Written originally for Pete Townshend's shelved Lifehouse rock opera, "Slip Kid" was revived in 1975.

"Slip Kid," like many other tracks released by The Who in the 1970s, was originally to be included in Pete Townshend's shelved Lifehouse rock opera.

"[2][3] In 2015, Townshend reflected on the song's continued relevance, saying, "You could put it into the voice of some young Islamic student who decides to go fight in Syria and ends up in ISIS being forced to chop people’s heads off, and it would fit".

[5] The music has a danceable salsa beat and includes an uncharacteristic one-note guitar solo played by Pete Townshend.

[1] Author Chris Charlesworth considers the song partially autobiographical, being about "a rock 'n' roll kid who's lost when he grows up.

[3] "Slip Kid" has also appeared on compilation albums such as The Story of The Who (1976), Hooligans (1981), 30 Years of Maximum R&B (1994) and The Who Hits 50!

"[8] Record World called it "a natural single" and said that "the song finds Daltrey in fine voice and Townshend hitting those windmill chords he made famous.

"[9] Music critic Robert Christgau considers "Slip Kid" one of the two songs on The Who by Numbers to "break out of the bind" of joylessness he finds on the album.

[7] Author John Atkins considers it "a perfect performance that bridges a classical Who song structure with Townshend's revisionist lyrics and hints at a darker mood that becomes more evident as the album progresses.

[4] On 24 March 2016, the Who, performing in Washington, D.C. played an unrehearsed version of "Slip Kid" (first time since May 2015) after Roger Daltrey announced that Pete Townshend would not be able to sing the planned "Eminence Front" due to a throat ailment.