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Thoughts on Pino Palladino

#221
Icculus said:
Who cares what kind of car he drives or what pays the mortgage? We're talking on a bass forum about his tone, gear choice, legacy as a player, etc.

Sorry, but it looks like you're just trying to make a senseless counterpoint to my post, and all you're really saying is that The Who gig pays better. I'm talking about Pino Palladino, the bassist... not the financially savvy working musician. Do a TB search on Pino Palladino and tell me what % of your results are about his work with The Who, versus everything else he's done.
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Oh, this is a bass guitar forum? Thanks for letting me know. I merely meant that the Who is, by far, the biggest gig of his career so it's not completely crazy that people would talk about it. Pino is on retainer with the Who, one of the last huge classic rock bands, so that gives him a sense of security that being a freelance session guy could never do , and is a very rare thing for any bass player to achieve. It is a huge success in his career on a lot of different levels. Musically, he stepped into the shoes of one of the most distinctive bass players since the invention of the instrument. A Talkbass search would be lovely, but there may actually be more to a person's career than the opinions of a few hundred people with a very narrow focus.
 
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#222
TJH3113 said:
What got me thinking about this was I "saw" him (note I did not say "heard" him) perform with The Who last night and, in my opinion, they may as well have had a cardboard cutout of a bass player on stage with them. That's how lacking the presence of the bass was in their mix.
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I have seen The Who four times in the last 10 years (2x 2006 Endless Wire Tour, 1x Quadrophenia and More, 1x Who Hits 50).

Each was at a different venue, and in different seating (from floor seats 10 rows back up to the nosebleeds).

Based on my experience at each show I completely agree with you. I wish I could hear him more.

An example of this was when they performed "5:15" during Quadrophenia and More, I was super amped (pun intended) to hear what Pino would do with the solo. When the time came, they projected on the screen and dubbed in Entwistle's solo from their Royal Albert Hall performance from the late 90s of early 2000s. I could watch Entwistle all day, but during an actual show I want to see what Pino can do, not what I've watched on YouTube endless times. The only person I think I've watched more on YouTube might actually be you Troy!

I have seen, however, a while back a clip from YouTube of a Pino Who performance where he played the solo to "My Generation" on I believe a Fender Jag. It was punchy and popped and sounded great. Repeating that tone/presence I think would have given more energy to their show, especially when I saw them in Detroit two weeks ago.
 
#223
My 2 cents

Pino inspired me to pick up the bass and learn.....learn to slap...Paul Young and the Royal family....Stingray

Gary Numan... I assassin

beautiful with joan Armatrading

Go West?

Then I guess he changed his style from music I didn't know he was playing on
 
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#224
TJH3113 said:
In the 80's and beyond, Pino had an instantly recognizable voice via his fretless work with Paul Young, David Gilmour, Don Henley, Pete Townsend, Melissa Etheridge, Elton John... Does anyone besides myself ever question his decision to give up that voice and resign himself to sounding like "just another bassist"? Don't get me wrong, I'm not questioning his obvious talent, just his decision.

This is a subtopic:

What got me thinking about this was I "saw" him (note I did not say "heard" him) perform with The Who last night and, in my opinion, they may as well have had a cardboard cutout of a bass player on stage with them. That's how lacking the presence of the bass was in their mix.
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Agreed. The first time I know I heard Pino was on Don Henleys's Building the Perfect Beast album, specifically Sunset Grill. When I heard that I immediately started looking on the liner notes to find out who the heck was playing bass. After that I could always tell when I heard a song if it was Pino playing, even things that I had heard before but never put much thought too. Playing with The Who, even though I loved The Ox and it must pay well, is something I don't quite get. Like it's a mismatch or something.
 
#225
murphy said:
My 2 cents

Pino inspired me to pick up the bass and learn.....learn to slap...Paul Young and the Royal family....Stingray

Gary newman.....funny on Warrior album after Cars

beautiful with joan Armatrading

Did he play with Go West?

Then I guess he changed his style from music I didn't know he was playing on
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Pino did play with/for Go West, but he didn't play on Gary Numan's Warriors album - that was Joe Hubbard. Pino played on the preceding I Assassin.
 
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#226
The topic of this thread strikes me as....

"Hey Pino! Stay in your little box! I liked the work you did in the box! So get back in the box!"

Yes, I am totally exaggerating..... a lot.

The point is, he's an artist. He should be able to grow into whatever makes him happy. I honestly think the demise of many bands happened because we as fickle fans got pissed when they tried something new.

At this point in his career he has probably made enough money to relax and drink umbrella drinks on a beach somewhere. Anyone that talented should be able to play whatever gets him off by now. If he's having fun and making music he likes, congrats to him.
 
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#228
obimark said:
No offense to Pino but he is not the right choice to fill in for Entwistle. Their styles are night and day. Pino's style does not have the raw aggression and forcefullness that Entwistle had. Entwistle put it best "I can make ANY band sound like the WHO". Not only that but Entwistle was a bit of a bad-*** and Pino- not at all. So image wise it is all wrong as well.

If you had seen the Who live with Entwistle you can bet your bottom dollar you would have heard his bass LOUD and clear on every song. It actually might have been ALL you heard on some songs.

Basically "the Who" need to show some dignity and hang it up. They ain't "the who" anymore.
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Entwistle did indeed say that, but I saw the John Entwistle Band numerous times and never thought they sounded like the Who.

I saw the Who with Entwistle nine times and only heard the bass when I was directly in front of Entwistle's rig. If I was off to the side I heard next to no bass. I recall the a Who sound engineer saying that they didn't put him through the PA very much because his stage volume was so loud. Bad idea. I also saw Entwistle three times with Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band and barely heard the bass, yet when Jack Bruce or Timothy B Schmidt were in Ringo's band the FOH bass sound was loud and clear.

The trend in live sound is for the majority of low frequencies to come from the kick drum. Leland Sklar complained about this once, saying that he could play nearly anything he wanted on stage - nobody's going to hear it.

As Townshend has said, they decide what is and isn't "The Who." I see no reason for a musician to not work if they want to. Probably the worst reason for a band/musician to quit would be to preserve the memories of some faceless fan. I saw the Who Monday night. I know enough not to expect Live at Leeds on stage. I saw two guys from the Who playing some of the greatest music ever written with some great musicians, and doing it well. A lot of people went home happy that night. I heard a guy sitting behind me say, "I feel like I'm watching something historic....history being made."

Personally, I go to concerts to see what an artist or band wants to present today. If I want to experience yesterday I have plenty of recorded music and video at home.
 
#229
scowboy said:
My final thoughts on the Who without JE. I wish surviving members of the Who would do a rotating roster of bass players. Incredible bass players who like many of us worshiped JE. Could you imagine a tour where they did strings of shows with say Geddy Lee, Les Claypool and Billy Sheehan? I will also say I'm intrigued about hearing Tal Wilkenfeld with the Who.
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Tal Wilkenfeld is currently opening for the Who. I had never heard her sing before. She has a great voice. Songs are good, but not catchy so it would take a few listens to sink in. I'll be seeing her and them again Sunday.
 
#230
. Greetings All,

Knew of Pino's work. That being said, first time seeing him live was with the Who after Big Johnny Twinkle died. Sat up in front and at first thought the mix was off. After about twenty minutes it was obvious he was not familiar with the material, pretty positive about that. Noticed the "low end" was being supplied by the keyboards bass pedals. Pino's sound mixed down and his tone sucked, even coming off his stage rig. Left the show wishing the Who had grabbed a bass player from one of the better Who cover bands. Seemed not to be a good fit and was surprised that subsequent Who tours had him again when we saw them.
Saw the Who some years later, Townshend had some new material, big difference. The new material featured, Pino sounded great. Believe one reason might be Pino had a little more time to prepare, as John's death and the Tour left no time to woodshed. The other thing though may have been due to Townshend writing in such a way that the song incorporated Pino's playing rather than John's, especially as he had left the planet.
This past year, Pino seemed to playing well and taking it all in stride. He looked comfortable and he was sounding good both on stage and through the house system. There were also some of John's favorites being played with the complexity intact.
Looking back the first shows after John's passing, I'm amazed Pete and Roger showed up and give them credit for slogging through in an admirable manner. Thinking that Pino was there to play and probably given minimal instructions from the others due to grieving.
It's been a slow trip but it appears that the addition of Pino has definitely added something to the band, albeit in a different way but worth the listen.
 
#231
JimmyM said:
Well all I can say is you should be so lucky if your band sounds anywhere even close to this good, whether you're in your 70's or your 20's:

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Sounds pretty good to me in that clip. Pino can't be responsible for a crappy mix anywhere he plays with The Who, it's not up to him. Would I have thought of him when it comes to The Who? No but there is more to it than that, he may get along well with Roger and Pete, which may be worth more than the perfect style, and they are both friends of his. Either way, Pino is a bass player who makes his living off his bass, there is no selling out when you are a hired gun, it's a gig and its what you do. For years I worked as a hired gun, not as a bass player, but the same concept. I worked a lot of different places, different settings, different states, did my contract and moved to the next. Did I "sell out" to my profession, not at all, it was the gig. There is not one bass player here who would not take the gig with The Who even if you were not a perfect fit, and if you say you would not I would call BS in a second.
 
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#234
azflyman said:
Sounds pretty good to me in that clip. Pino can't be responsible for a crappy mix anywhere he plays with The Who, it's not up to him. Would I have thought of him when it comes to The Who? No but there is more to it than that, he may get along well with Roger and Pete, which may be worth more than the perfect style, and they are both friends of his. Either way, Pino is a bass player who makes his living off his bass, there is no selling out when you are a hired gun, it's a gig and its what you do. For years I worked as a hired gun, not as a bass player, but the same concept. I worked a lot of different places, different settings, different states, did my contract and moved to the next. Did I "sell out" to my profession, not at all, it was the gig. There is not one bass player here who would not take the gig with The Who even if you were not a perfect fit, and if you say you would not I would call BS in a second.
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I finally listened to that clip, and it's phenomenal. Pino's the wrong choice? I don't think so.
 
#239
Think this is one of those topics that will re-circulate in perpetuity, probably for a good 20 years after the Who finally quit. My thoughts, fwiw.

- Pino has become one of my all-time favorite bass players the more I've dug into his work. He is absolutely brilliant, and someone to emulate in pretty much every way musically.
- That being said, I've never really thought he was a match with the Who. Seem to remember him mentioning something about going for a subsonic tone, around the D'Angelo album. Which was perfect for that, but (to me) - totally wrong for the Who.
- I always thought, everything else aside, that Billy Sheehan would've been the ideal replacement. When you talk 'lead bass', how far do you go down the list (after Entwhistle) before his name comes up? And he's insightful/respectful enough that he wouldn't be tromping all over Roger & Pete.
- It's Roger & Pete's band (ok, Pete's) and they/he can do whatever the hell they want. More power to 'em.
- Pino's not 'sold out' - he's a freaking session player and he's doing the job. He can get his creative jollies off in PSP or a billion other ways.
 
#240
two fingers said:
The topic of this thread strikes me as....

"Hey Pino! Stay in your little box! I liked the work you did in the box! So get back in the box!"

Yes, I am totally exaggerating..... a lot.

The point is, he's an artist. He should be able to grow into whatever makes him happy. I honestly think the demise of many bands happened because we as fickle fans got pissed when they tried something new.

At this point in his career he has probably made enough money to relax and drink umbrella drinks on a beach somewhere. Anyone that talented should be able to play whatever gets him off by now. If he's having fun and making music he likes, congrats to him.
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Greetings All,

Hey twofingers, my issue is, was he hired to play bass for The Who, as a sideman/hired gun or to add his dynamic? Tend to think he's filling a space like a session player.

If he detracts, it's bad, if he just plays adequate it's a win. If his signature playing style detracts then it's bad.

I was thinking Michael Anthony or possibly Greg Lake.
 
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