mikef Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 Do you have a song that you heard previously, that you passed off as lightweight or not worth bothering with, and certainly not one for your CD collection, that you now love as you've actually listened to the bassline? Two such songs for me are; John Travolta and Olivia Newton John - You're The One That I Want, and, Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer I love both these basslines. I don't know the name of the bass player on the first track; anybody know who it was? It is wonderful. Put a smile on your face and learn this bassline. Tony Levin plays on the second track, this I know, and it was just another pop song when I was younger. Now, it's a sonic, shapeshifting chunk of bass squeezing the air from my hi-fi speakers. The deepest groove. Ah, bugger..., just thought of another; Queen - Crazy Little Thing Called Love. Ba dum dum dum dum... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
... Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 Levin recorded the bassline for "Sledgehammer" with a fretless Musicman through an octave pedal. It sounds lucious and wonderful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 I liked Sledgehammer for Tony Levin's bassline the first time I heard it. I will admit that when most of the Motown hits came out in the late 60's I thought they were fluffy pop music. I either listened to the rock of the day which was pretty adventurous, the late 60's jazz which was very adventurous, or soul like James Brown or Wilson Pickett which was truly funky. It took me a few years before I went back and listened to Motown music again and heard was Jamerson was doing. Then I bought a 4 record set called, 64 Greatest Motown Hits, and spent a summer learning them all. I still think that songs like "Tears of a Clown" or "Sugar Pie Honey Bunch" and "Stop In The Name of Love" are silly pop songs, silly pop songs with good basslines. Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tnb Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 I tend to think that even if the song is as stupid as, let's say "Disco Duck" somebody had to play it and play it well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lug Posted March 8, 2006 Share Posted March 8, 2006 Sledgehammer = GhostBusters theme. You can stop now -jeremyc STOP QUOTING EVERY THING I SAY!!! -Bass_god_offspring lug, you should add that statement to you signature.-Tenstrum I'm not sure any argument can top lug's. - Sweet Willie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby LowTones Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Originally posted by mikef: John Travolta and Olivia Newton John - You're The One That I WantYep, one of my secret bass lines too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenLoy Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Originally posted by lug: Sledgehammer = GhostBusters theme. I disagree. GhostBusters Theme = I Want A New Drug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussie bass dude Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Billie Jean, I love it now I play it no beer until July 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Capasso Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 The songs where the bassline sneaks up on me are usually songs that strike me in some way. I don't think I appreciated some of the Smith's basslines at first, but that's because the emotion and feel that comes across was so overwhelming. I have to say that I've been very aware of basslines since I was young, so not much sneaks up on me. It's often the other way around - I get excited about some bit of trash because the bassline is great. Sorry Jeremy - much as I'm OK with the "Tears Of A Clown" bassline, it's the bassoon line that makes the song worth hearing. WOW!! Tom www.stoneflyrocks.com Acoustic Color Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars and keep your feet on the ground. - Theodore Roosevelt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Brown Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Tons of stuff here. In fact, I'm constantly surprised. How about Sting on "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic" or even the very understated "Don't Stand So Close To Me?" A very minimilaist approach, but song-defining at the same time. A nice little Pop group, the Police. I also grew to respect the Grease song. I spent a couple weeks in the Pit for a local production, where they wanted to do that tune (NOTE: "You're the One That I Want" is NOT in the stage production. It was created for the movie, but has become so identifiable that many productions now include it.) So I went out to but the Grease soundtrack; not on my list of Hot 100 CD's. But copping this line really gave me respect for it. I had a similar experience copping "Soul Man" for a school faculty performance. A song you've heard a thousand times, but gains greater respect when you have to open it up. "Walk This Way" was a big hit when I was young; it was a funny little tune. When the rap version came out (with Aerosmith,) and then the subsequent Aerosmith resurgence, I "heard" this bass line for the first time. Pretty neat, that one. A lot of people bought "So" for "In Your Eyes," "Sledgehammer" or "Big Time." They may never have listened to Tony Levin's stellar work on that recording. If they did, they'd find "Don't Give Up" to be one of the most unusual songs ever recorded (from a bass perspective) and I just don't know how Peter Gabriel wrote that tune without a bass in hand. Yep. I'm the other voice in the head of davebrownbass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lug Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Originally posted by BenLoy: Originally posted by lug: Sledgehammer = GhostBusters theme. I disagree. GhostBusters Theme = I Want A New Drug I KNEW there was a third one, just couldn't remember what it was! http://users3.ev1.net/~woodd/huntforcarvin1.mp3 You can stop now -jeremyc STOP QUOTING EVERY THING I SAY!!! -Bass_god_offspring lug, you should add that statement to you signature.-Tenstrum I'm not sure any argument can top lug's. - Sweet Willie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Huey Lewis, writer of I Want a New Drug, sued Ray Parker, Jr., writer of the Ghostbusters Theme for plagiarism. The suit was settled out of court. Sorry, but I'm not hearing a relationship between Sledgehammer and the other two songs. Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric VB Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Well, you've probably heard me say this before, but my wife is a huge Romantics fan ("What I Like About You"). Now, back in the day, it always made me feel good to get behind the local guys that made it big -- Bob Seger and Ted Nugent are a couple from about the same time period -- but I never really got into the Romantics because I thought they were too pop, too commercial, and not enough rock (or what is today called classic rock). Today, of course, their hit is instantly recognizable and synonymous with the '80s, and they're still releasing new material. Well, having been exposed to their entire collection countless times, I've come to appreciate what's going on down below. [sidenote: the Romantics have had multiple personnel changes, perhaps the most unusual when Mike Skill was let go playing guitar and then invited back to play bass. Rich Cole was the original bass player, is still in town, and sometimes makes appearances with the band.] One thing I enjoy is playing a bass riff and having everyone instantly recognize what song I'm playing. "On a Night Like This" is one of those songs. When Mike plays it live -- hey, they're not dead yet, of course they're still playing! -- he plays with a lot of enthusiasm and emotion and spices things up a bit from the studio recording. (He likes the sharp attack of a pick and the punchiness it gives his Fender Jazz.) That riff, though, only contains 4 pitches, the bottom four of an Am pentatonic scale. From that standpoint it's one of those "anybody can play that" bass lines. The secret, though, is in the groove it creates for the rest of the song. In fact, I've heard drummers say Mike is a very good groove-oriented player. [Another side note: these guys play musical chairs with bass playing. Everybody but the drummer plays bass at some point during a show, although Mike plays bass the majority of the time. When Wally Palmer is playing bass he's also singing lead, which as we know isn't that easy. Both Coz Canler and Mike sing BGVs, too; keep that in mind next time you play that "easy" line to "What I Like About You". Trivia: The lead to "What I Like About You" was originally sung by the drummer.] Not as much a surprise (to me), but along the same lines (and related back to Dave Brown's post) is "Sweet Emotion" by Aerosmith. Tom Hamilton's opening bass riff is again only 4 pitches, but anyone that hears it will know what you're playing. It's actually a little difficult to play that riff smoothly; the simplicity is a bit deceiving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmrunning3 Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Speaking of secret bass lines... Last night my instructor gave me the sheet music for "Smoke On the Water" to work on. The bass part on the CD is hard to pick out, so I never imagined how much Roger Glover was actually doing! At least, it's cool to me being a beginner and all. I know it's a lot of blues patterns, but still. It's eye opening! Joe -- Joe -- "If you think you're too old, then you are." --Lemmy Kilmister "I have not seen a man who is not god already." --Austin Osman Spare Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric VB Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Originally posted by jmrunning3: Last night my instructor gave me the sheet music for "Smoke On the Water" to work on. The sheet music I was given in ~1978 did not have all the cool Roger Glover licks. It was considerably simplified. When Roger is doing all those runs during the verses, my sheet music simply had a measure of low Gs (3rd fret on the E string) alternating two 8ths and a quarter: duhduh DUH duhduh DUH. (There was a bit more after going to the F chord, but still a very simple arrangement.) As I got older I added a lot of improv stuff myself, still not ever having critically listened to the original recording. Finally, about 5 years ago my band added it to the set list and I finally listened. I wasn't too far off, but I modified things to get a better Roger Glover feel. Have fun with that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmrunning3 Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 I have been! I practiced on it for another hour after I got home and I've played the CD over and over during my commute to try and cop the "feel" as well. Joe -- Joe -- "If you think you're too old, then you are." --Lemmy Kilmister "I have not seen a man who is not god already." --Austin Osman Spare Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lug Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Originally posted by jeremy c: Huey Lewis, writer of I Want a New Drug, sued Ray Parker, Jr., writer of the Ghostbusters Theme for plagiarism. The suit was settled out of court. Sorry, but I'm not hearing a relationship between Sledgehammer and the other two songs. After the intro when Gabriel first starts to sing. You can stop now -jeremyc STOP QUOTING EVERY THING I SAY!!! -Bass_god_offspring lug, you should add that statement to you signature.-Tenstrum I'm not sure any argument can top lug's. - Sweet Willie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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