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Examples of 'Less is More'?


Annoying Twit
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Can anyone recommend some examples where a bass player has come up with a quite simple, or understated, bass line, but where it really suits the song and is played very well?

It doesn't have to be root notes only, but something that is simple, but where you can tell that someone really clever has played it, or perhaps where the phrasing and timing is really excellent and makes an otherwise simple line excellent.

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[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1389356370' post='2333185']
who ever did the two lines on walk on the wild side
[/quote]

Good example.

BTW:

[quote=Wikipedia]
[color=#000000][font=sans-serif][size=3]The song is also noted for its twin interlocking [/size][/font][/color][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bass_line"]bass lines[/url][color=#000000][font=sans-serif][size=3] played by Herbie Flowers on [/size][/font][/color][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_bass"]double bass[/url][color=#000000][font=sans-serif][size=3] and overdubbed [/size][/font][/color][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fretless_guitar"]fretless bass guitar[/url][color=#000000][font=sans-serif][size=3]. In an interview on [/size][/font][/color][url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_Radio_4"]BBC Radio 4[/url][color=#000000][font=sans-serif][size=3] ([/size][/font][/color][i]Playing Second Fiddle[/i][color=#000000][font=sans-serif][size=3], aired July 2005), [b]Flowers claimed that the reason he came up with the twin bass line was that as a session musician he would be paid double for playing two instruments on the same track.[/b][/size][/font][/color]
[color=#000000][font=sans-serif][size=3][/quote][/size][/font][/color]

[color=#000000][font=sans-serif][size=3]Still works though!!!![/size][/font][/color]

But I'm also hoping for examples where without a careful listen you might think that it's bass business as usual, but if you listen careful, there's subtle timing/phrasing/grace notes that really do something.

I thought that some classic soul might have good examples. But when I listened carefully to the bass on Roberta Flack's version of "Killing Me Softly", I'm not sure that is the best possible bass line for that song. Although, looking up the track personnel, it's Ron Carter playing bass on that song, and he's a very, very, well respected bassist. So maybe I should re-listen and reconsider.

Edited by Annoying Twit
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[quote name='operative451' timestamp='1389357260' post='2333207']
Qu'est que ce? :D
[/quote]

Tina Weymouth comes up with interesting quirky lines. I've been listening to some of her work on the Tom Tom Club album "The Good The Bad And The Funky" (at least the parts of it which are available on youtube).

E.g. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnaw-LaVVvw[/media]

But it's not quite what I'm thinking of. I'm more thinking of classic ballad that might have a simple bass line, but where the genius of the bassline is in the detail.

Edited by Annoying Twit
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[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1389357651' post='2333217']
Ont he subject of Talking Heads, I nominate this marvellous piece of minimalism:
[/quote]

I've been reading the story of how that album was recorded. In that David Byrne and Brian Eno would try to do the bass themselves, and Tina would be bought in to re-record the bassline.

Are there any soul ballads with a really subtle touch on the bass, but where what's played and how it's played is just perfect?

Edited by Annoying Twit
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I've listened to the two tracks from Letters From Home. I'm not familiar with Pat Metheny's music, and it was much more gentle and accessible than I expected.

The bass playing on Spring Ain't Here and Slip Away are exactly the kind of examples I'm looking for. The playing is simple and restrained, but there are little touches there which just make the lines work so well. Ladies Night in Buffalo didn't work so well for me. It's simple and well played, but fairly straightforward, even in the details (unless I missed something - I'll listen again).

Edited by Annoying Twit
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[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1389357816' post='2333222']
I've been reading the story of how that album was recorded. In that David Byrne and Brian Eno would try to do the bass themselves, and Tine would be bought in to re-record the bassline.

Are there any soul ballads with a really subtle touch on the bass, but where what's played and how it's played is just perfect?
[/quote]

This one. The bass line is simple but perfect for the song. Played by David Hood I believe.

[media]http://youtu.be/u9sq3ME0JHQ[/media]

Edited by gjones
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