Paul McCartney

DoublePlusGood · #1 09-30-2002, 03:33 PM

Who thinks Paul McCartney is a bad bassist? I do.

Richard Lindsey · #2 09-30-2002, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DoublePlusGood
Who thinks Paul McCartney is a bad bassist? I do.

I don't.

AlexK · #3 09-30-2002, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DoublePlusGood
Who thinks Paul McCartney is a bad bassist? I do.

Reasons?

PJR · #4 09-30-2002, 03:56 PM

Uhh........Bad ??...as in Good ???

..or Bad ?? ....as in sucks ???

I think Macca was/is a great musician , who was part of a group of musicians who made a very major impact in the music we listen to today.

His bass playing is very musical and melodic.

My Opinion , of course...
PJR

Cogno · #5 09-30-2002, 04:35 PM

George Martin
"There's no doubt that Lennon and McCartney were good musicians. They had good musical brains, and the brain is where music originates - it has nothing to do with your fingers. As it happened, they could also play their own instruments very well.
And since those early days they've all improved, especially Paul. He's an excellent musical all-rounder, probably the best bass-guitarist there is, a first-class drummer, brilliant guitarist and competent piano player."

Sting
"It's hard to separate McCartney's influence on my bass playing from his influence on everything else-singing, songwriting, even becoming a musician in the first place. As a child, I would play my Beatles albums at 45 RPM so I could hear the bass better. He's the Guvnor."

Will Lee
"Growing up in Texas in the early '60s I was so obsessed with the Beatles' music that I didn't feel like a fan, I felt like I was in the Beatles. About the same time I switched from drums to bass I became aware of who gave the band its charm and personality, from visual tunes like "Penny Lane" to the group's repartee with the press. It was the same fellow who was able to take a poor-quality instrument like the Hofner bass and create magic on it. I especially dug Paul's funky, Motown-influenced side, evident in the bass line from Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey," or even in the syncopated part from "A Day In The Life.
Paul's influence on bassists has been so widespread over numerous generations that there's no denying he's in everybody's playing at this point. We're all descendants. He played simple and solid when it was called for. But because he had so many different flavors to add to a song, he was able to take the instrument far beyond a supportive role. Paul taught the bass how to sing."

Stanley Clarke
"Paul definitely had an influence on my bass playing, not so much technically, but more with his philosophy of melodic bass lines - especially as I hit my teens and the Beatles' records became more adventurous. On tracks like "Come Together," the bass line WAS the song. I've always liked that. The only other person I knew of who was doing that was James Jamerson. That was one of the reasons I was inspired to write "School Days": so I could just play the bass lines and people would hear a whole song.

I had the honor of being contacted by Paul through George Martin to play on Tug of War, and I also appeared on Pipes of Peace [both on Capitol]. Paul was very nice. He asked me to show him how to slap. During Pipes we got a groove going in a studio jam, and it ended up making on the album as "Hey Hey." He graciously gave me a co-writing credit, and it's still a thrill to see my name next to his above the music in the song book."

Billy Sheehan
"The reason I got involved with music in the first place was because I saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show. I watched all the girls going crazy, and I figured this was the best business in the world to be in. Later on, when I got more deeply into music, Sgt. Pepper was a break-through record for me. I must have listened to it several hundred times. What intrigued me was how totally musical every aspect of it was, especially Paul's melodic, fluid bass lines. When my band Talas was starting in the mid '70s [the Beatles' tribute show], Beatlemania was big, and we used to play entire gigs of just Beatles tunes. I've learned so much from Paul about playing, writing, and playing and singing at the same time that I should probably start sending him checks.

Most bassists get into the flashy players, but I think the reason Paul is often overlooked is that what he was doing wasn't really obvious. It was so brilliantly woven into the context of the songs. One of my favorites is the bass line from "Rain." I still use it to test the low end of an amp. That Paul happens to play bass is a great boon to all of us, because he made us realize that there are no limitations to being a bass player."

John Lennon
"Paul was one of the most innovative bass players ever. And half the stuff that is going on now is directly ripped off from his Beatles period."

**john turner** · #6 09-30-2002, 05:00 PM

nice first post dude. next time try to get it in the right forum, m'kay?

**Blackbird** · #7 09-30-2002, 05:26 PM

Let's put it this way:

It is highly unlikely you're better, and If you were, you'd appreciate what he does on his level, considering he is one of the greatest songwriters who ever lived.

Some people blame the music when they don't know how to listen...

Walkabout711 · #8 09-30-2002, 05:42 PM

Yeah i agree

LarryJ · #9 09-30-2002, 08:01 PM

Wow-
In the field of rock n' roll bass playing-
McCartney did some brilliant work-
I think you're missing out by not hearing what he said with his bass...too bad.

dls59 · #10 09-30-2002, 10:20 PM

If not for McCartney, I'd probably be playing a kazoo right now, instead of bass. Sting is right. He's the Guvnor.

Dale

lowendpurveyor · #11 10-01-2002, 07:22 AM

I like his bass concept, but his execution is a little dodgy sometimes. Undoubtedly he is one of greatest bass players in the sense of being a stylist and an innovator but I don't think he is a technically proficient bass player.

Philbiker · #12 10-01-2002, 07:38 AM

Learn "All My Lovin" then tell me how "bad" a bass player Paul is. That song is an education in how to create the perfect rock bass line. And that was 1964.

phil_chew · #13 10-01-2002, 11:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Philbiker
Learn "All My Lovin" then tell me how "bad" a bass player Paul is. That song is an education in how to create the perfect rock bass line. And that was 1964.

Yeah. And he was barely 21 then. He got even better during the next few years.

Have a listen to the Abbey Road album (1969) by the Beatles. Listen to "Come Together" and "Something" and note the melodic bass lines. Perfect.

DigMe · #14 10-01-2002, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DoublePlusGood
Who thinks Paul McCartney is a bad bassist? I do.

Why are you guys even wasting your time defending McCartney to this troll??

Like JT said, "nice first post, dude." I hope they're all this introspective.

brad cook

ps - can we bump this to the "sux/rawks" forum?

corinpills · #15 10-02-2002, 04:12 PM

Saw him last night and his bass playing was spot on. Interestingly enough, on the tunes where Paul played guitar, his guitarist played a cook 70's Guild Les Paul shaped bass that sounded fabulous. Not to blaspheme, but it sounded better than the Hofner to me. At one point Paul tossed his Hofner to his roadie from about 10 feet. Talk about a job with a lot of pressure. You'd hate to be the guy to drop that bass, huh?

Cogno · #16 10-02-2002, 04:23 PM

I saw him in Atlanta in May. He did the same thing. It made me onder if that one was his 62 because it is insured for 2 million.

P. Aaron · #17 10-02-2002, 07:37 PM

His royalty checks alone could keep many small countries with ravenous spending habits in the black!

He can play, he can sing, more importantly for the bass line is, he wrote songs so the bass could be played!

He's a total package, we can all debate era, but musically he's done it.

flavorfactory · #18 10-02-2002, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by lowendpurveyor
I like his bass concept, but his execution is a little dodgy sometimes. Undoubtedly he is one of greatest bass players in the sense of being a stylist and an innovator but I don't think he is a technically proficient bass player.

Technically proficient? What do you mean?

Are you under the illusion that chops ala Stanley Clark or Victor Wooton makes one a "better" bassist?

The music McCartney made wasn't suited for that. Case in point, a band I play with now had a bass player who was what I would term a "metal head". Six-string bass, could slap and pop, could make loads of fast runs and trills.

But when he tried that crap on Beatles tunes, it simply didn't fit in.

McCartney didn't single-handedly invent bass playing, but he brought it up to an important level.

lowendpurveyor · #19 10-03-2002, 01:57 AM

I did not say that technically proficient=better bass player, nor did I say he was a bad bass player, that is your assumption. I was simply making a point about how we all have "holes" in our playing and we all have points where we deserve constructive criticism. I think even he would agree with my statement. Ideas and taste are far more important attributes than technique, but a certain amount of technique is required to excute ideas with conviction.

lowendpurveyor · #20 10-03-2002, 07:42 AM

I just read my last post. I'm starting to sound like Jeff Berlin, now that is scary!