John Entwistle Bass Guitar Solo 1996

[nodreb123]

I saw him in Ottawa in 1997 and my ears are still recovering. Wow !

[1Sifting]

DUDE CAN YOU EVEN BELEIVE IT DUDE

YES!

[infectedvector]

Is it the technique that gives the bass that odd sound, or are the sounds he's making a product of electronics? (or a bad recording?)

[croquis24]

@infectedvector both efect box like the pod from line6

[human453]

hell he's entwhistling the gut's outta that buzzard

[DWDave67]

Is there a finer bassist in the history or rock? I don't think so

[human453]

whoa there john that tone is doing my head in

[keenanX1]

WHAT A WANKFEST!!! I LOVE IT! RIP... JOHN "ROCK IN PERFECTION""

[barnabas50]

wow! magic fingers, R.I.P. John.

[riverboatsong]

I don't really think there is any one better or there will ever be. Thats how you freaking play bass man.

[JollyJollyJoseph]

He has the craziest lookin guitars

[biggdaps]

Now that's slappin the bass!



[batuts71]

i cant even see his fingers, faster than lead guitar!

[TIZZIE313]

LMAO LMAO LMAO

[TIZZIE313]

he cant play

[CorvetteCoonass]

@TIZZIE313 You play something better then.

[hkyoutoob]

2/05/2011 Was his bass ("Buzzard"?) made by Alembic or maybe Becvar in northern CA?

If anyone is certain, send me a message from my channel hkyoutoob thanks.

[whotwo]

Please note Townshend is spelled T O W N S H E N D not Townsend - thanks.

[31531552]

If God played the bass.....well maybe He does...this is as close as it gets!!!

[RCAvhstape]

Anyone know how he plucked with his right hand? It doesn't even look like he's plucking at all, just tapping the strings. Amazing.

[michaelatw86]

@RCAvhstape It's because his action was so low.

[keenanX1]

@RCAvhstape I'm no Ox but I did spend a lot of time working on that four finger righthand technique. John's tone on this is supersonic! I prefer the 70s Oxtones myself but any stage of John's playing 60s-04 was beyond special. Anyhow, check out my Ox tribute channel...just because John was a one of a kind doesn't me that us bassplayers should not persue his amazing example.

[Kradantoste]

we could make a whole album only about john's solos :) like all of the 5:15 lives are like 8 (or more or less) with some 3 from somewhere. Knowing that each has a medium of 3:00 it would go for 33:00 minutes.

Pretty nice ah ;)'

[orkforce300]

that bass is having an orgasm.

[AndyVR10]

that was fucking awsome n he was a genius.. from Argentina salute you :)

[k5steel]

Bad Ass!

[steelerbradd]

Hey, thanks for this post man, really cool stuff, John was/is my hero and the reason I started playing bass in the first place. What was going on there? Was he playing by himself? That night must have been fantastic for you, I am jealous.

[mrcrappyguitarist]

i still cant believe ive just seen him do that....omg!

[bnb1990]

Without his influence, many bassists would be just 1 string at a time thumping, he made the bass jump out front and play lead. Without him Rotosound bass strings would nor have been invented.

[MrTrajan69]

for those who just watched John Entwistle for the first time, what you just witnessed was the "Bassist Of The Million" voted in 2000 by other professional musicians and bass players. You are probably saying to yourself, hole shit! WTF was that? This guy is not even human! LOL believe it, I have seen it. That bass just cuts right through you! Cheers

[atmywitsend511]

@MrTrajan69 I believe you mean "Bassist Of The MILLENNIUM." Not Million, that doesn't make sense.

[scartissue94]

00:44 lol, the dude's hands in the audience. "WE'RE NOT WORTHY! WE'RE NOT WORTHY!"

Everytime I hear him play bass, I smile without realizing it.

[supersketch90]

yes i agree, with the fore mentioned statement, plus his fingers are actually just magic golden butter, that shit is smoooooooooth

[sleazyweaz]

Christ, he glides across those four heavy strings faster and more nimble than most on six skinny ones. He never died, he just went back to whichever planet he came from originally.

[zmoney682]

I knew a tech guy that played John's bass once before he died, he said the action was so low and the strings were so thin it was almost like play a guitar... I mean he's still an AMAZING player but it definently made it easier.

[dubyajay13]

perfect example of how he remains the one truely un-copyable bassist

[carlos7217]

amazing ...

[0O0Axium0O0]

i love his bass but i dont play 4 strings..... and hes fingers are on roids... that bass solo rapes guitar solos in the ear.... its that awesome

[dartvader117]

he knew everything about bass and music... and that was not an exaggeration.

[petercooper69]

damn.. I wish i was old enough to appreciate this kind of stuff while entwistle was alive...

[Fredrockroll]

fuck, look those fingers flying all over the bass

[z4string]

SYNERGY in West Chicago! My band used to play there. Great room. I was at this show sitting all the way up in back on a couch in the Budweiser hospitalty section, whcih was cool because the place was packed well beyond fire code!

Awesome show with Simon Townsend on guitar and vocals. Deafeningly LOUD.

[chadericksen]

Godfrey Townsend was on guitar/vox that night, no relation. Cheers!

[MrTrajan69]

John Entwistle voted, 'BASSIST OF THE MILLENIUM" enough said

[zapist219]

R.I.P.

[kadbase3]

how the hell did he move his fingers so smoothly? RIP John, you are missed.

[mattbass888]

WTF Its not even fair! hes too good! haha

[WeCamefortheDead]

What this man does isn't natural....

[vangelisideras]

master of masters!!!!

[chelseylizzie]

i know you could do that on the bass guitar there`s good then there`s john entwistle

[Gabentwistle]

Thank you John, my magister...

[firesoforion]

No one else even comes close to John Entwistle ... not even close. Both technique and originality. Genius.

[JordanRobbuts]

I say Wooten Wasnt Far off,

[Bluesub6]

He wasn't trying to be the absolute end-all, be-all best bass guitarist in history.

He was trying to be original and entertaining for his fans, and he accomplished that in spades.

[seanseventy]

gets a bit boring after a while

[chadericksen]

Yeah, he should use more hair product, like Pete Wentz.  That'd make it less boring...

[sundowna]

1;27...shreck is in the crowd..lol no, really see his hands..rip john..you were the best..

[LaL0KvCheP]

corrijo...

antes dije... "no es el mejor tecnicamente,,, pero esta entre los mas grandes"

y yo creo no es el mejor tecnicamente.. pero el mas grande...

[commieobama]

John Entwistle is a beast! I Can't Explain

[Schbopo]

No disrespect to the drummer, but I wish he'd shut up so I could hear Entwistle.

[nestorgs]

John Entwistle : THE BEST bassist

[TheSanityInspector]

He reminds me of a boxer working over a speed bag.

[commieobama]

LOL too funny. The Who greatest live band and John Entwistle voted, BASSIST OF THE MILLENIUM.

[williephister]

since when can you go home from a concert and say "yeah man... the bassist stole the show"

[TheSanityInspector]

Well said.

[chrismortloch92]

when you go see primus or rush..

[CommanderCody23]

It's not fair with rush because he sings and does the synth

[jacjr6193]

I love Rush and i love Claypool but nobody can touch the Ox man. Don't get me wrong both Lee and Claypool are the best bassists of their generations. One reason why he is ahead of both of them is i have never seen either of them play while their instruments are being destroyed by the drummer and lead guitarist.

[chrismortloch92]

oh I know, hes way more kickass then rush and primus combined

just responding to someone who said what other bassists do you see stealing the show :P

[davehdw]

There is nobody better than the OX on bass in rock. He only got better as the years went on. There is no one with a greater impact of the rock bass guitar than Mr John Entwistle.

[911jesse]

JE was "on" that night! The "ugly" bass you referred to is a Warwick Buzzard Bass. They are wicked. Retail of 6 grand!!

[BadFad2008]

911jesse, just a remark.  Entwistle ordered Buzzards to Warwick, Modulus and Status. Status started producing them in 1996, but he rarely played on "plain wood" Warwicks, so I'd bet this particular one is either a Warwick with Graphite Modulus neck or a full graphite Status.

In any case, it is -of course- a Buzzard.

[Bluesub6]

This was a red Warwick with the Modulus neck. Check out his "Bass Culture" book, it's fantastic.

[BadFad2008]

Thanks for clearing it up, Bluesub. Would you send me the reference for that book?

[wmdbassplayer]

@911jesse : Who called that bass ugly!?! I would kill to own a Buzzard!

[atgskater14]

@wmdbassplayer

Me too and I haven't the slightest clue as to how to play a bass, I'd just hang it on my wall and stare at it for hours. Especially one with gold strings

[kdvincent1982]

So?

[dlosterman]

What a bass player, forever...

[duckymear]

"shit off a shovel" springs to mind..lol

[ManiacDrummer1212]

"my band opened"

WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?

[chadericksen]

Never got to open for the Who.

This was the John Entwistle Band (w Steve Luongo on drums) on tour a couple months before the NYC Quadrophenia shows that would put Zack where he belongs.

My band Traveling Sky closed our set that night w Young Man Blues. Risky, but it got that crowd fired up for the MAN!

Most memorable? The 40 minutes of John setting up, f'ing around and working through different runs and FX. Brilliant!

You can visit the Traveling Sky site on MySpace.

Cheers!

[ManiacDrummer1212]

that's truly an honor to open for "the MAN!", which is exactly what he is! that must have been one rowdy night!!!

[chadericksen]

More than anything, it was LOUD!!! From start to finish the volume was ridiculously high. That and he was obviously in his element after the show- lots of ladies, laughs and liquor!

"The Quiet One" is a great song but a 100% BullSh!t way of describing John Entwistle! Remember that the next 5 times you hear it on TV.

[ManiacDrummer1212]

haha i was only 6 when this happened. i know i would have loved it though!

it's a bit silly though because he wrote it. i figured it was pete when i first heard it.

[haavar10]

i was -1 year old when this happened xD

[Logankeller352]

me too.... thats a shame

[TomBrooklyn]

How many hours did Mr. Entwistle practice with his instrument to achieve an outstanding level of musicianship on it?

[profjohnfrinks]

you cant practice that... he does it... which sucks for a bass player like myself... its natural to him...

[jlonnon]

This is just a gift of god here...because no human can think about that kind of fluid motion that fast for that long with both hands playing that many notes at once. And he never changes expressions. Just a freak.

[UpTheWazooFilms]

Holy shnikes...

I had no idea Entwistle was so good, up until I witnessed this video. o_o

[Marksiregar]

Damn your band opened for the who? wow nice work bro you must be awesome.

[EuchridEucrow1]

I'm pretty sure this was John's solo band, not the Who.

[FluffMyGarfield]

=0 Oh God, I love him!

[HQEY]

i agree wid detzlink but one of the factors that effected led zeppleins greatness was the chemistry the band had, they are the best band ever, but yes entwistle is the best basser evr, but my seconf fav is victor wooten

[rutteger13]

WOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

that was awesome!

[RJEmpson]

It's actually a Warwick buzzard that John designed himself and costs a little bit more than a BC rich (worse luck) lol

[Bluesub6]

Not to mention the custom-made Modulus graphite neck all his Warwick Buzzards had on.

[Muser13sm]

it looks like hes not playing the bass lol his fingers are so fast!! i love this guy!! RIP

[atgskater14]

@Muser13sm

"It's like he's playing the bass but not really playing the bass." -Pete Townshend

[MattBodossian]

he is really good but its funny to see a guy that plays this soft rock using b c rich basses.

[beatlequeen06]

Good grief, he was amazing!! RIP Thunderfingers!!

[didyouknowimawesome]

AWESOME!!

[detzlink]

My fav band is led zeppelin, but i think the who were better...John Paul Jones is my fav bassist but i consider entwistle as a god...

Did you know that Jimmy Page was near to form Lead Zeppelin (yeah, Lead, they changed to Led so the americans woulndt pronounce "Leed") with entwistle and Moon??

I mean...wtf IMO best Guitarrist, best bassist and best drummer ever..shit the world would have exploaded...

[detzlink]

But...yeah, the rest of band members made The Who and Led Zeppelin as they were...

But its cool to think at that...

[knab69]

I guess in a parallel universe if they had gotten Page, Moon, Entwistle and Townshend together, that would be tits.

Love the guy in the vid doing the Wayne and Garth "we're not worthy" in front.

[detzlink]

Shit, YouTube hasnt allowed to put 6 stars on a vid..

[ydor]

Unreal !!!

[dee52776]

That was sick!

[mart3442]

John only ever played ths well with a drummer who spurred him on. Moonie did and so did Steve Luongo.

Kenny Jones and Zak Starkey just weren't frenetic to drive him on.

[bigvdogg1]

Please!

[KlipKultur]

Unratable. One of the best YouTube clips. Really!!!

[ascent7]

I love the ox I love the WHO soooo much but I really think John lost perspective when he did these huge solo's

[TravelingWilbury7]

HOLY SHIT!!

He is, or was, a master!!

RIP

[mavriksfan11]

Your band opend for The Who! I need to listen to some of your music!

[AndrewMon2008]

hes a master

[abuseforapie]

i cant get over how shit billy sheehans rig is

[RJEmpson]

Jimmi is a legend, but in Bass terms the Ox reigns supreme!!! RIP JE

[AndrewMon2008]

hes got some killer distortion going there too

[ChewbacaChunx]

Man that buzzard is beautiful

[OriginalMoonbeam]

Thanks for posting..this is great!

[modman1960]

THE JIMMEY HENDIX OF THE BASS

[terencedollard]

Jimi Hendrix is the John Entwistle of guitar.

[terencedollard]

Actually, Jimi Hendrix didn't hit the scene until after Entwistle recorded My Generation. Thus Jimi is the Entwistle of guitar.

[terencedollard]

Then we'll have to agree to disagree. I'll have to rely on the recordings from that time to validate my opinions. Compare Entwistle's playing to any of his contemporaries and it's the same "quantum leap" but without hearing Jimi first. It sad that most early Who recordings are so poor, you can't hear much of what he's playing, but check out A Quick One and you'll hear how much he was doing behind Moon and Townshend. And how you can remember anything at your advanced age is beyond me...;-)

[tbcass]

I'm a bass player from way back. I also was around then and while you're right that Entwhistle improved as time went on it's pure speculation that it was due to Hendrix's influence. Personally I doubt it except maybe to encourage him to play anything he felt like. Entwhistle was the type of player who wanted to get better no matter what. I don't hear Hendrix in his playing. It's pure Entwhistle, a unique and truly great Bassist.

[Anticrombie918]

but jimi is the keith moon of guitar and/or the entwhistle of guitar

[Zelious12]

I know no bass players that say "Oh man, Jimi Hendrix had a huge roll in my playing style." Um...no.

[mart3442]

What about Billy Sheehan? He always cites Hendrix as an influence.

[abuseforapie]

bilyl sheehan sucks, his rig sucks and he's trying to turn bass into a guitar.

his rig sucks aswell.

[Drumbum2097]

True that. I totally agree, Billy Sheehan and John Entwistle aren't even comparable. Billy She-male (as I call him) should be classed as a guitar player.

[Zelious12]

Amen, at least somebody said it.

[terencedollard]

Actually, Jimi Hendrix didn't hit the scene until after Entwistle recorded My Generation. Thus Jimi is the Entwistle of guitar.

[ShorthandedGoal]

The Os. The Bass. The Man.

[lummond]

Always, always solid. Not enough can be said about Big Johnny Twinkle. That said, I was never a fan of his '96 tone. That shwishy distorted chorus just didn't do it for me.

[Fulcanelli333]

Wow, everything else is just not enough loud. Thunderfingers...

[jammy137]

i love his bass:) warwick buzzard! i want 1 for myself lol and he is the REASON i now play bass

[waynegacy666]

It isn't a Warwick Buzzard, It's a Status Buzzard signature model made of graphite instead of wood. It's more expensive than the Warwick one.

[john683011]

Actually, I think at the time this video was shot, he was still using the Warwicks.

IN fact, on closer inspection it is DEFINITELY a Warwick. The Status models have conventional humbuckers where the Warwicks had the split-coil P-bass pickups in a v-formation. EMGs to be exact. They were all wood, though I think some of his were built with Modulus graphite necks. One of the reasons he went away from Alembics was because of the necks not staying stable enough for him.

[r0berito]

Even though the sound quality is bad... this is loads better than one of the 5.15 solos.

[TheSanityInspector]

Congratulations on having been able to be there, and thanks for posting.

[53fendertele]

wow

[DesolationRow0]

he cannot be human... i dont believe he died... i think he just went home...

[pierrelecook]

UNBELEIVABLE!!!!!!

[TheMisprints]

WORLDS BEST BASSIST

[kingfor4aday]

Best bassist

[knuckle9]

BASS

[ElQuesoDiablo]

West Chicago?! If I'd known I would've been there!

[CowboyAndy81]

"Can you even believe it man!!"

[Manonsilvermountain]

It's been more 15 years I listened to "Talking 'bout My Generation"

I still get goosebump on the Bass Solo !!!!

[VTBIRDMAN]

and with his passing the world became a less colorful place, rest in peace john you rocked like no one could or can, thanks

[ericabeatriz28]

unhuman... he didnt die... he just went home...

[MRRARESDAD]

The OX, R.I.P.

[DesolationRow0]

i cant put it in words... i think you know... he is not human... he didnt die... he just went home...

[whotles69]

omg, i'm so jealous that you saw this LIVE!!!! John is unbeatable!

[therealmikha]

Unbelievable.

[trollasaurus]

I'm so blessed to have grown up listening to this kind of music. I had young parents who had me when they were teenagers in the sixties, so there was always some Who, Rolling Stones or something of the like on the turntable. Poor kids today....ain't got shit to listen to. I feel sorry for them.

[bobbym1010]

i know...and im one of them...:(...the who kick ass!!

[trollasaurus]

Wooo! Hell yea!

[TheSanityInspector]

They can always listen to YouTube!

[revolverocelotbobbys]

this man invented the bass solo. my generation, anyone?

[Dunlop232]

There are no adjectives powerful enough to describe him.

[toddbc]

Those fingers could crush stone!!  BRILLIANT!

[historicalrecall]

Fucking awesome! Amazing, i'm a guitar player, but after i saw John's 5:15 bass solo on DVD i bought a bass the Next day!

Truly The God of Bass Guitar, The God of Rock Thunder.

Mister John "Thunderfingers" Entwhistle

R.I.P.

Rock On every one

Keep on rocking in the Free World!

[Atrip]

he is a god RIP

[rdore2000]

My biggest inspiration RIP John.

[Atrip]

He is a god. May he rest in peace

[thndrfingers]

we are just mere mortals... John Entwistle is a god!

[IguanaStooges]

Astonishing performance by the Ox !