“Who’s Next” Super Deluxe Edition –
The “Who’s Next” album, a masterpiece in its own right, deserved a Super Deluxe Edition that matched its legendary status. However, the reality of the product for me has fell short, prompting me to shift gears from a typical review to an advisory piece—a role I undertake with a heavy heart, given my aversion to negative reviews. But when the situation calls for it, especially when it concerns a product’s execution and design flaws that fans like you should be aware of, I feel compelled to speak up.
This set didn’t come as a promotional gift; it was a purchase made with my own hard-earned money, amounting to a substantial £230. At first glance, everything seemed fine, barring a few dimples on the black and white photograph—a minor issue I could overlook. But the deal-breaker was the book, the centerpiece of this package, which was riddled with production errors: missing pages, repeated sections, a disrupted narrative. This was not a minor oversight but a glaring mistake for a collectible of this price and significance.
Imagine my dismay when, flipping through the pages, I discovered that the narrative of Pete Townshend on page 15 was abruptly interrupted by a leap to page 60, only to be followed by a reversion to page 13. The confusion compounded as pages 73 to 88 were nowhere to be found, leaving a gaping hole in the story of the album. This wasn’t just a jumble of pages that could be navigated with some effort; this was a chunk of the story completely missing.
The irony of the situation was highlighted by a small insert correcting text on page 75—a page that didn’t even exist in my copy. This raised a red flag and a pressing concern: How many other fans, perhaps still with their sets in shrink-wrap, treasuring them for a special occasion, are unaware of this issue?
This isn’t a matter of a simple printing error on a budget release; this is a premium set, priced like a comprehensive anthology that should have housed an entire band’s career, not just a single album. The quality control—or the lack thereof—is baffling, and it begs for an explanation from the record company or the PR team behind this release.
So, this is my call to action for all of you who have purchased “Who’s Next.” Check your copies. It would be surprising if I were the only one with this issue. If you find the same errors, it’s imperative to seek a replacement. And if you’re considering this set as a gift or have it on your shelf for future enjoyment, take a moment to examine it closely. Don’t let the excitement of a new addition to your collection be marred by such preventable mistakes.
Phil Aston | Now Spinning Magazine
Hello Phil
The book in my copy of the Life House box set bought in September is fine
Regards
I had watched the Paul Sinclair unboxing prior to purchasing and all was well there , sorry to learn of your experience
Regards
I bought the whole range of “Who’s Next” releases from autumn 2023. My Super Deluxe Edition is still in shrink-wrap, because I fear to be disappointed after opening it and see what defects are there.
But I openend the 3-LP-Set with demos of Pete on LP 2 and 3. At first listening it seemed to be OK. But then I realized that on LP 1 (the original album) “Gettin’ in Tune” has two dropouts in the middle of the song, in other words, there are some seconds missing. On LP 2, there is no intervall/break between “Gettin’ in Tune” and “Going Mobile”, they forgot the empty groove. And the original fade out ending of “Gettin’ in Tune” lacks, it ends all of a sudden and “Going Monbile” begins.
I also bought the transparent “sea-blue” LP and got … a copy which is some kind of “dirty green”. It looks ugly!
Then I wrote to Universal Germany to complain about all these defects. They refunded me with 40 Euro.
In my opinion the problem is the Czech pressing plant which did very bad work. Universal should not place any further orders there.