John Entwistle's solo albums - unfairly ignored?

As a Who fanatic, I'm biased in favor of, well, most of what the boys do. On some days, I'll even argue in favor of Two Sides Of The Moon, really.

In the case of JAE's first five solo albums, I simply can't wrap my head around these things drifting along in obscurity.

The ones I speak of are:
Smash Your Head Against The Wall
Whistle Rhymes
Rigor Mortis Sets In
Mad Dog
Too Late The Hero.

I give top honors to the first two, even going as far as seeing WR as an unsung masterpiece. But, I ask of you: what on earth keeps these records from being given their due? Is it lack of name recognition? The assumption that Pete did the only writing that mattered for his home group? The (apparent) ping-ponging of the albums going in and out of print all willy-nilly? Are they far less accessible than I seem to think they are? Do I have blinders on, and maybe these slabs aren't as cool as my ears perceive them to be?

And of course, if you know 'em, what do you think? Did they stand up well for you?

Discuss!

 

Too late the hero ---is excellent IMO
I consider Entwistle underrated as a songwriter......I'm not a big fan of his novelty type tunes, but when he wrote a real song, IMO it was usually pretty good.... I also like his voice, love his contributions on Who are you........kind of makes the album

 

The first 2 are classic, the others have a 2-3 good songs each.

 

Who Are You was the first album where I liked his stuff. Agree with the props you gave those. Never tried his solo work.

 

That was my feeling for a long time, but I decided to just kind of - how should I put this - "let myself into John's sardonic/skewed world", and then I *totally* "got" them and couldn't believe it had taken so long. Obviously, anyone's mileage will vary, and I still think the first two are top of the heap, but now I hear it as such a stellar and playful run that I can't fathom just how ignored they seem to be.

 

Even the first two albums have some silliness that holds them back from being full-on unheralded classics.

That said, "Apron Strings" is brutal - from the bass line to the chord changes to those stacked harmonies. He was the guy in The Who with a working knowledge of theory, and it showed.

 

I thought about that!

But all the silliness doesn't stop The Who Sell Out from being considered wonderful. In fact, The Who seemed to thrive on weird and sometimes silly topics up until the release of SYHATW, so that actually adds to the disconnect for me.

 

The Who would get absurd, and stuff like "Odorono" is practically a shaggy dog story. I think the difference is Entwistle was exclusively macabre in his humor. A real specific brand of macabre.

 

Smash Your Head is one of my favorite albums. You can skip the great, though somewhat out-of-place, opening track and it's even better. Be sure to go for the original CD release, and switch out What Are We Doing Here with the bonus version, which I'm
pretty sure is the version from the original US LP. (Please correct me if I'm wrong). Great songs, great vocals, and fantastic dark horn arrangements. And the definitive version of Heaven and Hell.

Whistle Rymes and Rigor Mortis are both wonderful (though I could do without Lucille and Hound Dog). And Rigor has a smokin' version of My Wife. Mad Dog may be a step or two down but it's still a lot of fun.

I didn't care much for Hero at the time. I haven't heard it in probably 30 years now, I should give it another try.

 

The Rigor Mortis My Wife:

 

Peg Leg Peggy

 

I've tried numerous times to understand the mixing differences (and sometimes differing takes altogether) on each version of the debut, but... I still don't get it. I wish someone could put together a chart for this 'un and explain it to me like I'm five, to be honest, haha.

 

I always enjoyed his songs on LP's by The Who. Regret not buying his music. He used to play at Club Bene in Sayreville, NJ all the time and I regret not going to those shows.

 

I wish there was a guide to those albums. I have the original US vinyl but haven't had a turntable in years. On CD I have the remasters. The only original CD I have is Smash Your Head. The original sounds great, but I don't like the sound of the remaster.

For Whistle Rymes, I don't like the remaster, I think the songs on Thunderfingers sound better.

The Rigor Mortis remaster sounds pretty good, but is some of it a needle-drop or am I just a little slow and the crackle is intentionally part of the '50s vibe?

And I don't like the sound of the Mad Dog remaster either, and do they use some different mixes there also?

 

His solo work is definitely under the radar, and while it is a bit uneven, some of it is quite good. That said, it is not the type of music that probably has much appeal outside of Who fans. It is eclectic, often with a dark comedy tone. Not only was John a gifted musician, but he was a talented songwriter as well.

 

Smash Your Head has been a favorite from the time I got it in the 70’s. I never warmed to his other solo albums. I have the remastered CD w/cinnamon girl which is kind of old. It deserves to get remastered properly.

 

My thoughts exactly.
But those first 2 are very, very good!

 

I think the problem here is common to solo excursions by members of mega bands: If you are a huge fan of said band, you might check out a solo album out of curiosity, but as a true fan you really want the whole band to be on it. In other words, a super fan really wants to hear the group as a whole, not splintered off into solo acts.

 

Always love this tune, sometimes play it over and over when I get into "too late the hero" mode.


In case anybody doesn't know...........Joe Walsh plays guitar on Too late the hero........
To contradict an earlier post in this thread, Too late hasn't a bad song.........Lots of good bass playing and a ringer of a band.........

 

The title track is also excellent..

Nice live version

 

The first two albums are excellent. After that it gets quite spotty really quickly.

 

I've always felt that Entwistle's Who contributions were very hit-or-miss. Songs like "Whiskey Man" and "Boris the Spider" are a bit too goofy for my taste, as well as his later contributions like "Success Story".

While "My Wife" is his most (and arguably his best) Who song it's unfortunate that his songs "905", "Never Enough", "Dangerous" and "You" get completely ignored by critics and fans as those songs are easily some of the best Who songs on their respective albums.

I've been listening to Smash Your Head Against the Wall recently and feel that songs like "My Size" and "What Are We Doing Here?" are great songs... I can't help but wish he had saved those songs and recorded them with The Who instead of issuing them out his solo album, especially with how weak and spotty By Numbers and Who Are You are as albums.

 

The only one I ever had was Too Late The Hero. I haven't listened to it in years, but I remember liking it at the time. I really liked Walsh's playing on it.

 

Personally I like whiskey man. Boris for me is filler. My Wife is great.
I also the Face Dances/It's hard tunes you mention........ No mention of "Trick of the light" from you"
Do you not like that one.......I love it and 905

 

I love Smash Your Head Against the Wall and Whistle Rymes. Since he has passed away, some of his stuff on his other albums is too macabre to listen to. He was always my favorite Who-guy.