Bass Backbone

[the mojo hobo]

Dang! I haven't heard Love's version of My Little Red Book in years. However there was a little known group from the Midwest called The Litter that did a more energetic version of this song that kicked ass.  It was on one of their two albums, I think it was "Emerge".

[the mojo hobo]

But back to the original topic. Think about it. The bass is the Backbone. Without the bass guitar so much popular music would be empty. People dance to the bass and drums.

That being said there are a lot of songs that feature the bass. Some of my favorites:

White Wedding by Billy Idol
Twilight Zone by Golben Earring
Money by Pink Floyd
Travelling Light by Hermans Hermits
The ballad of you and me and Poneil by Jefferson Airplane

[uwe]

Can you get more "core of the music" than this stuff:

Queen:


Herr Jackson:


Temptations:


Rare Earth:


Indeep:
(that's Jules playing his BC Rich in funky mode)

Thin Lizzy:


Most black or black-derived music is bass based. Hey, even krauts können es tun!

 

[TBird1958]

 I love playing White Wedding!  Early on when its just the bass and drums together with no guitar over the top.......Hell yeah!
Me and the girls.........this from a year ago, we shoot new stuff in May.

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[PWV]

It wasn't for this bass line, we might never have had the entire genre:

(I like this short clip better than the original fwiw - one for Uwe....)




Here's the original -

[PWV]

Oh yeah - and how to detune on the fly:  Nilson's "Jump Into The Fire" starts my favorite scene from one of my favorite movies:




Better version of the song (short)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-chGPwhLKU&feature=related

[Chris P.]

About Marriott again:

I like Humble Pie, but I'm a real big fan of The Small Faces. I think songs like Tin Soldier and I'm Only Dreaming are some of the best pop songs ever. Better than a lot of Beatles stuff. And Ogden's Nut Gone Flake should be rated with The White Album, Tommy, et cetera.

Nice YouTube video. Search for Marriott and Akexis Korner (I believe they call him 'Corner' there). The do a great version of Get Off My Cloud together!

[felig]

When speaking of bass backbones & Love in the same thread, I'm surprised that "7 and 7 Is" wasn't mentioned.  That was one of the songs that really impressed upon me what a bass can do to a song.  "Rain" by the Beatles, along with the other side of the 45: "Paperback Writer" were also totally bass driven (BTW wasn't that like the 1st 45 that was released with two "A" sides?), oh, and "Lady Madonna", etc. etc.  Don't forget Jefferson Airplane's "White Rabbit" & "Tighten Up" by Archie Bell & the Drells.  I always feel compelled to point out how much the bass serves as the backbone in Jimi Hendrix's stuff--e.g. "Manic Depression" & "Fire".  Sometimes I think that the basslines that Jimi composed (& often played on the recordings) were nearly as much a legacy as his guitar work.

[Chris P.]

Uwe mentioned Queen. I was a huge fan in my younger days. I play it sometimes now and everytime it strikes me how melodic and good John Deacon is.

[Max Soren]

But back to the original topic. Think about it. The bass is the Backbone. Without the bass guitar so much popular music would be empty. People dance to the bass and drums.

That being said there are a lot of songs that feature the bass. Some of my favorites:

White Wedding by Billy Idol
Twilight Zone by Golben Earring
Money by Pink Floyd
Travelling Light by Hermans Hermits
The ballad of you and me and Poneil by Jefferson Airplane

"Twilight Zone"...a song which I absolutely cannot ever get tired of. 

[Barklessdog]

the Beatles was a bass driven band.

[TBird1958]

 I really enjoy John Taylor on Duran Duran and Rio, he and Roger Taylor are incredibly tight, especially on "New Religion" yeah they're pop, but they sure can play!

[HornetAMX]

I really enjoy John Taylor on Duran Duran and Rio, he and Roger Taylor are incredibly tight, especially on "New Religion" yeah they're pop, but they sure can play!

I remember buying that record at Sound Warehouse in May 1982.  This was before they were big and I actually went to buy their first LP because I heard it at a party at UT.  They did not have their first LP so I got the new one "Rio" and just loved it on first listen.(they had 2 of them in the "D" section)  I saw them here in Austin in 1984 for their "Seven And The Ragged Tiger" tour and it was a fantastic show.  Taylor was playing the black Aria SB bass.  The girls were screaming so loud at times it was louder than the band!  The first LP on the Harvest label is worth searching for.  It is mixed differently than the later Capitol version that added "Something I Should Know" on it.  The first Rio LP was also on Harvest, but after they hit big was remixed and released on Capitol as well.  The Power Station performance on SNL was great too.  JT was playing the Kubicki by then. 

[TBird1958]

 I remember seeing them on SNL.....JT playin' the Kubicki and wearing a dress......

[HornetAMX]

Yes, the dress!  Didn't they get that idea from Bowie's band wearing dresses?  I thought I'd read that somewhere.