Old Man Riva

I never really minded that the two tracks weren’t actually from the shows. Seems odd to think about it now! Yes, around that time they were sharing the bill with some really good bands - along with Rush they (co?) headlined with Cheap Trick, which is a gig that I would have loved to have seen. There’s been a fair bit of shenanigans with live albums over the years - someone once told me (and I have no reason to doubt them given how close they were to the project!) that most of the crowd noise on Live and Dangerous is actually from live Bowie recordings/gigs - obviously not the bit where they’re chanting “Lizzy”!

I saw that. All the recorded gigs for the album - and neither Mother Mary or This Kids appear on the set lists! There was talk once upon a time that the studio sessions for the two tracks would be part of any deluxe release but that looks like it’s fallen by the wayside. Schenker’s big gripe with the album (and allegedly the final tipping point for his departure) is the version that Ron Nevison and the band chose of Rock Bottom (“poor Rock Bottom”) so we’ll now get to hear the other options!

This is a good watch...

Until I stumbled across this today I don’t think I’d even seen a pic of one! It’s some collection that Geddy has... good luck to him!

As referenced above, matching head stocks on Precisions were extremely rare but I was leafing through the Geddy Lee bass book today and found this entry. It’s a ‘59 Precision with a matching headstock and interesting story. Hopefully the pics do it justice!

Thank you so much, these have made my day, sir! In turn they led me to John Smith ‘The Girl Chewing Gum, which in turn led me to John Smith ‘The Black Tower’, which in turn...

That’s wonderful, Frank! I used to live just off Seven Sisters Road so I wish I’d known of Ogmios back then...

Maybe the various algorithms don’t recognise the letter ‘b’ on your computer?

Played this ‘Album’ this morning for the first time in years. Much derided by the Lydon purists when it came out (1986), but I absolutely loved it. It was the first time I’d heard Steve Vai, so that was a bit of an eye opener. (It was produced by Bill Laswell, who produced the Sly & Robbie album Language Barrier from a year earlier that I also loved at the time) Again, it just felt completely different to anything else around at the time... If you’re not aware of Album then it’s definitely worth a listen, and if you are aware but haven’t visited it in a while, then it’s definitely worth going back to! Take it away, John..!

As a heads up there’s another example here at 2:50 (the whole clip is worth watching just to see/hear Jonathan Maron)...

Morrison’s in Loughton often play the most unlikely tracks (e.g. Joni Mitchell, John Martyn, Weather Report) in amongst the more Top 40 stuff...

Again, thanks for the link... really interesting (to me, anyhow!).

Based on the Mr Crane info I’d have a stab that it’s Lee Sklar on the alt. version (say, vs. Bob Glaub). There’s a quick ‘snap’ at the end of the recording/take that sounds as though it would be more his Frankenstein Bass sound than a Bob Glaub sound. There are also a couple of fills that sound like the kind of thing he’d play. So much to ponder in life!

That link is excellent, thanks for that... One of the things I couldn’t ever quite get my head around was the whole custom colour thing. I’d read a number of articles over the years that referenced the Fender 60s colours being the same as used in the US automobile industry at the time. Thought there may have been a grain of truth in it but felt it was probably more ‘Fender myth’ than anything, as I could never imagine/picture a Burgundy Mist or Sonic Blue car... until now! It has genuinely bugged me for years!!

Agreed. It’s Bob Glaub being, well, Bob Glaub! I’m a recent convert to WZ and this is the track that made me prick up my ears. Really like the Excitable Boy album.

Sweet Emotion! Love it..! (and a cheeky request for more Cheap Trick please!)

I’m not sure it’s a case that people are more easily offended these days. I think we’re being challenged to be more mindful of others and consider our choice of language, in a way that we perhaps didn’t do previously. I actually don’t see that as a bad thing... I like your suggestion of “kosmische musik”!

I think I may have posted this before, but what the heck... Been listening to/reminding myself what a good album Black Sea is...

... which was definitely an inspiration for this! I heard the Hawkwind track years before I even knew that Neu! Existed...

It’s not normally the sort of thing I’d listen to but from a bass perspective I found this fascinating, and whatever your taste in music it’s well worth a watch. He’s obviously a superb and innovative player, and also seems such a lovely guy!

There was an album out in 1983 that I really dug at the time (it was actually a mini album - not quite EP, not quite LP!) called Snake Charmer. The band were Jah Wobble, The Edge and Holger Czukay. It was such a diverse and oddly wonderful collection of music (only five tracks) that sounded completely different to anything else that was about at the time. Here’s a track called Hold On To Your Dreams (featuring a very ‘house-y’ vocal from Marcella Allen!)...

Alex and the gang again... the audience look truly bewildered!

May not be exactly what you’re after but I’ve a set of D’Addario Half Rounds (50-105) and a set of Rotosound Solo Bass (pressure wound 45-105) that have been tried then removed from a bass that, if you fancy giving them a try, you’re welcome to have. Just PM your address and I can put them in the post... At the very least it may just rule them out of your thinking!

The title track from Robert Pamer’s first solo album. Features the Meters on half of the album (inc. George Porter Jnr on this track) and NY players on the rest (inc Bernard Purdie). I really like his first record (and most of his albums up to his MTV period). It grooves like a good un. There are some good covers on there - Sailin’ Shoes, Sneaking Sally, and From a Whisper to a Scream - where he really delivers. I’m a big fan of his voice. Speaking of ‘From a Whisper...’, for me the definitive version of that (written by Allen Toussaint) is by Esther Philips, which I’ve posted below. There’s some lovely bass playing on both of these tracks... Enjoy!

“Dear Fender Custom Shop, I specifically requested lollipop tuners. Imagine my disappointment when...”