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Chuck Rainey...just jaw dropping

F

Funkzfly

Jun 15, 2005
278
3
#1
Listening to Kid Charlemagne by Steely Dan, it makes you wonder why you picked up bass...so in the pocket, yet funky as hell. Peg's equally as great, though I just prefer Chuck's sound on Kid Charlemagne...a bit more depth to it, despite the fact both tracks were recorded direct and with the same bass!

Anyone out there got any Rainey favourites? Feel free to include yours, whether it be a 'Dan tune or not :)
 
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#2
Those are humbling tracks. "Kid Charlemagne" is an unreal display of killing syncopations, and Jamersonesque grooves. On "Peg", his line is the hook of the song. One take, what a monster, genius player. He's one of my true heroes.
 
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#6
All of Rainey's Steely Dan tracks are great...add "The Fez", "Don't Take Me Alive", "Josie", "Your Gold Teeth II", etc.

Also, Rainey on any Quincy Jones' project...tunes like "Theme Fron The Anderson Tapes", & the little heard/known ballad, "What Good Is A Song"(from the OOP I Heard That! album).

Then there's Rainey with Aretha..."Rock Steady", "Long & Winding Road", etc.

...and with Roberta Flack/Donny Hathaway("Where Is The Love?").

And Eye To Eye's debut album(produced by Gary Katz w/ most of te Steely Dan sessioneers onboard)...tunes like "Nice Girl".

My favourite player since about '75 or so.
 
#7
I love Chuck, and I really do feel that he is severly overlooked...

I have a Hotlicks videotape with him on playing a Streamer Stage II (it was made in the 80's). Right at that moment, he made me fall in love with that bass, it's an on-going affair!
 
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#12
Mojo-Man said:
:cool:
One of the reasons I picked up a bass.
A true inovator.
Herby Mann PUSH PUSH CD.
Chuck Kills on it.
Click to expand...

i have that on vinyl somewhere--cool record--some of that has Jerry Jemmott and Duck Dunn as well--- I think some of it was recorded in Memphis....Also Herbie Mann's "Memphis underground" record Has Mike Leech, Gene Chrisman, Reggie Young and all those great Memphis guys on it (like the Dobie Grey and Elvis stuff of the same era--very cool to hear in a different context)....
Also obscure Chuck: Larry Coryell "Fairyland" ---a live trio record w/Purdie. Larry's bascially shredding (and singing!!!), for better or worse, with those two grooving behind him.....very wierd
 
#17
"Josie" - man, when I was a little punk rock kid, my bass teacher put on that tune. Of course, I was like, "I HATE Steely Dan." But he made me listen to it, then we worked out the bass line, and that was it. Since then I have been a HUGE Steely Dan fan, and a HUGE Chuck Rainey fan. As far as recognition is concerned, I am going to go out on a limb and say Chuck is probably very happy right where he is...on call, and respected by his peers. Otherwise, he would have tried to put together "The Chuch Rainey Band" or a put out a ton of solo albums. He is what we should all aspire to be...the kind of bass player who plays for the song, yet still makes you go, "Wow! Did you hear that two measure lick he just did underneath the vocals in the chorus?"
 
#18
For the last couple of years I've been working on a book on some of Chucks most pivotal Bass lines(over 30)transcribed that will feature footnotes on the lines and what they mean to me.the book is finally close to completion.and this book was done with Chucks blessings.

Chuck does have a band that played out quite a bit the last few years,mostly in Texas.
 
#20
I'm probably not as familiar with Chuck Rainey's body of work as most of you, but when I first heard him on Quincy Jones' Summer in the City from the You've Got It Bad Girl album I couldn't believe the super-tasteful line he played with the double stops. This was as eye-opening to me at the time (1973) as the first time I heard Jaco play Donna Lee (1976).

Richard
 

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