Old Man Riva

A black Fender Precision with a maple neck that hung on the wall in Woodroffes music shop in Brum, circa 1977/78. I used to get the train from Cov to Brum just to go and look at it. Woodroffes was a bigger store than Coventry music shops, where the staff in the latter were an elitist nightmare to beginners at the time. Woodroffes, on the other hand, were as friendly and welcoming as they could possibly be...

[quote name='drTStingray' timestamp='1474664271' post='3139793'] Wahay - some great memorabilia on show here. I have one of those somewhere as well - pretty sure it's incomplete though! I do, however recall 1970 being the first World Cup (of far too many groan.....) with an expectation of England being capable of winning - 1966 was simply a bolt out of the blue. And at least there were some decent excuses back then - as you say Mr JF nobbling G Banks, R Moore etc etc - these days the average world class football star is pictured in Tatler or wherever sunning and cavorting on a foreign beach the day after England get beaten before the knockout stage even starts. [/quote] None of the Nike 'climacool' nonsense back then for the sweaty footballer, just Aertex shirts that looked like giant teabags. Black football boots (except for Alan Ball and possibly one of the Newton brothers) were de rigueur and sensible length shorts were, well, sensible. Happy days... My favourite Beatles album is Revolver.

[quote name='thebrig' timestamp='1474641795' post='3139533'] Just to clarify, I love the bass and I actually brought it because of the mojo, and I certainly have no intention of selling the bass just now, I was really just curious to know whether a refinish would affect the value at all. This bass is a fantastic player and the tone is to die for, it really does sound like a vintage bass, I don't know much about it's history but it's obviously been around the block a bit, and the case is even more battered, but it does turn a few heads when I walk into a venue with it. Edit: I will be leaving it as it is. [/quote] I've a '71 P-bass with an A neck and it's a fabulous instrument. In terms of resale, an A neck 70s P-bass will generally fetch a bit more as they were (I believe) a special order instrument at the time. A vintage dealer once told me that, in (very) basic terms, a refin would broadly halve the value of a vintage instrument vs. an original finish instrument. I've also read the same in various publications. FWIW, I reckon your bass looks great in its current state! Enjoy how it looks, plays and sounds, and leave well alone, would be my tuppence worth...

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1474584556' post='3139096'] Esso 1970 world cup collectors' coins was the thing in my day. Terrible scenes of playground bribery, extortion and savage physical violence. What made it all so horribly pointless was the actual competition was a total wash-out for The England. [/quote] Less of a 'wash out', more a feeling of what might have been had G Banks not been gastrically challenged by naughty J Foreigner. No forgetti Peter Bonetti...

Does anyone know what the line is he's playing at 6:35 on this Aguilar demo? https://youtu.be/1exrD10v4mg

Fred Thomas - The J.B.s and James Brown. Doesn't ever seem to get a mention when 'best players' are discussed. A fabulously gorgeously funky treasure of a player.. Not just the James Brown tracks, but loads of funky good stuff on the J.B.s albums..

[quote name='bassbiscuits' timestamp='1466892015' post='3079637'] Caught the tail end of something called Wolf Alice earlier on. No idea what the music was like but they were giving it some stick and having a ball, so might have to YouTube them. [/quote] Never seen/heard of them before seeing the Glastonbury stuff on telly today - really liked them. That last track was Giant Peach..

A guy called Jackie Mittoo was a big player in the Studio One house band (was also a member of the Skatalites). A lovely Hammond player, his solo stuff is really worth checking out - this excellent compilation courtesy of Soul Jazz Records is a good place to start https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jackie-Mittoo/dp/B0000457L5/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1466897702&sr=1-1&keywords=jackie+mittoo

Same as others have said, not heard of them before but really like it how they sound. I always thought/assumed (incorrectly) Funky Broadway was a Wilson Pickett composition. Fast forward a few decades and the singer reminds me of Lee Fields..

The Blue Note album cover designs are consistently fabulous, IMO.. There are a couple of good books out there that feature them as a collective that are well worth a look.. Here's one of them.. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FA0iWu5eOc"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FA0iWu5eOc[/url]

Like Malcolm Tucker without the wit..

More recommended listening from the Bass Player article.. Everything he does is so sympathetic to the song/track.. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrsr5WKstos"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrsr5WKstos[/url] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aO6IXKXeHk"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aO6IXKXeHk[/url]

The fantastic Mr Vega is on the cover of June 2016 edition of the US Bass Player magazine - interview inside foccussing on Mr V's pick technique. Which led me to this... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4QRb6Ec0r8"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4QRb6Ec0r8[/url]

[quote name='NancyJohnson' timestamp='1464792072' post='3062598'] I read in Disco 45 that the next single would be called Ballroom Blitz (whatever that actually meant).[/quote] 'Disco 45'.. Blimey, that's a blast from the past. It felt like rough book paper and was in an odd/vibrant colour each month! My overriding memory of that publication is seeing the lyrics to Ride a White Swan in print and it nearly blowing my tiny head off - what could it all mean, it sounds amazing but makes no sense?!

[quote name='project_c' timestamp='1463217249' post='3049573'] True, i don't think it's that bad a tune all in all to be honest, it's more that the expectations are just too high for a band who made such a giant impact the first time round. Everything is going to seem contrived in comparison. I personally would have quite liked a funky drummer rehash though. [/quote] They will always be measured against their Silvertone debut album - Second Coming was slated at the time, again being measured against the debut album. I've a soft spot for them - and to my ears there are worse things out there - but this does have shades of an England football song about it.. Off to listen to Fools Gold..

Had this on today and it captured the mood nicely.. two New York boys sounding very Californian [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzrDs_Vaho4"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzrDs_Vaho4[/url]

Such a great performance... [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A84zXyL7DI#t=505.170132"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A84zXyL7DI#t=505.170132[/url]

[quote name='drTStingray' timestamp='1461780104' post='3037626'] I've previously been involved in reproducing several of his songs including Purple Rain. The most horrific was Signs of the Times, which relies on minimalism, awesome groove and R and B feel, and an appropriate voice. Unfortunately the average Dog and Duck lot often have too much crunch, a distinct lack of soul and groove and can often turn things into a blues rock widdle fest, be it Hard to Handle, Prince, Stevie Wonder etc etc. There are exceptions but not many!! Oh and Prince was awesome in my book - sadly I never saw him live. [/quote] Simple Minds set the bar so painfully low when they decided it'd be a good idea to give Sign o' the Times a bash that any band playing the Dog & Duck would sound great in comparison.. Oh man..

So many to choose from but if pushed it'd be Mountains off the Parade album..

Snake Charmer EP by Jah Wobble, The Edge & Holger Czukay

Ta again - I look forward to watching the live stuff.. As an aside, the opening to the track Skate U is reminiscent of Jeff Beck's Cause We've Ended as Lovers off his Blow by Blow album, which is an album you might enjoy?

[quote name='JamesBass' timestamp='1460378302' post='3025119'] Their last strict studio album was 8 years ago, so everything since 2008 is a CD/DVD combo! The DVD's are GREAT watching lots of good angles to see how each player plays, what gear they use etc. [/quote] Ta. Really fallen into the Tell Your Friends album (not watched the DVD yet). The music's right up my street, and the band are fabulous, but wow, Michael League is such a tasty player - groove and melody in abundance, and the way he plays with/leaves so much space is just great..

[quote name='JamesBass' timestamp='1460321174' post='3024694'] That Snarky song is called 'Flood' it's from the album Tell Your Friends [/quote] Cheers! Purchased from Amazon (and it's a CD/DVD to boot..)

Thanks for Fela Kuti/Afro Beat/Snarky Puppy recommendations - lots to check out. I found a Snarky Puppy Dunlop Sessions gig on YouTube that I love but can't find anything similar on record - anyone point me in the right direction? [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IE9I6NrE2S0&ebc=ANyPxKpHvsRbfGJs3Z4CHl6nhYFSNYJVKiXSQR1Rj0kT0N-c8TInF4qZlfBQ_MUeDGBIeeq9z92qPRbF-MMYFeAHYSJSBfQSug&nohtml5=False"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IE9I6NrE2S0&ebc=ANyPxKpHvsRbfGJs3Z4CHl6nhYFSNYJVKiXSQR1Rj0kT0N-c8TInF4qZlfBQ_MUeDGBIeeq9z92qPRbF-MMYFeAHYSJSBfQSug&nohtml5=False[/url] (Back to the original clip) With reference to Jonathon Maron, does anyone know what the line is he's playing at 6:35 on this Aguilar demo (his playing throughout is excellent, IMO).. [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1exrD10v4mg"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1exrD10v4mg[/url]