Disc three is rooted in some of the strongest music of their career. “Baba O’Riley,” “Bargain,” “Behind Blue Eyes,” and “Won”t Get Fooled Again,” show The Who evolving as keyboards are more prominent in their sound and the production has a slickness to it. The power of the music would remain as The Who would solidify themselves as one of rock’s premier groups.
Disc four covers the years that are considered the group’s weakest. However, when you assemble their best material from this era it holds up pretty well. “Long Live Rock” and “Squeeze Box” would be welcome additions to any album. Songs such as “Who Are You,” “Sister Disco,” “You Better You Bet,” and “Eminence Front” sound better and fresh when removed from their original albums. Two live tracks, “Twist and Shout" and “I’m A Man” were previously unreleased at the time and present The Who as an effective and dynamic cover band.
Thirty Years Of Maximum R&B is a wonderful journey through three decades of some of the best music that was ever produced by a rock ‘n’ roll band. So sit back and turn the sound up real loud.
Article comments
1 - Wayne
The live Dreaming from the waist and Saturday nite's alright are the highwater marks from this collectionIf they could have included the remade songs from the Quadraphenia soundtrack, this could have been a great box set.
2 - Doug
Disc 3 also has the only American release of the studio version of Join Together, which makes it worth the cost for that track alone. It was on the long since out of print Wholigans, and has since come out on a Japanese best of, but 30 Yrs. is the easiest place to get a hold of it.
3 - Paul
I have to agree that this is a great box set, but not for the uninitiated. However, many of the rare tracks included in this box set have since been released elsewhere (mostly as bonus tracks on reissued albums). "Join Together" is readily available on The Ultimate Collection, which is essential for any fan of the Who or rock music in general.