Rediscovered the beatles!

facethebass · #1 02-17-2008, 06:29 PM

I of course have been aware of the beatles since I listened to music. In my teens, I sort of took apart a couple of the earlier songs and left it at that. I dismissed PM's bass lines as simple, follow the main chords sort of tunes. I found myself playing some beatles for a fundraiser for a friend - we did 6 tunes, but A little help from my friends in particular was a blast. The later beatles stuff was a real hoot. I went back an dove into A day in life, Strawberry fields, get back and so on. I am reborn! What a guy. For the record though, I prefer Lennon's singing. What's you're fave beatles tune to just let go on?

Wasim · #2 02-17-2008, 07:35 PM

My favourites to play (long list, but his playing is so much fun)

Something
I Want You
She Came In Through the Bathroom Window
You Never Give Me Your Money
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Hey Bulldog
Lady Madonna
You Won't See Me
Nowhere Man
With a Little Help From My Friends
A Day in the Life

chiplexic · #3 02-17-2008, 08:09 PM

I was just about to start a thread on this but I'll pose the question, what would you consider to be some of the most technically challenging Beatles bass songs? I know they don't rank among the hardest but I'd say one busy one is -DayTripper

Wasim · #4 02-17-2008, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiplexic

I was just about to start a thread on this but I'll pose the question, what would you consider to be some of the most technically challenging Beatles bass songs? I know they don't rank among the hardest but I'd say one busy one is -DayTripper

I don't know about technically challenging, a few of them have variations and little Macca nuances that make learning them note-for-note a bit of a bind. I'd say Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey is a bit tricky, timing-wise.

RickenBoogie · #5 02-17-2008, 09:03 PM

Dig a Pony. Never get tired of playing it, though I've long since tired of hearing it.

BadB · #6 02-17-2008, 09:06 PM

I never really got into them until I was 30. I went on a three year Beatle bender after that. And yeah, I prefer John Lennon's singing, too.

lawsonman · #7 02-18-2008, 05:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiplexic

I was just about to start a thread on this but I'll pose the question, what would you consider to be some of the most technically challenging Beatles bass songs? I know they don't rank among the hardest but I'd say one busy one is -DayTripper

Listen to Pauls bassline in "Nowhere Man"

zazz · #8 02-18-2008, 05:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lawsonman

Listen to Pauls bassline in "Nowhere Man"

yep ...thats a great one....

but for me the one that really does it for me is "paper back writer".

it has it all ...the harmonies are there and when the bass comes warbling in its just magic.

i think this might have been the first time he used the rick

and it was the first time that abbey road acctually produced a decent electric bass sound.

FlatAffect · #9 02-18-2008, 05:57 AM

'Paperback Writer' is a fun bassline but I don't like the sound of it on the record. It sounds a bit overpowering in the mix. Not in a bottom-heavy Larry Graham kind of way but in a thin sound turned up too loud to compensate kind of way. 'Rain' is even worse. I much prefer the bass tone on tracks like 'Penny Lane' or 'Taxman'.

Presumably you guys have checked out the isolated Sgt Pepper bass tracks here:

http://www.ricksuchow.com/music-group-204.html

I've been listening to 'With a Little Help from My Friends' repeatedly. It's not even a song I particularly like but the Macca b-line is so addictive.

facethebass · #10 02-18-2008, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lawsonman

Listen to Pauls bassline in "Nowhere Man"

Just got around to really listening to it. It's like a totally new song to me. Holy crap-I think I am going to have to probably go listen to every beatles song I've ever heard and 'listen' to them again. Keep those faves coming!

JimK · #11 02-19-2008, 04:15 AM

I grew up with The Beatles...as an early teen, however, I totally blew them off as "teeny bopper"...a short time later, I was into R&B/Funk...& then my Jazz Nazi period began.
I got back into The Beatles when their albums began to emerge on cd (late '80s?).
Revolver is amazing...so I will add "I'm Only Sleeping" (with the backwards guitar parts) & "Tomorrow Never Knows" (an sonic depiction of an acid trip?).

"Paperback Writer" & "Rain"...IMO, hard to not like either from a bass point-of-view.

GlassJaw · #12 02-19-2008, 07:27 AM

I've always loved The Beatles and have since I was a kid just starting piano lessons. I was hooked the first time I played my parents' copy of Sgt Pepper on vinyl.

I gained a new appreciation for them in college though when I was studying theory. One of my harmony professors was a huge Beatles fan and he would assign us Beatles songs to analyze. Pretty amazing. I like to refer to the Beatles as complex in their simplicity if that makes any sense. Some of their progressions are pretty wild. For example, Penny Lane is a great example of a 5-of-5 progression. Just so much great stuff in their catalog.

BillMason · #13 02-19-2008, 07:49 AM

I always thought Paul's clone, after the real Paul died, was a much better bass player.

iamthebassman · #14 02-19-2008, 07:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by facethebass

Just got around to really listening to it. It's like a totally new song to me. Holy crap-I think I am going to have to probably go listen to every beatles song I've ever heard and 'listen' to them again. Keep those faves coming!

Nowhere Man took me a bit to be able to sing and play at the same time, usually I don't have a problem with that but this tune was tougher.

www.eggmen.com

lord toranaga · #15 02-19-2008, 07:58 AM

I love "blue jay way" from MMT

alas I am a novice bassist and probably won't be able to play it for a while

kevteop · #16 02-19-2008, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimK

Revolver is amazing...so I will add "I'm Only Sleeping" (with the backwards guitar parts) & "Tomorrow Never Knows" (an sonic depiction of an acid trip?).

I put Revolver on yesterday while I was making dinner, haven't listened to it for ages. Brilliant record. "Tomorrow Never Knows" was decades ahead of its time.

iamthebassman · #17 02-19-2008, 08:36 AM

cdef · #18 02-19-2008, 08:36 AM

Paul's playing was always really musical and imaginative. "I Saw Her Standing There" was one of the first songs I learned on bass. It's one of their earliest compositions, and the bass line is energetic and busy, not that easy to sustain. It's a boogie-woogie-type line without the shuffle.

"Come Together" is another favorite.

on1ne · #19 02-20-2008, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cdef

Paul's playing was always really musical and imaginative. "I Saw Her Standing There" was one of the first songs I learned on bass.

It's a great line to learn and you can sneak that pattern into just about any straight ahead rocker. Fit's in lots of Chuck Berry stuff.

Another early tune with a beautiful bass line is "All My Loving." I suppose it's 20/20 hindsight to say this but if he was creating lines like that so early, he was bound to be a great player.

Barkless Dog · #20 02-20-2008, 09:34 AM

Love that Ric!

I really enjoyed the show Love and if you like the Beatles I would pickup the sound track that is remixed from the originals. The bass is amazing in the show and on the sound track.