Andy Rourke - The Smiths

[ste30]

What do you lot think of Andy Rourke, and some of the basslines he came up with for The Smiths songs?

Bigmouth Strikes Again has gotta be one of my favourite to play still
Nowhere Fast has that 2 part slide thing at the end of the verses
Barbarism Begins At Home is just mint, its the same thing reepeated all through the song but I neve get bored of hearing it

Ive not been playing long but I still play these most times I pick up my bass - anyone else into this guy?

[versalog]

I think of his playing just like I do Marr's guitar... Just plain old tasty. Nice and simple, not at all complex, just tasty.

[Alan Vorse]

When you're talking about that 80s style of college rock/early alternative music, Andy is right there at the top with Mike Mills from R.E.M.. His playing is so melodic and groovey.

[Modo74]

Yeah I love Andys lines.

"This Charming Man" is a favourite of mine. Excellent, carries the song.

[matrok]

Originally Posted by Modo74

"This Charming Man" is a favourite of mine. Excellent, carries the song.

+1

[I am Domokun]

Originally Posted by Modo74

Yeah I love Andys lines.

"This Charming Man" is a favourite of mine. Excellent, carries the song.

+2.

[dancehallclasher]

definitely one of my favorite bassists ever. Got my pic taken with him last year!

In addition to the ones mentioned, I love "Rusholme Ruffians" "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" and for a nice simple groove, "Unloveable"

[caliban8]

Love the Smiths, love Rourke's bass lines. In fact, I'm looking for that sound and want to replicate it. Does anyone know what bass and amp etc I would need to get it? The only problem with the amp is that I live in UK and would need to buy one there due to the different power supply. Does anyone have any suggestions? Other sources of inspiration for me are Geddy Lee, Paul McCartney, Bruce foxton, Noel Redding etc. I'm ready to upgrade from my beginners gear and don't mind paying more in order to make the right decision at outset.

[BigSwami]

If I recall Andy Rourke was into (ironically) Smith basses, as were many of the pop musicians in the UK in the 80's. I don't know about his amps. His sound was always very smooth, sophisticated, and bottom-heavy. I do know that he also used a chorus effect on some tracks.

The musicianship in that band was badly underrated in general. I guess it's hard to get noticed when you're standing behind a melodramatic attention whore like Morrissey and a genius like Johnny Marr, but the bass and drums were locked in tight and they grooved together very well.

[The Mock Turtle Regulator]

Rourke used P-basses and a Yamaha BB2000, Rotosound roundwounds.

http://www.bassplayer.com/article/th...t/Feb-06/17946

[Purple Haze]

I just love the smiths and like andy rourkes playing. He doesnt nothing too flashy and his basslines compliment the song perfectly.

I just love Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now, not a hard bass line at all but its great!

As for gear, any time ive seen him he was playing fender precision basses or fender jazz basses, mostly precisions though. BigSwami says he used smith basses, he maybe recorded with these, and I think i read somewhere he recorded with yamaha basses too, though dont quote me on that.

Do a search for the smiths on youtube and youll be able to see the basses he uses.

[Purple Haze]

From wikipedia

His sound is the result of two different basses:

* 64 Fender Precision Bass during live performances, and
* Yamaha BB2000 in the studio

Rourke was known to play with the tone dial turned to its fullest and with a plectrum.

[Mr Venus]

Very fine player. Shame the Smiths were fronted by such an egotistical, talentless clown.

[Sgt-Pluck]

Originally Posted by Mr Venus

Very fine player. Shame the Smiths were fronted by such an egotistical, talentless clown.

I can't let that one pass unchecked!!

Egotistal, absolutely. Talentless, not on your nelly. The man can write lyrics good enough to keep a dead band alive and as popular 20 years on as they were at the time, if not more so.

PS. Andy Rourke is one of my inspirations for dropping the g**tar and picking up the bass. No idea if he's considered 'special' or not (I'm fairly new to all things bass) - but I just love his work on so many Smiths tracks, but especially their early stuff. Hand in Glove is a beauty.

[BigSwami]

No question, Andy Rourke is a pretty great bass player, more sophisticated than he needed to be. The Smiths are a great example of what the bass player's role in a band should be - produce a great, melodic line that drives the song. Johnny Marr was one of my favorite guitarists just because he played very crystalline guitar parts, and was smart enough to get the hell out of the way of a great bass line. "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" is fantastic, as well as "Girlfriend In A Coma."

[m_stavros]

Andy's bass lines were brilliant. All of them

[thedude77md]

My favorite bass player by far and the reason I picked up the instrument. Some of his lines are a LOT trickier than they sound as there is lots of ghosting and harmonics that aren't very audible in the studio stuff. I have a few live soundcheck recordings of just Andy playing and found there was a lot more going on than I thought.

I need to scan my Louder Than Bombs transcription book. Bought it years ago... it's not the normal cheesy piano/chrod chart books. It's EVERY track on the album with every instrument/vocal line- if there are 14 guitars, every one of them is there with tab. Some of the tunes are 30 pages long b/c there's so many layers.

[Sonicfrog]

Funny. I never knew the guy's name. Always like his work.

We do a couple of Smiths song in my San Diego band, but really shine on REM stuff. Yes, Mike Mills is a fine bassist.

[mpm32]

If you like Andy Rourke, check out the Housemartins with Stan Cullimore. Same type of basslines. Norman Cook (guitar) from the housemartins became Fatboy Slim.

[Greyvagabond]

"There is a light that never goes out" has one of my all-time favorite basslines. What a fantastic player.