Customer Reviews

The Rock

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The whole appeal of John Entwistle's work was his darkly-humoured writing, thunderous bass, and distinctive yet very capable vocals. None of this are easily found in The Rock, recorded in the mid-80s. It is chock-full of musical cliches from the era, both musically and lyrically (stock guitar riffs and synthesizers, trite lyrics).

It's really an Entwistle album in name only, as he wrote only 4 of the original 10 songs, defers lead vocals to Henry Small, and shows none of the musical complexity of his Who or '70s solo work. It does rock a bit, though, in a mindless way. And the review above is right, 'Love Doesn't Last' is the best song on the album.

If you want a better sample of some of his later work, get the 'Left For Live' set.

Love doesn't last is a great song in demo version and why not spend a few bucks for the greatest bass player that ever lived. A true genius and a wonderfully twisted individual.

Only 3 songs from THE ROCK were penned by John Entwistle, and those 3 are the best. He does not sing, a former PRISM singer, does the job. This album does sound like the PRISM of the 80s when Eric Small, took over the lead of this great canadian band. The best songs are of course, penned by Entwistle: LOVE DOES NOT LAST, LIFE AFTER LOVE and LAST SONG (a nod to THE WHO). The best song here is LIFE AFTER LOVE a perfect song for ROGER DALTREY to sing. A 2005 re-edition adds 5 bonus tracks:
1. Casualty (Out-Take)"
2."Light In The Dark (Out-Take)"
3."Break Your Heart (Out-Take)"
4."Love Doesn't Last (Demo)"
5."Heartache (Early Version)

The original album remains unreleased since according to John Enrwistle, something happened with the record company and the authorities got the tapes.

I am a huge Who and Entwistle fan and it was delight that I finally got to listen to "the Rock" by the latter. This is, however, for the fan only. It is enjoyable listening to the familiar bass guitar, but the songs apparantly were recorded in, and sound very 80's - and not the best of, mind you. Also the singer employed for this band has the high vocal range of Mickey Thomas and thus the combo of the 1980's and a Thomas sound-a-like make this seem more like a cd from the band Starship than anything from Entwistle.
If you are a huge Entwislte fan or love the Starship/80's sound than this is for you...if not stick with "Thunderfingers: The Best of John E." instead.

First of all I must point out I am a fan of John Entwistle. This review is hard for me to write because I was not impressed at all with this release. It does indeed have the 1980's sound but it doesn't have John Entwistle's sound. If you listen to his previous work he always injects a bit of humour into his lyrics and the musical arrangements are more imaginative. This has none of that.
This album sounds like any number of bands that were popular in the 1980's. It's not what a fan of John's would be expecting.
If you are not familiar with John's solo work outside of The Who I recommend NOT starting with this one.

This album is an excellent example of how an 80's album should sound. Good tunes such as "STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND" and "SUZIE" are really solid rockers. The only drawbacks are John Entwistle didn't write many songs on this album and John Entwistle does not sing anywhere on the album.

Except for Zakk Starkey on drums, there is no reason to buy this album. The vocals are a bad Paul Rodgers copy and the songs are a cross between Mr. Mister and the Outfield, minus the commerical success. The late Mr. Entwistle should be comended for trying to form another group after the Who "broke up," but this was really a stiffing of his personality for the sake of pop music that didn't go anywhere. The album really doesn't hold up well and there's only one song up to the standards of older Entwistle compositions. Hell, when I saw the Rock on tour in '87, they could barely make it through the set. Even John had enough and left the stage half way through the set. Buy another Entwistle album.

If you like AOR with alota' soul this is for you. Henry Small (Prism, Small Wonder) is one the best vocalists there is. The songs were recorded in 1988-89 and are spectacular. The group is a collection of incredibly strong players. And with Henry on vocals "You know it's great!"