Elly Roberts reviews
John Entwistle:
So Who's The Bass Player? The Ox Anthology
Distributed by
Sanctuary Records Group UK
- Released: March 2005
- Rating: 6/10
- Cat.no.: SMEDD138
- Tracks: 38 (see Amazon link above)
Who bass-player, nicknamed The Ox
(presumably because of his constitution) had
a low key side project whilst still with The Who. Known as the ‘quiet one’,
John Alec Entwhistle certainly knew how to make a noise on stage.
After going to see The Who at Deeside Leisure Centre in Connah’s Quay, North
Wales in 1980, my ears were ringing for nearly three days. The volume was
damagingly loud. They were called the loudest band on earth, and I for one can
testify to that tag.
Entwistle was famous for having a bottle of liquid ‘refreshment’ strategically
placed next to his microphone. The straw sat neatly next to it for all to see.
Away from the live rock’n’roll image, he was a serious musician, some say he
was the first bassist to be ‘recognised’ within the conventional four man setup.
On what would have been his 60th birthday, this comprehensive release charts
his solo career from 1971’s Smash Your Head Against The Wall to 2000's
Music From Van-pires. Entwistle was very comfortable leaving the mothership
(The Who) and branching-out, composing the majority of the songs represented
here, with Pete Townsend only helping out twice (CD2, track 17 - When The
Sun Comes Up and 18 - Don’t Be A Sucker. After that he’s very much
on his own.
Surprisingly, he doesn’t gravitate towards Who riffs and anthemic songs:
alternatively opting for a very eclectic, if somewhat self-indulgent sojourn.
Being in his position,he could creatively and independently afford that rare
luxury of experimentation. Needless to say, it wasn’t a highly successful
commercial venture, never charting with singles or albums.
The music is a fusion of acoustic balladeering, jazzy overtones and rock
standard formats that will no doubt be a real feast for fans of The Who
sideline.
The deluxe package includes sleeve notes by esteemed Record Collector magazine
journalist Andy Neill, plus selected live tracks from the King biscuit Flower
Hour radio series.
Key tracks: Lady Killer, Heaven and Hell, Too Late The Hero.
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2008.
