The Who Next Lifehouse 2023

Who's Next is not an album lacking for reissues. In addition to a deluxe edition from 2003, there have also been multiple audiophile editions and remasters of the album since its 1971 release. So what could a "super deluxe edition" possibly contain? Quite a bit, as it turns out. As even casual Who fans know, the genesis of Who's Next was as Lifehouse, a multimedia rock opera even more ambitious than Tommy. Pete Townshend had developed a bizarre, dystopian story that somehow merged his devotion to Indian guru Meher Baba, his recent fascination with synthesizers, and the idea that the only thing that could save humanity from a test-tube-bound future was "real rock 'n' roll." Yeah, the aftereffects of the '60s were wild.

Featuring 155 tracks, of which 89 are previously unreleased and 57 feature fresh remixes, the set will delight longtime Who fans with its long-sought, complete picture of Townshend’s incredibly prescient songwriting, while captivating a new audience with his visionary description of a future that has, in many ways, come true. It features all of his songs, in their many stages of development, from the abandoned, audacious Life House project, started in 1970 as a follow-up to The Who’s epic Tommy, and from the undisputed rock classic of 1971 that it evolved into, Who’s Next.

The Who has released boxed sets commemorating many of the albums from the band’s storied discography, but never the coveted one that would celebrate the release that some fans consider the crown jewel of the catalog, “Who’s Next.” That changes Sept. 15 with “Who’s Next/Life House Super Deluxe Edition,” a 10-CD/1-Blu-Ray set that will include 155 tracks, 89 of them previously unreleased, plus spatial audio and surround mixes.

New material will soon be heard from the rock pioneers The Who.