Published on May 15, 2000
John Entwistle’s bass work has a unique sound that is hard to
miss. There’s that distinctive thump-slap that rings out over all
the other instrumentation and vocals that lets you know that “The
Ox” is behind the four-string.
Of course, when he steps out of his role as the bassist for The
Who, he often assumes the role of bandleader, as he does on
Left For Live by The John Entwistle Band. And while the
performances here are palatable, sometimes you can’t help but wish
you were listening to The Who instead of Entwistle’s own
ensemble.
Naturally, a generous helping of Who tracks helps to feed this
urge, from the well-known (“The Real Me,” “Young Man Blues”) to the
lesser-known (“Had Enough,” “905”). The performances on these
tracks are especially inspiring – so much so that if you had the
disc on and someone came into the house, they might think you were
listening to an unreleased Who live show. This is meant has high
praise for Entwistle’s bandmates – guitarist/vocalist Godfrey
Townsend, keyboardist/vocalist Gordon Cotten and drummer/vocalist
Steve Luongo.
Three things quickly strike me about
Left For Live, though. First, I really wish the liner notes
specified whether Entwistle handled the bulk of the lead vocals or
whether they were shared throughout the band. There seemed to be
enough variety to warrant the opinion that the duties were
split.
Second, whoever mixed this album should be shot for burying
Entwistle’s pre-song comments so far back into the mix. I had to
crank up the volume on my old JVC receiver to hear what he was
saying, especially on the intro to “905” – and damn near blew out
the windows in my office when the music kicked in. (Yeah, great way
to impress the new neighbors.)
Third – I don’t know exactly why, but the non-Who material
tended to suffer in comparison. It’s not that tracks like “Darker
Side Of Night,” “Success Story” or “Too Late The Hero” were bad,
but it’s hard to separate Entwistle the solo artist from Entwistle
the key member of The Who when the music is so intertwined like it
is here.
Unfortunately, some of the performances do suffer. “Under A
Raging Moon” doesn’t live up to its billing as a tribute to
Entwistle’s late bandmate, especially when a rather lackluster drum
solo fills up half the song. Other tracks, like “Endless Vacation”
and “I’ll Try Again Today,” just don’t cut the mustard.
In the end, though, it is the tracks once recorded by The Who
that save the day for Entwistle and company – and somehow, I don’t
think that was the original intention.
Left For Live has its moments, and is sure to be somewhat
pleasing to both Entwistle and Who fans alike… but this disc
really is a sign of what could have been a solo triumph for
Entwistle.