The Who by Numbers

Background

Pete Townshend has claimed that the band recorded practically every song he had written for The Who by Numbers, partially due to the writer's block that he was experiencing at the time. The songs on the album were, for the most part, more introspective and personal than many other songs that the band had released. Townshend's 30th birthday occurred in May 1975; he was troubled with thoughts of being too old to play rock and roll and that the band was losing its relevance. He began to feel disenchanted with the music industry, a feeling that he carried into his songs. He said of the songs on the album:

The songs were written with me stoned out of my brain in my living room, crying my eyes out... detached from my own work and from the whole project... I felt empty.

After concluding the tour for the Quadrophenia album in June 1974, the Who took an extended hiatus and did not perform live for more than a year. John Entwistle kept himself occupied by playing solo gigs. In addition, the band spent this time filming Tommy, based on their rock opera of the same title.

This was the band's first album on Polydor. The sessions for The Who by Numbers began in April 1975 and continued through early June. The album was released in October and the band supported it with a tour, which spanned some 70 concerts before concluding in the autumn of 1976.

For the album's recording, the band recruited producer Glyn Johns. The band had worked previously with Johns on the 1971 album Who's Next. Compared to previous Who albums, The Who by Numbers took an unusually long time to complete (nearly three months) and was marred by numerous breaks and interruptions due to the band members' growing boredom and lack of interest. It features some of the darkest songs ever recorded by the band. Only the songs on the first side of The Who by Numbers were performed live, and only "Squeeze Box" became a concert staple. "Imagine a Man" was performed live for the first time by the band in May 2019, nearly 44 years after its release (although Roger Daltrey had featured the song in a solo concert in February 1994). Townshend said of the album's recording sessions:

I felt partly responsible because the Who recording schedule had, as usual, dragged on and on, sweeping all individuals and their needs aside. Glyn worked harder on The Who by Numbers than I've ever seen him. He had to, not because the tracks were weak or the music poor but because the group was so useless. We played cricket between takes or went to the pub. I personally had never done that before. I felt detached from my own songs, from the whole record.

Recording the album seemed to take me nowhere. Roger [Daltrey] was angry with the world at the time. Keith [Moon] seemed as impetuous as ever, on the wagon one minute, off the next. John [Entwistle] was obviously gathering strength throughout the whole period; the great thing about it was he seemed to know we were going to need him more than ever before in the coming year.

Album cover

The album cover, on which the band members' bodies are depicted as connect the dots puzzles, was drawn by John Entwistle. In 1996, when asked about the cover, he replied: "The first [piece of artwork] release[d] is The Who by Numbers cover, which I never got paid for, so now I'm going to get paid. (laughs) We were taking it in turns to do the covers. It was Pete's turn before me and we did the Quadrophenia cover, which cost about the same as a small house back then, about £16,000. My cover cost £32."

Release and reception

The Who by Numbers peaked at number 7 on the UK Albums Chart and number 8 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape album chart in the US. "Squeeze Box" was also a Top 20 hit in both Britain and America, although the US follow-up, "Slip Kid", failed to chart.

The Rolling Stone review of The Who by Numbers stated: "They may have made their greatest album in the face of [their personal problems]. But only time will tell."

In an interview from Thirty Years of Maximum R&B, Townshend declared "Dreaming from the Waist" and "Sister Disco" (from Who Are You) as his least favourite songs to play on stage. In contrast, Entwistle declared in the same series of interviews that "Dreaming from the Waist" was one of his favourite songs to perform live. Daltrey referred to the album as his favourite in his memoir.

Remasters and reissues

The 1996 remaster was remixed by Jon Astley.

On 24 December 2011, the album was remastered and reissued in Japan using the original mix. The live bonus tracks from the previous edition were included on the reissue. The packaging replicated the original vinyl release of the album.

On 1 September 2026, The Who announced that the album would be getting a Super Deluxe Edition featuring new remasters, demos, outtakes and a live album.

Track listing

All songs written by Pete Townshend, except where noted.

Personnel

The Who

Roger Daltrey – lead vocals

Pete Townshend – guitar, keyboards, banjo, accordion, ukulele, backing vocals, lead vocals on "However Much I Booze" and "Blue, Red And Grey"

John Entwistle – bass, French horn, trumpet, backing vocals, 2nd lead vocal on "Success Story"

Keith Moon – drums

Additional musicians

Nicky Hopkins – piano

Production

Glyn Johns – producer, engineer, mixing

Jon Astley – remixing (1996 reissue)

Chris Charlesworth – executive producer

Bill Curbishley – executive producer

Richard Evans – design of 1996 reissue

Doug Sax – mastering

Bob Ludwig – remastering

Robert Rosenberg – executive producer

John Entwistle – album cover art

John Swenson – liner notes

Chris Walter – photography