I never realized John Mcvie was so good

[duke2004]

I guess it took a listening to some live Fleetwood Mac to reveal just how amazing John Mcvie is as a bassist.
Hearing all those radio hits is one thing but live i think hes more up front in the mix, at least on their first live album (1980?).

totally blown away by his ability to play only what is needed, choice of notes, holding of notes and of course tone.

Anyone know what bass he played on that tour for their first live album?

 

[bThumper38]

I've seen videos of him with an alembic

 

[Brad Johnson]

I've seen him with an Alembic and IIRC a Tobias. Very solid player.

 

[GM60466]

find a copy of the Fleetwood Mac with Peter Green on guitar. John's playing was very good.

G

 

[The_Owl]

AFAIK, he owns the first bass Modulus ever built. IIRC a P-bass type. He tried it at a NAMM show and bought it instantly. And yes, he is a great bass player.

 

[Rickett Customs]

Don't sleep on McVie, to many album accounts of a good player there.

 

[gweimer]

find a copy of the Fleetwood Mac with Peter Green on guitar. John's playing was very good.

G

In the early years, both he and Fleetwood were pretty raw and rough. Time and touring molded those guys into a killer rhythm section. I'm actually more partial to the middle years with Danny Kirwan on guitar

 

[DWBass]

As a certified funkster, I joined a Top40/Pop band once and we did quite a few FM tunes. I hated them at first but decided to delve deep into the basslines and I found his playing to be very rhythmic, fluid and quite melodic. I love the bassline on "Say You Love Me"!

 

[The_Owl]

Yeah, I don't dig the early stuff either. Blues rock that doesn't really stand out in any way. I think Lindsey Buckingham is what made Fleetwood Mac, really.

 

[JTE]

Because the OP said 80s? in his post, he seemingly doesn't know the F/Mac history. But I saw Mac on the first Buckingham/Nicks/Fleetwood/McVie tour (goat voiced woman's hair was still black and she was HOT!! at the concert I saw).

It was an Alembic and beat up old Precision through an SVT.

jte

 

[s4001]

I've always enjoyed the FM covers in my band. Nice laid-back deep grooves. quite a joy to play.

 

[D.A.R.K.]

great player!
so, i recall him having an alembic fretless with a metal fingerboard...
maybe stainless steel? am i nuts, or confusing my memory with another player/bass like a vigier or something?

 

[etoncrow]

Like so many other players of merit from the British Isles within this time frame McVie cut his teeth with John Mayall and the Blues Breakers.....

I am sorry to disagree but Lindsey Buckingham is simply the master of the 'one note' guitar solo....

 

[kraigo]

As a certified funkster, I joined a Top40/Pop band once and we did quite a few FM tunes. I hated them at first but decided to delve deep into the basslines and I found his playing to be very rhythmic, fluid and quite melodic. I love the bassline on "Say You Love Me"!

I learned "Say You Love Me" a week or two ago. It is very cool. The song is in A and the mystery chord at the climax of the song is a D. Until that point you really have to stay off that D until the climax or you just destroy the powerful effect of it.

It's a very fun tune to play. Simple, but not mundane. Yes - I had a John McVie moment when I learned the tune, which is why I looked at this thread. He's great.

KO

 

[jerry]

I've always been a fan of John's note choices, he never seems to waste one. In Clapton's book he has very high praise for McVie, and Eric has been around a few great bassist. I've met John a few times, very humble a very cool cat!

 

[jaywa]

I like John McVie a lot and consider him highly underrated in much the sense of another of my heroes, John Deacon. Good groove, unobtrusive and "song serving" but yet very creative, melodic and always good tone. You take the bass line out of some of those Fleetwood Mac songs, and you have no song. Period. "Go Your Own Way" being Exhibit A.

 

[JTE]

...I am sorry to disagree but Lindsey Buckingham is simply the master of the 'one note' guitar solo....

So? Guitar solos are highly over-rated anyway, and in the context of the (IMO) beautifully crafted pop music of the B/N era Fleetwood Mac, Lindsey's guitar PARTS as well as his considerable production and arrangement input were great.

He's no Peter Green, no way. But he didn't do long solos and they fit the songs well anyway.

jte

 

[Toshiro]

McVie's style is as defined as what he doesn't play as much as what he does play.

I've always admired how he's able to leave open space in his bass lines.

Lindsey Buckingham is a top notch guitarist. He's not really that much of a soloist, but he's a awesome parts guitarist, a JTE points out. He plays some of the most amazing stuff on those FM tunes. Some of it is pretty well hidden, but it's there.

 

[jaywa]

McVie's style is as defined as what he doesn't play as much as what he does play.

I've always admired how he's able to leave open space in his bass lines.

Lindsey Buckingham is a top notch guitarist. He's not really that much of a soloist, but he's a awesome parts guitarist, a JTE points out. He plays some of the most amazing stuff on those FM tunes. Some of it is pretty well hidden, but it's there.

Bingo. I think one reason McVie was able to get away with leaving so much space is that Buckingham is SO solid, rhythmically. I.e., McVie did not have to cover for a guitarist that may have been a soloing whiz but can't keep time to save his soul (as in so many other bands). So you get this subtle rhythmic interplay between McVie and Buckingham with Mick Fleetwood basically staying out of the way, and then those male/female vocal harmonies over top and it just all really works.

 

[PVTele]

McVie's style is as defined as what he doesn't play as much as what he does play.

I've always admired how he's able to leave open space in his bass lines...

Absolutely! If there's one bassist I've really learned from, and from whom I've still so much to learn, it's McVie! I first heard him live with Mayall, and then with the Green, Fleetwood, Spencer, McVie lineup just after John replaced Bob Brunning, and I was blown away. Still am. (In case you're wondering, I'm 3 years younger than John, less 2 days...)