The Who are opening the vault for one of the most revealing albums of their career, giving The Who By Numbers a massive anniversary expansion packed with previously unheard recordings.
Due October 30, the new Super Deluxe Edition revisits the band’s 1975 album with five CDs and a Blu-ray, bringing together the newly remastered original record with demos, alternate versions, studio material and historic live performances.
For collectors, the headline number is a big one: 92 previously unreleased audio tracks.
Among the archival discoveries are Pete Townshend’s demos and early mixes that offer a different perspective on songs fans have known for decades. One of the most intriguing is an early version of “Imagine a Man” featuring Townshend on lead vocals instead of Roger Daltrey.
The collection also heads back to the stage. A June 12, 1976 concert at Vetch Field in Swansea, Wales, is included, capturing The Who during the period when The Who By Numbers was still fresh material.
The Blu-ray pushes the project further, featuring new Dolby Atmos, 5.1 surround and stereo mixes. It also includes previously unreleased video from the band’s December 6, 1975 performance at Metropolitan Stadium in Pontiac, Michigan.
A 100-page hardcover book filled with photographs and memorabilia rounds out the Super Deluxe package.
The scale of the anniversary treatment is fitting for an album that occupies an unusual place in The Who’s catalog.
After the conceptual ambition associated with records such as Tommy, Who’s Next and Quadrophenia, The Who By Numbers found Townshend turning his writing sharply inward. The songs explored more personal territory, bringing uncertainty and vulnerability closer to the surface.
That approach produced a record that could sound considerably darker than its famously playful cover artwork suggested. It also gave the band songs including “Slip Kid,” “However Much I Booze,” “Squeeze Box,” “Dreaming From the Waist,” “Imagine a Man” and “How Many Friends.”
Produced by Glyn Johns, The Who By Numbers became another major success for the group, reaching No. 7 in the UK and No. 8 in the United States.
Half a century later, the anniversary edition offers listeners considerably more than a polished version of an old favorite. The demos, studio experiments, alternate vocals and concert recordings provide a wider look at how the record developed and how its songs evolved once The Who took them onto the road.
Fans who don’t need quite that much Who in one box will have alternatives. The anniversary campaign also includes 3-LP and 2-CD editions as well as a limited colored-vinyl release.
For an album built around a more exposed and introspective side of Pete Townshend’s songwriting, opening the archives may prove especially revealing. Fifty years later, The Who By Numbers is getting another chance to tell its story, this time with considerably more of the evidence left in.
