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Hellfire! I wish I was Adam Clayton.

C

chuck norriss

Inactive
Jan 20, 2011
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#1
Or as Cat calls him, the U2 grandpa. You kidding me? His life does not suck.
And I understand clearly he isn't Manring or Nitti or Pastorius but he's had some nice moments in bassline history that are good enough. I wouldn't say he's all-hat, no cattle.

Zoo Station--listen to the chorus
Heartland--subtle, hardly there & simple as pie but I love it
New Year's Day
Trying to Throw Your Arms Around the World
Man & a Woman
Moment of Surrender
Seconds
Sunday Bloody Sunday

All good songs. The Stones' "Satisfaction" is essentially a three-note song so don't fuss over quantity of notes in a melody.
 
#9
I just heard an old U2 song I used to listen to all the time, "Two Hearts Beat As One". His tone and playing on that, and alot of other old stuff, was way "in your face" compared to what he's done for the last 15 years or so.
 
#12
CrashCarlisle said:
What the hell's wrong with Adam Clayton? I love his bass lines.
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They serve the songs well. Not overly flashy. Pretty straightforward, actually. I think I read an interview somewhere where AC acknowledged that his technical talent was pretty meat-and-potatoes. Then he said (to paraphrase), "But I AM the bass player for U2." And that pretty much summarizes the situation.
 
#14
Ukiah Bass said:
They serve the songs well. Not overly flashy. Pretty straightforward, actually. I think I read an interview somewhere where AC acknowledged that his technical talent was pretty meat-and-potatoes. Then he said (to paraphrase), "But I AM the bass player for U2." And that pretty much summarizes the situation.
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that's funny. Reminds me of Letterman's old line: "I'm David Letterman and you're not."
 
#15
Adam Clayton is a great bassist. I don't remember ever hearing a U2 song and thinking "Hey, this song is ok, but do you know what would *really* push it over the top? A BASS SOLO!".

P.S. I usually don't subscribe to the "Band A is good because they sell millions of records and play to sell out crowds every night" line of thinking; when a band has been doing it for 30 years, however, they are probably onto something.
 
#16
emblymouse said:
U2 is a sonic puzzle. None of these guys are traditional in their space and the bass fits the slot very well.
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+1000 This. Heck, Edge is a fairly 1-dimensional player too(OK, maybe 2 . . .). But as a band they created a sound and vibe and it just works. Plus as I understand it Clayton is an "idea guy" in the studio and brings a lot of conceptual things to the process. Far more important than being able to shred if you ask me.
 

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