John Entwistle

[tydhurst]

There's been quite a few Who threads on this forum, but never one about just John Entwistle, i think he was the BEST bass player ever, and could write some really Swish songs too.

Just wanted to know opinions on the man.

[Terry]

He was pretty phenominal, IMO. Great stuff. Didn't even feel the need to move around onstage at all. Had those two water bottles attached to his mic stand, one with booze and the other with water.

Probably the first recognized 'lead bassist' in rock, a la the bass break in My Generation, although what he was really doing was just pushing the melody along while Pete was concentrating on chording.

[tydhurst]

Originally posted by Terry
He was pretty phenominal, IMO. Great stuff. Didn't even feel the need to move around onstage at all. Had those two water bottles attached to his mic stand, one with booze and the other with water.

Probably the first recognized 'lead bassist' in rock, a la the bass break in My Generation, although what he was really doing was just pushing the melody along while Pete was concentrating on chording.

Yeah. that's my kind of first response, five stars for you!

[tydhurst]

Originally posted by tydhurst
Yeah. that's my kind of first response, five stars for you!

Oops, i've already voted for you, sorry!

Anyone who agrees John Entistle was great gets 5 stars from yours truly!

[Jérôme Frenchise]

Yeah, it's a good idea. I agree with you about his status, he was a tremendous bassist. Townshend wrote 98% of the songs or so, but John Entwistle, who made a few great ones himself, was great as a songwriter too.
He took bass away to another dimension. His parts are often really awesome, and what he did on stage... wow! That humming of his! And his kind of "knitting" with the strings, so impressive. He made his bass look like a ukulele.
Good Pete may be responsible for nearly all their repertoire, he was very lucky not to find a traditional singer (Rodger Daltrey must be someone especially easy-going, as most vocalists have big egos), the most explosive drummer and the best bass player, who allowed him to digress on stage as much as he wanted: with Entwistle holding the whole house on his shoulders, he was as safe as could be.

His voice was amazing too, as he could sing very high (as he did in the backgound vocals) and very low as well. "Boris the Spider", one of his own tunes, is a perfect example: he sang the verses in a medium voice, the bridge in a very high one ("hear me callin'...", and the chorus in a sepulcral tone. He surely was a great harmonizer too.
Maybe he missed another carreer in which he would have developped his rare talents and his many ideas, but then the Who wouldn't have been that great themselves...

[Hardrock69]

I met him in late 1991. Bought him a drink at the Rainbow in Hollyweird.

Really nice chap.

Ol' Thunderfingers ROCKED!!!

[Jérôme Frenchise]

Ha! Ha! Thanks a lot, Tydhurst! I was still typing after your opening post, so I didn't answer hoping for 5 stars.
Thanks again, now I'll check if I can still vote for you!
Cheers!

By the way, there's a hilarious gag in the film "The kids are alright" in which John Entwistle is at home, picking gold and platinum records off the walls, then walking down the stairs, playing gently the numerous guitars hung along, then going out in his garden, walking to the end of it.
Suddenly you hear him yell: "Pull!"
And what you believe (I don't really know if they really were) to be the awards are thrown like in a clay pigeon shoot, John shoots them one by one. He even uses a machine gun in the end. I love that gag.

[tydhurst]

Originally posted by Jérôme Frenchise
Ha! Ha! Thanks a lot, Tydhurst! I was still typing after your opening post, so I didn't answer hoping for 5 stars.
Thanks again, now I'll check if I can still vote for you!
Cheers!

By the way, there's a hilarious gag in the film "The kids are alright" in which John Entwistle is at home, picking gold and platinum records off the walls, then walking down the stairs, playing gently the numerous guitars hung along, then going out in his garden, walking to the end of it.
Suddenly you hear him yell: "Pull!"
And what you believe (I don't really know if they really were) to be the awards are thrown like in a clay pigeon shoot, John shoots them one by one. He even uses a machine gun in the end. I love that gag.

I know that clip very well, and they wern't his Gold Records at all...

They were Roger Daltreys! HAHAHA!

[Rikk]

Best bass player in history, and he wrote some of THE WHO's best songs...SUCCESS STORY, YOU, WHEN I WAS A BOY, A TRICK OF THE LIGHT, MY WIFE, etc.

And THE WHO is among my very favorite bands...I love 'em as much as I love VH.

[nosuchluck]

definitely my favourite rock bass player - his chops and tone were perfect.

RIP

[DrMaddVibe]

Pete is/was a rhythm guitarist at best. John provided the canvas and timing for him. Add Moon and magic was going to happen.

He's one of my faves too!

[FORD]

There's only two bands I can think of where the rhythm section equals or even sometimes exceeds the guitar.

The Who is the first. Rush is the second. Completely different styles, of course, but no denying the power of the bass & drums in both.

I have absolutely no interest in any travesty calling itself "The Who" as long as the Ox and Loony Moon remain dead.

[Terry]

Yeah, well, 'The Who' was over when Moonie passed on. That name should have been rendered inactive in 1978. Not to say that Pete, Rog and John didn't turn in some solid live stuff with Jones, Phillips and Starkey, but I just don't look at that stuff as The Who.

Can't say I'm astonished that Pete and Roger are trying to carry on as The Who now that John has passed on, since they did so when Moonie died. But both of them are getting a little long in the tooth for that mic swinging, arm flailing nonsense. Just comes off as disingenuous nowadays.

[mentalpancake]

Entwistle is great, definitely one of my top 5 bassists. Plus, Boris the Spider is such a great song.

[Rikk]

Actually, I think the current WHO, though a different band, is a very good band. Very exciting live, I enjoyed the two new songs, think Townshend is playing better than he ever did earlier in his career, and I think Roger is still an amazing singer. The show I saw in 2002 was maybe the best concert I've ever seen in my life.