Andy Fraser’s arrangement philosophy

[Aussie Player]

Yes Andy moved on....he managed to write a hit song in the early 80s, the name escapes me but I recall it had real 80s pop thing going on.

I have the Sharks album it has some nice bass lines but nothing memorable ime.

Andy moved on from the Gibson EB and all was lost he turned into a rather undistintive bass player.

As for Boz Burrell he did play a fretless a lot early on the BC hits....then a Stingray was employed as well when I saw them twice in the 70s but the band burned out by 1980.

I've always wondered what happened to Andy's Gibson EB-3...does anyone know?

It was stolen. Mine too. Back then bassists were exploring all the new basses coming onto the scene and EB3 owners would not sell. It became almost impossible to buy a used 60's EB3 by the mid-late 70's.

 

[DavidEdenAria]

It was stolen. Mine too. Back then bassists were exploring all the new basses coming onto the scene and EB3 owners would not sell. It became almost impossible to buy a used 60's EB3 by the mid-late 70's.

Interesting...I know a lot is in Fraser fingers but that EB-3 had some tone.

Was it a 64 EB-3 does anyone know?

 

[Aussie Player]

It was earlier than that. Had the black pick up with the metal painted cover, not the bakelite. Early pot spacing, and pick guard removed. I'd guess it was a '62.

 

[Aussie Player]

The tone is the easy part. Treble volume full, bass volume about 7 and both tones at 2-3. Pluck over the treble pick up as we all did because it was more comfortable and your hand naturally went there.

Remember that Jack Bruce by comoarison was short, so his plucking hand gravitated between the pick ups.

 

[DavidEdenAria]

The tone is the easy part. Treble volume full, bass volume about 7 and both tones at 2-3. Pluck over the treble pick up as we all did because it was more comfortable and your hand naturally went there.

Remember that Jack Bruce by comoarison was short, so his plucking hand gravitated between the pick ups.

Definitely pluck near the bridge but I always guessed a combo of left and right hand muting...my 65 Newport has a lot of sustain but the LaBella flats the E went bad so I put Pressure Wounds GHS and a slight foam mute I can get close.

I've rarely heard clips where bassist got Fraser sound! Live bands in clubs not good either.

 

[Aussie Player]

Definitely pluck near the bridge but I always guessed a combo of left and right hand muting...my 65 Newport has a lot of sustain but the LaBella flats the E went bad so I put Pressure Wounds GHS and a slight foam mute I can get close.

I've rarely heard clips where bassist got Fraser sound! Live bands in clubs not good either.

It is easy and was a very common tone in Oz because so many of usnused EB3's and Marshalls. Its realky just a Gibson tone as you can come close to it dropping the tones to 2-3 a back off the front pick up a touch and you are correct about finger muting
Never saw anyone put foam under the strings back then.

In todays world, it is important to state that we didn't know much and copied each other a lot because there was no information about who used what and how back then. We didn't know even what Fraser used until long after we'd already been using the same gear.

 

[ryco]

Alwqays wished Andy would have joined Faces when Lane was no longer able.
But by that time everybody in Faces was moving on from each other.
Rumor also has it when tFaces asked Free’s drummer Simon Kirke to reach out to Fraser Kirke instead recommended Tetsu Yamauchi, who ultimately took the spot. I never thought Yamauchi was a very good fit. 2¢

 

[DavidEdenAria]

Alwqays wished Andy would have joined Faces when Lane was no longer able.
But by that time everybody in Faces was moving on from each other.
Rumor also has it when tFaces asked Free’s drummer Simon Kirke to reach out to Fraser Kirke instead recommended Tetsu Yamauchi, who ultimately took the spot. I never thought Yamauchi was a very good fit. 2¢

Interesting....Andy did so much ofvthe songwriting in Free like others mentioned and his basslines stood out a lot more than some British bands songwriting ....just amazing how he got with Mayall at barely 15.

 

[jerry]

Alwqays wished Andy would have joined Faces when Lane was no longer able.
But by that time everybody in Faces was moving on from each other.
Rumor also has it when tFaces asked Free’s drummer Simon Kirke to reach out to Fraser Kirke instead recommended Tetsu Yamauchi, who ultimately took the spot. I never thought Yamauchi was a very good fit. 2¢

It would have been interesting, but I don't think it would have been a great fit. Andy playing was never straight R&R and the Faces were a rock band. Like Jack Bruce, Andy was more of an artist than a bassist for hire, I think that's why Mayall let him go.

 

[Paul New]

I think Free was one of the most influential ensembles to come out of Britain. They definitely do not get their due. To say that their sound was unique doesn’t cover it.

Whether you like this band or not, they were extremely popular in their day and influenced a lot of other rock acts. Most of whom probably have no idea where this sound came from.

 

[Michedelic]

Alwqays wished Andy would have joined Faces when Lane was no longer able.
But by that time everybody in Faces was moving on from each other.
Rumor also has it when tFaces asked Free’s drummer Simon Kirke to reach out to Fraser Kirke instead recommended Tetsu Yamauchi, who ultimately took the spot. I never thought Yamauchi was a very good fit. 2¢

Lane was forced out by Stewart, after some friction between the two. Fraser would have been too individualistic to have functioned in Faces.

Yamauchi(much like Ric Gretch in Blind Faith)was the perfect candidate for a low profile, ‘shut up, stand in the back, and just play bass’ kind of bass player. As I pointed out earlier, Fraser was off to do other things, first the Sharks band with Spedding, then he had a trio with a keyboardist named Nick Judd(someone I only know of from Eno albums…Andy is credited as drummer(what?)on Eno’s ripping “King’s Lead Hat” song).

In the long run, it would appear that he was tired of dealing with being in bands, and just wanted to focus on songwriting. He eventually moved to the US, in fact had settled in an area not too far from where I live(which I learned about upon his passing). He had started a family while still in the UK, but from what I understand, grappled with identity issues, and had suffered from HIV complications.

 

[DavidEdenAria]

Lane was forced out by Stewart, after some friction between the two. Fraser would have been too individualistic to have functioned in Faces.

Yamauchi(much like Ric Gretch in Blind Faith)was the perfect candidate for a low profile, ‘shut up, stand in the back, and just play bass’ kind of bass player. As I pointed out earlier, Fraser was off to do other things, first the Sharks band with Spedding, then he had a trio with a keyboardist named Nick Judd(someone I only know of from Eno albums…Andy is credited as drummer(what?)on Eno’s ripping “King’s Lead Hat” song).

In the long run, it would appear that he was tired of dealing with being in bands, and just wanted to focus on songwriting. He eventually moved to the US, in fact had settled in an area not too far from where I live(which I learned about upon his passing). He had started a family while still in the UK, but from what I understand, grappled with identity issues, and had suffered from HIV complications.

I read Fraser had moved to the USA.

Simon Kossoff the son of Paul.Kossoff had also moved to the USA....Interesting story if folks want to Google search....He is a photographer who lived in Arkansas but moved to SW Missouri then to Kansas city as a base for his travels

A spitting image of his dad as well a very interesting read about his life and journey as a photographer and various battles with drug addiction.

 

[jerry]

Andy has a autobiography, its been awhile and I need to re-read it. It covers his fight with aids.

 

[mambo4]

His words, from the article

In a band like Free, simplicity is key, Fraser told Bass Player back in 2013. My general rule of thumb as kind of the arranger in the band was to say, ‘You play in this space, I'll play in this space,’ and everyone has freedom within those spaces. It helped maintain a freedom for individuals and an arrangement that worked that didn't require a lot of filling in. Letting the music breathe was important.

My job for that part was simply to put in a bed that suggested the chord changes and supply enough support for the guitar to riff over the top. That's all it was, and it worked out very well.

My approach was always very minimalistic; with All Right Now, I was just trying to do my best Pete Townshend. I always loved his chord playing, and I thought, ‘Hey, I'll be Pete Townshend for a minute!’

The verses just sounded better with me not playing anything. It made the guitar sound bigger and the bass sound bigger when it actually came in. So I tried to do only what was appropriate, and sometimes that meant not playing at all.

With a three-piece band and a singer, you don't really have the option of more, anyway. If there was a part that was needed and Paul Kossoff had his hands full on guitar, then I would often do it on the bass.

With something like The Stealer, I'd think about song first, and then, ‘What does the bass need to do to make this work?’

We didn't have a second guitarist or a live piano player, so a lot of the things I would play would make up for that. I wasn't thinking like a bass player at all. I’d just try to make it come together, and I would do whatever was necessary.

 

[woodyng2]

Fraser started a band with journeyman guitarist Chris Spedding, Sharks, but did not stay long past the release of the first album…

I got to see Sharks in a London club, (possibly the Marquee, but I’m not sure), in January 1974.
I only remember the experience as a negative. the club was hot, smoky, and the volume level was deafening. The music was pretty basic, and I couldn’t get into the singer’s braying. I knew the guitarist was Spedding, (his name was on the billing), but I wasn’t even familiar with the band, and have no idea if Fraser was present. At that time I was already a fan of Free, so I would’ve probably tried to pay more attention to the bass. As it was so loud and generally unpleasant sounding, I left after 2 pints.

 

[ajkula66]

I've always wondered what happened to Andy's Gibson EB-3...does anyone know?

It was stolen while he was still in Free. Hence the modded Epiphone Rivoli he played during his final days with the band. He was pictured using a Gibson SB-400 as well as Guild JS-2 after the left the band.

Andy has a autobiography, its been awhile and I need to re-read it. It covers his fight with aids.

That's one of the very few books that I wish that I hadn't read.

Andy was a major influence on a very young me, and that piece left me with a very sour taste in my mouth. I also shook my head when he got involved in politics the way he did and I'll stop right there.

Simon Kirke once said that "pound per pound Andy had the most talent of us all" and I agree. Fraser's own demons might have been very different from Kossoff's, but neither of them was able to find suitable musical partners to work with outside of Free, sadly so.

 

[DavidEdenAria]

It was stolen while he was still in Free. Hence the modded Epiphone Rivoli he played during his final days with the band. He was pictured using a Gibson SB-400 as well as Guild JS-2 after the left the band.



That's one of the very few books that I wish that I hadn't read.

Andy was a major influence on a very young me, and that piece left me with a very sour taste in my mouth. I also shook my head when he got involved in politics the way he did and I'll stop right there.

Simon Kirke once said that "pound per pound Andy had the most talent of us all" and I agree. Fraser's own demons might have been very different from Kossoff's, but neither of them was able to find suitable musical partners to work with outside of Free, sadly so.

I thought Back Street Crawler was a good band that needed time to develop with Kossoff but it didn't happen because of Koss death.

I have both BSC albums and I really like the Crawler debut album a whole bunch, it reminds me of Atlanta Rhythm Section another fav.

Of course Rabbit immediately joined the Who on keys after Crawler folded.

Fraser was a primary writer and plenty of success later on beyond bass...I don't consciously think of politics when it comes to artists.

Koss was not a strong writer, Rodgers can thank Mick Ralphs in Bad Company!