The Rock (John Entwistle album)

The Rock is the sixth solo studio album by English musician John Entwistle of the Who. It was Entwistle's first album since Too Late the Hero in 1981, and his only solo album to be issued by Griffin Music.

The Rock
Studio album by John Entwistle
Released	27 August 1996
Recorded	1985–1986
Studio	Hammerhead Studio, Gloucestershire, England
Genre	Rock pop rock glam metal arena rock hard rock
Length	41:58
Label	Griffin Music
Producer	Martin Adam The Rock
John Entwistle chronology
Too Late the Hero (1981) The Rock (1996) Thunderfingers: The Best of John Entwistle (1996)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	link

The album was recorded over a period of eighteen months between 1985 and 1986 at Entwistle's Hammerhead Studios in Gloucestershire. It was originally planned for release by WEA in 1986 but it was not officially released until ten years later. The album has been released in four different editions between 1996 and 2005, each time with different artwork.

The Rock was Entwistle's only album in which he did not sing the lead vocals on any tracks, a role performed instead by American-born Canadian Henry Small, formerly of the band Prism.

The album was re-released in Europe in 2005 on Castle Music, featuring rare bonus content. The reissue was a CD comprising sixteen tracks. It includes the original album, digitally remastered from the original 1/2" mix tapes, alongside three outtakes - two of which were written by and feature Andy Nye on keyboards - and one demo and early versions of the songs featured on the album.

Tour

Eight years before the album was officially released there was a supporting tour for it, which lasted from June to August 1988, covering the United States and Canada.

Critical reception

Mark Deming of AllMusic retrospectively gave the album two and a half out of five stars and wrote that "There's no questioning the technical skill of the performances -- this band sounds tight and expert throughout, and Entwistle and [Zak] Starkey are a mighty rhythm section -- but most of Small's songs are a mass of clichés and the guitar and keyboard figures firmly date this album as a product of the mid-'80s." adding that "The Rock trades [Entwistle's] more distinctive work for faceless cookie-cutter hard rock, and there's no denying he could do better."[1]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Henry Small and Devin Powers, except where noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Stranger in a Strange Land"	Thomas Whitlock Eddie Money Henry Small	4:29
2.	"Love Doesn't Last"	John Entwistle	3:38
3.	"Suzie"	Small Devin Powers Davitt Sigerson	4:28
4.	"Bridges Under the Water"	Entwistle	4:03
5.	"Heartache"		5:05
6.	"Billy"		3:45
7.	"Life After Love"	Entwistle	4:19
8.	"Hurricane"		4:23
9.	"Too Much Too Soon"		3:30
10.	"Last Song"	Entwistle	3:54
11.	"Country Hurricane"		0:43
Total length:			41:58

Additional tracks

2005 re-mastered version bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
12.	"Casualty (outtake)"	Egan Barnacle Andy Barnett Strange	4:21
13.	"Light in the Dark (outtake)"	Andy Nye	4:15
14.	"Break Your Heart (outtake)"	Nye	3:25
15.	"Love Doesn't Last (demo)"	Entwistle	3:34
16.	"Heartache (early version)"		5:07

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[2]

• John Entwistle – bass guitar; trumpet; trombone
• Henry Small – lead and background vocals; trumpet; trombone
• Gene Black – guitar
• Devin Powers (Mark R. Adams) – guitar
• Zak Starkey – drums
• Adrian Cook – keyboards

Production

• Martin Adam – producer; engineer
• The Rock – producer
• John Entwistle – post-production; cover design
• Bob Pridden – post-production
• Jon Astley – mastering

See also

• List of albums released in 1996
• John Entwistle's discography

References

1. "Allmusic".
2. The Rock liner notes. Griffin Music. 1996.

External links

• The Rock at Discogs (list of releases)