Editing Won't Get Fooled Again (section)

==Release==
"Won't Get Fooled Again" was first released in the UK as a single A-side on 25 June 1971, edited down to 3:35. It replaced "[[Behind Blue Eyes]]", which the group felt did not fit the Who's established musical style, as the choice of single. It was released in July in the US. The B-side, "I Don't Even Know Myself", was recorded at [[Eel Pie Studios]] in 1970 for a planned EP that was never released. The single reached No.&nbsp;9 in the UK charts and No.&nbsp;15 in the US. Initial publicity material showed an abandoned cover of ''Who's Next'' featuring Moon dressed in [[drag (clothing)|drag]] and brandishing a [[whip]].{{sfn|Neill|Kent|2002|p=284}}

The full-length version of the song appeared as the closing track of ''Who's Next'', released in August in the US and 27 August in the UK, where it topped the album charts.{{sfn|Neill|Kent|2002|p=288}} "Won't Get Fooled Again" drew strong praise from critics, who were impressed that a synthesizer had managed to be integrated so successfully within a rock song.{{sfn|Marsh|1983|p=389}} Who author [[Dave Marsh]] described singer [[Roger Daltrey]]'s scream near the end of the track as "the greatest scream of a career filled with screams".{{sfn|Marsh|1983|p=388}}  ''[[Cash Box]]'' said of it that the song has "rousing magic with the Who's trademark instrumental and vocal strength" and that "revolutionary lyric matched by the group's performance fervor make this a monster on its way."<ref>{{cite news|title=CashBox Record Reviews|date=July 3, 1971|page=22|accessdate=2021-12-10|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1971/Cash-Box-1971-07-03.pdf|newspaper=Cash Box}}</ref> ''[[Record World]] ''said that "every element of [the Who's] unmistakable, magnificent sound is in the grooves here."<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Picks of the Week|magazine=Record World|date=July 3, 1971|page=1|accessdate=2023-04-14|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/70s/71/RW-1971-07-03.pdf}}</ref> Rock critic [[Paul Williams (Crawdaddy)|Paul Williams]] in a ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' issue, published on 17 September 1981, compared the instrumental built-up of the long version to [[the Doors]]' "[[Light My Fire]]".{{sfn|Weidman|2011|p=185}} 

In 2012, ''[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]'' ranked the song number three on their list of the 20 greatest The Who songs,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/best-songs/the-20-best-songs-by-the-who|title=The 20 Best Songs by The Who|first=Brian|last=Tremml|work=[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]|date=November 7, 2012|accessdate=March 20, 2023}}</ref> and in 2022, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked the song number one on their list of the 50 greatest The Who songs.<ref>{{cite magazine|url= https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/the-whos-50-greatest-songs-81794/|title=The Who's 50 Greatest Songs|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=June 30, 2022|accessdate=March 20, 2023}}</ref> In 2021, the song was ranked number 295 on ''Rolling Stone''{{'}}s [[The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-songs-of-all-time-1224767/the-who-wont-get-fooled-again-2-1225043/|title=The Who, 'Won't Get Fooled Again'|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=23 September 2021}}</ref> As of March 2018 it was certified Silver for 200,000 sold copies in the UK.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bpi.co.uk/brit-certified/|title=BRIT Certified|publisher=BPI|access-date=15 April 2018}} – Type "Won't Get Fooled Again" into the search box to verify the award</ref>