I heard some Beatles on the radio this morning and started thinking about Paul.IMO he's the man.His basslines were great. Nothing fancey or hard to play but, (how should I put this) tastfull ? Just well thought out basslines I guess.I never really thought about it before but I think he is a big inspiration to my playing. Anyone else??

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100% with you there...some of the tastiest bass lines...period. I learned a lot about voice leading from Paul McCartney, both subconsciously as well as consciously.

When I was little (still am, as far as I'm concerned), my father would play Beatles albums all the time. I loved their music then, and, after thinking that I was "too good" for it circa the ages of 12-16, I rediscovered them when I got to college.
(That middle period was ripe with BS theories and cocky ideas...but I suppose puberty is supposed to be embarassing.)

Anyway, I think that it's fantastic stuff, and Mr. McCartney has DEFINITELY had a lot to do with the way I hear bass lines, as well as music in general.

Prasphant-
Same thing happened to me; I first got into The Beatles very young(like 7-8 years old in '66), kinda lost touch when I hit my early teens, & really lost touch as I became a "Jazz-Nazi" through college. I finally got back into them when their stuff was finally issued on cds(about 14-15 years ago now).
I was just checking out the ANTHOLOGY VOL 1 last night; on disc 1, the FIRST false start to "One After 909"(a rather quick double-timed rocker)is hilarious. The song breaks down & Lennon(I think)asks "What are you doing"? Paul sez something like this "...it's murder, I can't keep it up"! Then someone asks about his plectrum & Paul yells "I don't have one"! Check it out...pretty funny(especially in their British accent ;-)

I agree with all that's been said and I have the Beatles anthology with the "One after 909" incident. It's funny hearing John asking him if he has a "Plec", or "Plectrum". See? There are advantages to learning pizzicato...

Will C. http://www.talkbass.com/ubb/cool.gif

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You can't hold no groove if you ain't got no pocket!

Ya! thats how I got into the beatles!My old man used to listen to them all the time!!When I started playing guitar I learned as many of there songs as I could, but Then I switched to bass and Pauls stuff was too complicated for the first couple of years.

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[This message has been edited by JHMAVRO (edited July 13, 2000).]

McCartney made me want to play bass. Simplicity is one of his strong points, I think. My favorite bassline is Hello Goodbye. Easy? yes Could I come up with something better for the song? No.

He could complicate things a little like in I Want You or Old Brown Shoe (or was that Harrison on bass?...)

Hey, I got my Rick 4001 because of him http://www.talkbass.com/ubb/smile.gif

Sir Paul is deceptively complex. I never gave him a lot of thought until I got into a wedding band and had to learn a few early Beatles tunes. Man, what a workout! One of the really well-known ones (except it slips my mind now!) has a bass line that walks over the chords in passing and never stops. It's a concentrated effort from start to finish. I put him in that rare class of players that know WHAT to play as much as HOW to play.

Gweimer-
That sounds like "All My Loving"; Mac swingin' through the changes http://www.talkbass.com/ubb/wink.gif
Mac could also lay down a "Funky" groove-
"Taxman"(ending guitar solo is also by Mac), "Come Together", & "Paperback Writer".

Hold Me Tight is a nice little workout, too
--I meant simple in that he knows when not to play complicated http://www.talkbass.com/ubb/smile.gif

THAT'S IT! http://www.talkbass.com/ubb/cool.gif

I never thought of Paul McCartney's basslines as being overly simple. He can be quite busy and unexpected. IMO he most resembles Jamerson in the way he construct basslines melodically, especially on Sgt Peppers. He never over plays but always serves the song.

While many younger bass player discovering McCartney/Beatles for the first time may think he's over looked in his day, he was highly regarded and voted top rock bassist several times, if memory serves. Many of us older bassist, name McCartney as our first big influence.

One last thing that I feel should be noted about Paul progression as a bassist. When listening to early Beatles, please keep in mind that McCartney had been a guitarist up until the departure of Stu Sutcliff in 1963(?) so he had very little experience playing bass on those early records. Never the less, I think he did quite nicely.

The thing about McCartney I think that stands out the most (especially since he is my biggest influence) is that he is a musician first. He switched from guitar to bass easily because he knew how it was supposed to work, maybe because of his musical childhood or something. He plays piano and guitar effectively and knows what sounds "good". I'm sure developing musically around Lennon and Harrison didn't hurt either, both of whom learned to play a decent bass (Lennon-Let it Be, Harrison-Helter Skelter, some of Abbey Road)

I have to wonder what it was like to develop a style when rock and roll was developing...

I didn't know Lennon played bass on "Let It Be"; in George Martin's book(ALL YOU NEED IS EARS), Lennon is credited with playing the bass on "The Long & Winding Road"...Martin calls Lennon's "efforts" the equivalent of "musical sabotage".

*Tangent Alert*-
I'm listening to Aretha's YOUNG, GIFTED, & BLACK cd; she does a cover of "The Long & Winding Road" that is awesome! Chuck Rainey on bass in a very Gospel-ish/R&B groove.

well i´m a beginner and i really love the simplicity of "Obladi Oblada"

i play it very often http://www.talkbass.com/ubb/smile.gif

bye

In an indirect way Paul is the reason I began to play bass. When I was a kid the first album I picked out by myself was "The Beatles Second Album". I couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 years old at the time. I thought that Paul was the coolest and I took to pretending I was Paul by strumming along with a tennis racket lefty! I didn't even know what a bass was at this point. Little did I know that almost 10 years later I'd find myself in a music store buying a cheap P-bass copy! He is such a tasteful player.

Recently I heard all the basslines on Sgt.Pepper were recorded last,is this true?I think Paul is excellently melodic,but plays too much,and too varied(within the same line)I think he wouldnt get alot of gigs,if he was an unknown.Hes too busy.Listen to Nowhere Man.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by JimK:
I didn't know Lennon played bass on "Let It Be"; in George Martin's book(ALL YOU NEED IS EARS), Lennon is credited with playing the bass on "The Long & Winding Road"...Martin calls Lennon's "efforts" the equivalent of "musical sabotage".

*Tangent Alert*-
I'm listening to Aretha's YOUNG, GIFTED, & BLACK cd; she does a cover of "The Long & Winding Road" that is awesome! Chuck Rainey on bass in a very Gospel-ish/R&B groove.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

That period for Aretha... http://www.talkbass.com/ubb/cool.gif http://www.talkbass.com/ubb/wink.gif http://www.talkbass.com/ubb/smile.gif http://www.talkbass.com/ubb/biggrin.gif I've got that LP, need to dig it out. Thanks, Jim.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by MrGump:
Recently I heard all the basslines on Sgt.Pepper were recorded last,is this true?I think Paul is excellently melodic,but plays too much,and too varied(within the same line)I think he wouldnt get alot of gigs,if he was an unknown.Hes too busy.Listen to Nowhere Man.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Maybe guys like Paul shouldn't do pickup gigs http://www.talkbass.com/ubb/biggrin.gif Take him in the context he played in. Go back and check out some 60's and 70's bass playing. It wasn't all repetitive and simple. Of course you're entitled to your opinion http://www.talkbass.com/ubb/wink.gif

i'm leaving for freshman year at college in the fall, and last night i made a compilation cd of my favorite beatles songs, because i can't take my parents' albums with me. listening to it made me realize how much i love mac's playing... it's supportive, yet so melodic it's like he's playing lead... one of my favorite lines ever is "with a little help from my friends." gorgeous.

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we hope you are ok.

Gump-
I never really considered McCartney as a "busy" player; "Nowhere Man", IMO, isn't busy...IMO(again), it's a pretty straight forward tune in an 1/8 note feel. Try playing that tune less "busy"; that is, play around on primarily beats 1 & 3...does the tune work in that kinda two-beat feel? I dunno... http://www.talkbass.com/ubb/wink.gif
On the other hand, I can see where Jamerson might be called "busy"...he surely "varied within the same line" a whole lot more than Mac. The "varying"(IMO)is the bassist knowing the feel + the changes & PLAYING; he may have a certain bass figure in mind, but he's not a slave to it. Make sense?

It is my understanding John Lennon was also the bassist on "Helter Skelter", which would explain the "I got blisters on my fingers" yell at the end of the tune.

"Nowhere man" too busy? I think it's perfect! It's what I'd have played! http://www.talkbass.com/ubb/biggrin.gif (Well, maybe not, but I totally love it).

Will C. http://www.talkbass.com/ubb/cool.gif

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I'm not a genius. I'm just a hard working guy.
-BW

I heard McCartney say that he liked to record basslines last from Pepper on because it let him be more "melodic." If you listen to most of the Beatles's demos (off of the anthologies), you'll notice a lack of bass at least up until some of the Abbey Road and Let It Be Stuff.

Harrison played bass on Helter Skelter, a Jazz I believe, and Ringo yelled, "I got blisters on me fingers" at the end.

I've never thought of Nowhere Man as a busy line. It's on the same level of "business" as Lovely Rita and Good Morning, both excellent bass lines-IMO

If you want a good example of Paul's genius, check out "Something" off Abbey Road and listen to what he does with a song that most bass players would keep simple and play mostly root notes on. Paul plays all over the place BUT never destroys the groove or mood of the song. Busy but always in the pocket. A spectacular performance. (One of a multitude by him)

This might fall under the "Cheesey song/Great Bassline" category but if you want to hear some great bass playing by Paul McCartney check out "Silly Love Songs". He recorded it in the mid 70s with Wings. The bass is up front in the mix and his playing makes the song.

I think I didnt make myself clear.Nowhere Man is a perfect example of how he excells melodically(chorus),and how he constantly varies his"theme"(verse).

I didn't know Lennon played bass on "Let It Be"; in George Martin's book(ALL YOU NEED IS EARS), Lennon is credited with playing the bass on "The Long & Winding Road"...Martin calls Lennon's "efforts" the equivalent of "musical sabotage".

John did play bass on those tracks and is also supposed to play bass on "Back in the USSR"
George played bass on Golden Slumbers/Carry that Weight and, according to Paul, played bass on "She Said She Said."

Did you guys know that he bought the Hofner once he was pretty muched forced into becoming the bass player at the last minute, because (1) He was self conscious about being a lefty and the Hofner is symentrically shaped, and (2) is was inexpensive, and he didn't think the band would make it past the end of the year - he didn't want to be out a bunch of money. The first time I saw that bass I thought it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen in my life.

All this & he was great songwriter, guitarist & singer.
Makes ya sick, doesn't it!

He also played drums at some gig & I think did a decent job although he was too wasted to remember it. This prompted the joke:

"Ringo Starr wasn't the best drummer in the world.
He wasn't even the best drummer in the Beatles!"

Im 16 and a friend of mine that gives me some lessons and pointers has been a beatles fan since they first came out. He has a Hofner and Ric and really got me into Macca's lines. I always go back to hime , simplicity at its best. I consider him to be one of the best. I really love the lines on Hello Goodbye and All of Sgnt Peppers. Also about Macca's hofner. I was reading a Bob MArley book and it talked about FAmily man who made his first bass , which was crappy . The band he was in at the time , their manager was friends with Brian Epstein who gave the manager one of Macca's Hofners. So FAmily Man barrett played with one of MAcca's basses . A fEw years later Family Man was teaching a younger bassist to play and gave this bassist the Hofner. The recipient was Robbie Shakespeare.

F-clef nice thread resurrection!

I heard some Beatles on the radio this morning and started thinking about Paul.IMO he's the man.His basslines were great. Nothing fancey or hard to play but, (how should I put this) tastfull ? Not hard to play, huh? You may want to learn some of them. :)

Try playing "Day Tripper" and singing it at the same time. Damn near impossible, at least on a 34" bass (Paul played it on a 32" bass I believe - though that may have been the Ric).

Next assignment: "I Saw Her Standing There". Again, playing and singing lead at the same time is required to understand the difficulty involved.

One of the really well-known ones (except it slips my mind now!) has a bass line that walks over the chords in passing and never stops. It's a concentrated effort from start to finish.That may be "All My Lovin" you're speaking of. Absolutely GENIUS bassline on that song. You need to play it and sing at the same time to appreciate the man's musicality.

And add "Drive My Car" which he has been playing a lot in recent concerts to the list of neat playing/singing stuff.

I don't have a hard time singing and playing Day Tripper but trying to sing and play Nowhere Man almost drove me out of my mind.

The bassline to "Penny Lane" is a particular favourite of mine: a lovely thing, and deeply satisfying to play.

That's the beauty of Macca's work. On face value it seems simple, but it's really very intelligent stuff.

F-clef nice thread resurrection!

Not hard to play, huh? You may want to learn some of them. :)

Try playing "Day Tripper" and singing it at the same time. Damn near impossible, at least on a 34" bass (Paul played it on a 32" bass I believe - though that may have been the Ric).

Next assignment: "I Saw Her Standing There". Again, playing and singing lead at the same time is required to understand the difficulty involved.

Since I don't sing, I never thought about that -good point. I know the bass part has to be so ingrained that you simply don't think about it, so you can sing. The bass lines themselves are really not difficult to *play* but I, for one, couldn't *create* any of McCartney's really good lines.

Folks, check out the newly mastered Beatles "Love" CD. Sirius has been playing some of the cuts and I'm loving it!!

Recently I heard all the basslines on Sgt.Pepper were recorded last,is this true?I think Paul is excellently melodic,but plays too much,and too varied(within the same line)I think he wouldnt get alot of gigs,if he was an unknown.Hes too busy.Listen to Nowhere Man.

An old quote from an old thread, I know, but I thought I'd offer a little insight that I recently discovered.

Interviewed in 1999 upon the release of Run Devil Run, Sir Paul had this to say about creating basslines while with the Beatles:

McCartney: I lived near the studio and they'd all go home and I wouldn't put my bass part on until afterwards when I had a little time to consider.

Interviewer: Did you put a guide down?

McCartney: No, I wouldn't. I never wrote anything on bass. Nothing. Ever. I would write on piano or guitar and I'd like to put down the original groove. But did piss George off, particularly. And I can really see why. It must have been difficult for the other guys. I'd say, "Let's try and imagine the bass and we'll get it great . . . but without the bass." I can see now that it was asking a lot, actually."

So not only did Macca always lay his bass parts down later, but he never wrote on the bass. An interesting way to work from a bassplayers perspective. And it reinforces the idea (one which applies to me these days as well) is that McCartney was more a songwriter who played bass than a bass player who wrote songs.

That makes a whole ton of sense. Having the luxury of laying them down later does go a long way to explaining the complexity of his later Beatles stuff. I can't agree with the idea that he's too busy, though. I never find his lines obtrusive or inappropriate. No matter how much they vary within the one song, they always fulfill the basic function of a bassline in supporting the song structure.

That may be "All My Lovin" you're speaking of. Absolutely GENIUS bassline on that song. You need to play it and sing at the same time to appreciate the man's musicality.


Too right Phil, also it was recorded in 1963 - shortly after his 20th birthday. How many pop bass players could come up with that line in those days, let alone someone just out of his teens?

After giving some thought to the span of time in which the Beatles were together I am even more in awe of what they accomplished.

Consider that they only recorded for SIX years. From 63's Please, Please Me to 69's Abbey Road. And in that time they produced 12 (13 if you count the White Album twice) records.

IMO, the truly great work of the Beatles began with Revolver. And to think that they created Revolver, Sgt Peppers, The White Album, Abbey Road and Let It Be in just over three years is mind blowing to me. Yellow Submarine was also recorded during this stretch but I'm leaving that album out of this discussion.

I can barely think of artists today that record even TWO great albums in three years, let alone FIVE.

Amazing stuff.

Paul's the man, no doubt about that. It's funny, though, that all the years that I listened to him and getting to know his bass lines in my head I knew they were complex and not run of the mill. When I finally got around to learning the bass (I am first and foremost a guitarist) and learning his lines I more often than not found myself overplaying and adding notes that he wasn't playing. When I actually sat down and really listened to what he was playing I found he simplified things quite a bit in the course of making them "busy", as the word seems to be now. He was complex and simple at the same time. I am very fond of his work with Wings. A great song to learn is Another Day. As far as Silly Love Songs, his bass line IS the song. You change that and the song just wouldn't grab you the way it does.

My favorite beatles song is revolution. Kind of a mix of blues and rock. "and you knowit's gonna beeeee.....alriiiiiight!" :bassist:

I have always thought that Maca's most dynamic bassline is that single of his "Another Day."

IMO, the truly great work of the Beatles began with Revolver. Missed it by -that much-. You need to listen to "Rubber Soul" again.

Three short examples of why I admire Sir Paul so much:

http://media.putfile.com/McCartney

http://media.putfile.com/McCartney-02

http://media.putfile.com/McCartney-03

Three short examples of why I admire Sir Paul so much:

http://media.putfile.com/McCartney

http://media.putfile.com/McCartney-02

http://media.putfile.com/McCartney-03


Can't disagree with those examples. Penny Lane is another fine one.

I have to mention this because I think about it a lot and I know McCartney is especially pleased with this line. The bass line to the intro of "Michelle". The acoustic guitar has its own "bass line", starting in D minor and the root walks down a half step each quarter note. For the bass guitar part, the genius is not in what he does, but in what he DOESN'T do. He rocks this little "root-5th-octave root" up, then back down...that's it... and the beauty of it, is that it adds so much power to the acoustic guitar walk down. What I call the "less is more" genius. I think most players would have just followed/replicated the walk down, or at best, oppose it.

The bass lines themselves are really not difficult to *play*

Have you tried playing "I Saw Her Standing There" at the speed he played it? I've been playing for 30 years, and have played all kinds of challenging bass lines over the years, but I just learned it last week and it took 2 days for me to play it to speed without mistakes. It is a lot harder than it sounds. The same for "Day Tripper" if you play it the way he did. I see a lot of bass players play it in first position starting on the open E string, but he played it an octave higher at the 7th fret. That makes the fingering for it a lot harder, since you can't use open strings.

There are some McCartney lines that aren't difficult to play, but there are quite a few that are.

My favorite line of his is "Something". Perfect, and pure genius.

Have you tried playing "I Saw Her Standing There" at the speed he played it? I've been playing for 30 years, and have played all kinds of challenging bass lines over the years, but I just learned it last week and it took 2 days for me to play it to speed without mistakes. It is a lot harder than it sounds. The same for "Day Tripper" if you play it the way he did. I see a lot of bass players play it in first position starting on the open E string, but he played it an octave higher at the 7th fret. That makes the fingering for it a lot harder, since you can't use open strings.+ a zillion. My band plays Day Tripper (with embarrasingly bad vocals - I need to convince the other guys to drop it). I'd LOVE to sing the song, but I can't play it as Paul did and sing it. Way too hard. Remember, though, he was playing both of those songs on a 32" Hofner (Day tripper may not have been the Hof in the studio, but most definitely was live), not a 34" or 35" whatever we're playing. BIG difference, I'm not sure he would have written that Day Tripper line on a 34" bass. Most players don't play Day Tripper in the octave Paul does, they transpose it down to use lots of open strings and minimize hand position changes on the chorus. The prechorus particularly is very high on the neck if you play it like Paul, which I do.

And as I posted before, remember he played these lines and sung the songs, both of which (among others) have very challenging vocal parts as well.

"Oh! Darling" is another one that's a lot more difficult than it seems. He never plays the same thing twice. This is probably because he's just improvising over the changes in the studio, but I love the line and the way it works with the vocals so I tried to play it as on record when my old band played it. Impossible to remember.

Have you tried playing "I Saw Her Standing There" at the speed he played it? I've been playing for 30 years, and have played all kinds of challenging bass lines over the years, but I just learned it last week and it took 2 days for me to play it to speed without mistakes. It is a lot harder than it sounds. The same for "Day Tripper" if you play it the way he did. I see a lot of bass players play it in first position starting on the open E string, but he played it an octave higher at the 7th fret. That makes the fingering for it a lot harder, since you can't use open strings.

There are some McCartney lines that aren't difficult to play, but there are quite a few that are.

I understand what you're saying. I've been playing "I Saw Her Standing There" for many years, and being a guitar player, using a pick, I really don't find it difficult. I love the line though, and for a guy at his young age, to be able to come up with it, play it, and sing the lyrics....that would be difficult.

+ a zillion. My band plays Day Tripper (with embarrasingly bad vocals - I need to convince the other guys to drop it). I'd LOVE to sing the song, but I can't play it as Paul did and sing it. Way too hard. Remember, though, he was playing both of those songs on a 32" Hofner (Day tripper may not have been the Hof in the studio, but most definitely was live), not a 34" or 35" whatever we're playing. BIG difference, I'm not sure he would have written that Day Tripper line on a 34" bass. Most players don't play Day Tripper in the octave Paul does, they transpose it down to use lots of open strings and minimize hand position changes on the chorus. The prechorus particularly is very high on the neck if you play it like Paul, which I do.



I find Day Tripper to be a lot easier to play on my Schecter Hellcat 6 (Fender Bass VI copy). It is 30" scale with very narrow (almost guitar) string spacing. For that matter "I Saw Her Standing There" is a lot easier on it too. Generally I'm playing a 34" scale Lakland JO4 though.

I understand what you're saying. I've been playing "I Saw Her Standing There" for many years, and being a guitar player, using a pick, I really don't find it difficult. I love the line though, and for a guy at his young age, to be able to come up with it, play it, and sing the lyrics....that would be difficult.

There is a clip of them playing it live on YouTube and he makes it seem effortless to play it and sing at the same time. Pretty impressive.

I understand what you're saying. I've been playing "I Saw Her Standing There" for many years, and being a guitar player, using a pick, I really don't find it difficult. I love the line though, and for a guy at his young age, to be able to come up with it, play it, and sing the lyrics....that would be difficult.

I always loved that song, but didn't PM say somewhere that he lifted the bassline note for note from a Chuck Berry track?

I think it's 'talkin' bout you' (not totally sure though). You can hear the early Beatles version on the Star Club live CD. He probably played it a million times in Hamburg, that's how he got it down cold ;)

I always loved that song, but didn't PM say somewhere that he lifted the bassline note for note from a Chuck Berry track?

I think it's 'talkin' bout you' (not totally sure though). You can hear the early Beatles version on the Star Club live CD.

I remember reading that somewhere. I'd like to hear the song to see if it is true. I guess I'll have to do search when I get home. Chuck Berry's bass player played upright at the time, so if he played that line at that speed on upright it is really impressive.

I always loved that song, but didn't PM say somewhere that he lifted the bassline note for note from a Chuck Berry track?

I think it's 'talkin' bout you' (not totally sure though). You can hear the early Beatles version on the Star Club live CD. He probably played it a million times in Hamburg, that's how he got it down cold ;)

And it turned up later (1966) on the Bobby Fuller Four's "I Fought the Law" (listen to the bass during the guitar break).

Getting back to McCartney...
I was thinking about how we get bogged down around here in the "less is more, serve the song" vs. "less is more is too restrictive and boring" dichotomy. The thing about Paul's playing is that even when he played a lot of notes (someone brought up "Nowhere Man"), each one was essential! So he transcends the argument. It's due to his amazing musicality. Jamerson was the same way. Counting the number of notes per song is irrelevant with these guys, because they're thinking as composers, not being wankers.
IMHO...

Missed it by -that much-. You need to listen to "Rubber Soul" again.
What's wrong with their early stuff? It's great.

And it turned up later (1966) on the Bobby Fuller Four's "I Fought the Law" (listen to the bass during the guitar break).

Getting back to McCartney...
I was thinking about how we get bogged down around here in the "less is more, serve the song" vs. "less is more is too restrictive and boring" dichotomy. The thing about Paul's playing is that even when he played a lot of notes (someone brought up "Nowhere Man"), each one was essential! So he transcends the argument. It's due to his amazing musicality. Jamerson was the same way. Counting the number of notes per song is irrelevant with these guys, because they're thinking as composers, not being wankers.
IMHO...

+1. About ripping off the riff, McCartney quickly volunteers that he stole it (in some interview), and I thought he mentioned "Little Richard", but regardless - Paul is so humble that even if he didn't rip it off, he would say he did if anybody even began to accuse him of it.

I remember reading that somewhere. I'd like to hear the song to see if it is true. I guess I'll have to do search when I get home. Chuck Berry's bass player played upright at the time, so if he played that line at that speed on upright it is really impressive.He lifted the basic figuring of the bassline from a guitar part, not a bass part. And I, in turn, have lifted that same bass figure for an original composition by my band. Very much as an homage to Paul and his philosophy. Oh yeah, the bass part drives the song bigtime.....

What's wrong with their early stuff? It's great.Yeah, but Rubber Soul was the first album where the bass guitar was recorded well. :) Remember this is a bass forum. :)

The bass was recorded better from "Rubber Soul" on, but Paul is hardly inaudible on, say, "All My Loving", "I Saw Her Standing There", "Can't Buy Me Love", "Things We Said Today", "Tell Me Why", etc.

The mixing on the new 'Love' album really brings out the bass tracks, you should all give it a look. Always likes Pauls playing, it completely changed my style.

Oh Darling and Dear Prudence are two of my favorites regarding Paul.

Paul is the man , here is a list of my bass favourites.

.All my loving
.The word
.Taxman
.With a little help from my friends
.Lovely Rita
.Baby you're a rich man
.Everybodys got something to hide except me and my monkey
.Why dont we do it in the road
.Something
.I want you.
.You never give me your money.
.She came in through the bathroom window
.Rain
.Mrs Vandebilt.
.Band on the run.
.My Brave Face

I could probably name a dozen more but those are the ones that come to mind

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned the bassline from I'm Only Sleeping. Everytime I play it I hear something new. My fave PM bass line ever.

Anyway, I really got into the Beatles in middle school around the time that the Anthology came out. Paul's bass lines always seemed to stand out in later years. I was unbelievably influenced by the bass line in "all you need is love", "rain", and others where the bass, though simple sounding, just stood out. His tone deserves even more recognition.

Nowhere Man is a great line too and Eight Days a Week.

I think McCartney's a very good bass player. When you first start listening to the earlier stuff you think, good sound and very subtle but full. Then you start listening to the stuff as the band progresess through the years and it's like, holy hell he's good. Back a year ago when I though I was the top dog of bass playing I decided I'd try to play Penny Lane and it's no easy thing, after some practise it gets easier but it's still one of the best melodic bass lines I think exist.

Missed it by -that much-. You need to listen to "Rubber Soul" again.

I agree 100%. IMO, Rubber Soul was their first "milestone" release. Then Revolver, Magical, Sgt. Pepper, Abbey Road.

Have you tried playing "I Saw Her Standing There" at the speed he played it? I've been playing for 30 years, and have played all kinds of challenging bass lines over the years, but I just learned it last week and it took 2 days for me to play it to speed without mistakes. It is a lot harder than it sounds. The same for "Day Tripper" if you play it the way he did. I see a lot of bass players play it in first position starting on the open E string, but he played it an octave higher at the 7th fret. That makes the fingering for it a lot harder, since you can't use open strings.

There are some McCartney lines that aren't difficult to play, but there are quite a few that are.

I've been playing a long time myself and hadn't given Paul his due until I got booked on a Beatle "sound-alike" session and that tune came up first. It's just a standard boogie-woogie line, but very fast. I was playing a 35" Lakland 5er finger-style and was scuffling. Had to do a few punches - hard with that tempo and not miss any notes. Was able to score a '65 Club bass in need of repair a few months ago, looking foward to getting it back from the shop and trying some of those parts again.

Ike

Paul's inspired me more than any other bass player. My favorite basslines of his include "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite", "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", "With A Little Help From My Friends", and "Hey Bulldog".

Sir Paul did have a great impact on how the bass was recorded, and I think he definitely is far more complex a player than he is given credit for. IMHO I think he's right up there with Geddy Lee when it comes to being just an all around excellent musician/songwriter.

McCartney: No, I wouldn't. I never wrote anything on bass. Nothing. Ever. I would write on piano or guitar and I'd like to put down the original groove. But did piss George off, particularly. And I can really see why. It must have been difficult for the other guys. I'd say, "Let's try and imagine the bass and we'll get it great . . . but without the bass." I can see now that it was asking a lot, actually."

So not only did Macca always lay his bass parts down later, but he never wrote on the bass. An interesting way to work from a bassplayers perspective. And it reinforces the idea (one which applies to me these days as well) is that McCartney was more a songwriter who played bass than a bass player who wrote songs.


I've recently had to learn some Beatles tunes for my cover band and I've found that what is seemingly easy on paper is much more difficult in practice. For example, Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds has an "easy" bassline that doesn't play so easy. McCartney actually uses different roots when playing the same measures of different versus, for no obvious reason, until you take the time to see how that changes the chord progression and the feel of the song as it moves through each verse. Also makes it frustrating to cover, because for a lot of Beatles songs, it's necessary to actually memorize every ******* note McCartney plays rather than simply improvising off a simple chord chart or else risk the song losing its character.

I've recently had to learn some Beatles tunes for my cover band and I've found that what is seemingly easy on paper is much more difficult in practice. For example, Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds has an "easy" bassline that doesn't play so easy. McCartney actually uses different roots when playing the same measures of different versus, for no obvious reason, until you take the time to see how that changes the chord progression and the feel of the song as it moves through each verse. Also makes it frustrating to cover, because for a lot of Beatles songs, it's necessary to actually memorize every ******* note McCartney plays rather than simply improvising off a simple chord chart or else risk the song losing its character.We played Oh Darling! in my old band (my brother sang it very well) and it had the same problem, the bass line is integral to the sound of the song and it rarely repeats - you have to memorize every note.

his edgy playing on Yer Blues blows me away

I used to think Paul McCartney was a ****** bassist, then I heard his Wings music. Those bass lines are amazing.