Anyone know this Bass? Russia circa 1982

[butterfingers1]

Very pretty lady singer.

 

[getBAK]

Well, somehow they did. When I was playing bass in my college band in 1982, an assistant professor offered me a P-bass (maybe even Fender, I don't remember) for "just" 1500 roubles. It was an equivalent of my mom's accumulated salary for 8 months. I politely declined.
I know that some people bought Western or Japanese instruments from foreing musicians/bands that were touring Soviet Union. Some chosen others visited capitalist countries for a business trips and brought guitars etc. from there. Also there were foreign students, mostly from 3rd world countries, who visited their home countries on vacations and brought some instruments back.

Now that I think of it, I recall Yugoslavia was one of the countries that was sorta behind the Iron Curtain. The Passports were really in demand back than as NATO and USSR would let them sail through without much hassle. Maybe they can through the Croatian underground railroad

 

[ajkula66]

Now that I think of it, I recall Yugoslavia was one of the countries that was sorta behind the Iron Curtain. The Passports were really in demand back than as NATO and USSR would let them sail through without much hassle. Maybe they can through the Croatian underground railroad

I've personally known a lot of people who toured the former USSR back in the day. My semi-educated guess is that YU pop musicians were as far the Soviet government was willing to go with "outside interference" 50+ years ago...

And yeah, that "sorta" you mentioned worked well for about 25 years. The passports became a commonplace in the mid-60s, and the country decomposed in the worst way imaginable in 1991-92...

 

[Wood and Wire]

I was expecting something bad but it was a great song! It has a more Italian/French vibe than Russian.

Yeah, I could totally hear it on the soundtrack of a movie like "Danger: Diabolik" if it weren't for the anachronism.

 

[metron]

I… watched too much

 

[Wood and Wire]

I… watched too much

View attachment 7094194

Kojak on a train!

 

[Ritter667]

Very pretty lady singer.

She actually is, just god awful haircut, glasses and clothes.

Also it looks like the bass player/male lead vocalist has extremely small hands.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I think the song sounds pretty good, if you like that kinda thing. I know you Americans are programmed to hate everything Soviet, but for what they were going for they nailed it.

The harmony reminds me of From Russia with Love, so well done John Barry for capturing the vibe.

Americans programmed to hate everything Soviet? Haha! You so funny. I guess we thought "The Hunt For Red October" was a true story too!

 

[Eli_Kyiv]

Now that I think of it, I recall Yugoslavia was one of the countries that was sorta behind the Iron Curtain.

It was indeed. I remember watching Yugoslavian coming-of-age comedy "It's time to love" (Došlo doba da se ljubav proba) around 1980-81, and I remember how my friends and I were literally shocked by the fact that a father of male lead, just a plumber, mostly worked in West Germany, and was driving Mersedes around his native Beograd. The abundance of consumer goods accessible to a common Yugoslavian citizen also was a big surprise.

 

[Old Blastard]

Guys, the song isn't that bad. I've written much worse.

 

[HardNHeavy]

"somewhere between heaven and hell", then there was that hot chick with glasses

 

[DanAdams]

Make the lyrics Christmas manger themed and it could be a beloved American classic.

 

[ajkula66]

It was indeed. I remember watching Yugoslavian coming-of-age comedy "It's time to love" (Došlo doba da se ljubav proba) around 1980-81, and I remember how my friends and I were literally shocked by the fact that a father of male lead, just a plumber, mostly worked in West Germany, and was driving Mersedes around his native Beograd. The abundance of consumer goods accessible to a common Yugoslavian citizen also was a big surprise.

Yep, but sitting on two chairs usually ends up with one's a$$ hitting the floor with full force, and that's what happened with former YU, big time.

What they haven't showed in the aforementioned comedy was Belgrade/Beograd having power turned off for 16 hours a day on a schedule, being divided in three "power groups". Or the lines of people waiting to buy ground coffee hundreds of meters long. Or having to bring surgical gloves yourself if you were going in for surgery...coupons for gas/petrol allowing 30l/7.5 US gallons a month...and so on...

OTOH, I was playing a brand new Precision Special through an Acoustic 220 stack back in those days, and I was considerd to be a middle-class kid...

Weird times, especially when one looks at them 40+ years later...

 

[Gunga Din]

Man - I wish that was still around. 24 fret PJ's with actually neck access are hard to come by. Now I need a 5-er
I wonder how Russian's got their hands on Ibanez instruments in the early 80's?

BAck the early '80s, I was on holiday in Romania. There was a pretty good covers band at the hotel we stayed at and natch I got talking to the bassist, who had '60s dot neck Jazz, red with a dark tort 'plate. He told me he'd got it Germany, where most eastern bloc musos seem to have acquired such instruments.

 

[60bass]

The song gets old fast... but the Bass looks interesting...
I see a PJ with a Music Man-ish body and a 24 fret neck. Anyone know what this is?

You need to put a warning on that saying do not turn up volume. I agree with that that's probably an Ibanez road Star bass

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

When I saw "Russia" in the title, I was expecting something much worse than that, don't ask why I say that.

 

[SB300]

Interesting. But for me once was sufficient..