In my opinion [and that of many others],
John Entwistle of The Who was the greatest rock bass guitarist to ever walk the
Earth. Guitar Magazine calls him "The Bassist Of The Millennium". Pete Townshend may have
been the mind behind The Who, but it was Entwistle’s aggressive playing that
gave the band its balls. You can
immediately tell the difference when you hear The Who live now with Pino
Palladino on bass. Palladino is a superb
bass player, but The Ox he is not. PT
had the following to say about The Ox on the 10th anniversary of his
death:
“John's sound was harmonically rich and
filled an enormous part of the audio spectrum. There really is no one who can
do what he did. Other bass players can copy his sound, and try to emulate his
fingering, but at the heart of John's playing was a contradiction. His laid
back character disguised a powerful musical ego, supported by immense musical
talent. His playing was complex and fast, but there are few players alive who
could combine such speed and eloquence on the bass with such good taste
musically speaking. Like Keith Moon, he really is irreplaceable. His sound can
be emulated, and I sometimes hear players who can approach John's musicianship,
but John really was unique, a complete one-off, an innovator who never stopped
experimenting.”
Technique: John Entwistle started his
career as a musician on piano, trumpet and French horn. Since he had the dexterity to play all those
instruments, he could play the bass using three fingers [most bassist use only
two]. This allowed him to play rapid
multi-note clusters, tapping the strings percussively as if he was using the
bass like a typewriter. His fingers were
a blur, which stood in stark contrast to him being almost immobile on stage. But sometimes, he would use a pick [on My Generation, for example].
The
sound: His
sound was explained simply – “full treble, full volume.” Always in search of the perfect sound, he
would split the sound coming out of his bass with the treble signals going to
one amp, the bass sound going to another amp.
As part of the “libretto” for Quadrophenia,
Pete Townshend wrote this [from the point of view of the album’s protagonist,
Jimmy] –
“The bass player was a laugh. He never did anything. Nothing.
He used to smile sometimes, but the smile would only last half a second
and then it would switch off again. My
friend Dave said he smiled a lot more at his sister, they were engaged I
think. His bass sounded like a bleeding
VC10.”
All true [except for the smiling at Dave’s
sister bit] – John Entwistle started with Marshall stacks so he could hear himself
over Keith Moon’s drums. Pete Townshend
started using Marshalls to hear himself over The Ox. No wonder at one time The Who were the
loudest band in the world. By the end of
his life, The Ox had so much equipment on his side of the stage that it resembled
a big city skyline.
As far as his basses are concerned, he
played Fenders, Danelectros, Rickenbackers, Alembics, Warwicks, and then played
a custom Status Graphite Buzzard bass.
If you’re really interested in all the gear he used, follow this link: http://www.thewho.net/whotabs/gear/bass/bass8602.html
Tony’s Favorite Ox
Moments:
My
Generation [single, 1965] – Rock’s first bass
solo. Legacy cemented. Nothing more needs to be said.
My
Wife [The Kids
Are Alright, 1979] – As originally heard on Who’s Next, the emphasis is more on PT’s guitar, The Ox’s piano and
horn parts. The bass is buried in the
mix [and it’s HIS bloody song!]. Not so
whenever this song came alive on stage. I prefer this version of the song [recorded
in Kilburn, UK, December 1977].
Won’t
Get Fooled Again [The
Kids Are Alright, 1979] – The definitive version of this Who’s Next classic. When The
Kids Are Alright documentary finally got a DVD release, one of the special
features was The Ox’s bass parts of this song isolated from the rest of the
instruments. One can do the same thing
with headphones – the guitar is in the right channel, the bass is on the
left. Recorded specifically for the film
in May 1978 [Note: this was Keith Moon’s last live performance].
Sparks
[Tommy, 1969]
– I don’t remember it being like this on the Tommy album, but when Carol and I saw The Who at the
Oakland-Alameda Coliseum in August 1989, The Ox took a solo that shook the
Coliseum to its foundations. In all the
concerts I’ve seen since October 1982 [when I first saw The Who], this was the
only time I ever heard 65,000 people gasp in amazement all at once. We were in the upper deck [someone screamed
that Voyager had better seats than we did], and we felt it where we were -
truly an impressive feat. A similar
version can be heard on the live album Join
Together [1990].
Substitute [single, 1966] – PT plays the opening four chords of Substitute, but the riff throughout the
song is all Entwistle. He gets a solo
while PT plays his. Every bass player
should learn this song.
I
Wonder [Whistle
Rhymes, 1972] – This song kicks off Side 2 of The Ox’s second solo
album. The Ox has a very fat bass sound
that sounds like it has a “bounce” to it that isn’t present on any Who
album. The bass is higher in the mix
than any Who album except Quadrophenia. Out through
the window and into the sky/I’m so glad that sharks can’t fly…
Back
on the Road [Demo] [Whistle Rhymes, 1972] – John Entwistle’s lament about needing to
play in front of adoring crowds has some deft, melodic bass work.
The
Real Me [Quadrophenia,
1973] – Can anyone imagine this song without Entwistle’s bass parts? I can’t and I doubt if any other hardcore Who
fan could either. Sure, he’s just
playing scales, but he makes playing scales sound cool. Quadrophenia
is the Who album that has the best Entwistle bass sound on record. Can you
see the real me me me me me…
The
Punk And The Godfather [Quadrophenia, 1973] – Like everything else on Quadrophenia, The Ox’s playing is outstanding on this song. This one is just a cut above most [but just
below The Real Me].
Success
Story [The Who
By Numbers, 1975] – One of The Ox’s songs, this one here’s Entwistle
singing about how the music business can become a grind. It sounds like he’s
playing “lead bass” here.
In a
Hand or a Face [The
Who By Numbers, 1975] – The final song from The Who By Numbers.
Dreaming
From the Waist [The
Who By Numbers, 1975] – While My
Generation features a rock’s first bass solo, the band stopped playing
while The Ox played his solo. On this
song the band keeps playing while The Ox wails away. The remastered The Who By Numbers features a live
version of this song played in 1976 in the UK.
Trick
of the Light [Who
Are You, 1978] – One of three John Entwistle originals from Who Are You, this song is about a guy
who goes to see a hooker and keeps asking her how he was in bed. The Ox introduced an eight-string Alembic
that was so trebly that the need for a lead guitar was eliminated. Pete Townshend played only barre chords on
the record, but live he didn’t play guitar at all – he would play a four-string
bass while The Ox would play like Panzers storming through Poland on his
eight-string Alembic.
The
Quiet One [Face
Dances, 1981] – The Ox plays a very fast bass riff. Here he plays the bass like it’s a typewriter.
It’s
In You [Face
Dances, 1981] – This outtake from Face
Dances marks the return of The Ox’s eight-string Alembic. After Keith Moon’s death, PT started writing
songs that abandoned power chords. This
song had more of a keyboard emphasis, and with his eight-string The Ox provides
a very trebly bass presence. It just
sounds cool. This song should have been
on the original release.
Talk
Dirty [Too Late
the Hero, 1981] – Like The Quiet One,
the bass provides the riff.
Dancing
Master [Too Late
the Hero, 1981] – Dueling bass solos!
One bass solos in one the, the other bass solos in the other ear. I don’t know how he does it but Joe Walsh
actually gets his licks in too. Great
headphone listening, this one…
Another
Tricky Day [Face
Dances, 1981] –Listen to what’s going on under the power chords.
Cry
If You Want [It’s
Hard, 1982] - See Another Tricky Day…
Eminence
Front [It’s Hard,
1982] – With PT playing mostly rhythm guitar and a solo here and there, The
Ox’s bass propels this song to be the last Who classic.
Magic
Bus [Live at the
Royal Albert Hall, 2003] – The Ox makes this one-chord offering from this 2000
show interesting. He plays all kinds of
runs while PT plays his power chords, even when “the bus” turns into a train on
Cyril Davies’ “Country Line Station,” which PT and Roger Daltrey tacked onto
the end.
I
Don’t Even Know Myself & Young Man Blues [Live at the
Royal Albert Hall, 2003] – The show for the first two discs was recorded in
2000 in support of the Teenage Cancer Trust in the UK. But the third disc is a bonus, recorded 8
February 2002. This is significant in
that this was the last show John Entwistle played before his death four months
later in late June 2002. This is proof
The Ox had “it” right up until the very end.
I still miss him.
"I guess I would like to be
remembered... As someone who helped change the bass guitar, and be probably the
only Bass Guitarist that hasn't been copyable.” - John Entwistle
Absolutely.
RIP John Entwistle.
