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Bassists blagging it?


EJWW

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Great energetic bass lines in the tunes below but I get the impression (perhaps wrongly, who am I to judge?) that whoever is on bass is winging it and it has been recorded in a single take. 

 

Any other well known tunes hit the charts with bum notes included?

 

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I remember recording bass/drums/rhythm guitar in one take and selecting the track that had the best feel rather than the most perfect. Of course if there was a track with both that would be chosen but back in the 80s there was still the thought of getting the best feel to the track (well in sone studios anyway).

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There’s a well known Stones one where Bill messes up - can’t remember which one!

As I’ve gotten older I quite like the looseness that I hear on various songs. When I first went into a recording studio in the early 80s it was the most daunting and unenjoyable experience. I was nervous as hell and didn’t enjoy it one bit. 

Some of the bass sounds in the 80s didn’t help either - very unforgiving.

Skip to the late 80s and into the 90s and things got better.

It’s only in recent years (thanks to things like YouTube) where I’ve heard some of the tracks that I’ve loved and been inspired by, and surprise surprise, they’re not all perfect but still sound great and inspiring!

Maggie May is a great example...

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44 minutes ago, FinnDave said:

If you don't eff it up occasionally, then you ain't trying hard enough. I'd much sooner hear a passionate performance than a perfect one.

Wholeheartedly agree. I must be one of the most passionate players around.

 

Here's Tony levin's take on a train wreck that happened to him with King Crimson, or a he puts it "a Crimson train wreck is, well, not like other bands… a King Crimson train wreck takes out the whole train station. And maybe the town it’s in!"

https://tonylevin.com/road-diaries/king-crimson-2017-tour-pt1/red-bank-show2

 

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I came across a cracker just today... far from famous, mind. 

It’s a lovely Staples Singers cut of an old gospel tune, recorded in the mid 60s, and it's obvious the bassist (who can certainly play) has pretty much NO CLUE when Pops Staples is going to go to the IV chord. Assuming it was one take and live in the studio, I suspect Pop's open tuning and lack of conventional chord shapes may have thrown the poor bass player off. Anyway, they couldn't be arsed to do a re-take, not even one. Amazing.

Fab groove though...

 

 

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3 minutes ago, KK Jale said:

I came across a cracker just today... far from famous, mind. 

It’s a lovely Staples Singers cut of an old gospel tune, recorded in the mid 60s, and it's obvious the bassist (who can certainly play) has pretty much NO CLUE when Pops Staples is going to go to the IV chord. Assuming it was one take and live in the studio, I suspect Pop's open tuning and lack of conventional chord shapes may have thrown the poor bass player off. Anyway, they couldn't be arsed to do a re-take, not even one. Amazing.

Fab groove though...

 

 

See also:

 

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6 hours ago, EJWW said:

Great energetic bass lines in the tunes below but I get the impression (perhaps wrongly, who am I to judge?) that whoever is on bass is winging it and it has been recorded in a single take. 

 

Any other well known tunes hit the charts with bum notes included?

 

Bass on Maggie May was played by Ronnie Wood. 

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12 hours ago, FinnDave said:

If you don't eff it up occasionally, then you ain't trying hard enough. I'd much sooner hear a passionate performance than a perfect one.

This, 100%. Rather hear or see a one off performance than a routine "Job".

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11 hours ago, spectoremg said:

Bass on Maggie May was played by Ronnie Wood. 

Google says not

Personally I love Ronnie Lanes bass playing 

I agree it may seem raw and unpolished but I like it and his bass lines are quite unusual which to me makes him stand out as a bass player

I rate him highly 

D7DB2778-5B06-47B6-971E-AF65841E91EB.jpeg

Edited by gareth
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1 minute ago, theplumber said:

It was indeed Ron Wood who played bass and seemingly every other instrument apart from mandolin,which was played by one of the Lindisfarne guys according to an interview with Ron from Classic Rock magazine online.

Wood or Lane I like the bass playing

Guitarists can make good bass players 

Both Hendrix and the Killers know this to be true

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1 minute ago, theplumber said:

It was indeed Ron Wood who played bass and seemingly every other instrument apart from mandolin,which was played by one of the Lindisfarne guys according to an interview with Ron from Classic Rock magazine online.

Ray Jackson - credited on the album as "The mandolin was played by the mandolin player in Lindisfarne. The name slips my mind."

Rod wasn't getting on with Ronnie Lane by the time Every Picture Tells A Story was recorded, so his big mate Ronnie Wood played bass.

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17 minutes ago, theplumber said:

It was indeed Ron Wood who played bass and seemingly every other instrument apart from mandolin,which was played by one of the Lindisfarne guys according to an interview with Ron from Classic Rock magazine online.

I saw that interview, and although a big fan of both of 'The Two Ronnies', Wood and Lane, I did think time has maybe drawn a bit of a mist over what Mr Wood seemed to think happened in the recording of the album 'Every picture tells a story'

I had always thought that the album and the single 'Maggie May featured Ronnie Wood on bass and guitar & Ian McLagan on organ (& piano?), but all of The Faces mimed to the track on Top of the Pops.  Kenney Jones and Ronnie Lane only featured on one track on 'Every Picture...' the cover of The Temptations 'I know I'm losing you' . This song had long been a staple of The Faces live shows. I believe the credits on the album were vague about this, largely due to the fact that it was on Mercury records and The Faces were signed to Warner Brothers? ( Didn't explain the use of two of the band on the album though, Wood and Mclagan.)

Other personnel on 'Every Picture...' included Martin Quittenton (co-writer of Maggie May) on acoustic guitars, Micky Waller on drums , Ray Jackson (Lindisfarne) on mandolin and Pete Sears on keys.

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40 minutes ago, casapete said:

I saw that interview, and although a big fan of both of 'The Two Ronnies', Wood and Lane, I did think time has maybe drawn a bit of a mist over what Mr Wood seemed to think happened in the recording of the album 'Every picture tells a story'

I had always thought that the album and the single 'Maggie May featured Ronnie Wood on bass and guitar & Ian McLagan on organ (& piano?), but all of The Faces mimed to the track on Top of the Pops.  Kenney Jones and Ronnie Lane only featured on one track on 'Every Picture...' the cover of The Temptations 'I know I'm losing you' . This song had long been a staple of The Faces live shows. I believe the credits on the album were vague about this, largely due to the fact that it was on Mercury records and The Faces were signed to Warner Brothers? ( Didn't explain the use of two of the band on the album though, Wood and Mclagan.)

Other personnel on 'Every Picture...' included Martin Quittenton (co-writer of Maggie May) on acoustic guitars, Micky Waller on drums , Ray Jackson (Lindisfarne) on mandolin and Pete Sears on keys.

When they mimed Maggie May on Top of the Pops, they didn't bother getting the mandolin player to come to the shoot, but instead got John Peel to pretend he was playing the thing.

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15 minutes ago, Japhet said:

When they mimed Maggie May on Top of the Pops, they didn't bother getting the mandolin player to come to the shoot, but instead got John Peel to pretend he was playing the thing.

I believe he was dragged on stage with seconds to go, hence his very embarrassed looks. They also played footy on stage as well I seem to recall.

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