John Entwistle's solo albums - unfairly ignored?

I had Whistle Rhymes on vinyl and it was pretty good.

I never see his lp's or cd's about.

His voice is not particularly good or engaging perhaps to the regular punter?

 

I love "Success Story" and its one of my all-time favorite Who/Entwistle Songs

 

I think that's generally true, but though I probably never would have discovered those LPs in the first place if not for The Who, they quickly became favorites outside of any Who context. I never saw them as second-rate Who albums - they're exactly the kind of music I was enjoying in the '70s regardless of their Who connection. The fact that The Who also did some Entwistle songs was like a bonus!

 

One of my favorites also, and one of (if not the only) Who song where Roger, Pete, and John each sing a lead part. Are there any others?

 

Whoa. Mind blown.

 

I bought whistle rhymes when it came out and played it often. Thinking it over, I was just being friendly, The window shopper and I found out were my favourite tracks.

 

I Found Out has one of his most beautiful hooks, the "led up the path again" bit. Great song!

 

Heaven & Hell off Smash Your Head was my first exposure to the song and it still remains my favorite version.

 

"A Quick One, While He's Away," certainly.

 

I'm a big fan of Too Late the Hero - which is better than the Who albums either side of it.

 

Of course, how could I forget!!

 

During the '73 Quadrophenia tour they each sang alternating lead on Helpless Dancer. John played French horn during the concert, too.

 

Nice, I didn't know that!

 

I bought each of his albums when they were released and still listen to them all except one - The Rock. To my ears those songs were just ordinary and forgettable hard rock and as John sang on none of them it seems like a disposable album, even with John's bass playing. I saw his tour with this band and it was pretty disappointing for the same reason.
Two of his other albums (other than the live releases) have not been mentioned - Music From Van-Pires and Tipton, Entwistle & Powell. The latter is another one without John singing and to me only worthwhile because of his bass work. On the other hand, Van-Pires is outstanding. John didn't sing everything, but the songwriting and playing are excellent and his bass is upfront in the mix. Standout tracks are A Darker Side of Night, Horror Rock, Left For Dead and Endless Vacation. The two others are Bogeyman and Back on the Road - my two favorites. Bogeyman was a rejected track (apparently P&R thought it was too silly) for Who Are You with Keith Moon on drums and overdubs by the John Entwistle Band. Back on the Road was recorded for Whistle Rymes but not used. The finished track is, well more finished than the rough take on the Whistle Rymes expanded release. Plus you get the bonus of Entwistle's buddy Leslie West singing and playing lead on the wonderfully goofy Don't Be a Sucker.
My favorite album? Smash. My favorite song? Too Late the Hero.

 

There are a couple of audience boots of the tour called LA '74 (date wrong in usual bootlegger style) and Live at the Forum '73 or something like that with the trio singing Helpless Dancer.

 

This album consists of outtakes from Tipton's Baptizm of Fire album, and it's fairly dubious that Entwistle is listed as a primary artist, as he was clearly performing as a sideman during these sessions.

 

I read somewhere that Tipton - who I frankly had never heard of before - released the album as a tribute. Wish it had been a good album.

 

It always seemed more than a tiny bit opportunistic to me.

 

I'd have to go with Boris the Spider as his best song.

 

Disappointing they didn't play it live on the 1975-76 tours.

 

On CD, I only have the first two on Sundazed (I think?) and a two-disc compilation. By the time I wanted to track down the Sanctuary issues with all of the cool bonus tracks, they were already gone. My knowledge of these albums more or less ends with the US vinyl copies - though I'd love to get the reissues with the bonus stuff just to try it out. Or... y'know, at worst, just buy 'em for the bonus tracks!

 

Would "Instant Party Mixture" count?

 

IMO, Smash Your Head Against The Wall is fantastic, with "No. 29 (Eternal Youth)" sticking out as my favorite.

This very well known pop singer
Had ceased to be a swinger
New hair, nose, teeth, and eyes
Touch of padding round the flies
And he sings as well as he ever did before

Brilliant, sarcastic Entwistle. Wonder who he was referring too

Whistle Rhymes is very good as well. "Ten Little Friends" features a blazing Peter Frampton on guitar.
Rigor Mortis is where JAE started to run out of good songs, IMO. Although I do enjoy "Peg Leg Peggy". I'm not a fan of the 50's nostalgic feel to these songs.
Mad Dog is another hit or miss, mostly miss LP. I love John's bass playing in "Lady Killer" and "Jungle Bunny".
Too Late The Hero sounds overproduced to my ears. "Dancing Master" features some great Entwistle bass riffs. I also like "Sleeping Man" but again, this LP is way overproduced, 80's sounding.

Stick with Entwistle's first two solo LP's and you'll be good to go. The others are really for die hard's only.

 

Too Late the Hero is the only one I've put through a lot of listenings. I had that CD in my car changer for quite a while, and just never seemed to rotate it out. I must agree with you on the production, but for me the songs and performances make up for it. Your taste may be inline with more people than mine, but for me personally it's essential.

 

There are no weak songs on By Numbers