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Bruce Thomas

#21
catgut said:
Drat! I just added Bruce to the underrated list. Didn't know he was so not underrated. Bass threads are usually stuffed with Stu Hamm and Flea fans. Nice.
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BT, The Attractions, and EC are all inexplicably not revered at large by the general public, though they are usually the critics' and cognescenti's choice.

Personally I think EC and his body of work are one if the major achievements in popular music of the last 40 years.
 
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#22
There's a reason the Attractions were inducted into the Rock and Roll HOF along with EC. They were a major contributor to his sound over the years, particularly Bruce Thomas. I think EC's been missing his musical contributions for years--not that his current bassist is bad or anything, just that Bruce Thomas was so good.
 
#24
Man, Bruce might be my favorite bass player. Check out his playing on Imperial Bedroom. People talk about good tone (there's many kinds,) but IB is one the best bass albums for tone, period. His performance on Almost Blue is really, really great.
 
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#27
Probably one of the best bass tone I've ever heard live and on record. had a chance to see the attractions in Philly in 1980- they brought out the rhythm player from squeeze and he played most of the night. Thomas had an amazing solo on Watching the Detectives. great band - great show.
 
#28
thunderstation said:
Probably one of the best bass tone I've ever heard live and on record. had a chance to see the attractions in Philly in 1980- they brought out the rhythm player from squeeze and he played most of the night. Thomas had an amazing solo on Watching the Detectives. great band - great show.
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It's worth looking around for some info about how he EQs, he has spoken about it in interviews a few times. It really makes his bass pop while sounding powerful and solid without being too bottom heavy to overrun a mix. It also makes his fabulous runs up the neck really sing, very expressive tone.
 
#30
Great thread, I'm a huge Bruce Thomas fan as well. Learning to play along with the first three EC & the Attractions albums had a big influence on my playing.

I stop by his blog once in a while. http://www.brucethomas.co.uk/ While he doesn't touch much on his Attractions days in the posts, he talks plenty about them when asked in the comments.

One Drop said:
BT, The Attractions, and EC are all inexplicably not revered at large by the general public, though they are usually the critics' and cognescenti's choice.

Personally I think EC and his body of work are one if the major achievements in popular music of the last 40 years.
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Absolutely. I think he's the best songwriter since Dylan and the Beatles.
One Drop said:
It's worth looking around for some info about how he EQs, he has spoken about it in interviews a few times. It really makes his bass pop while sounding powerful and solid without being too bottom heavy to overrun a mix. It also makes his fabulous runs up the neck really sing, very expressive tone.
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I think compression played a significant part. He's also stated that the pickup was rewired for a more "lively" tone after This Year's Model, which might explain the more aggressive tone on Armed Forces. Then again, it sounds almost like he's using flats on Get Happy--but he's stated many times that he never used them.
 
#32
The estrangement between EC and BT was really about EC viewing the Attractions as his backing band rather than his musical equals/foils, and EC's tiring of Bruce's wanderings--to paraphrase EC's own words, he wanted the bass and drums to be the rhythm section, not his guitar and the drums.

Davey is a good replacement IMO, but only when looking forward--his tone works only for the newer songs written since 2000, but yes is too fat for the older songs, and his playing on those old songs sticks too closely to the recorded version, which really restrains Pete Thomas and Steve Nieve.

As for his playing style and EQ: "I have always used a graphic equalizer, which I think is the only really indispensible pedal for the bass player's armory, because the perennial problem for bass 'players is low-end rumble and boom. My graphic is glued down; I use the same settings every time. They've got much bigger graphics on the P.A. board for compensating for hall acoustics. Basically I just take out all the bottom end-150 and 100 [Hz] right out. And that horrible sound around 400-if you boost that frequency it makes things go honky and squawky, so I take that one out. And I whack up 200, 220-that's the one that's got to come through. And the Ampeg has got EQ, too, so you can boost 200,800, or 1600. I've got 200 on the amp full-on, and 200 on the graphic full-on-to punch the notes out so you can hear every note clearly. Then you've got to use a lot ofleft-hand damping-play every note separately, so that each one comes out with a slight gap between them. I play with a lot of attack, as well; I physically hit the string very hard, and then fight and push the beat." I've employed something close to his EQ when playing live, and while it sounds rather tinny for a bedroom sound, it cuts through live very nicely.

And as for his strings: "I leave them on for a year or so. I don't change them very much. I don't like that twang like Chris Squire, but I like the bite. If you get the roundwound strings when all the kind of metallic stuff has gone out of them, then they are not so bad. I use the heaviest-gauged GHS strings I can get: I think they're .110 on top."

More at: http://www.elviscostellofans.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=8127
 
#33
billgwx said:
The estrangement between EC and BT was really about EC viewing the Attractions as his backing band rather than his musical equals/foils, and EC's tiring of Bruce's wanderings--to paraphrase EC's own words, he wanted the bass and drums to be the rhythm section, not his guitar and the drums.

Davey is a good replacement IMO, but only when looking forward--his tone works only for the newer songs written since 2000, but yes is too fat for the older songs, and his playing on those old songs sticks too closely to the recorded version, which really restrains Pete Thomas and Steve Nieve.

As for his playing style and EQ: "I have always used a graphic equalizer, which I think is the only really indispensible pedal for the bass player's armory, because the perennial problem for bass 'players is low-end rumble and boom. My graphic is glued down; I use the same settings every time. They've got much bigger graphics on the P.A. board for compensating for hall acoustics. Basically I just take out all the bottom end-150 and 100 [Hz] right out. And that horrible sound around 400-if you boost that frequency it makes things go honky and squawky, so I take that one out. And I whack up 200, 220-that's the one that's got to come through. And the Ampeg has got EQ, too, so you can boost 200,800, or 1600. I've got 200 on the amp full-on, and 200 on the graphic full-on-to punch the notes out so you can hear every note clearly. Then you've got to use a lot ofleft-hand damping-play every note separately, so that each one comes out with a slight gap between them. I play with a lot of attack, as well; I physically hit the string very hard, and then fight and push the beat." I've employed something close to his EQ when playing live, and while it sounds rather tinny for a bedroom sound, it cuts through live very nicely.

And as for his strings: "I leave them on for a year or so. I don't change them very much. I don't like that twang like Chris Squire, but I like the bite. If you get the roundwound strings when all the kind of metallic stuff has gone out of them, then they are not so bad. I use the heaviest-gauged GHS strings I can get: I think they're .110 on top."

More at: http://www.elviscostellofans.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=8127
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Great post, those comments about EQ were exactly what I was remembering.
 
#34
ShoeManiac said:
I've always had nothing but respect for Bruce Thomas as a bass player. He really is fantastic, and his playing with the Attractions was a big part of the sound of that band.

But his conflicts with Elvis Costello were so significant that he left the Attractions for a while. He came back to play on the album All This Useless Beauty. But during the ensuing tour there were reports of their personal differences causing major problems. Including instances of Bruce Thomas allegedly sabotaging songs on stage. If that was really the case? Then I would have to re-think how I think of Bruce Thomas, because doing something like that is beyond un-professional.

And as much as I love Bruce Thomas's playing? You know who I got tickets to see in March? Elvis Costello & The Imposters. Not Bruce Thomas.
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In my reading about him and EC and interviews, etc. I certainly get the impression that he's as much of the problem as EC. Unfortunately, you can only have one "rockstar" in the band and if you want to sell records and tour, he has to be the guy fronting the band and writing the songs. I personally have mixed feelings about their dynamic - there was unprofessionalism on both sides and Elvis can't be given a pass because he's the singer - it seems the only guy in the band who can't get away with acting like a prima donna is the bass player in many cases - but if you're not the guy who's name is on the poster, you gotta know that when it comes time to lose someone, it ain't gonna be the singer/songwriter/frontman/guy with the recording contract.
Personally - I can't listen to EC without Bruce - to my ear, Bruce is so much of the sound that it is just lacking without, but that's me (and I am a bass player).
 
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#35
danosix said:
In my reading about him and EC and interviews, etc. I certainly get the impression that he's as much of the problem as EC. Unfortunately, you can only have one "rockstar" in the band and if you want to sell records and tour, he has to be the guy fronting the band and writing the songs. I personally have mixed feelings about their dynamic - there was unprofessionalism on both sides and Elvis can't be given a pass because he's the singer - it seems the only guy in the band who can't get away with acting like a prima donna is the bass player in many cases - but if you're not the guy who's name is on the poster, you gotta know that when it comes time to lose someone, it ain't gonna be the singer/songwriter/frontman/guy with the recording contract.
Personally - I can't listen to EC without Bruce - to my ear, Bruce is so much of the sound that it is just lacking without, but that's me (and I am a bass player).
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I agree with you on these 2 large personalities. Just checking out Bruce's blog tells me he is intelligent, talented and somewhat egotistical. I can see how that may clash with another big ego like himself. I am not trying to 'dis' him as he is probably my favorite bass player out there. I have been listening daily to his work with the Attractions recently and he is the melody for much of the songs. He is just a brilliant player. Great note choices ya know. His lines are so melodic you can sing them and they work.

An amazing player with an amazing tone.
 
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#39
ROOTSnFIFTHS said:
I agree with you on these 2 large personalities. Just checking out Bruce's blog tells me he is intelligent, talented and somewhat egotistical. I can see how that may clash with another big ego like himself. I am not trying to 'dis' him as he is probably my favorite bass player out there. I have been listening daily to his work with the Attractions recently and he is the melody for much of the songs. He is just a brilliant player. Great note choices ya know. His lines are so melodic you can sing them and they work.

An amazing player with an amazing tone.
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Yeah, it's really before my time (I was 5 when their best stuff came out), but if I had to pick two bass players who were my all-time favourites, they'd be Bruce and Paul Simonon from the Clash.
But, yeah Bruce is a really smart guy who doesn't seem to know when to put up and shut up (just like EC - but he doesn't have to), he kinda reminds me of me :meh:.
 

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