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. 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. The album debuted on the Billboard 200 album chart on 29 June 2002, at No. 31 and hit No. 17 on the British charts. It was certified gold by the RIAA on 15 July 2002 and platinum on 13 March 2008.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
BBC	Positive
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
PopMatters	Mixed

Track listing

All songs written by Pete Townshend except where noted.

British edition

Disc one

No.	Title	Place of Origin	Length
1.	"I Can't Explain"	Non-album single, 1964	2:04
2.	"Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere" (Townshend, Roger Daltrey)	Non-album single, 1965	2:40
3.	"My Generation"	My Generation, 1965	3:17
4.	"The Kids Are Alright" (Single version)	My Generation	2:45
5.	"A Legal Matter"	My Generation	2:47
6.	"Substitute"	Non-album single, 1966	3:47
7.	"I'm a Boy"	Non-album single	2:36
8.	"Boris the Spider" (John Entwistle)	A Quick One, 1966	2:27
9.	"Happy Jack"	Non-album single (UK) Happy Jack (U.S.), 1966	2:10
10.	"Pictures of Lily"	Non-album single, 1967	2:44
11.	"I Can See for Miles" (Single version)	The Who Sell Out, 1967	4:06
12.	"Call Me Lightning"	Non-album single (U.S.) Non-album B-side to "Dogs" (UK), 1968	2:19
13.	"Magic Bus"	Non-album single (UK) Magic Bus: The Who on Tour (U.S.), 1968	3:20
14.	"Pinball Wizard"	Tommy, 1969	3:01
15.	"I'm Free"	Tommy	2:39
16.	"See Me, Feel Me"	Tommy (taken from "We're Not Gonna Take It!")	3:23
17.	"The Seeker"	Non-album single, 1970	3:11
18.	"Summertime Blues" (Live; Eddie Cochran, Jerry Capehart)	Live at Leeds, 1970	3:22
19.	"My Wife" (Entwistle)	Who's Next, 1971	3:34
20.	"Baba O'Riley"	Who's Next	4.59
21.	"Bargain"	Who's Next	5:33
22.	"Behind Blue Eyes"	Who's Next	3:41
23.	"Won't Get Fooled Again"	Who's Next	8:31

Disc two

No.	Title	Place of Origin	Length
1.	"Let's See Action (Nothing Is Everything)"	Non-album single, 1971	3:57
2.	"Pure And Easy"	Odds & Sods, 1974; recorded in 1971 for Lifehouse/Who's Next	5:21
3.	"Join Together"	Non-album single, 1972	4:21
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	3:30
6.	"5:15" (Single version)	Quadrophenia	4:53
7.	"Love, Reign o'er Me"	Quadrophenia	5:50
8.	"Squeeze Box"	The Who by Numbers, 1975	2:40
9.	"Who Are You"	Who Are You, 1978	6:21
10.	"Had Enough" (Entwistle)	Who Are You	4:28
11.	"Sister Disco"	Who Are You	4:20
12.	"You Better You Bet"	Face Dances, 1981	5:36
13.	"Don't Let Go the Coat"	Face Dances	3:42
14.	"The Quiet One" (Entwistle)	Face Dances	3:07
15.	"Another Tricky Day"	Face Dances	4:53
16.	"Athena"	It's Hard, 1982	3:46
17.	"Eminence Front"	It's Hard	5:39

American edition

Disc one

No.	Title	Place of Origin
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
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	17
US Billboard 200	31

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)	Platinum	300,000
United States (RIAA)	Platinum	1,000,000
Sales figures based on certification alone. Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

^ "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.
^ Choi, Tom. "The Who: The Ultimate Collection < PopMatters". Popmatters.com. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
^ The Who chart history, Billboard
^ "The Who at". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
^ "RIAA". RIAA. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Who – The Ultimate Collection (American Edition)". AllMusic.
The Who – The Ultimate Collection (Album Review) at BBC Music
Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
"British album certifications – Who – The Ultimate Collection". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
"American album certifications – The Who – The Ultimate Collection". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 14 April 2013.

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
Soundtrack albums	Tommy The Kids Are Alright Quadrophenia Amazing Journey: The Story of The Who
Compilation albums	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 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection 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
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
Musicians	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 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
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