Ex Norwegian and Friends: Sing Wistle Tunes

Roger Houdaille of neo-psychedelic pop outlet Ex Norwegian got in touch with his friends to pay tribute to the songs of John Entwistle. The Who's bassist dark sense of humour and knack for passive-aggressive putdown tracks got the back on Earth as Peter Townshend was reaching for the stars. The Ox's solo albums never sold in bucket loads, but each one of them contains a few memorable compositions. Sing Wistle Tunes shines a light of gems like Apron Strings, When I Was A Boy, and Doctor Doctor.

It is the melody that is taking centre stage on this labour of love. That's a wise choice, as it points to Entwistle arranging skills. He also played Frecch horn and piano, which allowed to break out the range of the bass. It is quite easy to label Entwistle's lyrics as a tad misogynistic, but dig a little deeper to appreciate his sense for melody. As a bass player, he was never about solely providing a basic rhythm, plus his use of tapping enabled him to become a force nature, especially when playing live.

He is still a major influence and a touch stone for musicians who are looking for a way to reach his level (most of them fail miserably). Sing Wistle Tunes is a worthy reassessment of Entwistle as a composer, so anyone who comes across one of his studio albums in the cut-out bins, should not hesistate and buy it instantly. Until a full complete set of his output is sitting on one's shelves, this collection of covers will do nicely.

Sing Wistle Tunes is released via Think Like A Key (CD, digital).

Tracks:

1. Ex Norwegian as The Silky Strings - My Size
2. Ex Norwegian as Intersteller Norwegians - 905
3. Ex Norwegian as John's Fabric - Apron Strings
4. Ex Norwegian as Turn Of Your Ex - It's Your Turn
5. Ex Norwegian as Stoned Norwegians - Cousin Kevin
6. God Bless The Evil Child - Fiddle About
7. Peg Leg Eddie - Peg Leg Peggy
8. Ex Norwegian feat. Mark Johnston - Whiskey Man
9. Ex Norwegian as Disco Divorce - My Wife
10. Ex Norwegian feat. John Howard - What Are We Doing Here?
11. Ex Norwegian feat. Fernando Perdomo - When I Was A Boy
12. Ex Norwegian as Peep Show Poets - The Window Shopper
13. SUPER 8 - Boris The Spider
14. Ex Norwegian as X-Dirty Norwegians - Talk Dirty
15. Ex Norwegian feat. Keith Smart - Doctor Doctor
16. Ex Norwegian as The Regular Norwegian - I Wonder
17. Ex Norwegian feat. Nick Frater - I Believe In Everything

» exnorwegian.com