|  | | 
07-01-2011, 08:16 PM
| | | | What Makes McCartney Great, For Me!!
Sign in to disble this ad
I've been playing 6 string guitars, off and on, for 46 years. I just started playing bass in February of 2009. After listening to McCartney's bass lines for the first time, as opposed to his vocals, I was totally blown away!!!
Now I probably couldn't name more than 5 bass players and there are probably more talented bass players, but what makes Paul stand out for me, is his ability to sing and play those lines at the same time. THAT, in and of itself, is a huge talent!
Many musicians struggle to play and sing simultaneously, let alone play the lines he plays and sing simultaneously! It's almost, not quite, like a lead guitar player trying to sing while playing a lead lick!
That's why I put him at the top of the list!
Jack |
07-01-2011, 08:19 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Sarasota, Florida, USA | | |
__________________
"If marry you must, then marry an orphan" - YT
Last edited by PhiDeck : 07-01-2011 at 08:21 PM.
|
07-01-2011, 08:25 PM
|  | Impersonal Confuser. | | Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Fresno, CA | | | PhiDeck... Fun!!
__________________ Quote: |
"the one constant is to be against totalitarianism either on the left or on the right"
| Christopher Hitchens.
|
07-01-2011, 09:05 PM
| | | Quote:
Originally Posted by PhiDeck  | I rest my case!!!!  |
07-01-2011, 10:16 PM
| | | 
Great thing about Paul's playing.
It don't sound like much isolated.
But in the Band contex, it's huge.
My first bass hero. |
07-01-2011, 11:31 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: USA | | Quote:
Originally Posted by PhiDeck | That's great.  |
07-01-2011, 11:52 PM
| | Registered User
Artist:TC Electronic RH450 bass system | | Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Fort Madison, IA | | | |
07-02-2011, 09:19 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: USA | | | For so long I thought Paul was using the Hofner on the Sgt. Pepper album, but it seems it must have been the Ric. |
07-02-2011, 09:27 AM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Roanoke Rapids, NC, USA | | | Agreed - Macca was my first bass hero. But let's be realistic - the lines he plays today are simpler live than they are on record. When he plays Sgt. Pepper live, for instance, his lines don't quite have the finesse that that recording does. Don't get me wrong, I agree with you completely that McCartney's ability to sing well while playing superb basslines is unmatched, but the isolated recordings featured on that site were most definitely not played while he was singing.
BTW, on the song Sgt. Pepper, didn't McCartney actually play everything - not just bass? So, technically, that recording is still McCartney isolated?...
__________________ Rickenbacker 4001+ Fender 60th Anniv. PBass+ Squier Classic Vibe Jazz+ Genz Benz STL900+ Low Down Sound 15/6/1
Last edited by Personatech : 07-02-2011 at 09:32 AM.
|
07-02-2011, 09:39 AM
|  | Endorsing Curmudgeon: Mal's Kitchen Cruelties ... | | Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Columbia River Gorge | | | Agreed!
Sting, now that guy is a freak of nature as far as being able to song and play such seemingly disparate parts.
For me what made Macca great was his song writing and sense of harmony singing. Some of the basslines are very cool but taken in context, it's really the overall songcraft that makes the line work.
__________________
I think I'd know normal if I saw it ... 'Calvin
|
07-02-2011, 09:48 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: USA | | | Needless to say, playing bass while singing can be quite difficult. There aren't too many people out there that can sing and play with live bass matching the finesse of a studio recording. This includes Paul McCartney, Jack Bruce, Sting, and just about everybody as far as I can tell. Maybe Geddy Lee doesn't have too much of a problem, but I don't listen to Rush enough to really know. |
07-02-2011, 09:50 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: USA | | Quote:
Originally Posted by 4Mal Agreed!
Sting, now that guy is a freak of nature as far as being able to song and play such seemingly disparate parts.
For me what made Macca great was his song writing and sense of harmony singing. Some of the basslines are very cool but taken in context, it's really the overall songcraft that makes the line work. | Macca has to be looked at as a great composer and singer, too, not just a bassist. I agree.
Last edited by Rocker949 : 07-02-2011 at 10:07 AM.
|
07-02-2011, 09:54 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Four Corners, USA | | Quote:
Originally Posted by jackajesusfreak ..., but what makes Paul stand out for me, is his ability to sing and play those lines at the same time. THAT, in and of itself, is a huge talent!
Many musicians struggle to play and sing simultaneously, let alone play the lines he plays and sing simultaneously! | Top of my list as well. However, not much where Paul is recorded singing AND playing bass on Beatles' records from Sgt. Pepper forward. From what I've read, he overdubbed bass after the other Beatles left - usually the last thing recorded for a given song. This was probably the process til the end.
There are the handful of Rooftop recordings, though - maybe not the most outstanding of his bass lines - where he is singing AND playing.
If the bass was tracked at the same time Paul was singing, it was either George (i. e., Maxwell's Silver Hammer) or John (i. e., Helter Skelter) playing bass.
Disclaimer: I did NOT attend any Beatles' recording sessions. |
07-02-2011, 10:36 AM
| | Impersonal Confuser. | | Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Fresno, CA | | Quote: |
Sting, now that guy is a freak of nature as far as being able to song and play such seemingly disparate parts.
| Yep.
My side project Police tribute band Synchronicity 4 is getting back together in August (took a few months off while our drummer was on the road with his main band). There are so many bits that are obviously difficult to sing and play at the same time - Driven To Tears, Rehumanize Yourself, Demolition Man - but there are sooo many little things that are deceptively difficult. The song "Can't Stand Losing You" is much harder to play than it sounds. And for the life of me, I still struggle with the timing of "Murder By Numbers"! What the HELL is the timing that brings in the lyrics??? :-)
__________________ Quote: |
"the one constant is to be against totalitarianism either on the left or on the right"
| Christopher Hitchens.
|
07-02-2011, 07:15 PM
| | | | For me, Paul mccartney is certainly a bassing legend, not just his work with the beatles or wings, but his over all ability and style. so melodic and such a key essence to making his music the masterpiece we all love. I advise every bass player to listen to dear prudence, so simple yet helps to make the song impossibly legendary. i am a HUGE mccartney fan, i saw him live last year in hyde park, and ive never heard a bass player with a better bass tone live. and this is after seeing the police live a few yeard prier, he started the gig off with "all my lovin'" i was without a doubt blown away. he is certaily one of my bassing hero's and inspirations!
__________________
"There's nothing remarkable about it. All one has to do is hit the right keys at the right time and the instrument plays itself." -Johann Sebastian Bach
|
07-02-2011, 09:42 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: USA | | | I keep encountering comments from time to time from the McCartney critics. They say things such as McCartney's bass lines really aren't that complex. The Beatles were overrated, blah, blah, blah. People are entitled to not like the Beatles or not like Paul McCartney. But to try to diminsh the importance of Paul and the Beatles is sheer nonsense.
Last edited by Rocker949 : 07-02-2011 at 11:38 PM.
|
07-02-2011, 09:59 PM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada | | Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonicfrog Yep.
My side project Police tribute band Synchronicity 4 is getting back together in August (took a few months off while our drummer was on the road with his main band). There are so many bits that are obviously difficult to sing and play at the same time - Driven To Tears, Rehumanize Yourself, Demolition Man - but there are sooo many little things that are deceptively difficult. The song "Can't Stand Losing You" is much harder to play than it sounds. And for the life of me, I still struggle with the timing of "Murder By Numbers"! What the HELL is the timing that brings in the lyrics??? :-) | Just had a listen to it ... sounds like just 8 bars of drums before the vocals, but Copeland changes the kick pattern in the last bar (it's basically on the 2 & 4 in all the other bars, with some ghost notes). Just start counting immediately from the first "bell" hit at the top of the song, 8 bars later you're in. I'm no drummer so I could be wrong...  |
07-03-2011, 03:32 PM
| | | | Another great thing about McCartney is he will change 1 or 2 notes after 8 bars and it gives the song a whole different rhythmic feeling. Try playing a Beatle song note for note and you realize how intricate even the simple ones are. |
07-03-2011, 04:44 PM
| | | | What stands out for me in Paul's playing is that, in a lot of cases, the bassline defines the tune so well that no other instrument is necessary to outline the chord progression. Of course, that's tough to prove because we've been hearing these songs for decades and you can't really silence the other instruments in your head as tho you're playing something you never heard before, but I believe it to be so. |
07-03-2011, 04:54 PM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: May 2011 Location: oceanside cal. | | | what you have to remember is that he was the first rock bassist to do bass lines. he has always been the master of bass tone in my opinion. Listen to the cripsness of his bass on the white album | | Thread Tools | Search this Thread | | | | 
Posting Rules
| You may not post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off | | | |
