Pitchfork

Just so you know where I'm coming from, I'm gonna let you in on something: there is no denying the majesty of the Who. Don't even try, Slick. While they were together, Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, John Entwhistle, and Keith Moon were the working class Zeppelin with just as much (if not more) fury. After they broke up, they were "Quicksilver Lightning", tinnitus, invisible solo artist, and dead, respectively. Gloriously, we still have MCA Records treating us nice with all these boffo Who reissues. Odds and Sods is the anamoly in this rock and roll universe: it's the b-sides and rarities album that's more fun than the greatest hits album. If that's not enough, this reissue has nine bonus tracks. That's right. Nine.

The tunes run through the usual hoops of a b-sides set: covers (Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues," Stones' "Under My Thumb"), early versions of future classics ("Love Ain't For Keeping," "Pure and Easy"), a song recorded for an anti- smoking public service announcement ("Little Billy"), and a zany Entwhistle tune or two (my personal favorite being "Postcard," sort of like a weird cross between "Yellow Submarine" and a soul band on a smoke break.) It's all done up in Who-y goodness and served up with amazingly pristine sound quality, making it probably the best rock and roll reissue since Iggy and the Stooges' 1997 mix of Raw Power. You're a cretin if you miss the bus down to the record store to buy this puppy.