From album
The Who
The Who · 1980 · Track 10
Details
TonalidadG
Compás4/4
Tempo99 BPM
Duración2:39
CompositorJohn Entwistle
ÁlbumThe Who
Año1980
Credits
Music John Entwistle
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The story behind
The first time John Entwistle dared to compose for The Who, the result was Boris the Spider. This piece, which opens the band's second studio album, A Quick One, recorded in 1966, quickly became a regular feature in their live performances. Along with My Wife, Heaven and Hell, and The Quiet One, these Entwistle compositions stood out for their uniqueness and earned a special place in the band's repertoire. Despite its popularity in concerts, the song was never released as a single in either the UK or the United States, although in Japan it did have an edition in 1967 as the B-side of the track Whiskey Man.
The creative spark for Boris the Spider arose during a night of drinks with Bill Wyman, bassist for the Rolling Stones. While inventing names for fantastic animals, Entwistle came up with "Boris the Spider." It is said that he composed it in just six minutes, and he himself described it in a 1971 interview as a horror song. The vocal performance is one of its most distinctive features: Entwistle sang it in a very low register, almost imitating a comedy character named Throat, before switching to a high register in the central section with the phrase "creepy crawly." This mix of registers and the dark humor of the song made it very attractive to live audiences, being the only song from A Quick One that remained on their setlist throughout their entire career. Even, according to Pete Townshend, it was Jimi Hendrix's favorite song from The Who's catalog. The main riff of this piece was also later reused in a version of In the Hall of the Mountain King recorded for the sessions of The Who Sell Out, where Entwistle sang "Radio London." The track also inspired a sequel, My Size, included on Entwistle's first solo album in 1971, which shares the final riff.
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