A couple of weeks ago I purchased the restored version of The Kids Are Alright on DVD.
Wow!
15 years ago I was turned on to the Who because of this very film. As a bass player, I tried as much as possible to emulate the stylings of John Entwistle.
Anyways, since I got the DVD, I’m in love all over again. Even my 7 year old daughter has become a Who fan.
One of the cool features on the 2nd disc, is the ability to isolate the video and audio feed of Entwistle’s bass playing on Baba O’Reilly and Won’t Get Fooled Again.
Amazing rythm. Fantastic melodies. Great punches.
Could it be that John Entwistle is the greatest rock bass player ever?
This, in terms of how much he contributed to the success of the band and his actual technique.
I think Entwistle was an awesome bass player and I have always been a fan of his. I can even remember where I was when I heard that he died.
I don’t think he’s the best ever though. Names like J.P. Jones and Claypool come to mind for superlatives. Honorable mention goes to Justin Chancellor of Tool.
If you enjoyed the “Ox Cam” in TKAA, you should check out his solo in the Royal Albert Hall DVD. They filmed it via a camera at the head of his bass, looking down the strings. Very cool.
Sorry, the title has already been claimed by Jaco Pastorius. If you type in the words “world’s greatest bass player” on Yahoo, you will get a multitude of hits concerning the life and times of this guy. While the title was somewhat self-proclaimed, the man was a major force in jazz.
Please tell me you’re kidding. If I had to pick a best musician in The Grateful Dead, perhaps it would be him given the lack of competition, but “Best Rock Bassist of All Time?!?!” Please!
Someone’s gotta nominate Berry Oakley, and that someone will be me.
Also, just to get it out of the way, I’ll say Paul McCartney. Because eventually the name will come up, and then someone else will say “no way,” and then another party will correctly point out that his style was hugely influential in the development of rock bass playing.
(In the interest of full disclosure, however, I should tell you that I consider Keith Moon to be the greatest drummer ever, Pete Townshend to be the greatest guitarist ever, and Roger Daltrey to be the greatest vocalist ever.)
Why is it so important for people to affix labels to artists such as “greatest ever”. There is no such thing as “greatest” and I’ve never understood the temptation to label someone as such. There are so many talented bassists out there, each with their own strengths and nuances.
Entwhistle was a wonderful bassist. His contributions to The Who are noteworthy. I would think that he would be embarrased though to be though of as the best when there are so many others.
James Jamerson
Pino Palladino
Jack Bruce
John Paul Jones
Geddy Lee
Chris Squire
The greatest bass player of all time is Kim Deal of the Pixies.
My grounds for saying this are the same as for my saying that Rachael Ray is the World’s Greatest Chef of all time. Unbelievable cut-off-circulation-to-everything-but-you-know-where hotness goes a long way.
So can I. Watching the morning news in the bedroom, and then going downstairs to break it to my wife that her uncle had just died. (His first wife is my mother-in-law’s kid sister - my one claim to cling to the coat-tails of fame.)
Not that I ever really knew him, I only met him the once at his son’s wedding, and he had quite a number of better acquaintances to be hobnobbing with. He pushed the boat out in fairly grand manner, mind you.
I agree with the OP - I first noticed Entwhistle’s modest genius on the same Kids are All Right video, and was blown away. He just stands there at the edge of the stage while the rest of the band go bananas, but his hands are like gymnastic tarantulas. Quite amazing.
Hold on there buddy. She can’t be the world’s greatest chef by those criteria; not while the delectable Nigella Lawson is on the planet. She can bake my polenta any time.
I have to nominate Jack Casady of Jefferson Airplane/Hot Tuna as one of the greatest bass players ever. In fact, it’s quite disheartening to see the list get this long without Casady being mentioned!
John Entwistle was the greatest rock bassist of all time. As far as I’m concerned, all other bassists whose names might come up in such a discussion are, at best, battling it out for an honorable #2.
