A prequel of sorts to UMC's box set of Pete Townshend live recordings is coming this spring: a simple collection of eight of his studio works.

The Studio Albums brings together new CD pressings of Who Came First (1972), the Ronnie Lane collaboration Rough Mix (1977), Empty Glass (1980), All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes (1982), White City (A Novel) (1985), Iron Man (1989) and versions of Pyschoderelict (1993) with and without dialogue. While a 2006 reissue campaign from Hip-O Records featured bonus tracks on all albums (and Who Came First was later expanded for a double-disc reissue in 2018), those tracks are not included in this box. However, all audio is newly remastered by Jon Astley, with newly redesigned packaging and art by longtime Townshend collaborator Richard Evans  (in what appears to be rigid LP-style sleeves), and a 28-page booklet featuring rare photos, memorabilia and liner notes by band archivist Matt Kent with a foreword by Townshend himself.

As the songwriter behind The Who, Townshend's solo output has been at times comparatively muted compared to his band. 1972's Who Came First found Townshend playing nearly every note himself, assembling demos intended for The Who's abandoned concept album Lifehouse (scrapped in favor of the more straightforward Who's Next in 1971) along with a few originals and songs Townshend contributed on two tribute albums to his guru, Meher Baba. (It's here that the only non-Townshend performances occur: Faces' Ronnie Lane played on and wrote "Evolution," while Billy Nichols co-wrote and played on "Forever's No Time At All" alongside multi-instrumentalist Caleb Quaye.) Townshend and Lane would collaborate again on 1977's folky Rough Mix, recorded during a hiatus for The Who. (Lane would be diagnosed with multiple sclerosis during the sessions, going public with his battle later that year.)

Beset by substance abuse issues and coping with the death of The Who's drummer Keith Moon two years earlier, Townshend poured himself into two groups of songs: one for The Who's Face Dances (1981), and another for the Chris Thomas-produced Empty Glass (1980). The latter was inarguably the bigger critical and commercial success, thank in large part to the effervescent devotional "Let My Love Open the Door," a U.S. Top 10 hit that year. Townshend and Thomas quickly reconvened for 1982's All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes, a dense affair that was largely panned by critics at the time. (Both albums featured rhythmic contributions by bassist Tony Butler and drummer Mark Brzezicki, who'd soon become famous as members of Scottish band Big Country.)

With The Who largely inactive for the rest of the '80s - Townshend announced his departure in 1983, but the band would reunite for a set at Live Aid in 1985 and an ill-fated late-'80s tour - Townshend eventually returned to his most stalwart form: the concept album. 1985's White City (A Novel) wove a loose story about a West London housing estate struggling through the '60s through nine original songs (including guest appearances by Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour on two tracks), while 1989's The Iron Man assembled an all-star vocal cast - including John Lee Hooker, Nina Simone, Australian singer Deborah Conway, Billy Nicholls, Townshend's younger brother Simon and Daltrey, billing two tracks to The Who - for a musical adaptation of the novel by British poet laureate Ted Hughes. (Animation fans might recall the cult-favorite, non-musical film version released under the book's original title The Iron Giant, for which Townshend received an executive producer credit.) The final album covered in the set - and to date, Townshend's final solo work - is Psychoderelict, a 1993 rock opera that sort of sends up Townshend's career in and out of The Who, even drawing from some early synth demos that later became "Baba O'Riley" and "Who Are You." The dialogue-heavy interludes were believed to have confounded listeners, and within a year a shorter amended version of the album was released - both of which are included in this box.

The Studio Albums is available March 28 and can be pre-ordered below. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

The Studio Albums (UMC 5583476, 2025) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Disc 1: Who Came First (Track Record 2408 201 (U.K.) / DL 7-9189 (U.S.), 1972)

Disc 2: Pete Townshend & Ronnie Lane, Rough Mix (Polydor 2442 147 (U.K.) / MCA 2295 (U.S.), 1977)

Disc 3: Empty Glass (ATCO K 50699 (U.K.) SD 32-100 (U.S.), 1980)

Disc 4: All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes (ATCO K 50889 (U.K.) / SD 38-149 (U.S.), 1982)

Disc 5: White City (A Novel) (ATCO 252 392-1 (U.K.) / 90473 (U.S.), 1985)

Disc 6: The Iron Man (The Musical) (Virgin V 2592 (U.K.) / Atlantic 81996 (U.S.), 1989)

Disc 7: Psychoderelict (Atlantic 82494, 1993)

Disc 8: Psychoderelict (Music Only) (Atlantic 82535, 1993)