The Who by Numbers

badhead · May 15, 2014, 02:40:11 PM

Anyone eles think this is the best who album. Very underrated

black · May 15, 2014, 05:22:34 PM

For what ever reason (stupid/on the grass?) it took me a long time to get into the Who. Consequently I still find myself leaning towards their earlier work. When this album hit I thought it was kind of corny and seemed like a lot of it was Tommy rejects. Not to say this isn't a great Who album (or album in general), but it still doesn't really fry my burger.

What about it gets y'all going there, badhead?
Why do you say underrated?
I mean, it had a couple of tunes that went all Top 40 Hits-style on it. That seems fairly top rated in itself.

badhead · May 15, 2014, 05:45:14 PM

Quote from: black on May 15, 2014, 05:22:34 PM
For what ever reason (stupid/on the grass?) it took me a long time to get into the Who. Consequently I still find myself leaning towards their earlier work. When this album hit I thought it was kind of corny and seemed like a lot of it was Tommy rejects. Not to say this isn't a great Who album (or album in general), but it still doesn't really fry my burger.

What about it gets y'all going there, badhead?
Why do you say underrated?
I mean, it had a couple of tunes that went all Top 40 Hits-style on it. That seems fairly top rated in itself.

The lyrics are very honest and really reflect where Townsend was at the time. Getting older, and getting sick of the who and himself. "however much I booze" "dreaming from the waist" and "slip kid" are worth the price alone.

RacerX · May 15, 2014, 05:49:03 PM

I prefer Quadrophrenia.

Re: underrated Who albums, Odds & Sods is much better than its sales might suggest.

MadJohnShaft · May 19, 2014, 04:24:49 PM

I think it works great as a precursor to Empty Glass but not so much as a Who album. Great album though. Squeeze Box was a huge hit for them.

Lumpy · May 20, 2014, 02:41:27 AM

Haven't heard the whole album, but from the songs I've heard on the radio, it's veering dangerously close to the boring Adult Rock territory.

MadJohnShaft · May 25, 2014, 11:12:18 AM

That Pete Townsend invented with Who's Next and stuck with ever after.

mortlock · July 01, 2014, 10:01:44 PM

I cant stand the who, hate them almost as much as the beatles..

The Shocker · July 03, 2014, 09:33:53 PM

The Who Sell Out is my favorite.

L. Ron · July 08, 2014, 10:36:43 PM

Quote from: The Shocker on July 03, 2014, 09:33:53 PM
The Who Sell Out is my favorite.

Mine too.

tastelikedirt · July 10, 2014, 09:58:11 PM

I think this was going to be a Pete solo record. I like it, but there's several other Who records that are better.

MikeyT · January 10, 2015, 03:17:26 AM

"I cant stand the who, hate them almost as much as the beatles.."

Alright... ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. I appreciate your candor.

Who else is on the hate list?

thisissomeguy · January 11, 2015, 07:16:43 PM

When it comes to the Who, most of the time I prefer the original mixes over the remixes that were on their 90's reissues but with By Numbers I prefer the remixed version. I think the vocals and guitar are handled a lot better on the 90's remixed version, it makes most of the songs sound a lot angrier.

I agree with MJS, However Much I Booze, Dreaming From the Waist and How Many Friends were basically previews of what was to come with Pete's 80's solo material. Slip Kid is excellent, I think Keith has a great drum sound on that one. I like Imagine a Man, Success Story, They Are All in Love and In a Hand or a Face a lot as well.

It's worth getting if you can find it cheaply, the 90's remix is easy to spot, it's the one that has a few live bonus tracks.

mortlock · January 21, 2015, 07:20:11 PM

Quote from: MikeyT on January 10, 2015, 03:17:26 AM
"I cant stand the who, hate them almost as much as the beatles.."

Alright... ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. I appreciate your candor.

Who else is on the hate list?

U2 and Dave Matthews..

MikeyT · May 19, 2015, 11:43:23 AM

Quote from: RacerX on May 15, 2014, 05:49:03 PM
I prefer Quadrophrenia.

Re: underrated Who albums, Odds & Sods is much better than its sales might suggest.

Agreed, on both counts.

MadJohnShaft · May 24, 2016, 07:51:40 AM

The remix version is nice (and on Apple Music).

I think this is what The Who would have been like as a three piece, with Townsend's more melancholy vocals and acoustic guitar taking some of the stadium bombast out of the band.

I don't get why Who Are You is so disliked, 'twas one of the first LPs I ever bought so I like it a lot.

Pissy · April 12, 2017, 06:38:51 PM

I'm going to listen to this tonight and chase it with Who's Next. We'll find out for sure.

For the record i think Tommy is among their most overrated albums. yep.

MadJohnShaft · April 15, 2017, 09:14:17 AM

Tommy took on a life of its own, like another band did it and they are covering it.

stooge · April 19, 2017, 07:33:50 AM

Quote from: The Shocker on July 03, 2014, 09:33:53 PM
The Who Sell Out is my favorite.

damn right
it´s their peak
next and leeds are awesome
sadly they lost it after quadrophenia
who are is a good song but it is the only good one on the lp
i generally have much more love for 60s who than for their 70s stuff

The Shocker · June 07, 2017, 01:37:58 PM

The fake ads do it for me. So awesome.

MadJohnShaft · September 24, 2017, 10:39:31 AM

When Faces Dances came out I cried. Now I have come to terms with it.

melsroomate · October 13, 2017, 11:27:53 PM

John Entwistle art alone pushes this into classic rock strata. After Quadrophenia and Who's Next there had to be an inevitatable letdown hit wise, but the album when viewed through the lens of an individual effort still stands the test of time. There ain't no way out

JLKOWAL · December 24, 2018, 08:56:33 AM

The WHO was the shit back then in the late 60's, 70's and 80's. Great classic band.