Old Man Riva

You could also include Hallogallo by Neu!, but, for me, this sounds like Simple Minds before Simple Minds …

None more disco…

Son Of A Preacher Man is one of my favourite lines - everything about it is quality. In terms of bass lines that hide away unnoticed in songs we’ve heard a thousand times, have a listen to the verse parts in Layla next time it’s on the radio …

It’s been reduced already?! Now ‘only’ (cough) £13,500 …

I think that’s it, he looked a little ‘lost’ in the interview - comfortable and uncomfortable sums it up well. He doesn’t seem too sure what to play or what to say. It probably seemed a nice idea at the time, being approached for an interview, then when in the hot seat he looks distinctly uneasy … Probably doesn’t help having seven strings, no frets, no side markers, with a hawk chasing a rabbit as your only reference point!

I actually felt a bit sorry for the guy, but if you asked me why I wouldn’t be able to tell you?!

This is a nice piece by Tom Bukovac …

Agree, it was a record that I really got into at the time (haven’t heard it in years, mind). For reasons best known to myself, I always associate it with The Christians first album and Song, by It’s Immaterial.

I loved the Strange Kind of Love album when it came out - the title track was great (challenging!) to play along to. Always sounded like a Stingray to my ears… I once worked with a sax player who had done a number of sessions for Gary Katz in the 90s. Demanding, but ended up with stellar performances. It sounded tough, to say the least! Apropos of nowt, I own a t-shirt with Becker, Fagen & Katz on it!

Not all in one go. Okay, all in one go. ”It was an inside job, George. I can smell it…”

Andy does commission sales. He’s sold vintage stuff for me in the past and has always been excellent to deal with…

He was excellent, wasn’t he. I think my favourite Alan Murphy track is (his playing on) Nick Heyward’s Warning Sign. His playing/parts elevate the track to another level, and make the song, for me. And of course, Big Sky!

Some excellent suggestions so far, and I would add... (based on what you've said you've listened to and got something from already) Donny Hathaway 'Live'. A really good live album with Willie Weeks playing some lovely fluid lines; always adding and never detracting from the songs. There's also a section of the set - Voices Inside (Everything is Everything) - where the band are introduced and given solo spots. Willie Weeks' section is sublime - not flashy but wonderfully sing-a-long catchy lines that I always found were really inspiring. I'd also recommend Bowie's 'David Live' for a masterclass in playing-across-a-number-of-styles-in-one-gig, by Herbie Flowers.

Is that an all original bar you’re using?!

The Tubes are a band I really wished I’d seen, I’ve only ever heard great things about them live. My mate (who dictated the lovely message for Mr Waybill to write) is not easily impressed but is unrelenting in his praise for PP, both as a musician and a person…

Not strictly bass-related, but what the heck… a mate of mine was pals with the drummer, Prairie Prince. PP was playing with The Tubes at Shepherds Bush Empire many years back and my mate thought it would be nice to get me a memento of the evening… I mean, Fee’s right, of course, but did he really have to be so blunt?

Dad, if there was anyone around these parts that could possibly make me see the error of my ways it would be you, but I just can’t get with the programme, especially where basses/instruments are concerned! And being a bleeding-heart, (non) tofu-munching, Guardian-reading, lily-livered liberal I can confirm that “he” raises the same levels of perplexity as “she”, so there’s no gender bias here, sir! I’m slightly disappointed, mind, that you’d refer to your bat as ‘it’ and not its given name - Roger or Peter or Marianne etc.

Don’t actually have too much of a problem with the “all original apart from…” language - I’ve probably used it myself at times! Other than it being a bit mangled on the grammar front it does seem a fairly straightforward way of referencing what’s what on an instrument. Nothing really winds me up language-wise musically other than people referring to an instrument as “she”.

It’s great, isn’t it! I wish someone could/would have explained the line to me when it came out - I nearly mangled my fingers trying to learn it and still didn’t get anywhere near! If I’m honest it was only after watching the pdbass video I learned how the intro was played, with the pull-offs and hammer-ons!

… funnily enough this popped up the other day. I subscribe to the guy’s channel (pdbass) - his breakdown/appreciation of various players and tracks is always interesting (though some of the titles can be a bit clickbait-y!). This appraisal of Nick Beggs/Too Shy is well worth a watch.

It’s a rock ‘n’ roll morning, and I don’t think it gets much better than Bon era AC/DC (not a fan of the Brian Johnson era). Saw them at Cov Theatre in 1978 and to this day it’s still one of the best gigs I’ve seen. Sadly this wasn’t in the set but it’s one of my favourite tracks of theirs. This features the bluesy outro, which didn’t appear on the vinyl version at the time, and does sound a little odd (or maybe it’s what you get used to?). Anyway, over to Bon…

Did it sound, erm, ‘loud ‘n’ proud’ though?!

Charlie Mingus wrote him a letter endorsing his/this version. Probably doesn’t get much better than that… And then there’s this thing of genius and beauty…