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Dee Murray

#62
JimmyM said:
nigel's probably fine with him because he's not what you call a standout drummer. he's very content to stay out of the way and play very simple parts. dee...not so much.
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True but, Nigel has a pretty good fanbase of his own having had a solo career of his own in the 70s.
Always thought it was kinda weird that he kept Davey the whole time, never sacked him.
 
#63
I agree with JimmyM that Elton has a case of "come look at only me". Look at what was happening to the group in the mid seventies. No longer was it in the public's mind that it was just Elton was who they were going to see and/or buy the records but it bacame "The Band" too. Look at the very last thing issued before he sacked Dee and Nigel in 1975. That was the original release of the single for Philadelphia Freedom which was actually released not as Elton John but instead as The Elton John Band on both the record and the pic sleeve. Hell it even had a picture of the whole group as the pic on the pic sleeve [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]) I have to think Elton realized he was loosing his identy as the star and main attraction and felt it was in his best interest to regain his throne as sole king. How better to do that than get rid of all those who were there since the beginning. He was probably affraid of them becoming a supergroup like The Beatles were and then everybody would have some power and say in the future of the group.
In the eighties it was sort of the same thing happening when they regrouped which may have a small had a hand in it. But I know for a fact outside problems were the main reason behind the change in the band after 1984. A thing most of you may not know about Dee and Nigel is that they were not just bandmates and best friends but they were also each other's brother-in-law. Dee and Nigel were married to twin sisters, Maria and Lisa, for a while in the 80's. Dee was happly married to Maria until the day he died but things between Nigel and Lisa didn't go as well. As Nigel's relationship fell apart, Elton was becoming more and more unhappy with his drummer since he was becomming "impossible to deal with". So it was decided a change was for the better. Elton wanted to keep Dee in the group in 1985. But because of Dee's closeness to Nigel both in the band and with the situation on the home front, he decided it would be too much of a distraction to keep him on while firing Nigel from the group. I know this to be the facts since I was told this by someone I know who was/is very very close and in the know with Elton and the band. Don't ask who it is because I was told not to disclose my sources if I ever made mention of anything I was ever told. While I understand Elton's reasoning behind the decission, I have to wonder what those mid-eighties disaster albums (Ice on Fire, Leather Jackets) would have sounded like with Dee on bass? Probably 10X better than they do now. I also would have killed to have heard him play live with the orchestra on Live in Australia. But alas it was not to be....:crying:
 
#64
I saw him playing in concert with Elton, Nigel, and Davey in Nashville in 1983. He was playing a Steinberger L-2 and sounded amazing! He lived in Nashville for the last few years of his life before dying of cancer.
Gear trivia-I am the proud owner of his Chapman Stick. It was at the now defunct Rose Guitars in Hendersonville, TN and was purchased by producer/owner of The Castle Recording Studios Josef Nuyens who gave it to Nashville Guitar Icon Stan Lassiter as a gift. Stan then gifted it to me in the mid-90s. It's a great instrument from the early 80s, totally obsolete as Sticks go but full of history and "vibe".
 
#66
JimmyM said:
for the life of me, i will never understand why elton canned dee and got kenny passarelli instead. i think it's no coincidence that elton started to suck after that original band broke up.
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If I had to guess, I'd say it's for the same reason that Billy Joel canned Stegmeyer:

Pressure from the record company to "get with the times" and have a contemporary sound.

Translation: Neither Stegmeyer nor Murray played slap bass.

I also think it's no coincidence that Billy Joel's music started to suck badly after breaking up the rhythm section of DeVito and Stegmeyer.
 
#67
agreed. bily always said it was over money, though. but i agree. sometimes these guys have no clue what they have in their bands. and now liberty's gone because he dared tell billy that he has a problem with booze and needed to get help. sounds like a real piece of work, that billy joel. i saw him shove paul mccartney's keyboardist out of the way so he could take over his organ and play the organ break in let it be during the concert for 911.
 
#68
A lot of artistes like to think it's all about their personality, but take the sound behind them away and they're an incomplete puzzle. A good song is a good song, but the arranged components of the recorded performance are what make it great.

Dee's creative 'English-style' playing was influential on me years before I picked up the instrument, and I have difficulty imagining a separation of that style from the tunes he cut with EJ - IMO, the mark of essentiality.
 
#69
Roy Vogt said:
Gear trivia-I am the proud owner of his Chapman Stick. It was at the now defunct Rose Guitars in Hendersonville, TN and was purchased by producer/owner of The Castle Recording Studios Josef Nuyens who gave it to Nashville Guitar Icon Stan Lassiter as a gift. Stan then gifted it to me in the mid-90s. It's a great instrument from the early 80s, totally obsolete as Sticks go but full of history and "vibe".
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Cool, I guess we should make a list of everyone here who owns some of Dee's instruments! ;)
 
#70
VanzKantDanz said:
I haven't seen a thread about him recently so I thought I'd bring him up.
Recently I got REALLY heavy into Elton John and I've discovered the understated and THE WAY underated session bassist for Elton John, Dee Murray. His playing on Someone Saved my Life Tonight is subtle but distinctive and full. I just thought that we should bring him up and discuss him.
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Amazing bassist!! Love everything he's been part of with Elton. I'm still looking for the transcription to "Philadelphia Freedom" if anyone out there has it??? I'd be eternally grateful. ;)
 
#75
Interesting..though Im sure EJ used a few session guys like Les Hurdle for eg on some tracks. Never heard of him?..me neither until recently. I Googled EJ bass players and he popped up, apparently he played that nice DB part on Your Song.
 
#80
RickC said:
Not familiar with that! :eek:

What else is on it? Is the song ordering any different?

/rick
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Here ya go.
This is where I got my copy, sounds as good as the "real thing".

Link Removed

1. I NEED YOU TO TURN TO - 3:03
2. YOUR SONG - 4:14
3. COUNTRY COMFORT - 5:35
4. BORDER SONG - 3:54
5. INDIAN SUNSET - 6:35
6. AMOREENA - 4:52
7. BAD SIDE OF THE MOON - 4:17
8. TAKE ME TO THE PILOT - 6:05
9. SIXTY YEARS ON - 7:20
10. HONKY TONK WOMAN - 4:03
11. CAN I PUT YOU ON - 6:04
12. BURN DOWN THE MISSION /
GET BACK / MY BABY LEFT ME - 17:40
13. MY FATHERS GUN - 5:22

TOTAL RUNNING TIME:- 79' 04"
 

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