In The Cage!

[AstralTraveler]

I'm fairly new to bass, but the lines that Mike Rutherford lays out in this song amaze me, especially when he starts flying at the end. I love that part. What do you guys think about this one?

[Eyescream]

Who's Mike Rutherford?

[Brendan]

Originally Posted by Eyescream

Who's Mike Rutherford?

Genesis

[supermonkey]

This is one of the best tracks on one of the best albums of all time. Mike Rutherford's bass skillz are woefully underrated.

I know exactly the kind of parts you're talking about, with the happy 16ths. I personally love the distorted tone he gets on this record, a la "Broadway Melody of 1974".

If anybody reading this is unfamiliar w/ Genesis c. 1976 and before, I strongly suggest you banish all thought from your mind of "Invisible Touch", and go pick up "Foxtrot", "Selling England By The Pound", or "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway".

It might forcibly redfine your understanding of rock history, and cause you to come to terms with a terrifying fact:
Phil Collins is actually a killer drummer!

[fulcrum]

Word.

This album pretty much changed my life, as did the three studio recordings that came before it: Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot, and Selling England.

With Genesis it was never about being flashy musicians, it was about having good music to play and not particularly caring about getting in and out in three minutes. While Tony Banks' ARP solo on In The Cage is flash, whenever he'd play it even through the 1980s, he would never vary it-- in fact he wrote the thing out, and it was a part of the song much like a classical composer would score a violin cadenza in his concerto.

IMNTLBHO the focus was in the right place. Technically, they all could shred-- yes, especially Collins (who still can, when he feels like it, and I wish he'd feel like it more often). But it wasn't about shredding-- it was about the music.

[louloomis]

I am a big time Mike Rutherford fan. I don't mean to bash anyone, but if you're a bassist and you don't know who Mike Rutherford is, please check him out (to put it mildly).

His bass playing is so tasty, propulsive and ridiculously good on so many tracks, it's hard to name them all. For starters, and I do mean starters....check out:

Robbery, Assault, and Battery (during keyboard solo from Seconds Out)
In the Cage (as mentioned above) (studio and live versions)
The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (studio version)
The Cinema Show (ending section from Seconds Out)
The Battle of Epping Forest (studio version
I Know What I Like (studio version)
Duke's End (studio version)
Just a Job to Do (studio version)
Invisible Touch (yes, I know, but it is a very good bassline, especially for a pop tune) (studio version)
Afterglow (ending vamp section from Seconds Out)

He shames many of the other bassists in rock via sheer melodicism. HOWEVER...don't get me started on Greg Lake (during King Crimson and ELP) and John Wetton (during King Crimson). They are legends. Wetton is so underrated it's criminal. As is Rutherford.

LL