Easy Fretless Songs?

vbasscustom · #1 07-19-2010, 01:55 PM

so i got my first fretless today. and most of the songs that i know on fretted, sound kind of blah on a fretless. so what are some easy, (groovy please) that were played on fretless, or written for a fretless player?

thanks

mobis.fr · #2 07-19-2010, 01:58 PM

alive from peal jam

1dgbass · #3 07-19-2010, 02:02 PM

hey you-pink floyd

Lowend65 · #4 07-19-2010, 02:02 PM

Pretty much the entire Paul Simon "Graceland" Album is built around fretless... there are difficult parts, but most of the progressions aren't too out there.
"Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" is a definate bass highlight.

"New York Minute" by Don Henly has a really good fretless part played by Pino Paladino

"Saint Teresa" on Joan Osborne's Relish album

OmnitzGarima · #5 07-19-2010, 02:03 PM

Check out some Morphine. Very cool sounds IMHO, and some of them aren't too hard.

vbasscustom · #6 07-19-2010, 06:09 PM

cool thanks alot, that should keep me busy for a while haha.

kreider204 · #7 07-19-2010, 06:11 PM

Pearl Jam, Cream, and Bad Company would be a good start.

retardedpossum · #8 07-19-2010, 06:16 PM

Check out Mick Karn. He was in Japan, Dalis Carr and several other projects. One of the most amazing bassist ever

JTE · #9 07-20-2010, 07:58 AM

Just play everything on fretless, regardless of whether the known recording used fretless. Some of my favorite songs to play on fretless (even though the well-known recordings are fretted) include:

Blues- stuff like "Tore Down", "Messin' With The Kid", "Help The Poor", etc.

"Badge", "Sunshine Of Your Love", and "White Room" by Cream. Be SURE you compare various recordings of those songs over the decades by both Bruce and Clapton as well as compare Cream's various live and studio recordings.

Country songs... not that awful crap played on contemporary "country" radio, but real country music. Merle Haggard, Patsy Cline ("Crazy" is fun), Hank Williams (the first one) etc as well as the early hippies who loved real country music; folks like Emmylou Harris, Gram Parsons, Chris Hillman, The Byrds, Poco, The Eagles (before "Hotel California"), etc. For contemporary country stuff, find recordings with Dave Pomeroy playing bass. His fretless (often a highly modded electric upright) is so tasteful and poignant. Check out two songs recorded by Trisha Yearwood on her "Thinkin' About You" alum. One is "On A Bus to St. Cloud", the other is "You Can Sleep While I Drive".

Also dig into the earliest Bonnie Raitt records. The albums "Takin' My Time" and "Give It Up" feature the incomparable fretless work of Freebo. These albums are pre-Jaco fretless electric at its best.

And then you need listen to Pino's fretless on his work with Paul Young. While "I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down" may be a bit intimidating at first, dig into it, "Wherever I Lay My Hat", and "Every Time You Go Away".

Also work out Jamerson and Duck Dunn lines on fretless. It'll make you a better bassist.

John

vbasscustom · #10 07-20-2010, 08:32 AM

wow thanks alot, ill deffinetly give it a whirl.

RadioMasterDude · #11 07-22-2010, 11:46 PM

No one has said Jaco yet...

I suggest you try the song Amerika. Very good song, and it's not too hard.

You should also listen to Porcupine Tree, the bassist (Colin Edwin) does pretty simple bass lines with a fretless. Mainly on the album "Lightbulb Sun".

Neon Scribe · #12 07-23-2010, 04:51 PM

Speaking of Paul Simon, check out "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard," from his first solo album in 1972. A very simple line with a glissando on almost every note. I believe the bass player is Russel George, but I can't find much information about him online.