Old Man Riva

I was about 14 or 15 at the time. As I may have said on here before, as a kid myself and my mate used to try and go and see any band we could - generally we’d get taken along by my mate’s older brother (he wasn’t particularly pleased about it but did it anyway - once we were at the venue he’d tell us to bu**er off and arrange to meet us at the end!). We’d save up pocket money from milk rounds, paper rounds and doing chores etc. and it all went towards going to see a gig or Coventry City! My dad was also brilliant as I’d invariably not have enough money and he would always try and help me out if he could. Lone Star was a great experience. I’d seen my first gig the previous year (Hawkwind at Cov Theatre) and Rush earlier in ‘77 at Brum Odeon and also Nazareth (still one of the best gigs I’ve seen) at Cov Theatre the same year so seeing Lone Star was a bit different. They were fairly unknown at the time but my mate’s brother had a couple of tickets and his mates dropped out so we went along instead. It was a Saturday night so we were able to go across on the train in the afternoon and visit a place called Reddingtons Rare Records (an amazing place, stacked with records, used to spend hours in there) and Woodroffe’s Musical Instruments (just to look at the basses hanging on the wall!). The gig was a fantastic night, and as I said earlier, the singer was a proper ‘rock star’! It was my desperation to want to go and see any gig I could that drove me to get a Saturday job at a local Woolworths as soon as I was able to, where all the money went towards records or gigs. As a kid, they were brilliant times!

Soul Jazz Records put together some great compilation albums, their catalogue is really worth checking out. This is what’s wafting through the airwaves this morning... getting down with Sarah Webster Fabio and friends on a Saturday morning is good for the soul!

His show could be like that. I’ve a cassette of his show I recorded from the mid-70s (77?) where Suburban Relapse by Siouxsie is followed by Draw the Line by Aerosmith. He offered a fairly eclectic mix of music around that time..!

I went to see them at Brum Hippodrome on the Firing on all Six tour - as a kid I was blown away by it all. The sound seemed massive and John Sloman was my first taste of ‘rock god’ vocalists! Odd things you remember; the place was littered with A5-sized flyers with a Geoff Barton quote, “Lone Star: Catch Them Before They Become Too Big!”. Not sure what it meant but me and my mates collected dozens of them as mementos!! The things you do, eh?! I bought a tour t-shirt, which I think I’ve actually got somewhere - it was salmon pink!!

I think you’re right, it feels as though it’s an intentional part of the track. I really like the bass playing throughout the whole album. I’m a complete sucker for that sound/tone!

Yeah, yeah, I know we’re all sick of being bombarded with rare Japanese jazz rock/funk from the mid 1970s, but what the heck, this is what’s being listened to today. Worth a listen just to hear the solo bass at around 8mins in where someone (presumably the player?!) is merrily grunting along to the playing! As an aside, I really like the bass sound/tone on the album...

Sam Wilkes?

Thanks for further replies - again, really helpful and much appreciated.

Was back at my mum’s recently and had a dig around for some old concert stuff. Found these two programmes, both just a couple of weeks apart from each other - Weather Report at Brum Odeon followed by AC/DC at Cov Theatre (front row!!). There was a bus strike the night of the AC/DC gig so my dad dropped me off and picked me up afterwards - thought it was highly uncool at the time but of course loved him for it! I’ve still got the tour t-shirt from the Weather Report gig, which, needless to say, hasn’t fitted in years!

Jackie Mittoo is someone I’d recommend giving a listen to. He was an original member of the Skatalites and became pivotal in the running and success of Studio One in Jamaica. Here’s a link to a compilation album on Spotify...

Hi all, Thank you so much for the advice/contributions - really appreciated, and one of the reasons why Basschat is such a good place! Some great advice, pretty much all of which wouldn’t have occurred to me, so thanks again! Beedster, I’ll be in touch!

I love those two albums! Should also be noted that Ronnie Wood is a fine bass player. Little wonder he provided some of the more interesting bass lines in the Stones repertoire (no offence to Bill!).

Hi gang, I want to take some pics of a neck date stamp and neck pocket on a 60s P-bass. I’ve never been one to tinker with basses (string height and intonation is right at the end of my technical limit!) so have no experience of removing necks etc. My normal inclination would be to take it to someone who knows what they’re doing but I’ve looked on YouTube and it seems really straightforward. So... is it straightforward (?!) and if I do muster the courage to do it is there anything I need to be mindful of - i.e. will it require a set up afterwards?! Any advice appreciated!!

I love that box set, it’s a great collection. His take on Man of Constant Sorrow is, for me, one of the best performances he’s given. It’s only a short piece but his use of dynamics - how he chooses to really go for a line and then the parts he almost talks through - is a fine example of a singer really feeling a song. What a voice!

Can’t get enough of this lot...

Thanks for that, really like it. I was an avid watcher of The Tube on a Friday (early) evening and don’t remember that at all - wouldn’t imagine it would have been a Muriel Gray choice!!

They’ve been at it again...

Hope this doesn’t derail the thread - and genuine apologies in advance to darkandrew if I do! - but with the discussion regarding the departure of the mighty Derek Forbes and Michael McNeil it’s worth bearing in mind how things could have turned out had they been able to get their producer of choice for the Sparkle in the Rain album, Alex Sadkin. For me, it’s the last album I liked of theirs, albeit I find it patchy, to say the least. That said, there are a number of fine Derek Forbes moments on their. These snippets of two demos have been on the internet for a while and as a fan of the band up to that point I am genuinely disappointed that the album didn’t follow this route, rather than the course Steve Lillywhite took them on. Book of Brilliant Things kicks in around the 3min mark... A Derek Forbes story. Back in a bygone age (circa 1983/84) me and some mates were in a band and sent a load of demo tapes out to various record companies, including Virgin Records - this is when they were based in/around Notting Hill/Ladbroke Grove area. We received a letter (I think) from a guy (again, I think) called Ronnie Gurr and were invited down to Virgin to discuss the demo. Picture us ecstatic and planning how to compete with the likes of Simple Minds, Comsat Angels and bands of that ilk who we were fans of at the time. We met with Ronnie (a fine Scottish gentleman) and were listening to the demo in Virgin’s offices when the door bursts open and in walks Mr Forbes with a huge grin. “Can you turn that fu*king racket down. My granny is trying to sleep next door!” (I’d ask you to apply a thick Glaswegian accent to that, for best effect), and then promptly leaves. ”It’s Derek Forbes”, I muttered, to no one in particular. “He’s great”. ”That was Derek Forbes of Simple Minds”, said Mr Gurr. He then went on to tell us all about how amazing Simple Minds were, how they’d just set a record for appearing at Hammersmith Odeon, and turned the music down (pretty much to off!). We all just looked at each other and waited for the earliest moment to leave!! So to paraphrase the great Scooby Doo show finale: “And we woulda got away with it if it weren’t for that pesky Forbes”!! Still love him...

I’d agree. And in relation to this thread, pretty much every bass line on Remain in Light is repetitive (in a positive way).

Great review! I went with my wife, who it’s safe to say isn’t generally a fan of the type of music that Snarky Puppy play, and she was absolutely blown away by the whole evening, as was I. Also, there appeared to be huge affection from the crowd towards the band and it felt like a real celebration of their career so far. It couldn’t happen to a nicer (or more talented) bunch..!

James Honeyman-Scott’s solo on Private Life is one of my favourite ever guitar solos. Just thought I’d share that interesting fact!!

He was so good at that rolling, repetitive groovy bass line. His lines on tracks like The American, Love Song, Big Sleep, King is White... really add such a lot to the music. Didn’t like them at all after he left and they ventured into stadium territory.

In Trance as Mission by Simple Minds. Another excellent Derek Forbes moment...

That’d do me. Definitely something I could vote for! Though I can confidently say I’d be waiting a long time before I could make it sound anywhere near as good as young Mr Dart does!!

The album, A Song for Paul, is well worth a listen - if you like that track then I reckon it’d be right up your street. I can’t think of an album I’ve liked so much for a long time...