The Vinyl Project - The Who By Numbers by The Who (1975)
A Trip Thru Your Grooves - Episode 15
Release Date: 25-October-1975
Genre: Rock/AOR
Producer: Glyn Johns
Label: Polydor/MCA
Time: 37m 19s
Review Date: 06-December-2018
Format: LP
Side One
Release Date: 25-October-1975
Genre: Rock/AOR
Producer: Glyn Johns
Label: Polydor/MCA
Time: 37m 19s
Review Date: 06-December-2018
Format: LP
Side One
- Slip Kid
- However Much I Booze
- Squeeze Box
- Dreaming from the Waist
- Imagine a Man
Side Two
- Success Story
- They Are All in Love
- Blue, Red and Grey
- How Many Friends
- In a Hand or a Face
Review: When I went on my first date with Sue - we went to go see Heart at the Potawatomi Casino in Milwaukee - our conversation on the way to concert centered on music. We talked about the first album each of us ever owned. Mine was Rumours by Fleetwood Mac, a gift to myself with my eighth grade graduation money. Hers was The Who by Numbers by The Who, given to her by her parents on her tenth birthday. Naturally I assumed her favorite song was Squeeze Box, which, in retrospect, was me assuming that she knew nothing about music. It's a decent enough song, though not as good as it is popular, and it's maybe the third or fourth best song on the album.
But I was wrong. Her favorite song was They Are All in Love. I knew at that moment, that if nothing else, we would always be able to see eye-to-eye regarding music. I miss her every time I hear the song.
The Who by Numbers is mostly a Pete Townshend album, but my favorite track is the Roger Daltrey-led Imagine a Man. Daltrey was really at his peak vocally in 1975, and on this song he is at his best. He's probably at his tightest vocally here, avoiding the strain of exceeding the boundaries of his upper register as he so often tended to do on the band's slower songs.
The album was produced by Glyn Johns and probably seemed like it would never be completed, which probably unnerved the Hall of Fame producer quite a bit. Johns was notorious for dictating the pace of his recording sessions and the band members really had a hard time finishing.
Quoting Pete Townshend: "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."
An interesting note about Glyn Johns: Johns developed a unique approach to the recording of drums, sometimes referred to as the Glyn Johns Method. While recording drums, Johns rarely employed more than two or three microphones, and usually kept one mike hoisted several feet overhead to achieve natural perspective of the whole kit. He'd place another off to the side (not far from the floor tom), and a third near the bass drum.
Many critics felt that drummer Keith Moon seemed uncharacteristically subdued on this album and Johns' approach to recording drums is the likely culprit. It probably had something to do with Moon's general malaise in the studio, too.
The deliberate pace also didn't sit well with critics waiting on its completion. Neither did the fact that the album basically functions as a confessional of sorts for Townshend's and Moon's alcohol issues. Most reviews named this album the Who's worst of their career up to that point. Further, 1975 was a watershed year in music of sorts with disco really moving to the forefront while punk was starting to form on the fringes. This album just doesn't find its proper place in the musical narrative of '75.
But to me, that's what's so wonderful about The Who By Numbers. Its introspective nature served as a springboard of sorts for Townshend's solo career, but still packed enough power to play to Daltrey's strengths. It may have worked better as a Pete solo album, but then it would have been missing John Entwistle's Success Story, which gently admonishes Townshend's self-pity.
Certainly critics and fans were looking for another Who's Next, - the previous Johns-produced Who album - and this is clearly not that, as not a single song from this album would fit on the behemoth release from 1971. I suppose a case could be made for the songs Slip Kids or In a Hand or a Face.
Something to note: Townshend who started getting heavily into synthesizers starting with Who's Next, completely avoided their use in the recording of this album.
Hold that thought: It's 11:11pm, make a wish. I'll wish for 15,000 people to send me a dollar so I can get out of debt :-)
Best Songs: Dreaming from the Waist, They Are All In Love, Slip Kid, Imagine a Man, Squeeze Box
A Deep Cut You'll Love: How Many Friends
Quoting Townshend II: "[These 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."
Townshend had celebrated his 30th birthday in May 1975 and was struggling with the idea of being too old to play rock and roll or that the band was losing its relevance. He began to feel disenchanted with the music industry, a feeling encapsulated in this album's songs.
Did you know an entire episode of Cameron Crowe's television series Roadies was dedicated to this band? On December 3rd, 1979, a crowd crush at a Who concert at the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati killed 11 fans. This was partly due to the general admission seating, where the first to enter could get the best seats. Some fans waiting outside mistook the band's sound check for the start of the show, and attempted to force their way inside. As only a few entrance doors were open, a bottleneck situation ensued with thousands trying to gain entry, and the crush became deadly.
The Who were not told until after the show because civic authorities feared crowd problems if the concert was cancelled. The band was deeply shaken upon learning of it and requested that appropriate safety precautions be taken in the future. The following evening, in Buffalo, New York, Daltrey told the crowd that the band had "lost a lot of family last night and this show's for them."
In Crowe's The City Who's Name Shall Not Be Spoken, the Roadies crew is forced to drive 100 miles in one direction, leave the bus for a scavenger hunt, find 11 balloons and 11 eggs, break the eggs, release the balloons, and play a song by The Who, all because the tour manager mentioned Cincinnati by name. With artist Jim James in tow, the crew jammed to a magnificent version of They Are All In Love.
But I was wrong. Her favorite song was They Are All in Love. I knew at that moment, that if nothing else, we would always be able to see eye-to-eye regarding music. I miss her every time I hear the song.
The Who by Numbers is mostly a Pete Townshend album, but my favorite track is the Roger Daltrey-led Imagine a Man. Daltrey was really at his peak vocally in 1975, and on this song he is at his best. He's probably at his tightest vocally here, avoiding the strain of exceeding the boundaries of his upper register as he so often tended to do on the band's slower songs.
The album was produced by Glyn Johns and probably seemed like it would never be completed, which probably unnerved the Hall of Fame producer quite a bit. Johns was notorious for dictating the pace of his recording sessions and the band members really had a hard time finishing.
Quoting Pete Townshend: "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."
An interesting note about Glyn Johns: Johns developed a unique approach to the recording of drums, sometimes referred to as the Glyn Johns Method. While recording drums, Johns rarely employed more than two or three microphones, and usually kept one mike hoisted several feet overhead to achieve natural perspective of the whole kit. He'd place another off to the side (not far from the floor tom), and a third near the bass drum.
Many critics felt that drummer Keith Moon seemed uncharacteristically subdued on this album and Johns' approach to recording drums is the likely culprit. It probably had something to do with Moon's general malaise in the studio, too.
The deliberate pace also didn't sit well with critics waiting on its completion. Neither did the fact that the album basically functions as a confessional of sorts for Townshend's and Moon's alcohol issues. Most reviews named this album the Who's worst of their career up to that point. Further, 1975 was a watershed year in music of sorts with disco really moving to the forefront while punk was starting to form on the fringes. This album just doesn't find its proper place in the musical narrative of '75.
But to me, that's what's so wonderful about The Who By Numbers. Its introspective nature served as a springboard of sorts for Townshend's solo career, but still packed enough power to play to Daltrey's strengths. It may have worked better as a Pete solo album, but then it would have been missing John Entwistle's Success Story, which gently admonishes Townshend's self-pity.
Certainly critics and fans were looking for another Who's Next, - the previous Johns-produced Who album - and this is clearly not that, as not a single song from this album would fit on the behemoth release from 1971. I suppose a case could be made for the songs Slip Kids or In a Hand or a Face.
Something to note: Townshend who started getting heavily into synthesizers starting with Who's Next, completely avoided their use in the recording of this album.
Hold that thought: It's 11:11pm, make a wish. I'll wish for 15,000 people to send me a dollar so I can get out of debt :-)
Best Songs: Dreaming from the Waist, They Are All In Love, Slip Kid, Imagine a Man, Squeeze Box
A Deep Cut You'll Love: How Many Friends
Quoting Townshend II: "[These 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."
Townshend had celebrated his 30th birthday in May 1975 and was struggling with the idea of being too old to play rock and roll or that the band was losing its relevance. He began to feel disenchanted with the music industry, a feeling encapsulated in this album's songs.
Did you know an entire episode of Cameron Crowe's television series Roadies was dedicated to this band? On December 3rd, 1979, a crowd crush at a Who concert at the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati killed 11 fans. This was partly due to the general admission seating, where the first to enter could get the best seats. Some fans waiting outside mistook the band's sound check for the start of the show, and attempted to force their way inside. As only a few entrance doors were open, a bottleneck situation ensued with thousands trying to gain entry, and the crush became deadly.
The Who were not told until after the show because civic authorities feared crowd problems if the concert was cancelled. The band was deeply shaken upon learning of it and requested that appropriate safety precautions be taken in the future. The following evening, in Buffalo, New York, Daltrey told the crowd that the band had "lost a lot of family last night and this show's for them."
In Crowe's The City Who's Name Shall Not Be Spoken, the Roadies crew is forced to drive 100 miles in one direction, leave the bus for a scavenger hunt, find 11 balloons and 11 eggs, break the eggs, release the balloons, and play a song by The Who, all because the tour manager mentioned Cincinnati by name. With artist Jim James in tow, the crew jammed to a magnificent version of They Are All In Love.
- Previous Review: Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd by The Monkees (1967)
- Up Next: Marquee Moon by Television (1977)
- A link to all my LP reviews
Comments
Post a Comment