I never wanted to sound like someone else...

[Michedelic]

Magazine were/are a wholly underrated band, Without Barry Adamson I don't think they would every have been the same. The two songs that demonstrate to me how even though his bass lines seem simple and yet incredibly complex are the pornographic discord of Permafrost, the thumping BL of Light Pours Out Of Me.


Not forgetting the tragic loss of the inimitable John McGeoch (guitar) who sadly passed away in 2004

John McGeoch - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Oh yes, McGeoch…while Siouxie and the Banshees were certainly a force, the addition of him on “Juju” took things to an entirely different level.

I regarded Magazine as ‘new wave prog’, not a contradiction in terms, but they were always going in unexpected directions, lots of moving parts, and Adamson was part of that. I saw Devoto as a solo act(still had Dave Formula on keys), it wasn’t quite the same.

 

[SteveCS]

got any stranglers recommendations?

Just get hold of the first 3 albums and you are set. Cornwell used to live close to my hometown, and would frequently drive his Citroen DS to the local rail station when taking the train into London. Post Strangers, he did a collaboration (CCW) with major writer Roger Cook (Roger Cook (songwriter) - Wikipedia) and a friend of mine Andy West. West lived in the same village as Cornwell. I was West's bass player for a while in the late '80s, and Cornwell would often turn up at our gigs. Man that feels like a lifetime ago:

Back on topic, I always appreciated JJB's bass tones - I never wanted to 'do' the really filthy aspects of it, but the cleaner top-heavy grindy bit, oh yeah!!

 

[Ritter667]

I never wanted to sounds like someone else either, but I have plenty of people I admire for their sound, playing style and/or sheer technical ability.

Well, yeah, amazing stamina, plus all the hopping around that he did. I saw them in their heyday, early ‘78, was blown away at how all of them just piledrived everything continuously throughout their set. Plus, I just had fun, which had been missing from shows in that time period.
If he was using heavily then, I don’t know how he did it night after night on tour. Sadly, I saw him from a distance about a week before he died, didn’t look too good.
The thing is, for that time and realm, I found JJ Burnel of the Stranglers far more impressive/inspiring for what he was doing on bass.

Yeah, I never was the greatest Ramones fan either, though I do respect them for rocking on and doing their own thing.

I do like Stranglers though, and love JJ Burnel's tone, and how his playing style just fits that tone perfectly.

 

[TeeSee]

I never wanted to sounds like someone else either, but I have plenty of people I admire for their sound, playing style and/or sheer technical ability.

Yeah, I never was the greatest Ramones fan either, though I do respect them for rocking on and doing their own thing.

I do like Stranglers though, and love JJ Burnel's tone, and how his playing style just fits that tone perfectly.

I remember loving Go Buddy Go when I was 15 when it came out with Hugh,s cutting chords and JJ's clanky bass, and DG's astounding keyboard layers I loved it as soon as I heard it and was the start of a happy time for me back then. I think GBG wasn't archetypal Stranglers tune especially after they found their niche. They never wanted to be labelled punk, they were tried and tested Pub Rockers who just happened to be in the right place at the right time to ride the crest of the (new) wave.
Rattus was the most inspiring album for me, there wasn't a song on it that I didn't like and to this day I still love it. No More Heroes wasn't too bad either, along with the Title track, English Towns, Straighten Out and Something Better Change were belters but I think they started going darker in parts of the album and subsequent albums reflected this even more, it seemed to me they were becoming a UK version of Beefheart 10 years after. That's not to say there is anything wrong with that just that for me I think they lost some of their earlier energy and melody. But just when you think CBA to listen to them anymore and written them off they proved they could do some excellent melodic pieces like Always The Sun and Golden Brown, they were and always will be anathema to me.

 

[TeeSee]

Oh yes, McGeoch…while Siouxie and the Banshees were certainly a force, the addition of him on “Juju” took things to an entirely different level.

I regarded Magazine as ‘new wave prog’, not a contradiction in terms, but they were always going in unexpected directions, lots of moving parts, and Adamson was part of that. I saw Devoto as a solo act(still had Dave Formula on keys), it wasn’t quite the same.

I had the immense fortune to see them in their original line up at the Lafayette in Wolverhampton in '78 I believe. I could not stop thinking about them for months, I really love the Buzzcocks especially with Howard on Spiral Scratch doing Boredom, but man what a departure from the Buzzcocks to Magazine with two juxtaposition-ed music styles from hard New Wave to fantasia (not counting Shot By Both Sides of course ) utterly brilliant.

 

[-Asdfgh-]

...but I sure wish I could play like this guy.
View attachment 7429934
He didn't just play the bass, he slayed the bass!

To be honest, I've never understood how people can play bass when holding the neck like a baseball bat.

 

[Michedelic]

To be honest, I've never understood how people can play bass when holding the neck like a baseball bat.

You have to beat on the brat.

 

[Slevage]

Lemmy was great, but if I sounded like him I’d get fewer gigs.