The Ultimate Collection (The Who album)

The Ultimate Collection is a 2002 two-disc greatest hits set by the Who with both singles and top hits from albums, all of which have been remastered.[1] The compilation was released by Polydor Records internationally and on MCA Records in the U.S. The first 150,000 copies added a third disk with rare tracks and music videos.[2][1] The album debuted on the Billboard 200 album chart on 29 June 2002, at No. 31[3] and hit No. 17 on the British charts.[4] It was certified gold by the RIAA on 15 July 2002[5] and platinum on 13 March 2008.[5]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[6]
BBC	Positive [7]
Popmatters	Mixed[2]

The Ultimate Collection
British edition cover
Greatest hits album by the Who
Released	11 June 2002
Genre	Rock
Length	155:53
Label	Polydor, MCA, Geffen
Producer	Bill Levenson, Andy McKaie
The Who chronology
Blues to the Bush (2000) The Ultimate Collection (2002) Live at the Royal Albert Hall (2003)
American edition cover

Track listing

All songs written by Pete Townshend except where noted.

Disc one

No.	Title	Place of Origin	Length
1.	"I Can't Explain"	Non-album single, 1964	2:05
2.	"Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" (Townshend, Roger Daltrey)	Non-album single, 1965	2:41
3.	"My Generation"	My Generation, 1965	3:19
4.	"The Kids Are Alright" (Single version)	My Generation	2:46
5.	"A Legal Matter"	My Generation	2:54
6.	"Substitute"	Non-album single, 1966	3:47
7.	"I'm a Boy"	Non-album single	2:38
8.	"Boris the Spider" (John Entwistle)	A Quick One, 1966	2:28
9.	"Happy Jack"	Non-album single (UK) Happy Jack (U.S.), 1966	2:11
10.	"Pictures of Lily"	Non-album single, 1967	2:45
11.	"I Can See for Miles" (Single version)	The Who Sell Out, 1967	4:07
12.	"Call Me Lightning"	Non-album single (U.S.) Non-album B-side to "Dogs" (UK), 1967	2:20
13.	"Magic Bus"	Non-album single (UK) Magic Bus: The Who on Tour (U.S.), 1968	3:22
14.	"Pinball Wizard"	Tommy, 1969	3:01
15.	"I'm Free"	Tommy	2:40
16.	"See Me, Feel Me"	Tommy (taken from "We're Not Gonna Take It!")	3:22
17.	"The Seeker"	Non-album single, 1970	3:12
18.	"Summertime Blues" (Live; Eddie Cochran, Jerry Capehart)	Live at Leeds, 1970	3:25
19.	"My Wife" (Entwistle)	Who's Next, 1971	3:41
20.	"Baba O'Riley"	Who's Next	5:01
21.	"Bargain"	Who's Next	5:35
22.	"Behind Blue Eyes"	Who's Next	3:42
23.	"Won't Get Fooled Again"	Who's Next	8:33

Disc two

No.	Title	Place of Origin	Length
1.	"Let's See Action (Nothing Is Everything)"	Non-album single, 1971	3:59
2.	"Pure and Easy"	Odds & Sods, 1974; recorded in 1971 for Lifehouse/Who's Next	5:22
3.	"Join Together"	Non-album single, 1972	4:22
4.	"Long Live Rock"	Odds & Sods, 1974; recorded in 1972 for Rock Is Dead—Long Live Rock!, the precursor to Quadrophenia, 1973	3:54
5.	"The Real Me"	Quadrophenia	3:34
6.	"5:15" (Single version)	Quadrophenia	4:50
7.	"Love, Reign o'er Me"	Quadrophenia	5:51
8.	"Squeeze Box"	The Who by Numbers, 1975	2:42
9.	"Who Are You"	Who Are You, 1978	6:21
10.	"Had Enough" (Entwistle)	Who Are You	4:30
11.	"Sister Disco"	Who Are You	4:21
12.	"You Better You Bet"	Face Dances, 1981	5:37
13.	"Don't Let Go the Coat"	Face Dances	3:44
14.	"The Quiet One" (Entwistle)	Face Dances	3:10
15.	"Another Tricky Day"	Face Dances	4:51
16.	"Athena"	It's Hard, 1982	3:47
17.	"Eminence Front"	It's Hard	5:37

Disc one

No.	Title	Place of Origin	Length
1.	"I Can't Explain"	Non-album single
2.	"Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" (Townshend, Daltrey)	Non-album single
3.	"My Generation"	My Generation
4.	"The Kids Are Alright" (Single version)	My Generation
5.	"A Legal Matter"	My Generation
6.	"Substitute"	Non-album single
7.	"I'm a Boy"	Non-album single
8.	"Boris the Spider" (Entwistle)	A Quick One
9.	"Happy Jack"	Non-album single (UK) Happy Jack (U.S.)
10.	"Pictures of Lily"	Non-album single
11.	"I Can See for Miles" (Single version)	The Who Sell Out
12.	"Call Me Lightning"	Non-album single (U.S.) Non-album B-side to "Dogs" (UK)
13.	"Magic Bus"	Non-album single (UK) Magic Bus: The Who on Tour (U.S.)
14.	"Pinball Wizard"	Tommy
15.	"I'm Free"	Tommy
16.	"See Me, Feel Me"	Tommy
17.	"The Seeker"	Non-album single
18.	"Summertime Blues (Live)" (Cochran, Capehart)	Live at Leeds
19.	"My Wife" (Entwistle)	Who's Next
20.	"Baba O'Riley"	Who's Next
21.	"Bargain"	Who's Next

Disc two

No.	Title	Place of Origin	Length
1.	"Behind Blue Eyes"	Who's Next
2.	"Won't Get Fooled Again"	Who's Next
3.	"Let's See Action (Nothing Is Everything)"	Non-album single
4.	"Pure and Easy"	Odds and Sods
5.	"Join Together"	Non-album single
6.	"Long Live Rock"	Odds and Sods
7.	"The Real Me"	Quadrophenia
8.	"5:15" (Single version)	Quadrophenia
9.	"Love, Reign o'er Me"	Quadrophenia
10.	"Squeeze Box"	The Who by Numbers
11.	"Who Are You"	Who Are You
12.	"Sister Disco"	Who Are You
13.	"You Better You Bet"	Face Dances
14.	"Eminence Front"	It's Hard

Disc three (Limited edition only)

No.	Title	Place of Origin	Length
1.	"Substitute" (U.S. single version)	Non-album single (U.S.), 1966	2:58
2.	"I'm a Boy" (Early version)	Previously unissued, 2002	3:17
3.	"Happy Jack" (Acoustic version)	Previously unissued	2:50
4.	"Magic Bus" (UK single version)	Non-album single, 1968	3:15

Personnel

The Who

• Roger Daltrey – lead vocals
• John Entwistle – bass guitar, horn, lead vocals on "Boris the Spider", "My Wife" and "The Quiet One", backing vocals
• Pete Townshend – guitar, vocals, synthesizer, keyboards
• Keith Moon – drums, percussion (UK: disc 1 & disc 2 tracks 1-11/US: disc 1 & disc 2 tracks 1-12), backing vocals on "Pictures of Lily"
• Kenney Jones – drums (UK: disc 2 tracks 12-17/US: disc 2 tracks 13 & 14)

Additional musicians

• The Ivy League - backing vocals on "I Can't Explain"
• Jimmy Page - rhythm guitar on "I Can't Explain"
• Nicky Hopkins - piano on "Let's See Action" and "Long Live Rock"
• Dave Arbus – violin on "Baba O'Riley"
• Rod Argent – piano on "Who Are You"
• Andy Fairweather Low – backing vocals on "Who Are You"
• Chris Stainton – piano on "5:15"

Production

• Jon Astley – mastering
• Glyn Johns – associate production on "Behind Blue Eyes," "Won't Get Fooled Again" and "Baba O'Riley", production on "Squeeze Box", "Who Are You", "Athena" and "Eminence Front"
• Matt Kent – liner notes
• Kit Lambert – production on "I'm a Boy", "Happy Jack", "I Can See for Miles", "Magic Bus", and "See Me Feel Me"
• Shel Talmy – production on "I Can't Explain", "My Generation", and "The Kids Are Alright"
• Bill Szymczyk – production on "You Better You Bet", "Don't Let Go The Coat", "The Quiet One" and "Another Tricky Day"
• The Who – production on "Summertime Blues", "Behind Blue Eyes", "Won't Get Fooled Again", "5:15", and "Love Reign o'er Me"
• Design & Art Direction by Richard Evans

Chart performance

Chart (2002)	Peak position
UK Albums Chart[4]	17
US Billboard 200[3]	31

Sales certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[8]	Platinum	70,000^^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[9]	Platinum	15,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[10]	Platinum	300,000^^
United States (RIAA)[11]	Platinum	500,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Official Band Website - Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwistle, and Keith Moon | | The Who - The Ultimate Collection". The Who. 1 October 2002. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
2. Choi, Tom. "The Who: The Ultimate Collection < PopMatters". Popmatters.com. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
3. The Who chart history, Billboard
4. "The Who at". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
5. "RIAA". RIAA. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
6. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Who – The Ultimate Collection (American Edition)". AllMusic.
7. The Who - The Ultimate Collection (Album Review) at BBC Music
8. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2009 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
9. "Latest Gold / Platinum Albums". RadioScope. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011.
10. "British album certifications – The Who – The Ultimate Collection". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 14 April 2013. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type The Ultimate Collection in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
11. "American album certifications – The Who – The Ultimate Collection". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 14 April 2013. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.