10. The Who By Numbers (1975)
The rather wonderful cover illustration of the band by John Entwistle almost seems to point towards this be a fun-loving album, full of catchy, enjoyable songs. It is anything but. This is Pete Townshend baring his soul to us, as he produces some of his most personal writing. It's absolutely gorgeous, but at the cost of an enjoyable listen. Incredibly, Roger Daltrey even refused to sing 'However Much I Booze' as he viewed it as too personal to Pete. It isn't all bad and the writing as stated above is superb, especially in 'How Many Friends', which seems relevant to almost everyone. There are two absolutely beautiful ballads on here -' Blue, Red & Grey' and 'Dreaming from the Waist with some absolutely lovely melodies. The rest just fall flat though - either far too long ('However Much I Booze'), or just lack a clear melody making them difficult to listen too. In fact, the most enjoyable song is probably the delightfully risqué 'Squeeze Box'. It's hardly Pete's finest piece of writing but thanks to to some wonderful innuendos ('She goes in and out'), as well as a good, fast pace it makes it an absolutely cracking listen. This isn't a particularly bad album but coming after 'Who's Next' and 'Quadrophenia' it's disappointing.
Best Song: 'Squeeze Box'
