Album Of The Month - March, 2003

Album Of The Month
March, 2003

By Numbers

Album: The Who By Numbers

Performed by: The Who

Released: 1975

Reached: #7 (UK), #8 (US)

Rating: 5 Stars

Personnel: Roger Daltrey - vocals
John Entwistle - bass guitar, vocals, brass
Keith Moon - drums
Pete Townshend - guitar, vocals, keyboards, ukulele
Nicky Hopkins - piano

Produced by: Glyn Johns

Track list:

Slip Kid
However Much I Booze
Squeeze Box
Dreaming From The Waist
Imagine A Man
Success Story
They Are All In Love
Blue, Red And Grey
How Many Friends
In A Hand Or Face

Best song: How Many Friends

Favorite song: How Many Friends

Lyrics: Courtesy of Waxing Lyrical*

Favorite lyrics: "I get a buzz from being cold and wet/The pleasure seems to balance out the pain"
-from Blue, Red And Grey
"Ain't it funny how they all fire the pistol/At the wrong end of the race"
-from In A Hand Or Face

Review: Well, choosing an album to kick off my Album Of The Month section was not a hard decision. I have a fairly diverse musical taste, not to mention a crapload of albums, and if i were to make a list of my 10 favorite albums each month, it'd probably be drastically different every month. However, there has always been one constant, one album that would probably be on that list every month, and that album is The Who By Numbers.
Let me just begin the review proper with a general statement - this is a brilliant fucking album. By Numbers is the reason i first started getting big into The Who. One of the great things about The Who was that none of their albums sounded alike and By Numbers is probably the most unique album in their entire catalogue.
The Who By Numbers is almost a Pete Townshend solo album, in that his lyrics, for the most part, range from personal to ultra-personal. It is also much lighter than anything The Who had done prior and, in that regard, it is closer sonically to Townshend's Empty Glass than, say, Quadrophenia or Who's Next. Some of the best songs on the album are some of the softer tunes, like Imagine A Man and Blue, Red And Grey - which is beautifully sung by Townshend backed only by his ukulele and an John Entwistle brass arrangement. This is not to say, however, that they're aren't any rockers here. The lead-in track Slip Kid, Dreaming From The Waist and Entwistle's Success Story supply plenty of power.
The key to this album, though, are the lyrics. Townshend really bares his soul on By Numbers, hitting on drug abuse (However Much I Booze), his disillusionment with the "business" of rock and roll (They Are All In Love) and hangers-on (How Many Friends), and his general self-loathing (the closer, In A Hand Or Face). Even Entwistle adds to the mood with his single contribution, Success Story. In it, The Ox makes clear how frustrated he had become with the animal that was The Who.
Besides the extremely personal lyrics, i think another reason for The Who's change in direction at this point in their career was that they were no longer trying to capture their live sound in the studio or trying to record songs that would translate easily to the stage. I'm not sure if this was a result of the disastrous Quadrophenia tour, or just the fact that Townshend wanted to push the group in a new direction. Townshend exchanges his trademark power cords for some more delicate guitar work on many songs. His play, though, is, as always, superb. Roger Daltrey showcases his range, moving from a ballad like Imagine A Man to a vicious snarl on How Many Friends. Keith Moon, at this point in his career, was no longer the greatest drummer in the world, but his play is consistent throughout the album. Entwistle, however, was still the greatest bassist in the world and he definitely does not disappoint on By Numbers. There are no bad songs on The Who By Numbers, although i'm personally not a big fan of Squeeze Box (which was a minor hit in both the US & the UK). The standout tracks would have to be However Much I Booze, in which Townshend contradicts an upbeat melody with the declaration, "There ain't no way out," Dreaming From The Waist, which showcase's Entwistle's amazing bass work, and the almost-solo-Townshend piece Blue, Red And Grey. In my opinion, however, the best track on By Numbers (and personally one of my three favorite songs) is How Many Friends. It's a rocker, wonderfully sung by Daltrey, containing some of Townshend's best lyrics.
The Who By Numbers was reissued in 1996 with three live bonus tracks (Squeeze Box, Behind Blue Eyes and Dreaming From The Waist) recorded at Swansea Football Ground in June of 1976. These are three excellent tracks, but for me they add nothing to the original album. The album cover is a connect-the-dots picture of The Who, drawn by John Entwistle.

The Who By Numbers, track by track analysis:
Slip Kid - By Numbers starts off with an excellent rocker with a great beat. The lyrical tone of the entire album is set early as Daltrey and Townshend trade off lines at the end of the chorus, "No easy way to be free/It's a hard, hard world."
However Much I Booze - An amazingly upbeat melody and Townshend's wonderful vocals contrast the songwriter calling himself a liar and a faker who has come to the conclusion, "There ain't no way out." The drums on this track are probably Moon's best work on the album.
Squeeze Box - By far the most upbeat song on the album, this song, that Townshend originally wrote on an accordion, reached #10 in the UK and #16 in the US as a single. Contains some great banjo by Townshend during the solo.
Dreaming From The Waist - Another straight ahead rocker, this song showcases Entwistle's amazing bass work.
Imagine A Man - A lovely ballad and a great melody push this song. There are some great images in the lyrics of this song, most notably with, "Imagine events that occur everyday/Like a shooting or raping or a simple act of deceit."
Success Story - The only John Entwistle composition, this song is probably the most Who-like song on the album. Entwistle makes known how tedious The Who had become for him, "Back in the studio to make our latest number one/Take 276 - you know this used to be fun." Unfortunately Daltrey takes over lead vocals and leaves Entwistle only a few lines to sing.
They Are All In Love - Another lighter song with some wonderful Nicky Hopkins piano. The lyrics are a bitter shot at the "business" of rock and roll.
Blue, Red And Grey - A fantastic track with Townshend singing in front of only his ukulele and an Entwistle brass arrangement. Praise of the simple life. Personally, one of my favorite Who songs. In fact, probably only second to...
How Many Friends - As i said earlier, probably one of my three favorite songs ever. With excellent guitar work by Townshend and terrifically bitter vocals by Daltrey, this song truly blows me away.
In A Hand Or Face - More good bass play and some good drum work close out the album, although this is probably the weakest song on the album.

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Album:	The Who By Numbers
Performed by:	The Who
Released:	1975
Reached:	#7 (UK), #8 (US)
Rating:
Personnel:	Roger Daltrey - vocals John Entwistle - bass guitar, vocals, brass Keith Moon - drums Pete Townshend - guitar, vocals, keyboards, ukulele Nicky Hopkins - piano
Produced by:	Glyn Johns
Track list:	Slip Kid However Much I Booze Squeeze Box Dreaming From The Waist Imagine A Man Success Story They Are All In Love Blue, Red And Grey How Many Friends In A Hand Or Face
Best song:	How Many Friends
Favorite song:	How Many Friends
Lyrics:	Courtesy of Waxing Lyrical*
Favorite lyrics:	"I get a buzz from being cold and wet/The pleasure seems to balance out the pain" -from Blue, Red And Grey "Ain't it funny how they all fire the pistol/At the wrong end of the race" -from In A Hand Or Face
Review:	Well, choosing an album to kick off my Album Of The Month section was not a hard decision. I have a fairly diverse musical taste, not to mention a crapload of albums, and if i were to make a list of my 10 favorite albums each month, it'd probably be drastically different every month. However, there has always been one constant, one album that would probably be on that list every month, and that album is The Who By Numbers. Let me just begin the review proper with a general statement - this is a brilliant fucking album. By Numbers is the reason i first started getting big into The Who. One of the great things about The Who was that none of their albums sounded alike and By Numbers is probably the most unique album in their entire catalogue. The Who By Numbers is almost a Pete Townshend solo album, in that his lyrics, for the most part, range from personal to ultra-personal. It is also much lighter than anything The Who had done prior and, in that regard, it is closer sonically to Townshend's Empty Glass than, say, Quadrophenia or Who's Next. Some of the best songs on the album are some of the softer tunes, like Imagine A Man and Blue, Red And Grey - which is beautifully sung by Townshend backed only by his ukulele and an John Entwistle brass arrangement. This is not to say, however, that they're aren't any rockers here. The lead-in track Slip Kid, Dreaming From The Waist and Entwistle's Success Story supply plenty of power. The key to this album, though, are the lyrics. Townshend really bares his soul on By Numbers, hitting on drug abuse (However Much I Booze), his disillusionment with the "business" of rock and roll (They Are All In Love) and hangers-on (How Many Friends), and his general self-loathing (the closer, In A Hand Or Face). Even Entwistle adds to the mood with his single contribution, Success Story. In it, The Ox makes clear how frustrated he had become with the animal that was The Who. Besides the extremely personal lyrics, i think another reason for The Who's change in direction at this point in their career was that they were no longer trying to capture their live sound in the studio or trying to record songs that would translate easily to the stage. I'm not sure if this was a result of the disastrous Quadrophenia tour, or just the fact that Townshend wanted to push the group in a new direction. Townshend exchanges his trademark power cords for some more delicate guitar work on many songs. His play, though, is, as always, superb. Roger Daltrey showcases his range, moving from a ballad like Imagine A Man to a vicious snarl on How Many Friends. Keith Moon, at this point in his career, was no longer the greatest drummer in the world, but his play is consistent throughout the album. Entwistle, however, was still the greatest bassist in the world and he definitely does not disappoint on By Numbers. There are no bad songs on The Who By Numbers, although i'm personally not a big fan of Squeeze Box (which was a minor hit in both the US & the UK). The standout tracks would have to be However Much I Booze, in which Townshend contradicts an upbeat melody with the declaration, "There ain't no way out," Dreaming From The Waist, which showcase's Entwistle's amazing bass work, and the almost-solo-Townshend piece Blue, Red And Grey. In my opinion, however, the best track on By Numbers (and personally one of my three favorite songs) is How Many Friends. It's a rocker, wonderfully sung by Daltrey, containing some of Townshend's best lyrics. The Who By Numbers was reissued in 1996 with three live bonus tracks (Squeeze Box, Behind Blue Eyes and Dreaming From The Waist) recorded at Swansea Football Ground in June of 1976. These are three excellent tracks, but for me they add nothing to the original album. The album cover is a connect-the-dots picture of The Who, drawn by John Entwistle. The Who By Numbers, track by track analysis: Slip Kid - By Numbers starts off with an excellent rocker with a great beat. The lyrical tone of the entire album is set early as Daltrey and Townshend trade off lines at the end of the chorus, "No easy way to be free/It's a hard, hard world." However Much I Booze - An amazingly upbeat melody and Townshend's wonderful vocals contrast the songwriter calling himself a liar and a faker who has come to the conclusion, "There ain't no way out." The drums on this track are probably Moon's best work on the album. Squeeze Box - By far the most upbeat song on the album, this song, that Townshend originally wrote on an accordion, reached #10 in the UK and #16 in the US as a single. Contains some great banjo by Townshend during the solo. Dreaming From The Waist - Another straight ahead rocker, this song showcases Entwistle's amazing bass work. Imagine A Man - A lovely ballad and a great melody push this song. There are some great images in the lyrics of this song, most notably with, "Imagine events that occur everyday/Like a shooting or raping or a simple act of deceit." Success Story - The only John Entwistle composition, this song is probably the most Who-like song on the album. Entwistle makes known how tedious The Who had become for him, "Back in the studio to make our latest number one/Take 276 - you know this used to be fun." Unfortunately Daltrey takes over lead vocals and leaves Entwistle only a few lines to sing. They Are All In Love - Another lighter song with some wonderful Nicky Hopkins piano. The lyrics are a bitter shot at the "business" of rock and roll. Blue, Red And Grey - A fantastic track with Townshend singing in front of only his ukulele and an Entwistle brass arrangement. Praise of the simple life. Personally, one of my favorite Who songs. In fact, probably only second to... How Many Friends - As i said earlier, probably one of my three favorite songs ever. With excellent guitar work by Townshend and terrifically bitter vocals by Daltrey, this song truly blows me away. In A Hand Or Face - More good bass play and some good drum work close out the album, although this is probably the weakest song on the album.