Beedster Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 So, following on from recent forays into 70's Prog with Yes and Genesis I delved back into that other major force in 70's prog The Stranglers.... And wow I'd forgotten just how bloody amazing they were, and how prog they were (certainly far more prog than the punk label they had in '77/78 would suggest). Elements of Squire bass tone and Emerson keyboards? And this is just one of the best tracks ever recorded (in my humble opinion of course) 20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted September 20, 2022 Author Share Posted September 20, 2022 That bass into Hangin Around 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Bay Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 (edited) The main reason I took up playing the bass was JJB. The perfect bass tone, bass lines to die for, a healthy dose of anarchy, coupled with the rest of the band to make perfection on many many songs. Edited September 20, 2022 by T-Bay 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbayne Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 A P bass and a ripped speaker cone. Stranglers bass heaven 😁 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted September 20, 2022 Author Share Posted September 20, 2022 Despite the considerable competition at the time, circa 1977 JJB was and remains the most iconic of bass players. And that's before you factor in those extraordinary lines and the totally unique tone..... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barking Spiders Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 (edited) The Stranglers..... prog?!!??? 😲😱. Don't hear it myself. Sure the keyboards are reminiscent of the Doors. While the sound wasn't ever really punk, in the early years their attitude definitely was. Some of their best tunes are from their mellow more pop phase with gems like Always The Sun, Skin Deep, La Folie, Life Shows No Mercy as well as the ubiquitous Golden Brown. Incidentally I've always considered Hugh Cornwell's guitar playing very overlooked. Many of their songs contain tasteful, melodic and pointful solos. Edited September 20, 2022 by Barking Spiders 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 Which of their singles/tracks was quite a commercial success and yet had 2 or 3 minutes of Hammond/keys soloing? Yep that sounds prog to me. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 5 minutes ago, Barking Spiders said: The Stranglers..... prog?!!??? 😲😱. Don't hear it myself. Sure the keyboards are reminiscent of the Doors. While the sound wasn't ever really punk, in the early years their attitude definitely was. Some of their best tunes are from their mellow more pop phase with gems like Always The Sun, Skin Deep, La Folie, Life Shows No Mercy as well as the ubiquitous Golden Brown. The instrumental parts of side 2 of Rattus Norvegicus could be passed off as unreleased Yes tracks to anyone who wasn't familiar with The Stranglers. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 1 hour ago, Beedster said: That bass into Hangin Around Yep, when the song starts it sounds like it`s on the stereo, but when the bass comes in it sounds like it`s actually in the room with you. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted September 20, 2022 Author Share Posted September 20, 2022 22 minutes ago, BigRedX said: The instrumental parts of side 2 of Rattus Norvegicus could be passed off as unreleased Yes tracks to anyone who wasn't familiar with The Stranglers. Absolutely, absolutely!!! Funnily enough my Stranglers revisit started on Sunday when I found my old Rattus Norvegicus t-shirt in a box and wore it to a BBQ, from where a few people asked what it was , from where I played some of it and from where I was damned if it didn't sound quite a lot like, as you say, some Yes bass and keys 👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted September 20, 2022 Author Share Posted September 20, 2022 16 minutes ago, Lozz196 said: Yep, when the song starts it sounds like it`s on the stereo, but when the bass comes in it sounds like it`s actually in the room with you. Glorious isn't it, grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go. An early Sounds review said something along the lines "The bass sounds like there's a barracuda in the room with you' 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted September 20, 2022 Author Share Posted September 20, 2022 29 minutes ago, warwickhunt said: Which of their singles/tracks was quite a commercial success and yet had 2 or 3 minutes of Hammond/keys soloing? Yep that sounds prog to me. Indeed 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oopsdabassist Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 Love this...sounds a bit prog in the solo if you ask me!! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 9 minutes ago, Oopsdabassist said: Love this...sounds a bit prog in the solo if you ask me!! That's the one I was trying to think of. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skybone Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 Seen them a few times over the years, always thought the keyboards were more Motown/60's influenced (going along with @Barking Spiders Doors comparison). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velarian Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 1 hour ago, Beedster said: Despite the considerable competition at the time, circa 1977 JJB was and remains the most iconic of bass players. And that's before you factor in those extraordinary lines and the totally unique tone..... I should point out that it was his Fender Precision his early sound was known for. The Yamaha BB2000 in that picture wasn’t particularly representative of his bass tone on the early albums but featured on later ones. And just in case anyone missed it on the BB Mega Thread, here’s the actual neck from the bass in the picture: - 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velarian Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 33 minutes ago, Oopsdabassist said: Love this...sounds a bit prog in the solo if you ask me!! I love the bass solo on that track. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barking Spiders Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, BigRedX said: The instrumental parts of side 2 of Rattus Norvegicus could be passed off as unreleased Yes tracks to anyone who wasn't familiar with The Stranglers. that leaves just parts c and d of Down In the Sewer then. Cant hear anything remotely prog in songs like Ugly, Sometimes, Something Better Change, London Lady, No More Heroes, I Feel Like W** and Dagenham Dave. Take out the keys and they're pure punk especially with HC's sneering vocal style and J-J's aggressive bark Edited September 20, 2022 by Barking Spiders 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted September 20, 2022 Author Share Posted September 20, 2022 1 hour ago, Barking Spiders said: that leaves just parts c and d of Down In the Sewer then. Cant hear anything remotely prog in songs like Ugly, Sometimes, Something Better Change, London Lady, No More Heroes, I Feel Like W** and Dagenham Dave. Take out the keys and they're pure punk especially with HC's sneering vocal style and J-J's aggressive bark Interesting what we hear when we listen to music, just saw Stranglers described online as a rare example of a keyboard-led band, which isn't how I'd ever have thought of them until Sunday? I can hear prog in Heroes, Grip and Walk on By for sure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted September 20, 2022 Author Share Posted September 20, 2022 1 hour ago, Velarian said: I should point out that it was his Fender Precision his early sound was known for. The Yamaha BB2000 in that picture wasn’t particularly representative of his bass tone on the early albums but featured on later ones. And just in case anyone missed it on the BB Mega Thread, here’s the actual neck from the bass in the picture: - Noticed it was a Yamaha after I posted it, don;t think I'd ever seen him without a Fender. Re that neck, I'd rebuild a bass around it if it was mine 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velarian Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 6 minutes ago, Beedster said: Re that neck, I'd rebuild a bass around it if it was mine 👍 Not mine unfortunately. 😕 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Bay Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 This is my all time favourite music on tv moment. They wanted to play live but were told they couldn’t apparently so did this- 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 I'm on record on here somewhere as to that bass at 0:14 on Hanging Around being my trigger into decades of faffing about with basses...culminating (on the JJB side) with a signed Shuker JJB P turning up any time soon... Imagine my disappointment (also on record here) when I went to see them a couple of months ago and JJB's sound was...gone. I'm hoping it was a one-night aberration (I've heard from elsewhere it was better on other nights), and they had switched to in-ears only for the tour, so that was probably it, but I was properly gutted... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 2 hours ago, Oopsdabassist said: Love this...sounds a bit prog in the solo if you ask me!! Doesn't even sound slightly prog to me, but it is a good bit of work. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted September 20, 2022 Share Posted September 20, 2022 It`s certainly a lot more of a "cultured" sound nowadays. The playing style is unmistakable but the sound doesn`t reflect his earlier work for sure. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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