REVIEW LP 1971by Cub Koda
John Entwistle had been writing tunes since the Who's second album, the majority of them coming out as album cuts or as B-sides of singles. But in the early '70s, with the Who becoming even less of an outlet for his songwriting talents, Entwistle forged ahead with his first solo album, Smash Your Head Against the Wall. Musically, it has much of a Who flavor to it, with the strong guitar work, lumbering drums and basslines that define the music. But Entwistle's many talents (he contributes an entire horn section to "Pick Me Up") surface on this debut disc, and his preoccupation with darker subject matter ("Heaven and Hell," "My Size," and "You're Mine") is well to the fore. Compared to this, Townshend's grimmest Who material sounds like a romp in the park. Potent stuff.
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REVIEW CD 2005
by Bruce Eder
The bonus tracks on this new edition of Smash Your Head Against the Wall have doubled the length of the album, and very much to the profit of John Entwistle fans everywhere. In addition to the previously available outtake "Cinnamon Girl," we get previously unheard demos of "My Size" and other songs off the album, plus tracks such as "It's Hard to Write a Long Song," "The Haunted Can Be Free," "Pick Me Up (Big Chicken)," and "World Behind My Face" — that first, a work-in-progress about songwriting as a process, may not be a shining moment of creativity for the bassist/singer/songwriter, but it does show his sense of humor weaving through the latter craft, and it fits in with the album very nicely. Coupled with the fresh remastering and a new set of notes, it's a welcome addition to and expansion of the late rock legend's catalog, and the CD label's parody of the old Decca rainbow label design by Sanctuary adds another element of humor that Entwistle himself might have appreciated.
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Artist: John Entwistle
Album: Smash Your Head Against the Wall (Bonus Tracks0
Release Date: 1971 (LP-11 Tracks)/2005 (CD)
Label: Sundazed/Sanctuary
Hard Rock, Arena Rock
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TRACKS
1 My Size 3:46
2 Pick Me Up (Big Chicken) 3:44
3 What Are We Doing Here? 3:50
4 What Kind of People Are They? 2:44
5 Heaven and Hell 4:55
6 Ted End 2:37
7 You're Mine 4:38
8 No. 29 (Eternal Youth) 5:37
9 I Believe in Everything 3:11
10 Cinnamon Girl 3:05
11 It's Hard to Write a Love Song 4:54
12 The Haunted Can Be Free 3:54
13 World Behind My Face 4:56
14 My Size 3:50
15 What Kind of People Are They? 2:55
16 Pick Me Up (Big Chicken) 3:08
17 No. 29 (Eternal Youth) 4:38
18 Ted End 1:56
Tracks by Entwistle, Except 10 by Neil Young
Tracks 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18 demo version
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BIOGRAPHY
by Bruce Eder
John Alec Entwistle (b. October 9, 1944, d. June 27, 2002) is probably the most influential bassist in rock music. Before Entwistle came along as a member of the Who, bassists seldom stood out for their playing and few casual listeners knew or cared what purpose the four-stringed instrument served — after he came along, everyone knew. Born in Chiswick, Entwistle was a member of the Confederates with Pete Townshend while still in grammar school in 1959. Trained in both the piano and the French horn, he was one of the most musically accomplished teenagers ever to play in a skiffle band. Invited by Roger Daltrey to join his band, the Detours, Entwistle accepted, and was joined soon after by Townshend. With the addition of drummer Keith Moon, this band, later renamed the High Numbers and finally the Who, became part of the second wave of successful British Invasion acts, getting their recording act together in 1964 and 1965.The Who had started out with Daltrey and Townshend sharing guitar chores, until Daltrey gave the instrument up. The change to a single guitar was vital to Entwistle (nicknamed "The Ox"), who began to play extremely loud and complex parts to compensate for the absence of a rhythm guitar — the result was that, from the Who's first singles to their last, Entwistle's bass work was some of the most complex and audible in rock music. He played fills, countermelodies, and all manner of material, and stood out doing it. Moreover, he tended to stand out precisely by not standing out: Townshend had his windmill strumming technique, Daltrey was the lead singer, and Moon was so animated on the drums that he was scary, but amid this pandemonium on stage, Entwistle simply stood there and played, providing an anchor that kept the band from flying off in all directions, both visually and musically.As a songwriter, he wasn't nearly as prolific as Townshend, but Entwistle had a bizarre sense of humor that contrasted very nicely with Townshend. From "Boris the Spider" and "Whiskey Man" to "My Wife," Entwistle had a knack for capturing dark humor that lightened up every Who album, and even managed to contribute a couple of songs to Tommy. As a solo musician, however, his career was somewhat more uneven than that of Townshend. Entwistle's first solo album, Smash Your Head Against the Wall (1971) was, in many ways, a lost Who album, recorded the way the bassist would've handled the group. His next album, Whistle Rhymes (1972), released the same week as Pete Townshend's Who Came First, was a rather more uneven album. Nine months later, Entwistle's third solo album, Rigor Mortis Sets In (1973), was released, to indifferent sales and critical response. It was nine years before another Entwistle solo album, Too Late the Hero, would appear. By that time, the Who had long passed their prime (Moon had died in 1978, and the group was in the midst of an awkward reassessment), but the record still managed to peak at number 71 in America. The band was to have retired following its farewell tour in 1982, but Entwistle's financial problems, coupled with the seeming demand for a reunion, led to another tour in 1989, which set the bandmembers up well financially but was a critical disaster.In 1996, a never-released Entwistle album from the mid-1980s titled Rock appeared on the Griffin label; a year before, Entwistle had begun putting together a backing unit with producer Steve Luongo. Christened simply the John Entwistle Band, the outfit featured guitarist Godfrey Townsend and keyboardist Gordon Cotton, with vocal chores divided between all the members. This group issued Left for Live in 1999. In late June 2002, the Who had regrouped and were about to kick off a North American tour when John Entwistle died at the age of 57 in Las Vegas' Hard Rock Hotel.
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