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John Entwistle!

#342
To get an even better idea of John's work, get the 2 CD compilation "So Who's the Bassplayer". It is a collection of his solo work, including songs from all of his solo records ("My Size" from his first solo is proto-metal. He recorded his first record around the same time as Who's Next) as well as a bunch of live recordings of his own bands doing different versions of Who songs. There's even some cool songs from a sci-fi musical project from 1975 "Flash Fearless Vs. The Zorg Women, Parts 5&6!" which feature John playing in a different settings with Alice Cooper on vocals, Carmine Appice, Bill Bruford and Kenny Jones on drums, Nicky Hopkins on keyboards and Mick Graham and Justin Hayward on guitars.
 
#347
driver800 said:
Those 3 EXACTLY! I've watched the Ox cam version of WGFA over and over and still cannot get my mind around everything he's doing.

and greetings JohnnyMan from another Entwistle fan in L'ville!!!
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Hello driver800!

That's funny because I feel the exact same way! That version of Won't Get Fooled Again is the first song I ever attempted to tab. Having the audio and video, I still had no idea what he played in certain parts of that song. I just put a "?" for those parts and thought to myself, "I'm going to have to fake here."
 
#348
Philbiker said:
"Dreaming From The Waist" from "The Who By Numbers" has always been my favorite, but just get your hands on pretty much any Who albums to appreciate the genius of the Ox.
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That is another wonderful example of Entwistle’s amazing playing. After I listed my “must hear” Entwistle songs, I regretted not including Dreaming From the Waste (both the studio and live versions – the live version being my favorite).
 
#350
Tommy, your last post seems pretty nonsensical...

..it looks like you are saying he didn't use a pick, Entwistle actually used every technique other than thumb slapping on the bass. He used pick, fingers, tapping, popping, that is part of what makes him such an influence.

For instance, if you get the "Live at Royal Albert Hall" DVD, you will see him play "5:15" with a pick, then he will toss the pick aside when he begins his solo, proceed through every trick in his book, then reach for a new pick to finish the song. Brilliant. That is probably the best place to get an overall idea of what Entwistle could do on a bass.
 
#351
Tommythecat99 said:
haha shiit nevermind i just watched some and he has no pick so i just dont know much bout entwistle sounds to me like thats who i should start listening to a lot of though
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John Entwistle claimed he preferred fingers to using a pick because it looked more “flashy”. I do remember seeing him use a pick in more than one of my Who/Entwistle DVDs. I think it was for Shaking All Over or Young Man Blues. Many times I was sure he was using a pick (using ears) only to learn it was his fingers (using eyes).

To learn more about Entwistle’s technique, purchase Entwistle’s Bass Guitar Master Class DVD. Although the DVD does have John showing us his many playing techniques, I found it to not be that great of an instructional tool. I would have preferred the DVD having a split screen so that you can see what his left and right hands were doing during the passages. Thankfully they did provide tab. That being said, it is still a marvelous DVD to grasp Entwistle’s technique and approach.
 
#352
McCartney was the first one to get me to want to play bass, But once I saw heard Entwistle that was IT! When "I Can See for Miles" came out it just blew my *stuff* away!!

I saw him playing in an intimate club setting in SeaTac, WA in the late 80s with his solo band OX. Only about two hundred ppl showed up - all bass players. Was a great show and plenty of oppotunity to stand in front and gape. He did use a pick on some songs. Looked like thick, heavy felt things. He threw a few of these into the audience, but I didn't get one. Sometimes he would hold his fingers as if playing with a pick, but he was actually playing with his fingernails. Swear! But 90% of his playing was fingers in that amazing typewritter style.

The band played for about two hours. After the show they came to the bar and hung out for a couple of hours. Very cool experience. Anybody else there for this show?

Favorite John song? Too many! How about the bridge in "Bargain" off of "Who's Next". But there is no one song - I like 'em all!
 
#353
I AM A JOHN ENTWISTLE FANATIC. here is my suggestion. listen to any who concert that featured john.

now, listen to any live concert that they are doing now.

hear the difference.

i dont like pino, never have, never will. sorry.

john was the master of filling the sonic spectrum of a song. pete townshend even admitted this in the ox tale dvd.
 
#354
ryco said:
Favorite John song? Too many! How about the bridge in "Bargain" off of "Who's Next". But there is no one song - I like 'em all!
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Absolutely - the whole damn song "Bargain" is inspired on every instrument. One of the best studio ensemble performances by the 'Oo. Obviously performed live. If you haven't already, I urge you to actually learn the song.
 
#355
davetakis said:
I AM A JOHN ENTWISTLE FANATIC. here is my suggestion. listen to any who concert that featured john.

john was the master of filling the sonic spectrum of a song. pete townshend even admitted this in the ox tale dvd.
Click to expand...

I agree! The live material always stuck out. John seems to be less inhibited playing live.

The sad thing is (from a video-only perspective) is that almost all of the live material recorded on video that I have seen either:
  • does not have enough Entwistle time or
  • you can hardly hear him.
It's such a shame since he was a virtuoso.
 
#356
i'll second (or third?) about watching the bonus footage of john's bass tracks for 'won't get fooled again' and 'baba o' reily' soloed. even watching his hands i still haven't a clue how he could possibly pull that off! the first time i saw that i was utterly speechless. for entwistle that was just another day at the office. for me though, eyes wide as saucers and gasping for breath watching it.

and yea, LIVE AT LEEDS!
 
#357
these_go211 said:
i'll second (or third?) about watching the bonus footage of john's bass tracks for 'won't get fooled again' and 'baba o' reily' soloed. even watching his hands i still haven't a clue how he could possibly pull that off! the first time i saw that i was utterly speechless. for entwistle that was just another day at the office. for me though, eyes wide as saucers and gasping for breath watching it.

and yea, LIVE AT LEEDS!
Click to expand...

I believe that both Thor and Zeus had blessed his right hand when he was born.
 
#358
KPJ said:
For instance, if you get the "Live at Royal Albert Hall" DVD, you will see him play "5:15" with a pick, then he will toss the pick aside when he begins his solo, proceed through every trick in his book, then reach for a new pick to finish the song. Brilliant. That is probably the best place to get an overall idea of what Entwistle could do on a bass.
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I remember reading the band just stopped playing and he just had to continue playing, even though he'd already used every trick he knew. I love the headstock camera and the quick downtuner bits :)
What material is his neck made of? It's so shiny... (in the Royal Albert Hall DVD)


Original question.

The song that makes him a legend, in my opinion, is "Empty Glass". The opening harmonics, wow. I love the popping (?) he does throughout the song too. It's so powerful, and the contrast with PT's voice almost makes me cry.
 

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