Old Man Riva

I’ve genuinely got no idea what’s going on, but I love it…

Same here. The thought of Trace Elliot gives me nightmares. In the mid 80s I was in a band who got a publishing and development deal (I don’t think the latter exists nowadays, but it was essentially a pre-record deal where a label would fund gear and studio time, and have first dibs on you if you developed into what they were after). Trace Elliot were quite the thing at the time, so the first thing I did was ditch my perfectly fine Marshall 50w amp and 4x12 speaker for a snazzy, all singing, all dancing Trace Elliot rig. 250w amp, with UV light, a fan you could switch on (and off!), various bells, whistles, and a graphic equaliser that gave you the biggest smile you could ask for. I got to the first rehearsal and carted in my new rig. The band and sound guy crowded around, then slowly shuffled away in silence, leaving just the drummer, who, after about half-hour of witnessing me frantically move sliders up and down, and twiddle various knobs, said bluntly, “that sounds sh*t, can you get your old stuff back?!”. It did, and I couldn’t…

Isn’t it just! Genuinely one of my favourite bass parts to listen to (and play along to). Some lovely bits down the low end, some lovely bits up the high end. Melodic motifs, a few double stops and everything he does is sympathetic/adds to the track. But the killer thing for me, amongst the terrific playing/part, is the space he leaves. It really makes it. The tone/sound has often baffled me. I always assume it’s played finger style, but at times, when I listen to it, it sounds like it could be a pick. I’ve spent way too much time over the years pondering this!

As well as the thundering bass line, the demo versions (or at least the stuff they did before getting signed) also feature exactly what you’re referencing. The droning open D, whilst playing a melody on the G - akin to Hooky, Gallup - is all in there…

Mark O’Toole wrote the bass line for Two Tribes. There are demo versions online that show the song in its early stages (pre ZTT) with the bass line pretty much formed. I think there was also a BBC (John Peel?) session at one point too (again, pre ZTT). I always really rated him, even more so after I saw them live at Brum NEC in, around ‘86/‘87, touring the Liverpool album. It certainly belied the myth that they couldn’t play…

I’ve known John W for nearly 40 years, and he’s always been superb at his craft. It’s great to see him getting a deserved mention. A proper hidden gem, and a lovely guy with it!

Went to see Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew last month doing the Remain in Light album, and they also did a really good version of this, which I’d completely forgotten from back in the day…

Well now it’s pretty much a revolution we’re in!

Excellent! We’re no longer a club, we’re now a movement!

Well, if there’s at least two of us, I think we can officially call that a club!

On the subject of Bill Laswell, he’s responsible for an album that I really like, that seems to float under the radar a bit; Panthalassa: The Music of Miles Davis 1969-1974. It’s an album of his “reconstruction and mix translation” (yes, really!) of some of the tracks off On The Corner, In a Silent Way etc. The electric/funky period of MD’s early 70s work. I remember it getting a bit of a slating when it came out from certain quarters - “you can’t remix Miles Davis!”. I think it’s a terrific piece of work, where Bill Laswell’s quality control on which tracks (or even parts of tracks) would work best, and also looking to genuinely add something extra, rather than simply piddling around with EQs, to try and make it sound more ‘modern’. It also holds a special place in my heart, as it was one of the only two albums I ever bought on MiniDisc, in that short-lived period where that particular format was going to become the absolute future, in terms of how we listened to music. Yeah, right!

Yes, Rhythm Killers is ace! Thanks for posting the Material record. I wasn’t aware of the album, but just over a minute in and there’s a Sly/In Time sample, so I’ll definitely be checking it out! I also really like the Strip To The Bone album they did with Howie B, in the 90s…

Same here! I actually really like the whole album, which can be acquired taste, to say the least. The odd things that resonate as a younger person (I was early twenties when this came out); the album inner sleeve was like a plastic transparent affair, rather than the cardboard type that I was used to. It baffled me then, and it still baffles me to this day! It was through her albums that I became aware of Sly & Robbie - I was a little obsessed with their Language Barrier record, which was out in the same year (see also the first Big Audio Dynamite album, and Scritti Politti’s Cupid & Psych ‘85)…

Not heard that before. I prefer it to the album version, which I wasn’t really a massive fan of. I think this version has an airiness that suits the song better. Liam’s vocal sounds really good. Thanks for posting…

This is a good read… https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/feb/14/getting-it-back-the-story-of-cymande-review-the-second-life-of-a-cruelly-ignored-uk-funk-band As others have said, they’re well worth checking out, and, yes, you probably have unknowingly heard them before!

From 1985, I really love how he approaches this track…

For me, watching/listening to Neil Young play electric guitar is one of life’s greatest musical pleasures…

The first time Marcus Miller (knowingly) came onto my musical radar was in 1985, when he appeared as a session player on Bryan Ferry’s Boys and Girls, and Cupid & Psyche 85 by Scritti Politti. His bass line on The Chosen One is fab (though Wikipedia credits it to Alan Spenner, which I’m pretty sure isn’t correct), and is well worth a listen for anyone who hasn’t heard it. For full disclosure, I know it may be considered heresy, but I’m not really a fan of Marcus Miller (sorry!), but his playing on The Chosen One I could listen to all day…

My formative music years began in the early 70s, through Radio1 and Top of The Pops. I personally think the quality of the ‘pop’ music (i.e. 45s heard on the radio and seen on a Thursday night on the telly) were as high as in any era. Many years later artists like Bowie, Roxy, Mott the Hoople etc. are viewed as seminal and influential acts, but to me and my mates at the time, they were the just some of the pop stars of the day. Other than Slade Alive and the first Roxy album, all I’d heard at that point were singles. So there’d be the aforementioned, along with the likes of Alice Cooper, T Rex, Sweet, The Faces regularly appearing on the telly on a Thursday evening. It was all we knew, so felt the norm. And then it would be discussed next day at school, in some detail! This is not to denigrate or dismiss other eras (and most folk probably feel their generation was/is the best) but I feel blessed that I grew up when I did, for many reasons, but especially for my first steps into music. That’s a long-winded way of saying “I agree”!

Pretty much mirrors my thoughts! Seeing Roxy on Top of The Pops was amazing. My uncle and aunty went to see them in Coventry on their first tour at Lanchester Polytechnic (now Coventry University). There was an old motel (The Chase) on the outskirts of Cov near where my uncle lived, that had a late bar, and was a stopping off place for bands at the time. By chance Roxy were staying there so my uncle got me their autographs (on an old brown envelope that had his gas bill in it - no idea why he was carrying that around with him!). I put it away somewhere safe at my mum’s, so safe I’ve not seen it for over fifty years! I can’t really put into words how their music changed my world as a kid. The first two albums were so influential. The Bogus Man used to genuinely scare me (so much so, when I was playing side two I’d skip to the second track!). An amazing piece of music. A wonderful band, whose music I still love as much today as I did when I was a kid…

Even though it doesn’t say it’s a Refin in the description, based on The Gallery’s previous/recent prices for similar pre-CBS refinished Precisions, I think it’s safe to say it is…