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Thoughts on Pino Palladino

#81
40Hz said:
I think so too!

BTW, I wasn't disputing what happened when you saw them. My point was just maybe it was the venue or the sound people when you went.

For the record Pino did not try to do an Ox channeling performace when I saw them last. He played the iconic parts and classic riffs in those places where it mattered. But the rest of the time he was just Pino on bass. Which I appreciated since I would have been disappointed if all he did was ape Entwistle. Even Pete plays a lot of things differently today than he used to. And Roger has adjusted his singing to match his current vocal range since he's not getting any younger either.

This is the current Who. Those who went hoping for an exact copy of them back in the '70s were destined to be disappointed. But those of us who were there and remember their glory days - but now wanted to hear what they're doing at this stage in their lives - had a great time.

As Daltry put it, you reach a point in your career, once you've been around long enough, to realize you can no longer do it (or write them) the way you used to. And when that happens you can either stop performing, or accept the limitations of age, adapt to it, and celebrate the fact you wrote a lot of really good songs. And that's what they decided to do - be what they are today. He said the last thing he'd ever want to see is The Who try to become its own tribute band.

I thought his remarks gave the evening a certain sweet poignancy to go with the good memories and spirit of celebration. Because all of us there - including the band - mainly came to raise a glass to a band, and an entire era, that's sadly gone for most of us - but still far from forgotten.

Maybe it's kinda sad. But it was a happy kind of sad all the same. And it was a great show.

Sorry your night with them wasn't that great an experience for you.
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Last night, Joan Jett rocked harder than The Who.
 
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#82
TJH3113 said:
I'd never heard that (D'Angelo) before and thought it was good. I don't follow him closely as a bassist and am basing my opinion on the things I've heard him do with a few other artists, John Mayer and Nine Inch Nails come to mind, where, in my opinion, it sounds like he's playing beneath his abilities. Not that there is anything wrong with that, playing to serve the song is what it's all about. I'm just surprised that someone with as unique a voice as his would just set that aside.
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You've gotta realize that the voice he had in the 80's went out of style, to some degree, and he was smart enough to take the work that paid vs. drawing a line in the sand about being some kind of "artist". He's a session guy, which means serving the song, but also means serving the clients who hire you. If they hire Pino for that fretless voice, great, but if they hire him for his ability to groove on a P-bass, then why would he push his fretless voice on to that?

And seriously, nobody grooves like Pino. There is no "beneath him" when you consider the depth of the groove he's brought to John Mayer and NIN and D'Angelo and all the other countless "boring" sessions he's done. He's a master and the fact that you think it's easy proves just how good he is.
 
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#83
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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Pino is not John Entwistle and does not try to be. He brings what he does to The Who, they've stuck with him for 14 years now, and there is a reason for it.
 
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#87
TJH3113 said:
Last night, Joan Jett rocked harder than The Who.
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No doubt she did. But I try not to get into comparisons like that. To me all that matters is how well a band (any band) does on the night of the show I'm attending. Two different bands on two different nights? And two completely different styles of music? It's apples and oranges AFAIC.

But like I said, sorry you didn't have a good time. It happens. :)
 
#90
JimmyM said:
An audience recording? Really?
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Actually, the night I heard them it took their sound people close to 20 minutes to get the balances right. That was a bit of an ordeal to get through before they finally worked it out. Everybody in the house was getting a little pissed off about the FOH sound at the beginning of the show. That audience recording wasn't too far off from what it was like for the first three or so songs.
 
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#91
I understand what you were trying to get across OP. Like others, I think he just followed the money. Nothing wrong with that, man's gotta eat. But like you I miss the fretless, and I'm not sure he's the best fit for the Who but I see why they've brought him on board. He's the best out there.


Shall I join you reconsidering the instrument?:). J/K
 
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#98
FlatwoundFunk said:
I gotta ask this because I think there is some UNINTENDED disrespect going on here.

To say that Pino or any other bassist is a bad choice for this position is a slap in the face of the remaining members that asked him to sit in. If they thought he was good enough or a good to perfect fit, who are we to say they made a bad or inappropriate choice? Are the remaining members idiots that are not capable of making choices for a legacy that THEY helped build and maintain? It's really disrespectful to assert that the surviving members were not capable of choosing replacements to continue their legacy.
FF
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This is wrong, and on the record disprovable. Roger Daltrey has multiple times stated that Kenny Jones was the wrong choice to replace Keith Moon. And yet, they recorded two studio albums and one live album (that they all disavowed) with him.

So, yes, The Who has made bad decisions wrt personnel. Just because they decided to do it doesn't mean they were smart in doing so.

Yes, Pino was the same type of choice.
 
#100
Max Blasto said:
This is wrong, and on the record disprovable. Roger Daltrey has multiple times stated that Kenny Jones was the wrong choice to replace Keith Moon. And yet, they recorded two studio albums and one live album (that they all disavowed) with him.

So, yes, The Who has made bad decisions wrt personnel. Just because they decided to do it doesn't mean they were smart in doing so.

Yes, Pino was the same type of choice.
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Disavowed? I don't think so! True, ultimately they ended up not being happy with Kenney, but both those studio albums with Kenney were huge and both had a handful of Who classics.

RE: Pino, well they cut Kenney loose after two albums, but Pino's been there now for 14 years, and if they were as unhappy with him as they were with Kenney, they'd have cut him loose by now, too. You may not like him but plenty of people do.
 
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