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The Who by Numbers
The Who by Numbers is the seventh studio album by the English rock band the Who, released on 3 October 1975 in the United Kingdom through Polydor Records, and on 6 October 1975 in the United States by MCA Records. It was named the tenth-best album of the year in The Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics poll.
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.
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."
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The Who by Numbers
The Who by Numbers is the seventh studio album by the English rock band the Who, released on 3 October 1975 in the United Kingdom through Polydor Records, and on 6 October 1975 in the United States by MCA Records. It was named the tenth-best album of the year in The Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics poll.
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.
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."