ace Dances is the ninth album by English rock band The Who. It was originally released in 1981 in the US on Warner Bros. Records and the UK on Polydor Records. It was the first full new Who album with drummer Kenney Jones as a replacement for Keith Moon, and their first for Warner Bros.

Although some jeered at the album, Roger Daltrey went on record saying he liked this album in a 1994 interview. Some critics, notably in the Boston Globe in a review in April 1981, said it was the Who's best album since 1973's Quadrophenia.

The album peaked at #4 on the US Billboard album charts (the chart topper was Styx's Paradise Theatre) and #2 on the UK album charts.

The album cover features paintings of the members by many British painters, who were commissioned by Peter Blake, designer of the cover of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album. Artists include Tom Phillips, Richard Hamilton, Allen Jones, David Hockney, Clive Barker, R. B. Kitaj, Howard Hodgkin, Patrick Caulfield, and Blake himself.

In 1997, the album was re-mixed, remastered and re-released by MCA Records with three outtakes as well as two live tracks. The live track "How Can You Do It Alone" is an edited version of the live performance.

"You Better You Bet" was the first single from the album; its music video was one of the first music videos aired on MTV in 1981.

2011 Remaster

On December 24, 2011 the original mix of the album was issued on CD in Japan for the first time in over a decade. Using the original mastertapes for the reissue the CD reissue came in a miniature replica of the vinyl packaging. Included as part of the packaging was a picture of the Polydor label for the original first pressing vinyl edition of the album, a booklet with lyrics and a poster of the cover like the first edition of the album. The reissue featured the five bonus tracks from the 1997 remixed CD of the album using vintage mixes where possible.

2011 Remaster Track Listing [320k MP3]

    "You Better You Bet" ΓÇô 5:36
    "Don't Let Go the Coat" ΓÇô 3:44
    "Cache Cache" ΓÇô 3:57
    "The Quiet One" (John Entwistle) ΓÇô 3:10
    "Did You Steal My Money" ΓÇô 4:11
    "How Can You Do It Alone" ΓÇô 5:26
    "Daily Records" ΓÇô 3:27
    "You" (Entwistle) ΓÇô 4:31
    "Another Tricky Day" ΓÇô 4:55
    "I Like Nightmares" ΓÇô 3:09
    "It's In You" ΓÇô 4:59
    "Somebody Saved Me" ΓÇô 5:31
    "How Can You Do It Alone" (Live) ΓÇô 5:24
    "The Quiet One" (Live, 13 October 1982 at Shea Stadium) ΓÇô 4:28