The Who by Numbers

Pete Townshend has claimed that the band recorded practically every song he had written for The Who by Numbers, partially due to a writer's block that he was experiencing at the time.[2] The songs on the album were, for the most part, more introspective and personal than many other songs that the band had released. Townshend had his 30th birthday in May 1975 and was struggling with the idea of being too old to play rock and roll and that the band was losing its relevance.[3] 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.[3]

After concluding the album tour for Quadrophenia 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 a movie based on the Tommy rock opera.

This was their first album on Polydor. The sessions for The Who by Numbers began in April 1975 and lasted 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 fall of 1976.

For the album's recording, the band recruited producer Glyn Johns. The band had previously worked with Johns during the 1971 album Who's Next. Compared to previous Who albums, The Who By Numbers took an unusually long time to complete (as noted above, nearly three months) and was marred by numerous breaks and interruptions due to the band members' growing boredom and lack of interest. Only four of the ten songs on The Who By Numbers were performed live, two of which ("Squeeze Box" and "Dreaming from the Waist") became concert staples. 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.[3]

The album cover 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."[4]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Christgau's Record Guide	B+[6]
MusicHound Rock	4/5[7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[8]
Rolling Stone	(favourable)[9]
New York Times	(favourable)[10]

The Who by Numbers peaked at the number 7 on the UK Albums Chart and number 8 on the Billboard 200 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."[9]

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 favorite songs to play on stage. In contrast, Entwistle declared in the same series of interviews that "Dreaming from the Waist" was one of his favorite songs to perform live. Daltrey referred to the album as his favourite in his memoir.[11]

The 1996 remaster was remixed by Jon Astley. On the remaster, the end of "They Are All in Love" is cross-faded with "Blue, Red and Grey." The original album did not feature this cross-fade.

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.

All songs written by Pete Townshend, except where noted.

Album

Singles

The Who

• Roger Daltrey – lead vocals
• Pete Townshend – guitar, banjo, 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
• Chris Charlesworth – executive producer
• Bill Curbishley – executive producer
• Richard Evans – design
• Doug Sax - mastering
• Bob Ludwig – remastering
• Robert Rosenberg – executive producer
• John Entwistle – album cover art
• John Swenson – liner notes
• Chris Walter – photography