What about Bill Wyman?

Alex E · #1 07-05-2006, 09:53 AM

You know, this guy isn't my favorite, but I sure like a number of his basslines.

He's a guy who gets lots of mileage ('kilometerage'

for the metrics reading this) out of a riff that has few notes in it. A great example is "Emotional Rescue". That is such a cool bassline, and so simple compared to how it actually sounds.

I think he's a good talent. Curious to see other opinions?

nysbob · #2 07-05-2006, 10:04 AM

Bill will certainly never be known as a chops meister or terriibly innovative, but he is a big part af of a hell of a lot of great tracks.

He reminds me a little of Joey Spampinato in NRBQ - very good at moving things alongs tastefully and staying the hell out of the way.

What I like most about Bill's playing is his ability to hang back and look at the big picture instead of necessarily nailing every change...for example check out the bass part to Street Fighting Man. His part is almost independent of the guitar and really makes the thing swing like crazy.

Lazylion · #3 07-05-2006, 10:25 AM

He's definitely from the "less is more" school. I was just watching an old videotape yesterday of the Stones from the Steel Wheels tour. Had the audio running through my stereo with bass cranked. First of all, the camera is on Jagger about 85% of the time, and on Richards about 10%. That doesn't leave much for Bill, Ronnie and Charlie. When you do see Bill, he barely moves, never smiles.. I was wondering if he was hating every moment of it? But boy, does he lay down a solid foundation! I gotta read his book one of these days...

clayton · #4 07-05-2006, 06:50 PM

Bill wyman is a very solid bass player. His groove on Miss You is what made me play bass.

Jereth · #5 07-05-2006, 07:23 PM

He does have a very... nice way of playing I suppose. Definatly not my style. I got a Bass magazine a few months ago with him on the cover. Some of his quotes:

''Editor:What amps do you use nowadays?

Bill:I've got two amps- a big for regular gigs and a small one for small gigs. But don't ask me what model and make they are.

Editor:You literally don't know what make of amp you use?

Bill:Well, I do, but I always forget the name... I think ones an Ampeg

Editor: Didn't you play SVT's with the Stones?

Bill: Whats an SVT? I know they boys used Fenders and I used a Boogie sometimes. Anyway, I left all that gear with the Stones when I left them.''

What's an SVT? Ok, how long has he been in the business? He did create the first ever fretless though.

corinpills · #6 07-05-2006, 08:00 PM

So don't hire him to be your tech, then. I actually think Bill gets overlooked far too much. His bass line on Satisfaction alone earns him a spot in the pantheon of greats. You know why? Anybody else would have doubled the riff. The way his syncopation works off the guiitar riff- not to mention the harmonic aspects of it- are genius. Under My Thumb, awesome bass line. 2000 Light Years From Home, Have You Seen Your Mother, 19th Nervous Breakdown, etc. I often think that a lot of younger rockers could really stand some exposure to the first few Stones albums and not just the 30 hits they play on classic rock radio. Like, everybody gets a copy of "Exile On Mainstreet" at some point, but people forget to buy "Between The Buttons" and "Aftermath"- the UK versions, of course. You all know "Dandelion"? Now, that's a great tune!

Now, I'm pretty sure that's not Bill playing bass on "Miss You"- I've heard both Ron Wood and Billy Preston, so I'm not sure who actually played it. Anyway, from all accounts Bill is a creepy old lech, but he did play some great bass parts over the years.

**Winston TK** · #7 07-05-2006, 11:32 PM

Not to take anything away from Mr. Wyman, who is definitely great in his own right, but, several of the classic Stones basslines (at least from the later 70s) were actually contributed by Ron Wood.

Jim Carr · #8 07-05-2006, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winston TK

Not to take anything away from Mr. Wyman, who is definitely great in his own right, but, several of the classic Stones basslines (at least from the later 70s) were actually contributed by Ron Wood.

It is off topic, but Jeez, I saw Ron play bass in Boston at the Tea Party (the original one) with Jeff Beck twice in 1969. He played a '69 telecaster bass (with a pick) through two marshall major heads and 4 (count 'em) 4x12 cabs.

The band was great (waller, hopkins, wood, stewart, and beck)! Probably the best rock band I have ever heard.

Wood's bass style was preserved on the Jeff Beck "Truth" LP. But I digress....

On topic: I always wanted a red single cutaway 2-pickup Framus, like Wyman's. I had two chances to buy one back in 1966 ($165 new!), but hung tight for a Guild Starfire....hmmmnn, probably a wash there for mojo!

iplaybassguitar · #9 07-07-2006, 09:35 AM

im not a huge stones fan, they make great music and all, but not the greatest musicians ever.

HOWEVER

if anyone in here has a groove/rhythm problem, go listen and learn ''miss you''. if you can play that bass line without dropping your pocket, your pretty damn funky

iplaybassguitar · #10 07-07-2006, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jereth

He does have a very... nice way of playing I suppose. Definatly not my style. I got a Bass magazine a few months ago with him on the cover. Some of his quotes:

''Editor:What amps do you use nowadays?

Bill:I've got two amps- a big for regular gigs and a small one for small gigs. But don't ask me what model and make they are.

Editor:You literally don't know what make of amp you use?

Bill:Well, I do, but I always forget the name... I think ones an Ampeg

Editor: Didn't you play SVT's with the Stones?

Bill: Whats an SVT? I know they boys used Fenders and I used a Boogie sometimes. Anyway, I left all that gear with the Stones when I left them.''

What's an SVT? Ok, how long has he been in the business? He did create the first ever fretless though.

about the fretless
that cant be right...and even if it is, i wouldnt give him too much credit, its not a genuis idea...i mean combine an upright feel with the shape on an electric bass...wow

johnvice · #11 07-07-2006, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by corinpills

His bass line on Satisfaction alone earns him a spot in the pantheon of greats. You know why? Anybody else would have doubled the riff. The way his syncopation works off the guiitar riff.

+1
A great example of Bill's "less is more". It doesn't take any imagination to follow a guitar riff an octave down. Bill's deliberate simplication of the riff and sycnopation give the song it's feel.

Quote:

Originally Posted by clayton

Bill wyman is a very solid bass player. His groove on Miss You is what made me play bass.

+1 'twas the summer of 1978 and disco was getting all the airplay. The Stones take on disco was a blues song with a an vocal delivery by Mick. Charlie Watts incorperates those great jazz fills and Bill's groove give it a funky flavour.

This song had a pwoerful influence on me as I was 14 and it planted the idea in my head of getting an electric bass.

KJung · #12 07-08-2006, 04:04 AM

My understanding is that Keith Richards actually played a number of the Stones classic bass lines in the studio. I love solid groove players, but always thought Wyman was rather lame. If you've heard the stones with Daryl Jones, it's a whole different thing IMO.... still solid, tasteful, and grooving... but man, smokin' too. Daryl really pushes the band and they sound MUCH better with him on bass IMO.

Mojo-Man · #13 07-08-2006, 06:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clayton

Bill wyman is a very solid bass player. His groove on Miss You is what made me play bass.

I maybe wrong, but I heard Bill did not play bass line on Miss You?

Alan Vorse · #14 07-08-2006, 06:53 AM

I used to think he was lame, but "Emotional Rescue" has a really killer groove. And isn't "Satisfaction" played like a 5th below the guitar riff. Pretty cool.

oldfclefer · #15 07-08-2006, 07:06 AM

He's not a gearhead.

More interested in making music than setting gear trends.

He always just stood and played.

The Stones had Jagger for the show.

Formed an airtight pocket with Watts on everything they played.

None more solid and innovative than BW.

May be the greatest bassist ever.

Eliot L · #16 07-08-2006, 04:35 PM

Paint it Black

The Lurker · #17 07-08-2006, 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KJung

My understanding is that Keith Richards actually played a number of the Stones classic bass lines in the studio. I love solid groove players, but always thought Wyman was rather lame. If you've heard the stones with Daryl Jones, it's a whole different thing IMO.... still solid, tasteful, and grooving... but man, smokin' too. Daryl really pushes the band and they sound MUCH better with him on bass IMO.

Yeah, there's a lot of stones stuff Wyman didn't play on-- i.e Exile on Main Street he was only on eight songs out of 18 or however many there were.

It's pretty easy to tell what Keith played on, and what Bill played on-- Keith (and to a lesser extent, Ron) were both notier. Mick Taylor actually did bass for Tumbling Dice.....

Something out of an old BP magazine I have, with an interview with Wyman....

Quote:

Mick always had the funniest way of suggesting bass lines. He'd come up to me during sessions and start making playing motions, like Joe Cocker does when he sings. And he'd say, "Play it like [sings busy, atonal bass line]." But he wouldn't sing actual notes, so it was useless! When he'd walk away, I'd turn to Keith and ask, "What should I do?" And he'd mumble, "Play exactly what you played before." So I would, and afterwards Mick would come up and say, "That's better!"

Keith's a pretty mean bass player...... must be some correlation between that and him being a mean rhythm guitarist.....

**JayAmel** · #18 07-09-2006, 05:01 PM

First, please allow me a tiny correction : the bass riff on Satisfaction starts from the fundamental (E), and actually it's the guitar riff that starts from the fifth (B).

There are many Stones tracks - and we probably don't know about all - where the bass was not played by Bill. Basically, from what I understood, when the bass lines had to be more than the most basic thing, they were recorded by either Keith Richards or Mick Taylor, and later by Ron Wood.

Basslines of almost half the Exile on main street, Goat's head soup and It's only rock'n'roll albums were not recorded by Bill. Feels like as much as the Stones' music was getting more elaborate, Bill seemed to be more and more out of the thing.

This doesn't make him a bad player for sure ; just VERY old school.

Some tracks that come to my mind (non-exhaustive list) and were not recorded by Bill : (I may commit mistakes, this is just from memory)

From Exile on Main Street :
Tumbling dice
Torn and frayed
Happy
All down the line

From Goat's Head Soup :
100 years ago

From It's Only Rock'n'roll :
If you can't rock me
It's only rock'n'roll (Willie Weeks on bass)
Time waits for no-one
Fingerprint file

Cheers
Jay

PurplePurple · #19 07-09-2006, 07:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iplaybassguitar

about the fretless
that cant be right...and even if it is, i wouldnt give him too much credit, its not a genuis idea...i mean combine an upright feel with the shape on an electric bass...wow

It was Jaco I'm pretty sure that is the founding father of the Fretless Electric Bass.

nysbob · #20 07-09-2006, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PurplePurple

It was Jaco I'm pretty sure that is the founding father of the Fretless Electric Bass.

There were certainly a lot of folks playing fretless before Jaco.

My favorite Stones stuff is the Brian Jones era, which is primarily Bill. Check out We Love You...very cool track with nice slide-y bass.