The Who - The Who By Numbers (1975) + Bonus Live Tracks

(U.K 1962 - Present)

The Who By Numbers was released in October, 1975. By this time a non-concept album by The Who was a concept in itself and on this album the ten new songs were linked thematically by Pete Townsend's growing concern with age and disillusionment. Several tracks - notably "However Much I Booze", ""In A Hand Or A Face" and "How Many Friends" - were explicitly connected with Pete's anxiety in this direction, and John Entwistle's sole contribution "Success Story" ran along similar lines. Elsewhere, "Slip Kid" was a neat, latter-day teen anthem, "Squeeze Box" was a jaunty, semi-humorous song (with Pete on accordion) chosen as a single and "Blue, Red and Grey", virtually a solo track by Pete, movingly recounts disenchantment with the rock 'n' roll lifestyle so enjoyed by Keith Moon and many of his peers.

In Johnny Black's book 'Eyewitness: The Who", he writes about Townsend's initial demos for the album: At his studio in Goring-on-Thames, Berkshire, Townsend begins demoing songs that will become the album 'The Who By Numbers'.

Pete Townsend: "They were written with me stoned out of my brain in my living room, crying my eyes out. All the songs were different, some more aggressive than others, but they were all somehow negative in direction. I felt detached from my own work and from the whole project...I felt empty".

During 27-30 May, recording sessions for the album took place at Shepperton Studios Sound Stage, London.

Pete Townsend: "I forced the band into a corner with that material. When I first played the demos, Keith burst into tears. He came and put his arms around me. I suppose he was thinking, 'Poor Pete', but that was the kind of material I was dishing up. The band recoiled from the stuff".

Keith & John

Clad in a sleeve designed by John Entwistle and incorporating a join-up-the-dots caricature picture of The Who on the front, the record was also noticeable for a complete lack of synthesizer parts that had been such a notable feature of the group's two previous albums.

Instead Nicky Hopkins added a generous amount of gentle piano. Instrumentally The Who showed no signs of flagging: Roger's vocals - particularly on "Dreaming From The Waist" and "Imagine A Man" - were both melodic and inspiring, while Keith's usual bombastic drumming belied the physical deterioration brought about by his alcoholic tendencies. "Dreaming From The Waist" included some popping bass lines that are among the finest John Entwistle has ever recorded and which would be further spotlighted in The Who's upcoming live performances.

Pete

While the standard of composition reached just short of that attained on 'Who's Next', 'The Who By Numbers' opened the doors to an overt autobiographical style that served to emphasise Pete Townsend's honest approach to his work. By expressing his anxieties through the music of The Who, he acknowledged the fact that the group are - and always will be - a band of the people whose problems could be shared with those people.

According to the old adage, a problem shared is a problem halved and thus the tour that followed the release of 'The Who By Numbers' saw the group return to the kind of form they displayed in pre-Quadrophenia days.

'The Who By Numbers' was the first album (aside from Roger Daltrey's 'Ride A Rock Horse') to appear on the Polydor label, and was thus the first public indication of the severance of The Who's long-standing relationship with manager Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp and their jointly owned Track Records. The litigation between The Who and their former managers was settled out of court shortly after the release of this album and the two former film directors who had played such a crucial role in The Who's career went their own way from this point onwards.

Roger

They had, by this time, fallen out with each other over financial matters and when Lambert issued a badly phrased press release that to some extent brought the squabbling out in the open, the split became irreversible. For the remainder of the decade Stamp involved himself in film work and quietly enjoyed his fortune, while Lambert spiraled downhill, squandering his fortune on drink and drugs.

"Kit bought a palace in Venice on the Grand Canal and tried to cultivate high society friends there," says Chris Welch who has written a biography of Lambert. "He was eventually forced to leave Venice. He set fire to the palace and he ended up owing money all over town. He was an alcoholic and he was hooked on heroin and was forced to undergo treatment for this in a Swiss clinic. Back in London he was busted for cocaine after being shopped to the police by a pusher that he owed money to. He always felt very bitter that he didn't receive the credit he deserved for his work with Pete Townsend on Tommy".

Various people, including Pete Townsend, offered Kit Lambert a helping hand as his condition worsened but to no avail. Lambert died aged forty-five in April, 1981, after falling down the stairs at his mother's house in Fulham.

That night, by all accounts, he had been involved in a drunken brawl at a night club in Kensington and had returned home injured from the beating he received. It was a sad and ignominious end for a man whose creative guidance and exploitive vision had done so much to promote the career of the group he loved.

In September, 1975, The Who regrouped to rehearse for a lengthy series of tours that would take in Britain, Europe and, in three separate visits, the United States. Fresh from his trip to America on soothing Meher Baba business, a refreshed and spiritually rejuvenated Pete Townsend walked into the first rehearsal smiling, a fact noted by Keith Moon as both unusual yet indicative of happier times to come.

Though only two new songs from 'The Who By Numbers' - "Squeeze Box" and "Dreaming From The Waist" appeared in their sets, The Who displayed an almost boyish enthusiasm for their older material.

At the end of the tour Variety, the US entertainment industry magazine, reported that the twenty dates had grossed just over 3 million dollars of which The Who netted 1.59 million dollars.
[extract from 'The Illustrated Biography-The Who' by Chris Charlesworth, Omnibus Press, 1982]

Chart Success

'The Who By Numbers' album was certified gold in the U.S on the 10th December, 1975. On January, 6th 1976.

"Squeeze Box" entered the US Top 40 singles chart on 3rd January, 1976 and the UK singles charts on 24th January. It finally peaked at No. 16 in the US Charts on 14th February and No. 10 on the UK charts on the 28th February.

In 'Eyewitness: The Who' Pete Townsend commented: I wrote this song called Squeeze Box. I went out and bought an accordion and learned to play it in about 10 minutes, so it's a devastatingly simple song.

John Entwistle added: That was just a kind of fun thing. We all knew it was about tits. I thought Joe Walsh's song "I Like Big Tits" was more to the point.

If you are interested in hearing recordings from there Variety tour, take a look at my 'The Who - Boris The Spider: Live in Ludwigshafen, 7-11-1975 (Bootleg)' post from 2018 (link is still active) 

The Album Cover

Clad in a sleeve designed by John Entwistle , the front cover incorporated a join-up-the-dots picture of The Who.   In the book Eyewitness: The Who by Johnny Black, Entwistle states:

The cover drawing only took me hour, but the dots took about three hours. I took it down to the studio while we were mixing and got the worst artist in the room to fill it in. Discovered I'd left two inside legs out.

We were talking it in turns to do the covers. It was Pete's turn before me and he did the Quadrophenia cover, which cost about the same as a small house back then, about $16,000. My cover cost $32.

Dots Joined

This post contains FLACs ripped from my vinyl which I purchased from Brash Suttons in Geelong back in 1976. I know this because I distinctly remember it being in their $1.99 clearance bin, along with some other popular titles, including Eric Clapton's 'E.C was Here' and Dragon's  'Scented Gardens For The Blind' & 'Universal Radio' (which are now highly collectable).   

Like most people, I was tempted to join the numbered dots on the front cover, however something at the back of my brain told me to resist and I'm now glad that I did. You never find this album with a virgin cover and suspect my copy is worth big $$.   

I've always liked this album and still play it occasionally.  Squeeze Box is my favourite track - it is such a catchy tune with great 'suggestive' lyrics.

As usual full album artwork is included for both vinyl and CD. I have also chosen to include bonus live renditions of "Squeeze Box" and "Dreaming From The Waist" which were recorded at the Swansea Football Ground on June 12, 1976.  

Track List

01 Slip Kid

02 However Much I Booze

03 Squeeze Box

04 Dreaming From The Waist

05 Imagine A Man

06 Success Story

07 They Are All In Love

08 Blue Red And Grey

09 How Many Friends

10 In A Hand Or A Face

11 Squeeze Box (Bonus Live)

12 Dreaming From The Waist (Bonus Live)

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

* Nicky Hopkins – piano

The Who by Numbers Link (272Mb)