The Last Bass Outpost

Main Forums => The Outpost Cafe => Topic started by: nofi on May 07, 2016, 07:09:59 AM

Title: Herbie Flowers, Walk On The Wild Side
Post by: nofi on May 07, 2016, 07:09:59 AM
a cool melding of two instruments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBXUP5GqYJs
Title: Re: Herbie Flowers, Walk On The Wild Side
Post by: Rob on May 07, 2016, 06:30:42 PM
Nice Piece
Title: Re: Herbie Flowers, Walk On The Wild Side
Post by: nofi on May 08, 2016, 07:04:55 AM
i like herbie. a very humble, self effacing man.

"sounds stupid, doesn't it."

"that electric thing".

some quotes from the clip.

rock music in particular could use a ton more guys like mr. flowers.
Title: Re: Herbie Flowers, Walk On The Wild Side
Post by: wellREDman on May 08, 2016, 10:28:18 AM
that village green in the opening clip is two villages along from me, Herbie's son is one of my best mates, but I've only met the man himself once in passing.

The crazy thing about the bassline from Wild Side is that years ago when sampling was starting to become a thing, one of the landmark cases was over a big hit over here called "Can I kick it" which used the bassline, Lou Reed's lawyers succesfully sued for thousands over it, yet not a penny went to Herbie, who only ever made £26 pounds for writing one of the most influential basslines ever.

 the only serious royalty money Herbie made is for the song "Grandad we love you" which only the uk'ers of a certain age will remember

Title: Re: Herbie Flowers, Walk On The Wild Side
Post by: Alanko on May 08, 2016, 11:55:30 AM
I had "Grandad we love you" on a cassette when I was a kiddo.

I guess this was the flipside:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsXJcIODLtQ
Title: Re: Herbie Flowers, Walk On The Wild Side
Post by: Dave W on May 08, 2016, 08:40:22 PM
that village green in the opening clip is two villages along from me, Herbie's son is one of my best mates, but I've only met the man himself once in passing.

The crazy thing about the bassline from Wild Side is that years ago when sampling was starting to become a thing, one of the landmark cases was over a big hit over here called "Can I kick it" which used the bassline, Lou Reed's lawyers succesfully sued for thousands over it, yet not a penny went to Herbie, who only ever made £26 pounds for writing one of the most influential basslines ever.

 the only serious royalty money Herbie made is for the song "Grandad we love you" which only the uk'ers of a certain age will remember

That's what happens when you're a session man paid by the hour or session. Doesn't matter if you came up with the bassline.
Title: Re: Herbie Flowers, Walk On The Wild Side
Post by: uwe on May 09, 2016, 05:42:50 AM
I also liked his bass playing on Bowie's Diamond Dogs.
Title: Re: Herbie Flowers, Walk On The Wild Side
Post by: wellREDman on May 09, 2016, 06:26:26 AM
That's what happens when you're a session man paid by the hour or session. Doesn't matter if you came up with the bassline.

Oh i know, its just the perfect example of the disconnect between reality and copyright law,
 two sets of people fighting it out in court for thousands of pounds over something neither of them wrote

with you one the Diamond Dogs Uwe, and just about everything else he played on. I get to see him do War of the Worlds live pretty much every year 
Title: Re: Herbie Flowers, Walk On The Wild Side
Post by: nofi on May 09, 2016, 06:56:38 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKOQapYcyhE
Title: Re: Herbie Flowers, Walk On The Wild Side
Post by: Hörnisse on May 09, 2016, 03:47:47 PM
If you pan this one in stereo you get a clean channel on one side and the reverb sound on the other.  Maybe one of the first times a bassist had detuned the E string?  I know Anthony Jackson also did this on the Billy Paul hit "Me And Mrs. Jones."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV_Wqomv8QU&index=5&list=PLg0uvz4jBTloDRGNj7h8qEdsTfXTsJ06I
Title: Re: Herbie Flowers, Walk On The Wild Side
Post by: gweimer on May 09, 2016, 04:04:21 PM
Well, Black Sabbath was playing detuned before David Essex released his hit in 1973.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3hsCiGS9Uc

Harry Nilsson released this in 1971?  I love how the bass gets tuned down as he plays, and then brought back up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QghwNqlCRE
Title: Re: Herbie Flowers, Walk On The Wild Side
Post by: Rob on May 09, 2016, 04:12:49 PM
That's what happens when you're a session man paid by the hour or session. Doesn't matter if you came up with the bassline.
I've understood Jammerson was paid around $35 for a typical Motown session
Title: Re: Herbie Flowers, Walk On The Wild Side
Post by: uwe on May 10, 2016, 04:34:13 AM
Martin Turner of WA tuned his E string down to a D already in the 70ies as D was a preferred key of Wishbone Ash. He most likely wasn't the first one either.
Title: Re: Herbie Flowers, Walk On The Wild Side
Post by: Hörnisse on May 10, 2016, 10:47:27 AM
Herbie had his E string detuned much lower than D.  Perhaps I should have said "among the first to employ the technique on a US top 5 hit."  :)
Title: Re: Herbie Flowers, Walk On The Wild Side
Post by: Dave W on May 10, 2016, 11:35:53 AM
I've understood Jammerson was paid around $35 for a typical Motown session

Converted to today's dollars, that's probably not far off from today's rates. I remember an article (maybe in BP, maybe online) from the early 00s where one of the Nashville session guys said the going rate was $125 for a three hour session.
Title: Re: Herbie Flowers, Walk On The Wild Side
Post by: westen44 on May 10, 2016, 02:32:28 PM
Herbie was also playing on some of the tracks on George Harrison's "Somewhere in England" and "Gone Troppo" albums from the early 80s. 
Title: Re: Herbie Flowers, Walk On The Wild Side
Post by: uwe on May 10, 2016, 05:11:25 PM
I really liked Gone Troppo, it fell through big time with critics (like all of George's albums following All Things Must Pass), but it grew quickly on me.

Of course I only bought it at the time because Jon Lord (a neighbour of George in Henley-on-Thames) pushed some synths on a solitary track!
Title: Re: Herbie Flowers, Walk On The Wild Side
Post by: westen44 on May 10, 2016, 06:44:06 PM
I really liked Gone Troppo, it fell through big time with critics (like all of George's albums following All Things Must Pass), but it grew quickly on me.

Of course I only bought it at the time because Jon Lord (a neighbour of George in Henley-on-Thames) pushed some synths on a solitary track!

There is nothing wrong with buying an album just because someone you like is on a track.  I've done it before.  In a sense, that song that Jon Lord played on (Circles) was like George Harrison's last Beatles song to be recorded.  He wrote it at the time of the White Album.  Simon Leng said something to the effect that listening to the song was like being transported to another time.  It was, after all, a 60s song being recorded in the 80s.  Leng also mentions that Harrison and Lord were close friends.  In addition, this article published earlier this year about Harrison and Deep Purple makes note of the friendship between Lord and Harrison.  (The video was posted some time ago on another thread, but not the article.)

http://www.guitarworld.com/artists-artist-videos-viral-videos/george-harrison-jams-ritchie-blackmore-and-deep-purple-1984/28752