What are some good fretless bass songs.

[nysbob]

Originally Posted by Jumbotron

Good one! A lot of Belew's earlier solo albums have great fretless playing on them.

I know Cliff Mayhew - great guy & terrific player.

[Mcbain12]

I've heard the isolated tapes for Message in a bottle by the Police. It's definately fretless, in fact some of it is rather off key and sloppy, and he is absolutely hammering the strings with a pick. There also appears to be a fretted bass which has been overdubbed on top of the fretless, I'm guessing to beef up the mids.

On the subject, I thing that Sting used mainly fretless basses on stage between mid '78 and mid '80. He had at least two precisions, an Ibanez and an explorer bass copy. Later he also used electric double bass for some of the slower songs.

Very brave to do lead vocals and fretless live!

[Engine207]

One player not really associated with fretless, but does a great job on a great tune nonetheless, is Geddy Lee on Malignant Narcissism on Rush's 2007 release Snakes and Arrows .

[nysbob]

Originally Posted by Mcbain12

Very brave to do lead vocals and fretless live!

I must be very brave, then.

[Phendyr_Loon]

The Cure's song "Love Cats". I believe Simon Gallup plays a fretless, atleast it sounds like it's a fretless in the original album version.

[TonyFranklinFan]

Love Cats was done on an upright I believe...

[Chrisk-K]

Anything by "Japan" (Mick Karn)

[bassteban]

I loves me some repeat zombosis threadage, yo. ON topic, I need to address the lack of reliable fretless basses in my arsenal. Props to all who sing & play the schmoovie.

[Kyo6JM]

Originally Posted by Danielj15

Michael manring plays a lot of fretless bass.
Check out some solo recordings, and also some songs with Michael Hedges like After the Goldrush and Menage a Trois.

You should check out his playing on Jim Matheos' "Away With Words" album. Samples (and an mp3 of the full "Palindrome" featuring a beautiful Manring fretless bass solo) here: http://www.fateswarning.info/a_aww.shtml

[BrandonA119]

Check out 4Him "When I need you most" Gary Lunn on fretless. BA!!!
4Him "Lay it all on the line" Pino and Manu! NASTY!!
Paul Young "Its what she didn't say" PINO!! My Favorite
Paul Young "Our time has come" PINO
Paul Young "Together" PINO
Go West "Crossfire" PINO
Go West "From Baltimore to Paris" PINO
Dominic Miller "Truco" PINO
White Heart "Once and for all" Anthony Sallee Pentabuzz
White Heart "Love Calling" Anthony Sallee
White Heart "Lay it down" Anthony Sallee
White Heart "Say the word" Anthony Sallee
Steve Camp "He covers me" Jackie Street
Vanessa Carlton "Prince"

[Jimmy_James]

Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer
Michael Jackson - Earth Song
Alannah Myles - Black Velvet
Sam Brown - Stop
Portal - Not The Same
Sting - Englishman In New York
Sting - If I Ever Lose My Faith In You
Sting - Seven Days
Weather Report - Birdland
Weather Report - A Remark You Made
Porcupine Tree - Shesmovedon
Metallica - Nothing Else Matters
Pink Floyd - Hey You
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Road Trippin' (originally played on a double bass, I believe)
Pearl Jam - Alive (or all songs off Ten for that matter)

[winegamd]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xK7P...e_gdata_player

"Who" by Gypsy Soul

[Marial]

Originally Posted by KPJ

Pino on Townshend's "Give Blood", that was his second best band, after the Who (Pino, David Gilmour, Simon Phillips).

That song made we want to pay fretless before I knew what a fretless was or had even started playing bass. Still one of my favorite tunes of all time and still my favorite fretless tune.

I'll add another vote for Tony Levin's work with Peter Gabriel, though a fair amount of it was played on an NS electric upright rather than on a fretless bas guitar.

[pizzazombie]

chi cheng used a fretless fender bass on some songs from white pony

[TomA1234]

If you want technical yet brilliant fretless bass lines on the heavy side of things, check out these songs (but the rest of the albums too):
Omnipresent Perception by Beyond Creation (from the album The Aura)
Simian Cattle by Augury (same bassist as above)
Elements and Spirit by Gorod (from A perfect Absolution)
Septuagint by Obscura (from Omnivium)
Silence call the Storm by Quo Vadis (Steve DiGiorgio) from Defiant imagination

[ferrum]

Originally Posted by BrandonA119

Check out 4Him "When I need you most" Gary Lunn on fretless. BA!!!
4Him "Lay it all on the line" Pino and Manu! NASTY!!
Paul Young "Its what she didn't say" PINO!! My Favorite
Paul Young "Our time has come" PINO
Paul Young "Together" PINO
Go West "Crossfire" PINO
Go West "From Baltimore to Paris" PINO
Dominic Miller "Truco" PINO
White Heart "Once and for all" Anthony Sallee Pentabuzz
White Heart "Love Calling" Anthony Sallee
White Heart "Lay it down" Anthony Sallee
White Heart "Say the word" Anthony Sallee
Steve Camp "He covers me" Jackie Street
Vanessa Carlton "Prince"

Speaking of White Heart, is it a fretless I hear slightly buried under synth in Desert Rose?

[BrandonA119]

Originally Posted by ferrum

Speaking of White Heart, is it a fretless I hear slightly buried under synth in Desert Rose?

Yes it is! Pedulla Pentabuzz!

[ferrum]

Originally Posted by BrandonA119

Yes it is! Pedulla Pentabuzz!

Great sound. Anthony Sallee is definitely a solid example.

I can't tell if he plays it all the way through...to me it sounds like it just appears occasionally until the end. Never saw White Heart live, so I've never seen it actually performed.

Back to your regularly scheduled thread...

[patrickm]

Jon Gagan w/ Ottmar Liebert
Edie Brickell- New Bohemians- first album

[jacojbass]

black velvet is not a bass...it is keys with a fretless bass patch