I love playing along to this (because of my age)... but the bass line that I see tabbed/transcribed seems on point but so simple. I try to give it a lot more groove because I think the melody and beat could handle it. So those that know and play this: Do you think Stu's skills weren't there just yet or did some controlling factor of the band dumb it down? I'm all in for less can be better but this? Disclaimer--I just started playing 3 years ago at 57 yo.
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Bad Moon Rising CCR
- Thread starter LG TPAFL
- Start date
I would ignore those kinds of things, they’re never right. PLUS…I played that stuff in junior high when it was current. I did it all by ear, it wasn’t that tough. It’s fricking rock’n’roll, not Mozart. Just use the force, Luke.
My contemporaries and I had just missed the era with “Gloria”, “Dirty Water”, and the easy fodder of that ilk, and CCR’s music remained simple in the moment of Hendrix, Vanilla Fudge, Iron Butterfly, etc. That’s what was appealing to us struggling in the garage and the basement. This tune in particular was like a bare-bones three chord country song, with the attendant type of bassline(the guitar riffs lifted straight from an Elvis/Scotty Moore opus, “I’m Left, That’s Right, She’s Gone”). Cook’s basswork was always basic, as was the rest of the band… “Keep On Chooglin’” was just him bounching on one note for the most part, for example.
My contemporaries and I had just missed the era with “Gloria”, “Dirty Water”, and the easy fodder of that ilk, and CCR’s music remained simple in the moment of Hendrix, Vanilla Fudge, Iron Butterfly, etc. That’s what was appealing to us struggling in the garage and the basement. This tune in particular was like a bare-bones three chord country song, with the attendant type of bassline(the guitar riffs lifted straight from an Elvis/Scotty Moore opus, “I’m Left, That’s Right, She’s Gone”). Cook’s basswork was always basic, as was the rest of the band… “Keep On Chooglin’” was just him bounching on one note for the most part, for example.
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Even all the great bassist Fogerty has used in the past 30 years have pretty much stuck with the line Stu played back then, because it was Fogerty's line.
Those songs are in the DNA of a lot of us old timers because back then they were easy to learn and instant garage band.
Those songs are in the DNA of a lot of us old timers because back then they were easy to learn and instant garage band.
For me, one of the great attractions of playing CCR is just how simple yet very effective the basslines are.
I've no idea if that's all that Stu was capable of, but I'd certainly never presume to 'improve' upon his choices.
I've no idea if that's all that Stu was capable of, but I'd certainly never presume to 'improve' upon his choices.
We play it in a minor key because it's full of scary and frightening lyrics. It sounds awesome and gives the words gravitas
Saw CCR and Booker T and the MG's in concert as a young kid and decided I wanted to play bass after seeing those two great bassist . Stu was such a solid bassist , I don't think it was simple at all .....he played what the song needed......still perfect bass lines .
It’s just rock n roll, it doesn’t need anything more than roots and the odd fifth here and there.
I can't imagine a different style for their songs.
John wrote the lines and told them what to play.That was one of the points of contention that lead to their breakup. The others wanted more artistic freedom to write. Hard to argue with success, though.
Is it,
There's a bad moon on the rise
Or is it,
There's a bathroom on the right
There's a bad moon on the rise
Or is it,
There's a bathroom on the right
I love the simple, sparse bass in that song. That simple, half note on the downbeat just anchors and propels that tune, I think.
CCR is the rock equivalent to the Wailers. Despite their simplicity, the sum is greater than their parts which makes it pretty hard to recreate.
(cue the McClintock mashup of CCR and Earth, Wind and Fire)
I have to skirt the cover band police because I throw in some fifths on this song. No one else has ever made a comment on how our band plays it.
Was it this great show? Duck’s line here is basically what Cook plays for Down on The Corner. Simple, yet so classic.
Check out John’s autobiography. Good read.
My take is that the bass line is genius and deceptively hard to do it justice. It's easier for me to play "Close to the Edge" or "YYZ". If you can improve the Groove on Bad Moon then you have good skills IMO.
Stu was doing exactly what the song called for. Keep in mind, his name was not Fogerty and wasn’t the show, much like Michael Anthony of Van Halen.
Tell you what, listen to Suzy Q and count how many different ways he played those chord progressions. Or the simplistic artistry of Have You Seen the Rain. There is not a note out of place and his sense of musical logic that makes the chord changes effortlessly, all the while allowing the song, story, and vocal shine.
I believe it is the second one.Is it,
There's a bad moon on the rise
Or is it,
There's a bathroom on the right
I’ve been listening to Stu since the early 70s (I’m 53), and the first songs I learned how to just jam along to with a guitar player about 40 years ago were CCR songs.
Stu’s skills were definitely there. He was gigging pretty steadily before they ever hit a recording studio. His timing and sense of tone are what you should be paying attention to, *as well as* how non-busy his basslines are. If he were all over the neck, it would seriously detract from everything else CCR was doing. Employing restraint and playing simple bass lines that serve the music is a sign of a good bass player. It’s not a style you’d ever want to hear an Eddie Van Halen showing up with a bass for a gig.
