The Who - The Who by Numbers

This 1975 collection excels in large part due to its modest goal. It's the Who's singer-songwriter record. Without the ostensible shield his "rock operas" provided, Pete Townshend's personal demons strut about nakedly. Not a pretty sight, but an involving spectacle nevertheless. "They Are All in Love" and "How Many Friends" are forgotten Who songs, but they've aged beautifully. John Entwistle's "Success Story" sequences nicely with the rest of the album. And "However Much I Booze," "Dreaming from the Waist," and "In a Hand or a Face" are great decade-early exercises in mid-life self-pity. There are only three bonus tracks here--live versions of "Squeeze Box," "Dreaming from the Waist," and the earlier "Behind Blue Eyes"--but By Numbers is such a cohesive collection that they're less welcome extras than annoying distractions. Still, By Numbers now stands as one of the linchpins in a great band's catalog. --Steven Stolder Amazon.com

The Who - A Step Down From The Last Three

After the brilliance that was "Tommy", "Who's Next" and "Quadrophenia" there had to come a let down. That let down would be The Who's mid decade album "By Numbers". As a stand alone disc, this one is actually quite good, but compared to the band's previous catalogue it is not really in the same league. The album produced a hit single with "Squeeze Box" which I guess is ok for a novelty song, but pales in comparison to many of the band's other singles. The best songs on the album deal with Pete Townshend's realization that he is no longer a kid and having to deal with mid life events. "However Much I Booze", "Dreaming From The Waist", and "They Are All In Love" are good examples. The often underrated John Entwistle contributes one of the better tracks in "Success Story". Overall this is a good Who album, but it has the unfortunate task of following three all time classics, so in comparison the album is a slight step down. July 7, 2008

Great!!

I have this album in vinyl, so I bought it to keep my vinyl and to listen the Cd. The remastered Cd sounds great and in my opinion, "Squeeze Box" is a masterpiece. But this album is not a typical "one song album" because songs like "Blue, Red and Grey", "Imagine a Man", "Dreaming from the waist"... are very good songs too June 23, 2008

Another great Who album!

Far from the most renowned album by The Who, The Who by Numbers is perhaps the last great Who album. Lacking both the high-minded approaches of The Who's rock operas as well as the well known hits of other efforts, By Numbers still manages to be one of the most cohesive pieces of rock n' roll that The Who created. Solid from front to back, this album manages to hit on all cylinders, with great vocal and instrumental work across the album, and as one song centers on the vocals, another may be driven by the fantastic rhythm section, and yet another by stellar guitar work. This variety lends a sense of fullness to the album and is mark of yet another great effort from The Who. Good stuff! February 10, 2008

Way to go Pete

Pete Townshend made some of his most personal lyrics yet, in this beautiful underated masterpiece known as The Who By Numbers. For some reason people don't care for this album as much as Who's Next or some of the other popular Who albums. Sure this is not Who's Next, and defnitely not Quadrophenia, but it is still darn close, and has much better lyrics. Seriously just take a look at some of Pete Townshend's most personal beautiful lyrics he has ever wrote, even John Enstwhile lends in a great number (Success Story). For some reason Squeeze Box is the most popular song on here, also the only non-five star song for me. It's good, but easily the worst song on the album, in just about every way. The album is much more of a mellow side from The Who, not that that's a problem to me though, and the songs aren't really a deppresing acoustic type of song. The Who By Numbers may not be the best Who album, but it has the best lyrics, and it's up in the top. February 9, 2008

Better than the original vinyl

Okay, I bought this as a record back in the 70's and there was the song "Squeezebox" and my friend Brian had this girlfriend Shelley, and we'd sing "Shelley has a squeeze box, Brian cannot sleep at night", being mature individuals, and now that I'm 50-something, I bought this disc to work out to tot ry and stave off middle aged-ness, and with the extra tracks, it was well worth it. Especailly since music is cheaper than inflation---records were about $7 when I made $5 or $6 per hour; now that I make a whole lot more than that, discs are $10 @. Well worth it.

merry Christmas! December 25, 2007

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