Sting Appreciation - as a bassist

[xilddx]

[quote name='risingson' post='935784' date='Aug 25 2010, 11:27 AM']This might be an interesting read for some, here Hugh Padgham who was the Police's engineer' for their last few albums talks about Sting's bass ability.



Full article to be found here: [url="http://mixonline.com/recording/interviews/audio_polices_every_breath/"]http://mixonline.com/recording/interviews/...s_every_breath/[/url][/quote]

That's very interesting. He bounces on a trampoline in the Synchronicity Concert film, totally out of time with the music I might add.

As for soloing bass tracks, it's a bit misleading. I recorded what I felt was a near perfect take to a song the other night, a song with a sequenced drum track, so metronome timing. I soloed it before emailing the bass track to the songwriter. It was all over the place timing wise, occasional ghost notes from strings ringing sympathetically, fret noise here and there. I was shocked at how dodgy it sounded and considered doining it again. But I played it mixed at about the right level with the song and it worked perfectly. The timing was just me laying back in the groove or pushing it in the parts that needed it. It wasn't a conscious decision as such, I played how the song made me feel. Weird though.

[BottomEndian]

[quote name='silddx' post='935797' date='Aug 25 2010, 11:36 AM']As for soloing bass tracks, it's a bit misleading.[/quote]
Absolutely. You ever soloed any of the big names on the "Standing in the Shadows of Motown" CDs? Some of them are really messy. Add the rest of the track... bang. It works.

[risingson]

[quote name='silddx' post='935797' date='Aug 25 2010, 11:36 AM']That's very interesting. He bounces on a trampoline in the Synchronicity Concert film, totally out of time with the music I might add.

As for soloing bass tracks, it's a bit misleading. I recorded what I felt was a near perfect take to a song the other night, a song with a sequenced drum track, so metronome timing. I soloed it before emailing the bass track to the songwriter. It was all over the place timing wise, occasional ghost notes from strings ringing sympathetically, fret noise here and there. I was shocked at how dodgy it sounded and considered doining it again. But I played it mixed at about the right level with the song and it worked perfectly. The timing was just me laying back in the groove or pushing it in the parts that needed it. It wasn't a conscious decision as such, I played how the song made me feel. Weird though.[/quote]

Soloing bass parts often reveals an uneven take, even if at the time it might have felt like a tight locking in with the drums, like you say it's all about where the bass part sits in relation to everything else. I think this is what so many people miss when they listen to bass guitar on record, it's the little mistakes that make music interesting, not perfection.

[xilddx]

[quote name='risingson' post='935804' date='Aug 25 2010, 11:42 AM']Soloing bass parts often reveals an uneven take, even if at the time it might have felt like a tight locking in with the drums, like you say it's all about where the bass part sits in relation to everything else. I think this is what so many people miss when they listen to bass guitar on record, [b]it's the little mistakes that make music interesting, not perfection.[/b] [/quote]
Exactly.

[oldslapper]

[quote name='silddx' post='935657' date='Aug 25 2010, 09:29 AM']I know lots of people dislike the guy, because of what they read and see of him in the meejah, but this isn't about that.[/quote]

So glad you put that in silddx, hopefully the thread can continue to be about him as a musician.

Saw the Police when they supported Ten Years After way back in late 70's, then again when Walking on the moon had just charted.

Sting was the most "energetic" musician I had ever seen live, blew me away both times. Great songs, vox and bass lines.

Whatever material of his I have listened to, he seems to use space really well, "less is more" kind of thing (most of the time).

I also like the way he has explored different genre since the Police days.

Not all his material is to my taste, but I respect him as a musician, totally.

John

[xilddx]

[quote name='oldslapper' post='935832' date='Aug 25 2010, 12:10 PM']So glad you put that in silddx, hopefully the thread can continue to be about him as a musician.

Saw the Police when they supported Ten Years After way back in late 70's, then again when Walking on the moon had just charted.

Sting was the most "energetic" musician I had ever seen live, blew me away both times. Great songs, vox and bass lines.

[b]Whatever material of his I have listened to, he seems to use space really well, "less is more" kind of thing (most of the time). [/b]

I also like the way he has explored different genre since the Police days.

Not all his material is to my taste, but I respect him as a musician, totally.

John[/quote]
I meant to put that in the OP! I side-tracked myself with all that Wooten sh*t

His instinctive sense of when to leave a note OUT, is one of the keys to his style I think. He just seems to know how to get a groove moving, and how to syncopate, withourt really thinking about it, which is why his bass playing has so much personality.

Well said, mate.

[Lozz196]

Roxanne - very simple, yet extremely effective bassline. Punctuates the song, and controls the tempo.

So Lonely - great bassline, again, keeping the control on the tempo and punctuating the song.

Walking On The Moon - am sure, if there`s a bassist out there who doesn`t know this song, they`ve [b]still[/b] played it at some point. Amazingly simple, yet once heard, you can`t forget it - the best hook of the song, played by the bass.

Sting may have his faults, in some peoples eyes, but I think most would agree that his bass-playing and composition of basslines are not included in those faults.

[KevB]

If they are still going his son's band are worth seeing as well, he's a real chip off the old block is Sumner jr!

[RhysP]

I've long been a big fan of the Police & Sting as a solo artist.
Seen him live a few times & he's always been superb. I've actually been listening to some of his solo stuff quite a bit lately, mainly The Dream of the Blue Turtles" & "The Soul Cages".

[zero9]

[quote name='BurritoBass' post='935757' date='Aug 25 2010, 11:04 AM']The Police were the first band I discovered outside of my parents record collection. Zenyatta Mondatta was my favourite album. I always rated Sting as a bass player. So Lonely, Canary in a Coalmine, Man in a Suitcase. He was working with a great drummer too[/quote]

+1

Zenyatta Mondatta was the first vinyl album I ever bought. I've been a fan ever since. It's still one of my favourite albums.

[JTUK]

in the track, out of the track..?? ha ha

When I first heard myself in playback solo, I hated the way I played my parts and vowed to clean them all up.
I didn't realise that all that stuff can come together in a positive way or just get drowned in the mix anyway.

But to this day, I always want to hear the bass as clean as possible even though it is largely not noticed..

[guzzibass]

[quote name='Low End Bee' post='935769' date='Aug 25 2010, 11:13 AM']The great songs have ones I don't notice and that's the point for me. They just work as part of the whole. If I really like a song I hardly ever seperate the bassline from the songs as a whole when I'm listening to it.

As I've said I love the song Next To You and he's bashing away at the open E for a large part of it but it works perfectly. So I'll go for that one.[/quote]

Spot on!!! I have always thought if you don't notice the bassline, it's genius. And 'Next To You' gets my vote too.

I also like silddx's analogy '..bass player as a songwriter...rather than....as a muso....'

I can't stand the term - 'muso'.....

[Stingray5]

Another good thread, Nigel... (you're on a roll, dude! )
I was/still am a fan of The Police and even moreso of Sting's solo work. Right up until his last release, that is - "If On A Winters Night". (Sorry, Gordon, great instrumentation, but that vocal... Oh dear)
That's the first time I've had reason to dislike anything Sting has done.
But that aside, he has always been a great inspiration on me as a songwriting, singing, guitar playing, bass player!
Macca has always had the same effect on me for similar reasons (though Sting is technically the better bassist).
Fave Sting songs include: Seven Days, Cowboy Song, I Hung My Head, They Dance Alone, Shape Of My Heart, Hounds Of Winter, When We Dance... oh, sod it - pretty much most of 'em!

[discreet]

[quote name='Lozz196' post='935850' date='Aug 25 2010, 12:29 PM']Roxanne - very simple, yet extremely effective bassline. Punctuates the song, and controls the tempo.[/quote]

Plus one.

[wombatboter]

Tea in the Sahara...just great, so simple but such power
Walking on the Moon..one of the best basslines ever, everyone knows it.
Spirits in the Material world : the bassline combined with the vocal is mindblowing
When the world is running down : just three chords but what a pumping driving bass
If I ever loose my faith : simple but effective
Regatta de Blanc : great how it switches from the "reggae" bassline to the eighth notes for the "Eyoooo".
Still know nothing bout me : bit of a funky bass-line

[jezzaboy]

I`m not really a big fan of him but total respect to the guy. Message in a bottle, so simple but exactly what the song required. I love the fact that he plays one of the most beat up bass I have ever seen and looks damm cool with it. As for his attitude, I have a Parkinson interview he did a few years ago with Billy Connolly on the show as well and he comes across as a right decent bloke.
He states that even if he wasn`t a multi zillionare, he would still be out gigging and would have a day job.

All round top bloke.

Jez

[deathpanda]

[quote name='silddx' post='935657' date='Aug 25 2010, 09:29 AM']It is why I can't get into [b]Jaco[/b], Wooten, Alain Caron, etc. They are not songwriters, they are instrument operators with enormous facility.[/quote]

hate to always defend Jaco, but I'd love to see Sting write a song like this



not meaning to sound disrespectful to Sting, I actually quite like most of his stuff, but Jaco was as good a songwriter as any.

[Lfalex v1.1]

Dammit, wombatboter beat me to it with Tea in the Sahara...
Otherwise, So lonely, Message in a bottle (except you can hear he's out of tune on the recording), Man in a suitcase.
Some of the solo stuff's okay, too. The shift from A Pentatonic to A Major into the middle 8 of "Soul cages" is quite nifty.
Same key. Same tempo. Wholly different feel and nicely executed to boot.

[xilddx]

[quote name='deathpanda' post='936178' date='Aug 25 2010, 05:32 PM']hate to always defend Jaco, but I'd love to see Sting write a song like this



not meaning to sound disrespectful to Sting, I actually quite like most of his stuff, but Jaco was as good a songwriter as any.[/quote]
Umm, it's not a competition

That Jaco song is not something I would ever want to hear again. Only the drums and voice make it funky. If I wanted to hear bass like that I would choose Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick, which is much more listen-able, and a really good song.

It's Just Jaco showing off again, which is what he nearly always does. That's not a song, its a bass idea with music and vocal around it. The only thing I liked about it is that drum drop which makes the music lurch beautifully. That's it for me. Otherwise I would just switch off.

[xilddx]

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='936203' date='Aug 25 2010, 06:01 PM']Dammit, wombatboter beat me to it with Tea in the Sahara...
Otherwise, So lonely, Message in a bottle (except you can hear he's out of tune on the recording), Man in a suitcase.
Some of the solo stuff's okay, too. The shift from A Pentatonic to A Major into the middle 8 of "Soul cages" is quite nifty.
Same key. Same tempo. Wholly different feel and nicely executed to boot.[/quote]
And I'd forgotten how ace Spirits in the Material World is until reminded on the previous page!

[KevinJazzBass]

I really do respect Sting as a musician and a person. Being from the north east (born in Newcastle) adds to this also. I have loved The Police for many years, they're one of the bands names I remember from my dads record collection. As a big reggae fan I found my way back to The Police about 5 years ago and went out and bought the albums for myself. For me their finest moment has to be Reggatta de Blanc then Ghost in the Machine and Outlandos d'Amour in joint second place. I actually listen to their live album more than any of the studio albums though.

My favourite Police bassline to play has to be Spirits in the Material World (although Sting did simplify the rhythm live when singing the verse). My old band done a cover of So Lonely too and that was fantastic to play, as is Walking on the Moon which I play with a band I dep for.

I also have a strong memory from my childhood of driving home from a caravan holiday during a thunder and lightening storm and hearing Englishman in New York for the first time on the radio, the song has stuck with me ever since .

I took my girlfriend to see The Police at Hyde Park a couple of years ago, it was a fantastic gig and apparently the bands last ever UK date.

Best of all I actually shook hands with Sting when he started the Great North Run last year. I had to climb a fence to do so and it probably added a minute onto my race time but it was worth it hopefully some of his right hand's groove was transferred to mine .

[deathpanda]

[quote name='silddx' post='936207' date='Aug 25 2010, 06:04 PM']Umm, it's not a competition

That Jaco song is not something I would ever want to hear again. Only the drums and voice make it funky. If I wanted to hear bass like that I would choose Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick, which is much more listen-able, and a really good song.

It's Just Jaco showing off again, which is what he nearly always does. That's not a song, its a bass idea with music and vocal around it. The only thing I liked about it is that drum drop which makes the music lurch beautifully. That's it for me. Otherwise I would just switch off.[/quote]

wasn't making it a competition, just pointing something out that I didn't agree with personally. and although I disagree, that's fair enough, to each his own (:

[Marvin]

Regardless of his bass playing and tuneful songsmithery, I have it on good authority he serves warm beer at his parties. I will have no truck with such a shameful host.

[iconic]

lagar cold, bitter warm!


Sting was/is the Police for me, and Reggatta' was such a great LP but one of those groups whom for me, the songs were either utterly fantastic or.....

.....I'm sure I saw them on the Old Grey Whistle Test...but may have dreamt that, I gota say though some great basslines, and I may have dreamt this also but isn't 'message in a bottle' one of the hardest lead guitar riffs to play.....although anything with cat whiskers for strings must be difficult to play

I think I'm gonna be going thru a Police bass week now!

He seemed to use quite a variety of basses....Aria SB fretless, Fender Jazz and P bass etc

[url="http://www.bassmasta.net/p/police,_the/all-tabs.html"]http://www.bassmasta.net/p/police,_the/all-tabs.html[/url]

Edited August 25, 2010 by iconic

[steve-soar]

[quote name='deathpanda' post='936296' date='Aug 25 2010, 07:27 PM']wasn't making it a competition, just pointing something out that I didn't agree with personally. and although I disagree, that's fair enough, to each his own (:[/quote]Eh?