The Who – The Who By Numbers (5CD Super Deluxe) (2026), 320+FLAC

“The Who By Numbers” turns 50 with a vault-emptying Super Deluxe edition that goes far beyond a simple anniversary remaster. Five CDs, a Blu-ray, dozens of unreleased studio recordings and two major live documents turn one of THE WHO’s most personal albums into a full-scale excavation of the band in 1975–76.

Originally released in 1975, “The Who By Numbers” was a very different beast from “Tommy”, “Who’s Next” or “Quadrophenia”. Pete Townshend’s writing had become more inward-looking, more uncomfortable and far less interested in grand concepts. “However Much I Booze”, “How Many Friends” and “Imagine A Man” feel almost painfully exposed, while “Slip Kid” and “Squeeze Box” prove the band could still hit with all the swagger and muscle expected of THE WHO.

The first disc presents the original album newly remastered. Disc Two then opens Pete Townshend’s notebook with eleven demos, including early versions of “Slip Kid”, “Squeeze Box”, “Blue Red And Grey” and “Imagine A Man”, plus “Round And Round”, the working version of “In A Hand Or A Face”.

Disc Three is where the walls of Ramport and Shepperton start talking. Tracking sessions, jams, studio dialogue and rough works-in-progress reveal the band building the album piece by piece rather than simply presenting polished final takes. Nicky Hopkins even appears on the loose “Hi-Heel Sneakers” studio jam.

Disc Four dives into alternate vocals and early mixes. Roger, Pete and John Entwistle can be heard trying different approaches to familiar songs, while newly created 2026 stripped mixes of “Squeeze Box”, “Imagine A Man”, “They Are All In Love” and “How Many Friends” peel away layers that had been there for half a century.

The fifth CD captures THE WHO at Vetch Field, Swansea on June 12, 1976. By this point the band were operating like a machine with loose bolts: violent, elastic and somehow holding together at impossible volume. “Baba O’Riley”, “Dreaming From The Waist”, the “Tommy” sequence and a brutal closing run through “My Generation” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again” make this far more than bonus decoration.

The Blu-ray is almost a release in itself. Pete Townshend provides new Dolby Atmos, 5.1 and 2026 stereo mixes of the album, while the visual centerpiece is a previously unreleased full concert filmed at Metropolitan Stadium in Pontiac, Michigan on December 6, 1975.

That show catches THE WHO at exactly the point this box is documenting: emotionally frayed in the studio, but still utterly monstrous onstage.

Country: UK
Label: Polydor / UMC
Genre: Rock / Hard Rock
Original release: 1975
Super Deluxe release: October 30, 2026
Format: 5CD + Blu-ray
Catalog No.: 7898939

Disc 1 – The Original 1975 Album Remastered

01 – Slip Kid
02 – However Much I Booze
03 – Squeeze Box
04 – Dreaming From The Waist
05 – Imagine A Man
06 – Success Story
07 – They Are All In Love
08 – Blue Red And Grey
09 – How Many Friends
10 – In A Hand Or A Face

Disc 2 – Pete Townshend’s Demos

01 – Keep Me Turning (Version 1)
02 – Slip Kid (Version 1)
03 – Squeeze Box
04 – Blue Red And Grey
05 – Dreaming From The Waist
06 – How Many Friends
07 – Keep Me Turning (Version 2)
08 – Imagine A Man
09 – Slip Kid (Version 2)
10 – Round And Round (Working Title For In A Hand Or A Face)
11 – There Ain’t No Way Out (Working Title For However Much I Booze)

Disc 3 – Tracking Sessions: Ramport & Shepperton Studios

01 – Ramport Jam (Excerpt)
02 – She Loves Everyone (Tracking Session)
03 – Control Myself (Dreaming From The Waist Tracking Session)
04 – There Ain’t No Way Out (However Much I Booze Tracking Session)
05 – Goin’ To Frisco / Round And Round (In A Hand Or A Face Tracking Session)
06 – Hi-Heel Sneakers Jam With Nicky Hopkins
07 – Pete And Keith “The Artiste” (Studio Dialogue)
08 – Success Story (Tracking Session)
09 – How Many Friends (Tracking Session)
10 – Imagine A Man (Tracking Session)
11 – They Are All In Love (Tracking Session)
12 – She Loves Everyone (Retake With Nicky Hopkins)
13 – Squeeze Box (Tracking Session)
14 – Instrumental 1 (Tracking Session)
15 – I’m Dreaming (Dreaming From The Waist Retake)
16 – Every Minute (Blue Red And Grey Tracking Session)
17 – Instrumental 2 (Rough Mix)
18 – The Who By Numbers US Radio Spot #1

Disc 4 – Early Mixes & Guide Vocals

01 – Slip Kid – Alternate Roger Vocal
02 – However Much I Booze – Alternate Pete Vocal
03 – Squeeze Box – Alternate Roger Vocal
04 – Dreaming From The Waist – Pete Vocal
05 – Imagine A Man – Pete Vocal
06 – Success Story – John Vocal
07 – They Are All In Love – Alternate Pete Vocal
08 – Blue Red And Grey – Unedited Version
09 – How Many Friends – Pete Vocal
10 – In A Hand Or A Face – Early Mix
11 – They Are All In Love – Alternate Roger Vocal
12 – Squeeze Box – Acoustic Stripped Mix 2026
13 – Imagine A Man – Acoustic Stripped Mix 2026
14 – They Are All In Love – Acoustic Stripped Mix 2026
15 – How Many Friends – Acoustic Stripped Mix 2026
16 – The Who By Numbers US Radio Spot #2
17 – Keith Moon And John Entwistle Preview – The Who By Numbers With John Peel, BBC 1975
18 – However Much I Booze – Live At The Summit, Houston, November 20, 1975
19 – Slip Kid – Live At Madison Square Garden, March 11, 1976

Disc 5 – Live At Vetch Field, Swansea, Wales – June 12, 1976

01 – My Wife
02 – Baba O’Riley
03 – Squeeze Box
04 – Behind Blue Eyes
05 – Dreaming From The Waist
06 – Amazing Journey
07 – Sparks
08 – The Acid Queen
09 – Fiddle About
10 – Pinball Wizard
11 – I’m Free
12 – Tommy’s Holiday Camp
13 – We’re Not Gonna Take It / See Me, Feel Me
14 – Summertime Blues
15 – My Generation / Join Together / My Generation Blues
16 – Won’t Get Fooled Again

Blu-ray

The Who By Numbers:
Pete Townshend Dolby Atmos Mix
Pete Townshend 5.1 Mix
2026 Stereo Mix

Live At Metropolitan Stadium, Pontiac, Michigan – December 6, 1975:
01 – I Can’t Explain
02 – Substitute
03 – My Wife
04 – Baba O’Riley
05 – Squeeze Box
06 – Behind Blue Eyes
07 – Dreaming From The Waist
08 – Boris The Spider
09 – Magic Bus
10 – Amazing Journey / Sparks
11 – The Acid Queen
12 – Fiddle About
13 – Pinball Wizard
14 – I’m Free
15 – Tommy’s Holiday Camp
16 – We’re Not Gonna Take It / See Me, Feel Me
17 – Summertime Blues
18 – My Generation / Join Together / Road Runner / My Generation Blues
19 – Won’t Get Fooled Again

Roger Daltrey – Vocals
Pete Townshend – Guitars, Vocals
John Entwistle – Bass, Vocals
Keith Moon – Drums

Remastered by Jon Astley & Layla Astley at Close To The Edge
Atmos / 5.1 / 2026 Stereo mixes by Pete Townshend with Mike Nyandoro & Tom Birkett

MP3 FLAC