John Entwistle

trust24 · #1 02-12-2009, 10:15 AM

Obviously hes a great bassist but all i wont to know is it the fact that he also had a great drummer and guitarist that allowed him to do what he does or would any bassist be able to come up with stuff like him if they were given them musicians aswell

JTE · #2 02-12-2009, 10:44 AM

Well, the way the individual players functioned in The Who was quite different from your typical band. Most guitarists don't play rhythm like Townsend, and most drummers aren't the maniacs that Moon was. Entwistle once said (interveiw in Guitar Player Magazine around late 1973) that if he'd been in a regular group he'd have probably turned into "a proper bass player" (his words). Thing is that Townsend filled the time keeping funciton most drummers fulfil so Ox's parts didn't get in the way of the guitar. Enwistle said that if he played like he did in another band the guitarist would get upset because he was walking all over the guitar bits.

So, it's partly the way the others played- a very important consideraton when diseccting what makes an individual musician sound the way they do. But it's also his musical education, his exposure to melody (he was a trumpet player, too). Part of why Chris Squire and John Wetton play the lines they do is because of their years of singing Bach choral works. Jack Bruce's playing comes as much from Bach as it does Mingus, as well as playiing in a band that had no guitarist before Cream started.

jte

froglips · #3 02-12-2009, 11:01 AM

Watch the Documentary called "Amazing Journey: The story of the Who". It costs like 19 bucks at Best Buy.

Up until I saw this, I had no clue just how much, Enty, brought to the table with his bass. Let me put it this way, according to Pete Townsend, an entire orchestra could not do what Enty does in the background for the Who.
He plays the base lines behind another guitar part that he is also playing himself at the same time, as well as other parts for back up at the same time.

They actually turn off the other band members so you can only hear Enty playing, and let me tell you, that boy could hold it together like it was no-body's-business!

There was a reason he was... Err... IS considered one of the best bassists, let alone musicians, that has ever lived.

To answer your question though, again according to Pete Townsend, Enty and Moon would feed off of eachother, and Pete would feed off of them. As a trio of musicians they were that tight. The funny thing of this documentary was that the Who did not give Roger Daltrey any credit at all as a singer until after they recorded the soundtrack to Tommy. Up until then he was just a person who sung the Who's songs! Too funny to hear coming from both Pete and Roger's mouths.

Good stuff! Watch it someday.

trust24 · #4 02-12-2009, 02:34 PM

Ok thanks i will, i have got watched alot of documentys about the who but none that ive seen have talked about his bass playing. The way he plays as fast as he does without showing any emotion or movement is a skill in itself. Ive got this Bass Who book its quite good but i tried playing my generation and i cant play all the 16th notes fast enough yet

mike.b · #5 02-12-2009, 05:46 PM

i play in a who tribute band and when we chose a song we always listen to it live if poss.if you watch entwistle closely his goddamn hands(both)move so quick.and they always embelish the songs on stage.entwistle adds a lot more notes when done live.by jove he was a good bass player.

BigOldHarry · #6 02-12-2009, 06:01 PM

I could not disagree more. Keith Moon, while one of my favorite drummers, sounds like he would be a PAIN IN THE ASS to play with - all spastic crashing and crazy fills - But John made it sound easy! He just had great meter, great groove, a knack for knowing when to play steady and then to play large - and was, in my mind, the first guy who had *real tone*. Each player in the Who was great in his own right, but to me, John was nothing short of inspirational - he is one main reason why I took up bass in 1976.

PBass101 · #7 02-12-2009, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trust24

Ok thanks i will, i have got watched alot of documentys about the who but none that ive seen have talked about his bass playing. The way he plays as fast as he does without showing any emotion or movement is a skill in itself. Ive got this Bass Who book its quite good but i tried playing my generation and i cant play all the 16th notes fast enough yet

Just keep practicing, and just remember, John Entwistle started playing bass at fourteen and didn't record "My Generation" with The Who until he was twenty one. Everybody takes time to learn how to play an instrument.

I think he had such a solid stage presence mostly because of his personality - watch any interview with him, he seems like he was kind of a stiff.

JimK · #8 02-12-2009, 07:27 PM

...and somewhere I recall reading Entwistle said he could make any band sound like The Who.
I remember watching The Who's 9-11 set...I was impressed 100% with Entwistle. I mean, here was a '60s Rocker that actually was playing better than ever in 2001. Too many from that generation played their best in the '60s/'70s...and never got any better over the years!

Toronto Bassist · #9 02-12-2009, 07:32 PM

"Live At Leeds" is chock full of fantastic playing. For studio stuff, "The Real Me" is like a rock bass etude. Speaking of which, Bass Guitar Magazine featured a transcription of it a month or two ago, but it seems sloppy...if I'm not mistaken, they seem to have dropped bars, repeated bars, even some wrong notes. Still, it's really interesting to study his lines throughout that tune.

Ric5 · #10 02-12-2009, 07:36 PM

Orangeclawhamme · #11 02-12-2009, 10:14 PM

I always admired his bass playing, but wondered if he ever got his hand stuck in the bell of his French Horn. I also alays wanted to know how he did that thing with his voice like in "Boris the Spider". I've been singing this in public and can't really get it right.

trust24 · #12 02-13-2009, 04:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PBass101

Just keep practicing, and just remember, John Entwistle started playing bass at fourteen and didn't record "My Generation" with The Who until he was twenty one. Everybody takes time to learn how to play an instrument.

I think he had such a solid stage presence mostly because of his personality - watch any interview with him, he seems like he was kind of a stiff.

He may have started when he was 14 but i didnt start until i was 24, but dont you think he was just born to be a bass player, i mean in the way that there are bassists who had probably played longer than him but could not have done what he did

brucehum · #13 02-13-2009, 05:23 AM

John Entwistle, Incredible player.

As has already been said here, he just got better with age! And in the 70s he was already amazing!!!

I like the way he embelished his tunes when playing live.

JTE · #14 02-13-2009, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brucehum

I like the way he embelished his tunes when playing live.

To me, THAT'S what real music is. I'm so tired of people who think a recording is the song. Real rock 'n' roll is about the moment, not trying to lovingly recreate what's already been done. That's why The Who, The Rolling Stones, and Cream are about the only rock bands I really listen to.

jte

trust24 · #15 02-13-2009, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JTE

To me, THAT'S what real music is. I'm so tired of people who think a recording is the song. Real rock 'n' roll is about the moment, not trying to lovingly recreate what's already been done. That's why The Who, The Rolling Stones, and Cream are about the only rock bands I really listen to.

jte

Do you not think that its because everything has been done now, when the rolling stones became big they were just a covers band. I love the rolling stones but i dont see why they were doing somthing any different to most rock n roll bands

JTE · #16 02-13-2009, 10:49 AM

Nah, they weren't just a covers band. They (Keith and Mick) started writing. The point is that they don't think the record is anything except that- a record of a particular performance. The song stands separate. For example- the live recording of "Honky Tonk Women" on "Get Your Ya-Yas Out" is a different arrangement than the revered studio recording. They play it different live than on the record. Same with The Who. Same with Cream. Jack Bruce was and still is constantly reinventing the bass lines to those songs. THAT'S what playing music is.

jte

BobOnBass · #17 02-13-2009, 10:54 AM

It may be a load of BS but somewhere I came across the following story about his tendency towards playing a bit higher up the neck.

In the beginning he used a big 'n heavy 18" cab but because he had to carry that thing himself he decided to improvise. He unscrewed the speaker and hung it on just 1 nail in the top. This way he could carry the cab and the speaker seperate to and from gigs, he only had to walk twice but saved his back!
Thing was though that when playing lower notes the whole unit started to rattle like mad.... So he dicided not to play them low notes and this eventually became one of the ingredients to his style.

Wether it's true or not, it sure cracked me up!!

Bob.

froglips · #18 02-15-2009, 03:42 PM

Just bought "The Kids Are Alright" on DVD.

Thought I would let you know that this thing has John Entwistle's bass tracks on a separate track all by themselves.

Also, was just watching the documentary of how they went about restoring this movie, and it sounds like they did a superb job. Not to mention that it is in DTS, which tells you right there they spared no expense to have it sound and look as best as current technology will allow.

Enjoy!