Anyone here (still) playing "Low Rider?"

[MegaSwing]

Eric Burdon was their front man. Also WAR's front man.

Only at the very beginning. He broke them onto the scene. He had a name, and they didn’t. Fortunately for them, he was a true talent unto himself. It was very symbiotic.

 

[Alivefor5]

"Thread of the Day" for me.

 

[Rolling Thunder]

Only at the very beginning. He broke them onto the scene. He had a name, and they didn’t. Fortunately for them, he was a true talent unto himself. It was very symbiotic.

I wish I had half the talent of Eric Burdon.

 

[BassyBill]

Low Rider’s a great tune. Covered it at my birthday party some time back, with our alto sax player copping the harp part (yes, that’s right, it’s a harp / harmonica).

 

[lbbc]

I like the song and have suggested it for my cover band....but we won't be adding anything til mid-August (after a string of "repeat" gigs). Good luck!!

 

[Pings Bass]

Lonnie Jordan still has the act together and of course has to play that song in every date. The current incarnation has Rene Camacho on bass, great player, formerly of the Poncho Sanchez Latin jazz band. Also another Poncho alum, Scott Martin on sax and flute, and two fabulous drummers (sal Rodriguez on traps and Marcos Reyes on everything else).

 

[CryingBass]

One of my favorite takes on Lowrider. Might be hard to find.

Unless you have me... ( worth a listen )

EDIT: Yeh, not same song really, but I like it! YMMV

 

[chriss]

 

[rogerb]

Love the bass part, it has some variance. I never could nail when they happen, it seems random but fits the song perfectly. You need good taste to know when to plug one in, I don’t have such good taste.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Listening to it and I hear, very soft on the right channel, a repeated single note riff played by a guitar, something like (not the real notes) D-F-G, Bb-C-D, or something like that. Is that what you're talking about?

Also, I don't hear a lick of harmonica in the whole cut (I'm talking about the 3:10 minute studio cut we all remember). There's a repeated horn riff (trumpet and alto, it sounds like) and right at the end before the fade-out it sounds like a horn solo starting, with a few long held notes, alto I think. Listened to it twice now and NO HARMONICA. You could certainly extend the tune and put a harmonica solo in, it'd fit if done well.

Just watched a live video, original artist and it looked like sax and harmonica in that version. Harmonica would be just fine as long as the band could sell the song.

 

[Hahaha]

I've played & sung it countless times and it always gets over well. Even though the bassline has the nebulous, bluesy minor third in it, the song is in E major. The horn line clearly defines it as major. You couldn't get away with having the signature horn line repeating a major third over a minor chord. It would sound terrible. The horn line starts by repeating B natural over G major.

 

[pepj]

Its a jam track and the groove is king.
If the band can't do anything with it, it could get very dull and boring.

 

[silky smoove]

For me that's a gig-specific song. I played a wedding gig last weekend to a group of 20-somethings who lost their mind when we played modern pop and RnB tunes extending back to late 80s RnB material, but anything earlier and it was time to go to the bar and refill their drink. If I were on a casino gig, or an event where the average age was over 40 I could see it working well provided the band could nail the vibe. I've seen a lot of bands attempt it and not really get the feel right and it comes off as the most square, lame, stiff, uptight thing you've ever heard. I feel like even a passing knowledge of Latin music is required to play that song well.

 

[turf3]

For me that's a gig-specific song. I played a wedding gig last weekend to a group of 20-somethings who lost their mind when we played modern pop and RnB tunes extending back to late 80s RnB material, but anything earlier and it was time to go to the bar and refill their drink. If I were on a casino gig, or an event where the average age was over 40 I could see it working well provided the band could nail the vibe. I've seen a lot of bands attempt it and not really get the feel right and it comes off as the most square, lame, stiff, uptight thing you've ever heard. I feel like even a passing knowledge of Latin music is required to play that song well.

No, not a "passing knowledge". A real knowledge.

You want to get a laugh? Set a bunch of New England amateur musicians to playing anything Latin. From the pronunciation of "tortillias" on, they're clueless. I suspect you've got to imbibe this stuff from early life.

 

[JimmyM]

You mean the part that goes

333334513431?

That to my ears sounds like trumpet, alto, and a mallet instrument (vibes, marimba, or the like - probably actually a synth). No harmonica in there that I can tell.

Yep, there’s harmonica. War’s hook was that the horn section had Lee Oskar playing harp along with the other horns.

 

[turf3]

man, I'd like to hear what Tito Puente would have done with that tune.

 

[pocket_groover]

that guitar part on the right side sounds like a 1-3-5-6-8 (G-B-D-E-G) followed by maybe a Bb-B above the last G.

 

[thetaxmiser]

B.B. Dickerson rocked the 12 year old me on the World is a Ghetto album. Big fat grooves.

Low rider is a fun song to play. Like being hypnotized by the pocket.

 

[silky smoove]

No, not a "passing knowledge". A real knowledge.

Hence my use of the term "at least." Most bar bands playing this tune aren't going to know much about Latin music. I've competently played some Latin jazz and I wouldn't say that I have a real knowledge of Latin music.

 

[51PRI]

that guitar part on the right side sounds like a 1-3-5-6-8 (G-B-D-E-G) followed by maybe a Bb-B above the last G.

That's very close to what I was hearing.

....While that acoustic guitar single note riff is part of the original, the guitarist should do some rhythmic comping during the verses and join in on the sax/harp lick. ...

What chords? I don't really hear any instrument playing straight chords. I think there's a piano part on the left track that comes in with the bass part, then that guitar lick comes in. Other than that I don't hear any chords.

Eric Burdon was their front man. Also WAR's front man.

I know that, but Eric Burdon was with War when they did "Low Rider."

Love the bass part, it has some variance. I never could nail when they happen, it seems random but fits the song perfectly. You need good taste to know when to plug one in, I don’t have such good taste.

I agree. There is some variance. I just hope I can pull it off smoothly. Fingers or pick?

Just watched a live video, original artist and it looked like sax and harmonica in that version. Harmonica would be just fine as long as the band could sell the song.

I think we'll have trouble with this song.

I've played & sung it countless times and it always gets over well. Even though the bassline has the nebulous, bluesy minor third in it, the song is in E major.....

E major?!?!