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Greg Reeves

#21
you know i haven't seen the movie in years, but i always thought it was samuels. i know it was reeves at big sur though.
i always figured that right after woodstock, they did "4 way street" with barbetta on drums, samuels on bass. was barbetta playing with them at woodstock? it sounds like him to me.
thanks for the correction though:D
 
#22
JTE said:
Except that was Greg Reeves, not Calvin Samuels.

jte
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Correct.

Are you sure that Greg Reeves recorded with the Temptations on "Cloud Nine" as well? It sure sounds like one of the Funk Bros. to me.

Still waiting for some definitive tracks from Greg to surface here. His bass sound at Woodstock isn't very memorable.
 
#23
Woodstock was August 1969. Reeves got fired at the start of rehearsals for the 1970 tour (around April) according to the CSN book I've qouted earlier.

And the only reference I can find of Reeves playing on "Cloud 9" is that same book. Given the generally murky details of who played what on Motown stuff at that time, I'm not going out on a limb and say it's definitely Reeves, but also given the large amount of work being done at the time, I wouldn't discount it either.

jte
 
#24
The most memorable CSNY bass quote for me is an old Guitar Player interview where he said not only that he prefers the sound of decades old bass strings, but also that the first thing he did with new strings is smear them with barbeque sauce.
 
#25
Yes, Steve Stills always says that when asked about his bass setup. Rancid BBQ sauce, what an odor! A better method is to soak the strings in salt water, hang 'em off the side of an ocean pier if you can, if you are looking to wreck a new set of strings.:D Heck, maybe even take a series of epson salt baths with them if you need to intimate with them.

BTW, we are discussing Greg Reeves as per the OP's question, not Steve Stills.

Pretty doubtful that Guitar Player ever interviewed Greg. It would be interesting to read any material that he interacted with though.
 
#26
I subscribed to Guitar Player from 1973 through 1995. Never saw mention of Greg Reeves in any of them, and I kept every issue until a few years ago. The Stills interview where he talks about BBQ sauce was around January 1974 or so. He said he rubbed barbecue sauce on new flatwounds for his Precisions to kill the new sound.

Back to the OP- It is sad that there's so little reference to Greg Reeves at all available on the 'net, and that most of it's not very flattering.

jte
 
#27
JTE said:
Back to the OP- It is sad that there's so little reference to Greg Reeves at all available on the 'net, and that most of it's not very flattering.

jte
Click to expand...

So true. There is more though if you dig around a little. I read in a Dallas Taylor interview that Greg may have spent time in jail on drug charges. He said that Greg smoked tons of herb. Tragic. That interview gave a different perspective on the reality of CSNY and their motivations for staying in business. Like any corparate undertaking, human beings can become expendable for the sake of continued product sales.

Still hoping for a clear example of Greg's studio work to emerge. His sound needs to be identified.
 
#28
MR PC said:
Still hoping for a clear example of Greg's studio work to emerge. His sound needs to be identified.
Click to expand...


But, in a very large sesne, is this even possible? Look at the vociferous disputes between Carol Kaye and the Jamerson proponents. And without knowing it's Bob Babbit on "Midnight Train To Georgia" or Wilton Felder on "I Want You Back", would anyone be able to say by the sound that it's not Jamerson? Does anyone have any reliable evidence whether it's Jamerson, Babbit, Kaye, or Reeves on "Cloud 9" other than the uncited reference in the CSN bio I've qouted earlier? Can we really tell what "his sound" is?

Especially given the reputation of Stills being so adamant about things like that, even if Greg played all the bass tracks on the "Deja Vu" album, would any one be able to tell it's him and not Stills?

I'd love to know this stuff, and know more about Greg. CSN(Y), Buffalo Springfield, The Byrds, Manassas, Flying Burritio Bros, et. al. were such a pervasive influence on me when I was first explored music. So Greg Reeves (that picture inside the sleeve of "Deja Vu" of him with the Precsion and that big strap is still one of the images of a cool bassist for me) is a hallmark for me.

But I doubt that there's a definitive answer we're ever going to know.

jte
 
#29
i love reading and learning about this stuff too. just by the fact that we're responding to this shows how important and influential this music is to alot of people, my self included.

there were so many great bands that were out during the sixties alone that never got the recognition they deserved, for whatever reason. i don't know about anyone here, but the band "love" was/is one of my favorites. (as if anyones cares, i just thought i'd share ;) ).
 
#30
JTE said:
But I doubt that there's a definitive answer we're ever going to know.jte
Click to expand...

I dunno.......Neil Young hasn't even begun to release old tracks in large number yet. From what I've heard on the grapevine, he has MILES of tape in storage. Time will tell, and perhaps Greg's work will be presented more clearly. He has certainly paid some serious "dues" as a result of the short time frame he played with CSNY.

Prof.Dr.Metz said:
i love reading and learning about this stuff too. just by the fact that we're responding to this shows how important and influential this music is to alot of people, my self included.

there were so many great bands that were out during the sixties alone that never got the recognition they deserved, for whatever reason. i don't know about anyone here, but the band "love" was/is one of my favorites. (as if anyones cares, i just thought i'd share ;) ).
Click to expand...

Man, the Burt Bacharach tune/track "Little Red Book" always kills me, and the album "Forever Changes" was/is a favorite for a long time.

The group was way ahead of the pack, IMO. Guess the substances doused the fire there as well. Looking at the wiki page on the album, it seems that Neil Young had a hand in the production....more trivia everyday here! It was silly though, that they included those painful studio talkback tracks on the reissue CD.
 
#31
Man, the Burt Bacharach tune/track "Little Red Book" always kills me, and the album "Forever Changes" was/is a favorite for a long time.

The group was way ahead of the pack, IMO. Guess the substances doused the fire there as well. Looking at the wiki page on the album, it seems that Neil Young had a hand in the production....more trivia everyday here! It was silly though, that they included those painful studio talkback tracks on the reissue CD.[/QUOTE]

please forgive me from deviating from greg reeves for a sec, but the parallel from "love" and neil is there. arthur lee wrote "your friend and mine-neils song" for neil young (off the four sail album). it seems all these bands hung out together. it must have been great! i think hendrix jammed with him too (lee). ok back to greg reeves. does anyone know if he still plays anymore?
 
#32
JTE said:
I'd love to know this stuff, and know more about Greg. CSN(Y), Buffalo Springfield, The Byrds, Manassas, Flying Burritio Bros, et. al. were such a pervasive influence on me when I was first explored music. So Greg Reeves (that picture inside the sleeve of "Deja Vu" of him with the Precsion and that big strap is still one of the images of a cool bassist for me) is a hallmark for me.
Click to expand...

For me as well, even though it didn't influence my playing style. As I dug deeper into the sound it influenced what I perceived the potential roles of the bass (actually of anything) to be.

And the way the bass sounds nothing like basses today sound. I had a discussion with an engineer peer (I am one as well) about how we spend so much time getting this ridiculous kick drum sound and mixing it way up in the mix, and how no one is ever happy unless they hear every kick on top of the mix, G-d forbid it should blend in to the track. But all of this music that stands up so well over 30 years later has none of that strategy. The bass on these CSNY songs almost sounds like it was bounced twice. Not to veer too much OT, but I used to listen to this muddy bass, kinda boomy but blended-in sound and hold the album in my hand and stare at the sepia pictures of Greg Reeves and think it was just the pinnacle of music, and that surely a Precision, a big strap and that cool looking guy were the reason.

Who knew? : )
 
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#33
spigmu said:
For me as well, even though it didn't influence my playing style. As I dug deeper into the sound it influenced what I perceived the potential roles of the bass (actually of anything) to be.

And the way the bass sounds nothing like basses today sound. I had a discussion with an engineer peer (I am one as well) about how we spend so much time getting this ridiculous kick drum sound and mixing it way up in the mix, and how no one is ever happy unless they hear every kick on top of the mix, G-d forbid it should blend in to the track. But all of this music that stands up so well over 30 years later has none of that strategy. The bass on these CSNY songs almost sounds like it was bounced twice. Not to veer too much OT, but I used to listen to this muddy bass, kinda boomy but blended-in sound and hold the album in my hand and stare at the sepia pictures of Greg Reeves and think it was just the pinnacle of music, and that surely a Precision, a big strap and that cool looking guy were the reason.

Who knew? : )
Click to expand...

ah, someone else thinks that too, i thought i was the only one!
how about live, when the soundman tries to get the drums to sound like they're being played at the bottom of the grand canyon! no wonder they can't mix in any bass.
 
#34
The bass drum is used traditionally to march soldiers in line on the way to battle.

The bass drum on top of the mix is the sound of war. For encouraging aggression over fear of survival in the face of certain death. IMO.

Greg Reeves, haven't heard of him playing his bass these days yet, but it certainly is a possibility that he is.
 
#35
I met and worked with Greg in the 90's. I can only tell you that he was among the most gifted and talented musicians I have ever encountered. We parted company on less than amiable terms (a habit of his as you can see from previous posts to this thread) but I continue to stand in awe of his talent. I believe he played bass on 2 temptations tracks -- my recollection of what he told me was "cloud nine" and possibly "runaway child" -- he was 12 at the time he laid down those tracks -- a brilliant prodigy to say the least -- I have no doubt that he appears on Deja Vu -- and could have done so in his sleep even at the age of 15.
 
#40
tothlaw said:
Hi, G:

Greg was born in 1956 I believe -- not sure of the exact date-- based on what he told me in the early 90's and on the copyright filings I did for him back then.

Best regards,

Stephen
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That would have made him 14 when he joined CS&N, I always thought he was a young cat, but I thought he was around 17-18.
 

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