Graham Maby is a legend and I'm most familiar with his work with Marshall Crenshaw. MC has done about a dozen studio albums plus 2 compilations and 2 live albums. I like all of them for different reasons. Graham appears on about half of them. Some titles not mentioned above include "My Truck is My Home" (live) "Downtown", "Life's Too Short", I Suffered For My Art ...Now It's Your Turn" (No GM on that one). MC's latest is called What's In The Bag". I would suggest people check him out for great songs, singing and guitar playing and he uses great bass-players.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
graham maby
- Thread starter Joe Nerve
- Start date
Re-discovering some old favorites and digging up threads about them. found these on youtube.
Looks like the Ibanez is a PJ, some good shots of it in Sunday Papers
Always liked the band, finally got to see them on the Night and Day tour twice. Several tours since. Always amazed at how Joe arranges the material for the latest version of the band.
Looks like the Ibanez is a PJ, some good shots of it in Sunday Papers
Always liked the band, finally got to see them on the Night and Day tour twice. Several tours since. Always amazed at how Joe arranges the material for the latest version of the band.
+100. I've always been a huge fan of Joe Jackson's early albums...mostly those first 2 you mention. I recorded an old Live Joe Jackson concert from off of VH1 Classic a couple years ago that was originally recorded on video in England in 1979 just after the band had gotten back from their first US tour. They did most of the tunes from those first 2 albums and they were awesome. Whole band but especailly Graham with his singing and playing. He was playing an Ibanez P-bass copy that had what looked like a J-style neck that was maple with black block fret markers and binding that had a P/J pu setup. And a FENDER bass amp. Like I said the whole band was really amazing but to get to see Graham in his hey-day playing like AND singing like that was truly something. They pretty much nailed every tune they did. They all sounded just like or better than the record. Great energy Live. )-(
Graham is awesome!! I just got my remastered copy of Look Sharp and have been rocking that and the Live in NY CD for the last few weeks. Truly an inspiring player. 
I enjoyed covering Jackson's stuff in the 80's. Maby always had an interesting line going.
"Sunday Papers", "Is She Really...". "I'm the Man" and "Stepping Out" were great fun!
One thing that kind of bugged me was the photo of him squeezing a tennis ball. I knew some players who did that and some who were totally against it. My thinking was to keep things nice and loose instead of muscular. But whatever floats your bass.
"Sunday Papers", "Is She Really...". "I'm the Man" and "Stepping Out" were great fun!
One thing that kind of bugged me was the photo of him squeezing a tennis ball. I knew some players who did that and some who were totally against it. My thinking was to keep things nice and loose instead of muscular. But whatever floats your bass.
When I saw them on the Night and Day tour, Joe ripped on the band a bit when they messed up doing the acapella version of Is She Really Going Out With Him. Stopped them, gave them s%$t (which sounded more serious than joking) and then counted it off again. We saw them again later in the tour while on vacation in Florida, spot on that time.
Yeah, I've always had the feeling Joe could be a demanding fellow.
Where in Florida? I was born and raised in Ft. Lauderdale, so I caught the tour in Miami. I believe it was at the Knight Center. I remember Joe saying that Maby was so good, it was disgusting.
smakbass
Smakkin basses for 25 years..
Graham still appears with Marshall on occasion-saw him in Ann Arbor, Mi last year playing his usual great style for Marshall. MCs brother, Robert even sat in for a tune on drums. Graham plays a very masterful and creative bass-doesn't try to "steal the show" while anchoring the sound tastefully.
We saw them in Tampa. My band was down for a vacation, staying with the drummer's grandmother in Bradenton. We heard about it on the radio and decided to drive up that night and see if there were tickets left. Not the greatest seats, but well worth it.
Just watched the DVD companion from the JJ CD "Rain", what a great performance. I love the JJ trio format, Graham has more space! Love that 5 string Spector J! I also watched the JJ 25th Anniversary DVD, I found it for $10 at Fry's last night! A much larger band, but awesome none-the-less.
Revisiting a very old thread here, but I simply love Graham Maby's playing: edgy and intense in the first 2-3 Joe Jackson records, smooth and elegant in the later ones by JJ he was involved in.
From the day I first heard Look Sharp in 1979, I knew I wanted to play bass.
It took me another 27 years to actually pick up a bass, but better late than never...
It took me another 27 years to actually pick up a bass, but better late than never...
Graham is extrordinary. I am heavily influenced by his early JJ stuff. It is interesting to me why they put his bass so loud in the mix on the first couple Joe Jackson albums. I love it, don't get me wrong, but I wonder how different they would sound if the mix engineer buried his bass down in the mix like so many other recordings out there. His playing really takes a lead/melodic role in the music and for good reason, IMO.
I used to work at a popular amplifier/speaker cabinet company known for their bass gear. One day while testing out a line of finished combo rigs (playing bass through them), the owner walked up to the line with Graham Maby humbly standing next to him. Wow! ...I thought. I was kind of stunned when I was introduced to him and told him I was a fan of his work. We talked for a bit and I have to say he was one of the nicest pro musicians I have ever met, and I have met more than a few. Really humble, laid back and down to earth. I could have talked to him for hours. He was that approachable. A great talent and a man who has done great things for the electric bass, IMO of course.
I used to work at a popular amplifier/speaker cabinet company known for their bass gear. One day while testing out a line of finished combo rigs (playing bass through them), the owner walked up to the line with Graham Maby humbly standing next to him. Wow! ...I thought. I was kind of stunned when I was introduced to him and told him I was a fan of his work. We talked for a bit and I have to say he was one of the nicest pro musicians I have ever met, and I have met more than a few. Really humble, laid back and down to earth. I could have talked to him for hours. He was that approachable. A great talent and a man who has done great things for the electric bass, IMO of course.
I was heavily influenced by JJ and Graham Maby early on in my bass life.
The sound of the Body & Soul album is just stunning. They recorded it in an old church, fully analogue and mostly off the floor. It's immense and IMHO one of the finest productions on any album.
It makes me pine for the days when recordings were organic and could breathe. Not being a "get off my lawn, you kids" but the saturation of digital and computer created production today is nowhere near as emotional as the old styles.
The sound of the Body & Soul album is just stunning. They recorded it in an old church, fully analogue and mostly off the floor. It's immense and IMHO one of the finest productions on any album.
It makes me pine for the days when recordings were organic and could breathe. Not being a "get off my lawn, you kids" but the saturation of digital and computer created production today is nowhere near as emotional as the old styles.
- Oct 7, 2000
- 18,619
- 38,939
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Musicman basses
