Magic Bus: The Who on Tour

Magic Bus: The Who on Tour is a compilation album by English rock band the Who. It was released as the band's fourth album in the United States by Decca in September 1968 to capitalize on the success of their single of the same name.^[1] It is a compilation album of previously released material, and was not issued in the UK, although the album was also released at approximately the same time in Canada. It peaked at #39 on the Billboard 200.^[2]

Magic Bus: The Who on Tour
Compilation album by the Who
Released	September 1968
Recorded	1966–68
Genre	Rock pop
Length	30:48
Label	Decca
The Who US chronology
The Who Sell Out (1967) Magic Bus: The Who on Tour (1968) Tommy (1969)
Singles from Magic Bus: The Who on Tour
"Magic Bus" / "Someone's Coming" Released: 11 October 1968

The somewhat deceptive title implies that the songs were recorded live, but all recordings are studio tracks. The track list duplicates a few songs from the second and third US albums, but also contains single and EP tracks that were previously unavailable on a US album.

Members of the group (Pete Townshend in particular) have frequently expressed their dislike of this release.^{[citation needed]} When the cover pictures were taken the group was not made aware by Decca that the shots would be used for a US album.^{[citation needed]} Immediately following the modest success of this album, a similar but unrelated Who compilation, Direct Hits, was released in the UK by Track Records.

In 1974, the album was re-issued by MCA Records in the US and Canada as part of a budget priced double album set which also included the 1966 US debut The Who Sings My Generation. The reissue peaked at #185 on the Billboard 200.^[3] It was reissued on compact disc by MCA Records in the 1980s, but was not included among the remasterings that took place in the 1990s. Though out of print in the US, the 1980s CD release is still available in Canada.^{[citation needed]}

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[4]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	^[5]
MusicHound	2.5/5^[6]
Rolling Stone	(unfavourable)^[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	^[8]

Track listing

All songs written by Pete Townshend except where noted. Tracks from singles are presented in mono on the original release. Some versions of this compilation use the short mono version of the title track. Some Canadian CD reissues use the longer 4 minute plus re-channeled stereo version. Some variations occur in different countries based on successes of songs in a particular market. Most, if not all, of the songs originally recorded in mono are re-channeled on the stereo LP, and subsequent re-issues.

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Original release	Length
1.	"Disguises" (mono)		Ready Steady Who (EP), 1966	3:14
2.	"Run Run Run" (stereo)		A Quick One, 1966	2:44
3.	"Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (mono)	John Entwistle	UK B-side of "Magic Bus", 1968	2:27
4.	"I Can't Reach You" (stereo)		The Who Sell Out, 1967	3:05
5.	"Our Love Was, Is" (stereo)		The Who Sell Out	3:09
6.	"Call Me Lightning" (mono)		UK B-side of "Dogs", 1968	2:25

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	...	Length
7.	"Magic Bus" (American stereo version)		Single A-side	3:21
8.	"Someone's Coming" (mono)	Entwistle	UK B-side of "I Can See for Miles", U.S. B-side of "Magic Bus"	2:33
9.	"Doctor, Doctor" (mono)	Entwistle	B-side of "Pictures of Lily", 1967	3:02
10.	"Bucket T" (mono)	Don Altfeld, Roger Christian, Dean Torrence	Ready Steady Who	2:11
11.	"Pictures of Lily" (mono)		Single A-side	2:43

Personnel

The Who

• Roger Daltrey – lead vocals, harmonica
• Pete Townshend – backing vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar on "Magic Bus", lead vocals on "I Can't Reach You" and "Our Love Was, Is"
• John Entwistle – bass guitar, backing vocals, lead vocal on "Doctor Doctor"
• Keith Moon – drums, backing vocals, lead vocal on "Bucket T"

References

1. The Who discography
2. All Music Guide
3. "The Who Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
4. AllMusic review
5. Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
6. Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel, eds. (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 1227. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
7. Marcus, Greil (9 November 1968). "Reviews". Rolling Stone. San Francisco: Straight Arrow Publishers, Inc. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
8. . Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 6 February 2011. Retrieved 2 September 2015.