Andy Rourke and The Smiths

[Spinal Tapper]

First off, this guy's basslines are SO amazing. Incredibly melodic, he almost never stops or chugs single 8th notes. It's non-stop riff, scale, riff, scale, etc. And I learned this all the hard way...

I do a Halloween gig every year with some friends (we've covered The Rolling Stones, Nirvana, Tommy James and the Shondells to name a few).

So this year my buddy asked me if I wanted to join up for this Smiths Halloween gig. Never having listened to The Smiths I said, "Sure", thinking it would be an easy 80's cover band situation where I could walk my way through some easy parts, wear tight jeans, and just have a fun, easy gig. You know, Morrisey is kind of a whiny wuss, so I figured his band would just be cheesing it in these tunes.

BOY was I dead wrong! This was the toughest stuff I ever had to learn in my last 10 years of gigging...I've learned Rush covers easier than these Smiths tunes! We only did 7 songs, and the first day I sat down in front of my computer to learn the stuff before the big rehearsal, I was mortified. I wanted to call my friend and plead my way out of it, but we had the band lineup already and I was the only one who he knew to fill in on the bass parts.

Regardless, after rehearsing the parts for the past 6 weeks (mostly alone with the albums), I totally nailed the gig and got lots of complements on my playing.

For anyone who digs The Smiths, we covered:
Hand in Glove
This Charming Man
Bigmouth Strikes Again
There is a Light That Never Goes Out
Nowhere Fast
Still Ill
How Soon is Now


Here's the studio recording of This Charming Man. Pretty impressive stuff, especially when you reach the chorus around the 1:00 mark. This one is tuned up to F#, although I played it in standard tuning.


He also played cool gear - Ampeg SVT's, Acoustic, Trace Elliot, 60's Fender P basses (often tuned up to F#), Guild, Peavey basses as well.

Great reading about a breakdown of ALL of his documented gear for us nerds
http://www.smithsonguitar.com/2012/01/andy-rourkes-gear.html

So, Andy Rourke, this thread is for you, buddy.

 

[stratovani]

Great bass player, extremely underrated. Although I'm nowhere near as good as he is, I did enjoy playing along to a few Smiths tunes, and I did learn a lot from his playing.

 

[ERIC31]

Incredible player and those basslines are HARD to master! Andy is the man! Check this clip out. The Smiths : The Tube 1984 (Complete Film):

 

[Marial]

I'd love the Smiths were it not for Morrisey (sp?). Rourke is amazing, but Morrisey just ruins them for me.

 

[handofseven]

There are a couple other threads proppin' Rourke, but it never hurts to have another. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: The Smiths are one of my favourite bands of all time, and Rourke is killer!

 

[BazzTard]

I played a few Smiths songs in the late 80s early 90s. There is a light that never goes out, Cemetery Gates , Girlfriend In a Coma and a couple of others that escape me now. Very melodic basslines.

up tempo happy guitars and sad lyrics, great combination

"Girlfriend's in a coma, I know I know it's serious"-Girlfriend In A Coma

"If a ten ton truck,killed the both of us, to die by your side, what a wonderful way to die"- There Is A Light

but the best

"so I broke into the palace,with a sponge and rusty spanner
she said I hear you and you cannot sing, I said that's nothing you should hear me play the PIANO" -The Queen Is Dead

 

[Spinal Tapper]

I was looking for some Smiths vinyl to buy on Ebay the other day and I came across an instrumental Smiths Demos record. Didn't snatch it up, but there ya go! All the Smiths, no Morrisey, LOL

 

[Marial]

I'd LOVE to hear that!

 

[A.K.]

Love his playing. Very inspiring.

 

[telecopy]

First off, this guy's basslines are SO amazing. Incredibly melodic, he almost never stops or chugs single 8th notes. It's non-stop riff, scale, riff, scale, etc. And I learned this all the hard way...

I do a Halloween gig every year with some friends (we've covered The Rolling Stones, Nirvana, Tommy James and the Shondells to name a few).

So this year my buddy asked me if I wanted to join up for this Smiths Halloween gig. Never having listened to The Smiths I said, "Sure", thinking it would be an easy 80's cover band situation where I could walk my way through some easy parts, wear tight jeans, and just have a fun, easy gig. You know, Morrisey is kind of a whiny wuss, so I figured his band would just be cheesing it in these tunes.

BOY was I dead wrong! This was the toughest stuff I ever had to learn in my last 10 years of gigging...I've learned Rush covers easier than these Smiths tunes! We only did 7 songs, and the first day I sat down in front of my computer to learn the stuff before the big rehearsal, I was mortified. I wanted to call my friend and plead my way out of it, but we had the band lineup already and I was the only one who he knew to fill in on the bass parts.

Regardless, after rehearsing the parts for the past 6 weeks (mostly alone with the albums), I totally nailed the gig and got lots of complements on my playing.

For anyone who digs The Smiths, we covered:
Hand in Glove
This Charming Man
Bigmouth Strikes Again
There is a Light That Never Goes Out
Nowhere Fast
Still Ill
How Soon is Now


Here's the studio recording of This Charming Man. Pretty impressive stuff, especially when you reach the chorus around the 1:00 mark. This one is tuned up to F#, although I played it in standard tuning.


He also played cool gear - Ampeg SVT's, Acoustic, Trace Elliot, 60's Fender P basses (often tuned up to F#), Guild, Peavey basses as well.

Great reading about a breakdown of ALL of his documented gear for us nerds
http://www.smithsonguitar.com/2012/01/andy-rourkes-gear.html

So, Andy Rourke, this thread is for you, buddy.

Andy Rourke is a low frequency machine. Every little lick is not difficult, but they come in such rapid succession.. I think everybody interested in the bass should listen to The Smiths. He is truly an Icon.

 

[Boot Soul]

Here is a cool vid of a cover of Headmaster Ritual that's great for learning. Spot on.



and a more bass oriented one

 

[GregC]

Very cool, I'm a big fan of Rourke's and have been meaning to learn some of his lines. BTW, Tapper, kudos to you for going out, lugging gear and playing a gig this Halloween--the weather was so nasty!

 

[shrimpflea]

Very unusual and unique bass player...I really like his style.
Andy Rourke with The Smiths

 

[Spinal Tapper]

We lucked out and played on Thursday night! Friday was NAAAASTY out, for sure!

We almost covered Headmaster ritual. That song is all over the place.

Pulled the plug on learning that one since our full-band rehearsals were limited. We played Nowhere Fast in it's place which is a REALLY fun if you guys haven't checked that one out. There's a good Youtube Vid of some guy playing along with it on bass which really helped speed up my learning process.

 

[phangtonpower]

\
and a more bass oriented one

I got my ovation magnum based on that video. I have it setup more for reggae, blues, old school soul, etc, but I did learn headmaster's ritual.

Andy is one of my favorites. Very underrated!

 

[corndog]

Seen them a few times many many years ago. Morrisey was the weak link in that band.

Love hand in glove, a good driving tune.

 

[Co0O]

Andy Rourke is part of the reason why I started playing bass, way back in the mid 1980's. I was a huge Smiths fan at the time, and Andy is still my favourite bass player. I still tend to play the Barbarism Begins At Home bass line whenever I pick up a bass I still wonder if he made all his lines himself, or if Johnny Marr made them (or part of).

 

[guy n. cognito]

I always found Andy's baselines to have a significant amount of FUNK, especially given the type of music he was playing. One of my favorite 80s bassists.

 

[telecopy]

I'd love the Smiths were it not for Morrisey (sp?). Rourke is amazing, but Morrisey just ruins them for me.

I got his (Morrissey) autobiography from the library. I'm slowly chugging through it. He is definitely a unique talent. And certainly not for everybody. A way with words, he has..
He doesn't really have anything bad to say about any of the other Smiths, other than to persist that Rourke and Joyce were not technically The Smiths, and therefore were not entitled to royalties. Well, that's the way the contracts read. I can see how they could be disappointed by Morrissey's and Marr's actions. But you can tell Morrissey does respect their musicianship. I would love to have been a fly on the wall during their creative periods. I really wish I had seen them when they passed through in the '80s.

 

[telecopy]

I see Andy used a Trace 410 and 115 as well as the SVT. I am digging into some youtube archives to listen to some Smiths. His playing is full of clever, tricky, and faultlessly executed riffs that just never, ever, hold him back from grooving along. Are they monsters? I wonder how much they rehearsed? The greats are just, great. I'm sure they just locked in pretty effortlessly. I have assigned myself to learn some Smiths.
Edit: I have read some posts about comparisons to Rourke. I used to love me some R.E.M. riffs. Mike Mills fans, I appreciate him, but Andy is on a different planet. Not even similar.