Music videos that feature EB0 to EB4 and SG variant basses...

uwe · August 31, 2011, 05:57:16 AM

When combining the search words "EB", "busy bass player", "Jethro Tull" and "Spanish" only one thing crops up: The late great John Glascock! And with Carmen he played an EB (with Tull it would be Fenders and eventually the Stingray though he would also pick up a TBird sometimes). Good shots of him at 0.45 (once you have waded through or enjoyed Amanda Lear's introduction!) and later. Seems to have been a walnut or stripped sixties EB-3, short scale and judging by the bony proggie sound with only the bridge pup running, obviously some Andy Fraser influence there. Busy he was. He basically played baritone guitar with Carmen, but nicely though. It got him the job with Jethro Tull too, who saw him when Carmen opened Tull's Warchild tour in the US and sank like a stone though you do wonder why, flamboyant wardrobe, odd meters, folk influences, hard rock riffs, a certain feverish nervousness in the music, all the Tull ingredients were also in Carmen, albeit with a Spanish and not English folklore slant. Maybe they looked too glam or lacked an immediately identifiable front man (the guitarist, David Allen, was their musical brain, but not their front man). Or, quite possibly, flamenco dancing during lengthy and sophisitcated instrumental parts proved too much for the common Tull'ite!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxCGT8l0Rao&feature=related

David Allen's sister Angela, the singer/dancer/keyboardess, and John were an item at the time; given her more recent musical output he proved a lasting impression.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZMXmyxm0e4&playnext=1&list=PLCF0B30C45E1FAE78

Ritchie Blackmore loved Carmen. (And tried to unsuccessfully poach John Glascock from Tull for Rainbow though he eventually found someone with a similar, if more sparse style in Bob Daisley.)

TBird1958 · September 01, 2011, 08:50:39 AM

I had to look awhile for this, as a kid I liked Pete Agnew's tone on "Razamanaz" and "Rampant" a lot,
the first time I saw them he was playing an EB thru Marshalls......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umf5r_ldpck&feature=related

uwe · September 01, 2011, 10:47:12 AM

Charlton is an underrated guitarist and especially an underrated slide guitarist.

Pilgrim · September 01, 2011, 03:34:28 PM

Every video shot that day at Tanglewood has something in common - the bass players were completely ignored by the director and cameramen.

But there darn sure is some fantastic music.

Freuds_Cat · September 01, 2011, 08:51:16 PM

Quote from: TBird1958 on September 01, 2011, 08:50:39 AM

I had to look awhile for this, as a kid I liked Pete Agnew's tone on "Razamanaz" and "Rampant" a lot,
the first time I saw them he was playing an EB thru Marshalls......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umf5r_ldpck&feature=related

Pete's awesome sound is probably mostly due to his flatwound strings IMO. When you listen to his sound across a variety of their albums the common denominator is always that thudding full of tone sound that only flats will give you. I play almost exclusively on rounds and regularly get sound envy with guys who have that Pete Agnew kind of sound. I recently put a set of flats on my Cargill fretless but so far this is my only conscesion into this coveted territory.

uwe · September 02, 2011, 04:45:27 AM

For whatever reason, Roger Glover, the producer of the Razamanaz album, is reputed to have played all bass tacks on Razamanaz, including Vigilante Man. Glover, forever the gentleman, has never commented on this one way or the other, but neither have Nazareth denied it (perhaps they bargain on the extra sales to DP fans like me who cherish the Razamanaz album as a prime example of Rogers bass playing!). In any case, the fact that the studio version features a roundwound strung bass (as Glover preferred) and is played with a different feel, lends credibility to the story.

The most gloverish bass playing on Razamanaz is featured here - sounds like straight off Machine Head, typically idiosyncratic Glover timing and phrasing:

And which other Purple musician played on this track uncredited, class, intro at 0.10?

Come on, hear the similarity here at 4.11!!!

Needless to say, you also hear him here, intro at 0.22:

Dear Lord, that can't have been too hard even for you, can it?!!!!

But for the really, really slow and thick ones among you, I'll even supply a pic of him (far right) together with the brother of a Rolling Stone (far left), you can see some similarity in their Faces (nudge!).

Highlander · September 02, 2011, 05:21:56 PM

Lord only knows what you're trying to suggest but there are some days when I suspect you have serious OCD issues...

Freuds_Cat · September 04, 2011, 07:51:04 AM

Now Roger Glovers playing is something I know a little bit about having played in a DP tribute band for years and ya know Uwe, I have never listened to Razz in the same way as I would anything from Purple. Its always been an album that I just play and listen to the band as a whole. Tomorrow morning its going back in the car for a few more re-runs. Have a listen to the bass on Fool Circle as an example of Pete Agnews Flatwound sound. Especially noticeable on the more sparse reggae sounding tunes like Let me be your leader or the live version of Cocaine (one of my favourite non Cale versions).

uwe · September 20, 2011, 03:39:03 AM

One of America's finest with a disciplined version of one of their greatest hits played in their usual so(m)ber state. Cann-abysmal but great.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4up6_OphOMY&feature=related

The (lamentably late) Jance Garfat is the odd man out, playing solemnly and steadfastly his seventies EB-3 or -0 (hard to catch him, the camera man was probably distracted a lot of the time). I have a soft spot for him because long before I earnestly listened to music or considered bass playing his very prominent "flats with a pick" bass sound was the first bass sound I actually conciously registered on a pop album, namely Dr Hook's Sloppy Seconds (without ever realizing what it was, I thought it was drums initially

).

And as regards the guitar "solo" - Ted Nugent eat your heart out!!!

And here is them sending out an earnest if steel guitar-drenched message of diversity to a probably slightly bemused/bewildered German TV audience (and Alexis Korner!).