Way back when Rock Band was laying out their DLC strategy, they promised gamers the opportunity to download entire albums for their collection. Among those promised albums was "Who’s Next," the seminal album by UK rock legends the Who. Fans have been waiting and waiting for the album’s release, particularly since Rock Band began releasing albums recently, with Judas Priest and the Cars already making appearances. Now, guitarist Pete Townshend has revealed what may be at least a partial explanation for the continued absence of the album.

In a recent interview, Townshend revealed that half of the masters for "Who’s Next" have been stolen, and the band has no idea who has them or how they could ever get them back. Since there are no master recordings, Harmonix cannot remix the tracks and then present them as DLC. Furthermore, drummer Keith Moon and bassist John Entwistle are both deceased, meaning that the band cannot simply go back into the recording studio and try and recapture the magic of the original.

Some very thoughtful and deductive fans have surmised that since "Won’t Get Fooled Again" has already appeared on Rock Band, then it must be the Side 1 masters of the album that are missing. Therefore, that means classics like "Bargain" and "Baba O’Reilly" are lost to time forever.

It remains to be seen what Harmonix’s strategy will be going forward. Will they release a half-album, or will they do the whole thing but with Side 1 as covers? There is also a remote chance that Townshend and vocalist Roger Daltrey could re-record the songs with their most current bandmates, but no one is currently discussing that as a possibility.

Sadly, the drama of bringing "Who’s Next" to Rock Band continues on, and we can only hope that Harmonix soon comes forth with an announcement concerning the state of the album, as it were. In the meantime, fans will just have to indulge in Rock Band’s other deep and varied DLC, surely there’s something in there you want to try out.