John Entwistle's solo material - between and after his time as founding bassist of The Who - will be compiled into a new box set from Edsel.

The Ox, due May 10, collects six of his solo albums - Smash Your Head Against the Wall (1971), Whistle Rymes (1972), Rigor Mortis Sets In (1973), Mad Dog (1975), Too Late the Hero (1981) and The Rock (1996) - along with 29 previously released bonus tracks, including demos, B-sides and other rarities. (The track lists mirror individual reissues of these albums from 2005, as distributed by Castle Music in the U.K. and Sanctuary in the U.S.) A 28-page booklet includes full album credits and liner notes by Alan Robinson. Each disc is packaged in a gatefold mini-replica of its original album sleeve, with albums and booklet housed in a clamshell case.

With so much going on in The Who - the hard-driving guitar and prolific pen of Pete Townshend, the soaring vocals of Roger Daltrey and the all-out rhythmic attack of the late Keith Moon - it could be easy to overlook the contributions of Entwistle (1944-2002). "The Ox," as he was known, brought an influential low-end style to British rock music but was also formidable as a songwriter himself, penning classics for the group like "Boris the Spider," "Heaven and Hell" and two "nasty songs" from the rock opera Tommy ("Cousin Kevin" and "Fiddle About"). But he often privately worried about the lack of room for his contributions. The Who's label Track Record agreed enough to issue Smash Your Head Against the Wall - the first solo effort by any member of the group. Entwistle performed and produced most of the album himself, with a few guest contributions along the way - including percussion on "No. 29 (Eternal Youth)" by bandmate Moon along with Vivian Stanshall and Neil Innes of The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band. (Entwistle's engineer was an up-and-comer named Roy Thomas Baker, and the same piano at Trident Studios that Entwistle played on this album formed the backbone for Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," produced by Baker.)

Smash Your Head, which also included a remake of "Heaven and Hell" and the fan favorite "I Believe in Everhything," would set the template for Entwistle's solo work: smartly-written and treasured by a cult of fans (nearly all of his solo albums hit the bottom half of the Billboard 200). Many of his albums also featured great guest work: Whistle Rymes featured contributions from guitarists Peter Frampton (just starting as a solo artist) and Jimmy McCulloch (who would join Paul McCartney in Wings two years later), while 1981's Too Late the Hero featured significant guitar contributions from the Eagles' Joe Walsh (who'd befriended Entwistle when The James Gang opened for The Who some years prior) and 1996's The Rock is backed by Zak Starkey, son of Ringo Starr, on drums. (That same year, Starkey would take the drum kit with The Who, performing 1973's Quadrophenia in its entirety; he's been their touring drummer ever since.)

Full track listings and pre-order links for The Ox are below. (As an Amazon affiliate, we earn a small portion off these links.)

The Ox (Edsel EDSL-0178, 2024) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Disc 1: Smash Your Head Against the Wall (Expanded Edition)

1. My Size
2. Pick Me Up (Big Chicken)
3. What Are We Doing Here?
4. What Kind of People Are They?
5. Heaven and Hell
6. Ted End
7. You're Mine
8. No. 29 (Eternal Youth)
9. I Believe in Everything
10. Cinnamon Girl
11. It's Hard to Write a Love Song (Demo)
12. The Haunted Can Be Free (Demo)
13. World Behind My Face (Demo)
14. My Size (Early Take)
15. What Kind of People Are They? (Demo)
16. Pick Me Up (Big Chicken) (Demo)
17. No. 29 (External Youth) (Demo)
18. Ted End (Demo)

Tracks 1-9 released as Track Record 2406 005 (U.K.)/Decca DL 79183 (U.S.), 1971
Track 10 released on Sundazed SC 6116 (U.S.), 1997
Tracks 11-18 released on Castle Music CMRCD1152 (U.K.)/Sanctuary 06076-86385-2 (U.S.), 2005

Disc 2: Whistle Rymes (Expanded Edition)

1. Ten Little Friends
2. Apron Strings
3. I Feel Better
4. Thinkin' It Over
5. Who Cares?
6. I Wonder
7. I Was Just Being Friendly
8. The Window Shopper
9. I Found Out
10. Nightmare (Please Wake Me Up)
11. I Wonder (Demo)
12. All Dressed Up (Demo)
13. Back on the Road (Demo)
14. Countryside Boogie (Demo)

Tracks 1-10 released as Track Record 2406 104 (U.K.)/Decca DL 79190 (U.S.), 1972
Tracks 11-14 released on Castle Music CMRCD1153 (U.K.)/Sanctuary 06076-86396-2 (U.S.), 2005

Disc 3: Rigor Mortis Sets In (Expanded Edition)

1. Gimme That Rock 'N' Roll
2. Mr. Bass Man
3. Do the Dangle
4. Hound Dog
5. Made in Japan
6. My Wife
7. Roller Skate Kate
8. Peg Leg Peggy
9. Lucille
10. Big Black Cadillac
11. BP Big Gallon Jingle ("100 Miles of Motorway") (Demo)
12. BP Big Gallon Jingle ("100 Miles of Motorway") (Demo with Voiceover)
13. Made in Japan (Early Take)
14. Peg Leg Peggy (Early Take)

Tracks 1-10 released as Track Record 2406 106 (U.K.)/MCA Records 321 (U.S.), 1973
Tracks 11-14 released on Castle Music CMRCD1154 (U.K.)/Sanctuary 06076-86397-2 (U.S.), 2005

Disc 4: John Entwistle's Ox, Mad Dog (Expanded Edition)

1. I Fall to Pieces
2. Cell Number 7
3. You Can Be So Mean
4. Lady Killer
5. Who in the Hell?
6. Mad Dog
7. Jungle Bunny
8. I'm So Sad
9. Drowning
10. Mad Dog (Single Mix)
11. Cell Number 7 (Single Mix)

Tracks 1-9 released as Decca TXS-R 114 (U.K.)/Track Record/MCA 2129 (U.S.), 1975
Tracks 10-11 released as Decca U.K. single F R 13567, 1975

Disc 5: Too Late the Hero (Expanded Edition)

1. Try Me
2. Talk Dirty
3. Lovebird
4. Sleeping Man
5. I'm Coming Back
6. Dancing Master
7. Fallen Angel
8. Love is a Heart Attack
9. Too Late the Hero
10. Sleeping Man (Demo)
11. Dancing Master (Demo)
12. I'm Coming Back (Demo)
13. Love is a Heart Attack (Demo)
14. Overture (Outtake)

Tracks 1-9 released as WEA K-99179 (U.K.)/Atco SD 38-142 (U.S.), 1981
Tracks 10-14 released on Castle Music CMRCD1200 (U.K.)/Sanctuary 06076-86414-2 (U.S.), 2005

Disc 6: The Rock (Expanded Edition)

1. Stranger in a Strange Land
2. Love Doesn't Last
3. Suzie
4. Bridges Under the Water
5. Heartache
6. Billy
7. Life After Love
8. Hurricane
9. Too Much Too Soon
10. Last Song
11. Country Hurricane
12. Casualty (Outtake)
13. Light in the Dark (Outtake)
14. Break Your Heart (Outtake)
15. Love Doesn't Last (Demo)
16. Heartache (Early Version)

Tracks 1-11 released as Whistle Rhymes Ltd./Bitsa Talent WR-0001 (U.K.)/Griffin Music GCD-615-2 (U.S.), 1996
Tracks 12-16 released on Castle Music CMRCD1201 (U.K.)/Sanctuary 06076-86415-2 (U.S.), 2005