John Entwistle 2: Whistle Rymes

Once the promotional aftermath of Who’s Next ended, John went back into the studio to record another solo album. This time he added a few more friends to record Whistle Rymes, which cleverly played on the most common misspelling of his surname. A little harder than the first one, with more sardonic songs about divorce and voyeurism, but the laughs are spread thinly.

“Ten Little Friends” is a one-chord rocker that seems mostly an outlet for Peter Frampton to shred, but the absolute high point for us is “Apron Strings”, with incredible layered harmonies and another terrific guitar solo, this time from Jimmy McCulloch. John’s idiosyncratic piano also drives “I Feel Better”, another humorous breakup tune. “Thinkin’ It Over” continues the path of the rejected to contemplating suicide on a track dominated by a bass synthesizer, which probably sounded awesome in 1972. “Who Cares?” presents more standard rock in the mode of “Heaven And Hell” and “My Wife”, but now with electric piano fighting for space in the mix with organ, and Frampton soaring into the fade.

In the era of album sides there was a respite before “I Wonder”, which despite a decent bridge demonstrates a decline of originality. The synth bass returns for “I Was Just Being Friendly”, which gets points for laughs but finds him trying to reach impossibly high notes, and also on “The Window Shopper”, a musically similar portrait of a different kind of fetishist. The slowly rolling piano on “I Found Out” provides a change of pace, but the album has become something of a treadmill. There are no happy endings here, as “Nightmare (Please Wake Me Up)” presents a musical collage designed to cause nausea.

Whistle Rymes is fairly dark, and a little mean, as demonstrated by the fractured fairy tale in the gatefold and the deranged animals depicted on the cover. Again, there are only a couple of songs that might have worked with the Who, and given the bar that had been set, the album probably would have been ignored if it wasn’t him.

The album finally appeared on CD alongside its elder brother, but with no extras. The version that emerged in 2005 added four tracks called demos, but appear to be full band takes. “I Wonder” is a warmup for the album track, but “All Dressed Up”, “Back On The Road”, and “Countryside Boogie” are all of equal quality to what made it to the album.

John Entwistle Whistle Rymes (1972)—2½
2005 Sanctuary reissue: same as 1972, plus 4 extra tracks