JOHN ENTWISTLE -- King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents (King Biscuit)

Back in 1975, Who bassist, John Entwistle embarked on a five-week tour of the US, opening for Humble Pie. Luckily for Who fans, they recorded one of the shows for broadcast on the King Biscuit Flower Hour. For those of you who may not know, the KBFH is a weekly radio show heard on hundreds of stations across the US. They have been recording concerts by the biggest names in the music business for almost 25 years now. Just about any band you can think of has appeared on the show at least once. About two years ago, they announced plans to release selected shows to the public. Most of the shows released so far contain tracks not included in the original broadcasts.

Recorded live at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, PA; this show includes powerful renditions of classic solo material, as well as timeless Who tracks. The '75 tour was in support of the Mad Dog album. The band was excellent, aside from Jeff Daily's wailing on the sax. It just didn't fit in with the music the rest of the band was playing. Like the recent Who reissues, this CD was produced, mixed, and mastered by Jon Astley and Andy Macpherson. Entwistle always complained that his bass wasn't loud enough when touring with The Who. That's definitely not a problem here. The bass is loud and clear. You can hear and feel every note as if you were there.

Although they only played one song from Entwistle's then current album, they treated the crowd to classic Who songs, like "Heaven and Hell" and "My Wife"--even the rarely played "Whiskey Man." Other highlights include "My Size" and an interesting cover of "Not Fade Away." As a bonus track, they included a recent interview with Entwistle, conducted by Steve Luongo (current drummer for the John Entwistle band) and Who sound man, Bobby Pridden. The interviewers would be wise not to give up their 'day jobs' to start doing interviews, but it does give Entwistle the chance to reminisce about the tour a bit.

This CD probably won't attract any new listeners for Entwistle (newbies should first check out the studio versions of these songs, so they can appreciate the live ones); but if you're a Who fan, or a fan of John's solo material, this is required listening.