Today, The Who announced the upcoming release of WHO: Deluxe Edition, featuring their latest album, a new Pete Townshend remix of "Beads On One String" (under the moniker Yaggerdang), and a clutch of live recordings from earlier this year called Live At Kingston. The collection will be available as a 2-CD set or in a special limited edition 6x7"/1-CD set bringing together the CD of concert material and 6 singles with songs from the album. The 2-CD set arrives October 30 while the vinyl/CD set is due for release on December 4.

As their first album of new material, WHO reminded fans of the lasting power of one of rock's greatest groups. Pete Townshend's latest compositions like "Hero Ground Zero," "Detour," "All This Music Must Fade," and "Beads On One String" sound both current and timeless. Townshend's blend of symphonic rock, blues, and power-pop were matched by Roger Daltrey's strong, expressive vocals. With a killer cast of musicians backing Townshend and Daltrey up, WHO has proved vivacious and worth revisiting.

To promote the album, The Who staged four intimate acoustic shows at PRYZM in Kingston upon Thames. Billed as their smallest-capacity shows in four decades, these shows are the most recent live recordings from The Who.

Seven songs from those February 2020 shows make their physical debut here. Among them, the live staples "The Kids Are Alright" "Substitute," the fan-favorite "Tattoo" (played on stage for the first time since 2008) and pair of songs from WHO. In the vulnerable setting of this intimate gig, The Who present slightly stripped-down arrangements of the jaunty, Simon Townshend-penned "Break The News" and the jazzy "She Rocked My World." All this before a show-stopping "Won't Get Fooled Again."

As for the new remix of "Beads On One String" - released today as a digital single - here's what Pete Townshend had to say:

"('Beads On One String') is a co-write with Josh Hunsacker who I met on Soundcloud. He wrote the music, I wrote the lyric and vocal melody. In 1932 on a visit to London, the spiritual master Meher Baba said that he had come to draw all the religions of the world together like beads on one string. We wait in hope, with love.

"The 'Beads On One String' remix was an adventure to try to recapture some of the subtleties of my first solo demo. I love the studio version, but this remix by Myles Clarke and myself returns to the original synthesizer demo shared with me by my co-writer Josh Hunsacker. I also play bass rather than the genius Pino Palladino (I've got some nerve) and we removed the real drums and returned to computer drum tracks programmed by my co-producer Myles Clarke. We also restored Roger's vocal track to its first incarnation which is more heartfelt. This is a gentler version of this song, less demanding perhaps, less bullying about our need to cut each other space, each on our own path. Why does it need to be more gentle than the album version? Because it must stand alone in a period when each of us is tempted to blame someone else for our troubles, maybe even God whoever we take her/him/both to be. I'm hoping it sounds less rock, and more modern indie-pop to new listeners."

This new deluxe edition of WHO finds the band revitalized in the studio and onstage. Whether you missed out on The Who's triumphant return the first time around or you want to complete your collection, the deluxe edition of WHO will be one to look out for. (Note that the previously issued bonus tracks "This Gun Will Misfire," "Got Nothing to Prove," "Danny and My Ponies," and "Sand (Demo)" - the latter a Japan exclusive - are all absent from this reissue.) Pre-order your copy with the links below and check out Pete "Yaggerdang" Townshend's remix of "Beads On One String," released today across platforms.

The Who, WHO + Live At Kingston [Deluxe Edition] (Polydor/Interscope)

2-CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Your Local Record Shop / The Who Online Shop
6x7" + CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada / Your Local Record Shop / The Who Online Shop

2-CD Track Listing:

CD 1: WHO

1. All This Music Must Fade
2. Ball and Chain
3. I Don't Wanna Get Wise
4. Detour
5. Beads On One String
6. Hero Ground Zero
7. Street Song
8. I'll Be Back
9. Break The News
10. Rockin' in Rage
11. She Rocked My World
12. Beads on One String *

Tracks 1-11 originally released as Polydor/Interscope CD B0031280-02, 2019.

CD 2: Live in Kingston (previously unreleased)

1. Introduction
2. Substitute
3. Squeeze Box
4. Tattoo
5. The Kids Are Alright
6. Break The News
7. She Rocked My World
8. Won't Get Fooled Again

6x7" + CD Track Listing:

7" single 1:

1. All This Music Must Fade
2. Ball and Chain

7" single 2:

1. I Don't Wanna Get Wise
2. Detour

7" single 3:

1. Beads On One String
2. Hero Ground Zero

7" single 4:

1. Street Song
2. I'll Be Back

7" single 5:

1. Break The News
2. Rockin' in Rage

7" single 6:

1. She Rocked My World
2. Beads on One String *

CD: Live in Kingston (previously unreleased)

1. Introduction
2. Substitute
3. Squeeze Box
4. Tattoo
5. The Kids Are Alright
6. Break The News
7. She Rocked My World
8. Won't Get Fooled Again