"	14 December 1982, Richfield Coliseum, Richfield Township, Ohio	4:41

Side three
No.	Title	Recording date	Length
1.	"Love Reign O'er Me"	14 December 1982, Richfield Coliseum, Richfield Township, Ohio	5:13
2.	"Long Live Rock"	14 December 1982, Richfield Coliseum, Richfield Township, Ohio	3:34
3.	"Reprise"	14 December 1982, Richfield Coliseum, Richfield Township, Ohio	1:38
4.	"Won't Get Fooled Again"	14 December 1982, Richfield Coliseum, Richfield Township, Ohio	11:21

Side four
No.	Title	Recording date	Length
1.	"Doctor Jimmy"	14 December 1982, Richfield Coliseum, Richfield Township, Ohio	4:56
2.	"Magic Bus"	20 October 1982, Kingdome, Seattle, Washington	6:54
3.	"Summertime Blues" (Eddie Cochran, Jerry Capehart)	20 October 1982, Kingdome, Seattle, Washington	3:07
4.	"Twist and Shout" (Phil Medley, Bert Russell)	14 December 1982, Richfield Coliseum, Richfield Township, Ohio	3:59

Personnel

The Who

Roger Daltrey – vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica
Pete Townshend – lead guitar, vocals
John Entwistle – bass guitar, vocals
Kenney Jones – drums

Additional musicians

Tim Gorman – piano, keyboards, synthesizer, backing vocals

Production

Dave "Cyrano" Langston – production, engineer, mixing
Bill Smith – cover design
Gavin Cochrane – photography
Neal Preston – photography

Charts

Chart (1984)	Peak position
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)^[7]	56
UK Albums (OCC)^[8]	48
US Billboard 200^[9]	81

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)^[10]	Gold	100,000^‡
^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

^ "Who's Last". The Who Official Band Website. 1 December 1984. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
^ "Who's Last". The Who Official Band Website. 1 December 1984. Retrieved 11 December 2012.
^ AllMusic review
^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
^ Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel, eds. (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 1227. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
^ ^a ^b "The Who: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 6 February 2011. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
^ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 9608". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
^ "The Who | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
^ "The Who Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
^ "British album certifications – The Who – Who's Last". British Phonographic Industry.

v t e The Who
Roger Daltrey Pete Townshend John Entwistle Keith Moon Doug Sandom Kenney Jones
Studio albums	My Generation / The Who Sings My Generation A Quick One / Happy Jack The Who Sell Out Tommy Who's Next Quadrophenia The Who by Numbers Who Are You Face Dances It's Hard Endless Wire Who
Live albums	Live at Leeds Who's Last Join Together Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 BBC Sessions Blues to the Bush Live at the Royal Albert Hall Live from Toronto View from a Backstage Pass Greatest Hits Live Live at Hull 1970 Quadrophenia Live in London Live at the Fillmore East 1968
Compilations	Magic Bus: The Who on Tour Direct Hits Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy Odds & Sods The Story of The Who Phases Hooligans Who's Greatest Hits Rarities Volume I & Volume II The Singles The Who Collection Who's Missing Two's Missing Who's Better, Who's Best Thirty Years of Maximum R&B My Generation: The Very Best of The Who Encore Series The Ultimate Collection Then and Now The 1st Singles Box Greatest Hits The Who Hits 50!
Extended plays	Ready Steady Who Won't Get Fooled Again Wire & Glass
Soundtracks	Tommy The Kids Are Alright Quadrophenia Amazing Journey: The Story of The Who
Filmography	Tommy The Kids Are Alright Quadrophenia Who's Better, Who's Best Thirty Years of Maximum R&B Live Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 The Who & Special Guests: Live at the Royal Albert Hall The Who Special Edition EP Live in Boston Tommy and Quadrophenia Live The Vegas Job Amazing Journey: The Story of The Who The Who at Kilburn: 1977 Quadrophenia Live in London Lambert & Stamp
Discographies	The Who Roger Daltrey Pete Townshend John Entwistle Keith Moon
Tours and performances	1962–1963 performances Tommy Tour The Who by Numbers Tour 1979 tour (1979 Cincinnati human crush) 1980 tour 2000 tour 2001 The Concert for New York City appearance 2003 The 46664 Concert appearance 2006–2007 tour Quadrophenia and More The Who Hits 50! Back to the Who Tour 51! 2017 Tommy & More Moving On! Tour
Members	Mitch Mitchell Julian Covey Chris Townson Scot Halpin John "Rabbit" Bundrick Tim Gorman Steve "Boltz" Bolton Simon Phillips Jon Carin Steve White Brian Kehew J. J. Blair Danny Thompson Simon Townshend Jon Button Loren Gold Frank Simes J. Greg Miller Pino Palladino Reggie Grisham Morgan Nicholls Chris Stainton Scott Devours Zak Starkey
Associated places	Ashdown House, Oxfordshire Chapel House, Twickenham Holmshurst Manor Quarwood Ramport Studios Shepperton Studios Tara, Chertsey The Wick
Related	Songs Awards and nominations Band members Musical equipment The Boy Who Heard Music Lifehouse The Who's Tommy Rock Is Dead—Long Live Rock! The Who's Tommy Pinball Wizard Who Covers Who? "A Tale of Two Springfields" "In Concert" Double O The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus No Plan B Kim McLagan Richard Barnes Dougal Butler Chris Charlesworth Kit Lambert Chris Stamp Bill Curbishley Track Records Shel Talmy
Category

It's Hard

Songs

Side one	"Athena" "It's Your Turn" "Cooks County" "It's Hard" "Dangerous" "Eminence Front"
Side two	"I've Known No War" "One Life's Enough" "One at a Time" "Why Did I Fall for That" "A Man Is a Man" "Cry If You Want"

Other

This page was last edited on 14 January 2024, at 06:57

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