finally got The Who - Live at Leeds

[dancehallclasher]

so i was at tower records last night, and found this album for sale in the $6 rack. now, it's a bit embarrassing, but i had previously not been familiar with the Who whatsoever. but when i got home and played it, it blew me away - move the hell over, Led Zep! these guys are truly stunning musicians as well as songwriters.

entwhistle basically has two tones on the album - a mellow one, and a hard rocking one. does anybody know how he got the latter? sounds to me like maybe a pick and some sort of overdrive pedal. in the photos in the insert it shows him playing a P-bass through a Hiwatt stack, does anyone know if that is indeed the setup he used on that album?

yes, i'm aware that this could go into Bassists, Amps, and Effects, but i just want to know about this particular recording. thanks

[tallguybcs]

If you can, solo your left speaker, bass is on the left and the guitar is on the right speakers. Hearing it with the bass soloed is truely heavenly.

No, I don't know how he got the sound exactly, but I wish I could copy it

[RAM]

Entwistle's tone comes from very sophisticated setups, rigs, technique, etc...it's extremely hard to duplicate.

The Hiwatt you see in that picture was not a bass amp, I believe...it was a guitar amp. His trademark distortion sound comes from that guitar-amp distortion.

Another thing he does is to set his action extremely low, so that, according to Rick Turner, the strings buzz "evenly across all frets".

If you have the time, pick up a recording of The Who's "Blues to the Bush". I think you can only buy it online. Or, go to Pete Townshend's website at www.eelpie.com and buy a download version of The Who's concert in Denver in summer, 2000. On this recording, Entwistle's tone takes on many more forms than his P-bass would allow...he's got some fairly mellow, scooped midrange tones on some songs, flat sounds on some, heavy midrange on others, and a very well pronounced distortion tone on even others. Plus, the bass solo on "5:15" is worth the price of the CD all by itself

Welcome to the wonderful world of John Entwistle!!! He's truly the master

[oddentity]

Heh - I just got the same album at Tower... (also from the $6 bin, I picked up Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On, Steely Dan's Aja and Gaucho, and James Brown's Sex Machine!!)

My roommate just bought the DVD of Live at Leeds -- it's pretty damn cool too!! Next time I watch it, I'll check out his rig for ya...

[brianrost]

Originally posted by dancehallclasher
entwhistle basically has two tones on the album - a mellow one, and a hard rocking one. does anybody know how he got the latter? sounds to me like maybe a pick and some sort of overdrive pedal. in the photos in the insert it shows him playing a P-bass through a Hiwatt stack, does anyone know if that is indeed the setup he used on that album?

ROTFL

There actually was a time when bassists got overdrive because of using low powered tube amps. Those HiWatts put out maybe 100 watts in a strong tailwind

Anyway, that's it: a stock P-bass through a tube stack. He goes between a pick and fingers depending on the song.

By the way, I see Leeds has been reissued AGAIN. Each time they've added more material. What, they couldn't find those tapes back in 1995 when the last reissue came out?

Geez, this is just like Hendrix, buy the same album every five years when the "new" version comes out.

[dancehallclasher]

Originally posted by brianrost


ROTFL

There actually was a time when bassists got overdrive because of using low powered tube amps.

i'm quite aware of that, but the quick tone changes lead me to believe he was using a pedal.

[ashton]

hi
i never knew about John using effects, he used a (cant remember the name of the bass now) i think it was a custom in all the pics ive seen og him and a concert on tv not so long ago he was using the same bass, he has used quite a few over the years to get the good sound. never knew what amps he played through though. suppose its diff with Pete Townshend, he didnt care what he used cause he'd always trash it at the end of a gig.
later
Lukas

[RAM]

Originally posted by dancehallclasher


i'm quite aware of that, but the quick tone changes lead me to believe he was using a pedal.

I'm not convinced he used a pedal, per se, though he might have had some sort of footswitch to switch gain sections of the amp itself.

[The Mock Turtle Regulator]

Originally posted by brianrost

By the way, I see Leeds has been reissued AGAIN. Each time they've added more material. What, they couldn't find those tapes back in 1995 when the last reissue came out?

Geez, this is just like Hendrix, buy the same album every five years when the "new" version comes out.

yep, agree 100% - I've got the original Live at Leeds on cassette and the reissue from 95 with added tracks on CD.
........makes you wonder how long the original gig actually was- it seems to have amazing regeneration properties that mysteriously add extra songs every few years......
something for the X-Files, perhaps?

Entwistle says he used "Frankenstein" on Live at Leeds"- a P bass with a maple neck, and a slab body (no contouring).

the tone changes are just due to him switching between pick and fingers as Brianrost says -I've seen footage of him (The Who at Charlton stadium) using fingers on "Young man blues" and a pick on "See me, feel me", which corresponds with the respective tones on live at Leeds.

[barroso]

the who are incredible talented musician and that live is stunning. john has always had an incredible tone through the years. the tonal variations you speak about are due, i suppose, to the higly dinamic response of old tube amps at high volume. this means that without changing setup the sound changes dramatically only by the touch, if you gently touch the strings you have a mellow tone, if you hit them hard you have a saturation. if the pickups are close to the strings this is emphatized. i don't think that in those years john used an esoteric setup, even if he's a great collector of amps and basses.
look at this pic, this is actual rig...

[dancehallclasher]

well, i am familiar with bad brains. i'm from DC, after all.

[RAM]

Who are the Bad Brains?

[xush]

Ah, the Who and Bad Brains in the same thread. Now there are some respectable bassists! Never got to see Entwistle live yet, but have been enjoying his work for years. Saw BB in New Orleans for the 'Quickness' tour, that was impressive.
Doesn't everybody have 'I against I'? Hardcore w/ jazz chops and reggae sensibilities? Daryl J is a monster!

[RAM]

Originally posted by xush
Ah, the Who and Bad Brains in the same thread. Now there are some respectable bassists! Never got to see Entwistle live yet, but have been enjoying his work for years.

If you ever have the chance to catch his other band, aptly titled "The John Entwistle Band", go see 'em, and stand close! Also, bring ear plugs. He's the loudest show I've ever seen. My ears still ring just thinking about it! He's truly more amazing in person than you can possibly imagine!

[the-lizard-king]

Yeah, Live At Leeds is an awesome album! Probably the best live album ever released.
Check out the Who's 'Tommy' for some REALLY good stuff.

By the way, I see Leeds has been reissued AGAIN. Each time they've added more material. What, they couldn't find those tapes back in 1995 when the last reissue came out?

I hate that. Its like the Doors, every few years some new concert recording will be "found" just in time for christmas. C'mon, Im sure every recording ever made of those bands is in a safe somewhere. Just release all of it already!!
Jim

[RAM]

Originally posted by the-lizard-king

I hate that. Its like the Doors, every few years some new concert recording will be "found" just in time for christmas. C'mon, Im sure every recording ever made of those bands is in a safe somewhere. Just release all of it already!!
Jim

Yup! But, at least with The Who, we can expect new material to surface. Check out this link...

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/f...99_1c1who.html

He mentions that The Who will begin recording in October, 2002...Their first studio recording since 1982. I wonder if this'll have remakes and remasters and song additions a few years after it's initial releaseLOL

[The Mock Turtle Regulator]

I bought the Live At Leeds Deluxe Edition on monday.
now I have to sell the '95 reissue of LAL I have already......

it's worth it just for the live version of Pinball Wizzard.
"Eyesight for the blind" is great too with the thundering bass & drums punctuation of the lyrics.

I think that's the whole concert covered now, so another re-release shouldn't happen, in theory....

I'll have to buy the Royal Albert Hall DVD now too.

[Philbiker]

Mock,

The 1995 disc sounds a LOT better than the new 2-disc set. Listen to the new one before you sell it. You may want to keep both.

[relman]

Originally posted by dancehallclasher
move the hell over, Led Zep!

you just hurt me so much...

[Gunnar Þór]

Originally posted by dancehallclasher
so i was at tower records last night, and found this album for sale in the $6 rack. now, it's a bit embarrassing, but i had previously not been familiar with the Who whatsoever. but when i got home and played it, it blew me away - move the hell over, Led Zep! these guys are truly stunning musicians as well as songwriters.

I just bought "Tommy" and "Live at Leeds" today on a whim. After listening to both of them I have a feeling I'll never regret it. "Tommy" being one of the best albums I've heard and "Live at Leeds" is a great live album.

.
.
.

"Listen to Tommy with a candle burning and you'll see your future."