The ‘Who’ have always been a group in more than
just the youthanism for a rock band. If you were a follower of The Who,
you become a member of the gang. You belonged. You didn’t necessarily
like the band because of the way they looked or even the music, it was an
attitude thing.
The fact that they were the greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll
band in the world, as correctly proclaimed on their Charlton Stadium gig
T-Shirts from 1974, the music was fantastic. They set standards of
fashion, whilst looking the absolute business was really a bit of a bonus.
When
Keith Moon died in 1978 at the tender age of 31, you felt as though
you’d lost one of your best mates. The cheeky mate, who you had known
all your life, loved dearly, but were scared of, yet would trust with your
life, but not your wife. When Keith left, it took a week to sink in that
there would be no more Who concerts with the little drummer thrashing away
behind his ever increasing giant kit, grabbing the microphone to sing
off-key, or make sure ridiculous comments between songs (often
unprintable). He left you with the rest of your life to miss him and what
he stood for.
And now John (The Ox) Entwistle, the rock around which
The Who’s sound was pinned down by, has been taken away, too. Let’s
face it; you couldn’t rely upon old Moony or Townshend, who could crash
off in any direction at any time. Someone had to know what song they were
playing, and that someone was John.
On stage John Entwistle may have been the quiet one of
the band, but his unique bass sound, exceptional brilliance and
enthusiasm, was essential to the sound of the machine. You only have to
shut your eyes and you can see the stage with Mssr’s Townshend, Daltrey
and Moon thrashing away, whilst to the side would be the Ox standing
still, his face turned as if looking off-stage, but with his fingers
running up and down the fret board in his bass popping style. That is
until he would march to the front of the stage to take a solo spot.
Pete Townshend is credited with being the main
songwriter for The Who - and he is, and some brilliant songs he’s
written, too. But they were often complemented by some of John’s songs.
The rock opera ‘Tommy’ would not have been the same without ‘Cousin
Kevin’ or ‘Fiddle About’. By the time of ‘Who Are You’ (the last
album with Keith Moon) three songs out of the nine were written by John
Entwistle. By way of explanation at the time, John said that writing songs
for Roger Daltrey to sing instead of himself allowed him to have more
songs on the album. I mean if you’ve got a lead singer you might as well
use him.
To give himself an outlet for both his songs and his
love of being on stage, John had an entirely separate career from The Who.
He was the first of The Who to release a solo album and do a solo tour.
All his releases reaching the lower regions of the charts, and showing off
John’s wicked sense of humour, sense of fun, and love of good ole Rock
‘n’ Roll.
At Woodstock in 1969 and on the Isle of Wight in 1970
The Who topped the bill. On both occasions they opened up with the
Entwistle song ‘Heaven & Hell’. Pete Townshend always said he
loved playing that song.
My own favorite Entwistle song, ‘My Wife’, appeared
on perhaps The Who’s greatest album - ‘Who’s Next’. A really good
Rock ‘n’ Roll song which opens up with the lyrics:
‘My life is Jeopardy
Murdered in cold blood is what I’m gonna be
I ain’t been home since Friday night
And now my wife is coming after me’
I think we can all relate to that in one way or
another.
John Entwistle was also The Who’s historical keeper.
In the two year gap between Townshend’s second rock opera
‘Quadraphenia’ (73), upon which you can hear some of John
Entwistle’s finest bass playing, and ‘The Who by Numbers,’ which
John did the hysterical artwork for, John went through old tapes and found
enough discarded material in The Who’s back catalogue to release a whole
album of gems. It reached Number 10 in both the American and British
charts. Lovingly titled ODDS & SODS. Very apt.
As for John being the quiet one of The Who, well, that
may have been on stage but certainly not off it. My favorite Entwistle
story is that whilst out with his great friend and drinking buddy Oliver
Reed, they used to have head butting competitions. The first one to
pass-out lost.
John Entwistle was a fine man and will be well
remembered by all those that his life touched. He leaves behind a fine
legacy of music. To hear John at his best, try listening to ‘Quadraphenia’,
or ‘The Who live at the Isle of Wight’ from 1970, or his second solo
album ‘Whistle Rhymes’.
John Entwistle has gone to the great gig in the sky,
and perhaps the reason for his early departure is that they just
couldn’t wait any longer for the Ox to join them.
With
the very first sentence of the prologue, author Van Beek had trapped me.
“For eleven years I lived in a stilted wooden house perched heron-like
above Thailand’s Chao Phya River. The liquid road that cleaves the royal
city into Bangkok and Thonburi coursed under - and during the monsoon
floods - through my home. Past my balcony, people and boats glided in
their daily pursuits, a never ending panoply of movement, color and minor
dramas.” Being a person who has remained enthralled with the waterways
of Bangkok and who insists that all visitors experience the klongs of
Thonburi, Ven Beek had struck the common chord.
After landing on the island of Kauai the small alien
creature finds himself in the local dog pound where he terrorizes the cats
and dogs until Lilo (voiced by Daveigh Chase) finds him, adopts him and
gives him the name Stitch.
Mott’s CD review: